Tsuglakhang temple’s gate
Photo: Ben Byrne
Exiled Tibetans across the world have been thrust into the maelstrom caused by the outbreak of the novel-coronavirus, COVID-19, which started in Wuhan, China, and has now spread to 210 countries.
Lockdown was imposed in India on Sunday March 25. People can only leave their homes to shop for essentials between 8 and 11am. In McLeod Ganj the new dystopian reality has seen people stuck in long queues for vegetables and pulses; police dealing out beatings with sticks to residents who are not maintaining social distancing; shops painting squares two metres apart on the street outside their doors to assist their customers and queues outside ATMs reminiscent of those seen during the demonetisation crisis of 2017. With traffic at a standstill, the air in the Kangra valley has turned crisp and fresh, free from the daily onslaught of exhaust fumes.
CTA President during a press briefing on COVID19
Sikyong Lobsang Sangay, President of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) gave a press briefing on April 10 to encourage all Tibetans in India to strictly follow the orders of the Indian government. “Stay home, act responsibly”, he said, before warning that Tibetan settlements could expect a particularly long fight against coronavirus because of clusters of population and significant movements of people. He specifically advised against monasteries organising large gatherings to avoid a repeat of the Nizamuddin incident in Delhi which has led to a proliferation of cases across the country. Sikyong has stated that around 500 Tibetans with recent travel history to COVID-19 hotspots, including within India, are being kept in quarantine for a period of 14 days as a precautionary measure. The CTA has released 30 lakh [$39,300 /£ 31,300] rupees for prevention and assistance for hospitals engaged in combating the virus.
Mr Dawa taking his class online through Facebook
Photo: screen grab
Meanwhile, teachers at Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) schools across India have started to conduct their classes online via video conference or by posting instructional videos on YouTube or Facebook. A maths teacher at TCV Gopalpur, Mr Dawa, has started uploading material online, saying that he does not want his students falling behind as a result of the coronavirus. He said that the positive feedback his initiative had received on Facebook was a powerful motivating force for him. TCV Ladakh is running daily online lessons for senior school students to compensate for the loss of lessons. These lessons are available on YouTube.
Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Chinese activists during their online discussion
Photo: screen grab
Firebrand political organisation Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) has responded to the virus by calling on Beijing to adhere to international standards of transparency and accountability in its reporting and handling of the virus. They took part in a panel discussion which discussed this and related issues, please see our article China’s COVID-19 Agenda Exposed At this discussion, Dorjee Tseten, Executive Director of SFT, said: “The international community must reject the Chinese government’s model of surveillance, control and manipulation that Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Chinese have suffered under for too long. China must be held accountable for decades of human rights abuses, and we call on our government and global institutions, to come together in solidarity, through this global crisis and in its aftermath, to ensure freedom of speech and human rights are upheld.”
Photo: Ben Bryne
Other Tibetan citizens are looking for the positive and the humorous to lighten their situation, as well as airing their concerns. Dorjee is hoping that the lockdown will continue until she finishes all of the series available on Netflix. Nyima dreams of the lockdown continuing for a year so that he can relax and catch up on his reading. Sonam Tsering is concerned that human beings will not be able reclaim control of McLeod Ganj from the animal tribes currently roaming the empty streets. Migmar is worried about less privileged people’s plight of paying bills while they are unable to work, she believes not everyone is relaxing at home during this lockdown. Various others have commented on the lifting of pollution in Majnu Katilla in Delhi and the lack of stench coming from the Yamuna River in the district.
Apr 14: India Extends Lockdown
Photo: Ben Byrne
India – a nation of 1.3 billion people, has extended its lockdown till May 3 to continue combat the spread of Wuhan originated COVID-19. India started its first phase of lockdown from March 25, scheduled to end on April 14. The Health Minister of India reported 10,363 cases of infections, 339 deaths and 1,035 people who have been cured and discharged as of this date.
Print
Email