Himalayan Turmoil
What with the self-destructing monarchy in Nepal, the violence in Tibet’s holiest city of Lhasa, and Monday’s elections in Bhutan, it’s hard to find a misty, silent mountain-top on which to meditate toward enlightenment these days.
One Intrepid Readers asks: “What is going on over there? Riots in Tibet, voting in Bhutan, violent Marxists in Nepal. Is change in the air or what?”
Though the Himalayas seem remote and peripheral to the mainstream goings on of the world, this wedge of corrugated peaks and valleys is not immune to desires for freedom, communication and connection that have swept the world in the past few decades. With the internet and modern telecommunications, people even in the remotest corners of the Himalayas have some idea about the world outside their villages. In the villages with electricity, there’s at least one television showing vivid and luxurious pictures of the outside world. Gossip about the amazing things seen on TV spreads to villages without electricity. And the most amazing thing about the flashy images on TV is that the people in them seem to direct their own lives, doing as they please without constraint from higher authorities.
That is what these three revolutions are about: self-determination, freedom to choose and to communicate without fear of reprisal. As an American, it is hard to fully comprehend the degree to which hierarchal, tradition-laden cultures demand and reward conformity. To take a small example, I have taken to wearing a kira, the Bhutanese national dress, during office hours, because I receive a noticeably warmer reception from everyone I meet. No one ever told me I had to wear a kira, but my life is significantly easier when I do. Multiply this little example over years of a lifetime, and one could see how it might begin to chafe.
So, the Tibetans are taking advantage of the world’s attention on the Olympics to publicize their suffering at the hands of the Chinese. The Nepalis have been struggling to implement democracy since 1989 – not long when you consider that Americans are still working at it more than 200 years later. And though the Bhutanese are being reluctantly led into democracy, there are many who believe that the country will benefit from more voices shaping the government.
Monday is voting day here. Thimphu is fairly empty, because everyone except for government workers, who can vote by mail, has to travel to their home district to cast their vote. A friend of mine departed for Radi, in Trashigang, eastern Bhutan, a two-to-three day drive away, with a caravan of nine vehicles containing more than 30 people. All the bus seats in the country were booked weeks ago by people planning to travel to their home villages. The Indian border will be sealed from Sunday evening through Tuesday morning, so voters have to reach their destinations over the weekend. While many are taking the opportunity for a holiday with family and friends, those in the tourism industry find the timing of the elections difficult, as it falls right in the middle of the spring tourist season. Some of the most popular tourist restaurants are closing for a week while their cooks and servers travel home.
One Intrepid Readers asks: “What is going on over there? Riots in Tibet, voting in Bhutan, violent Marxists in Nepal. Is change in the air or what?”
Though the Himalayas seem remote and peripheral to the mainstream goings on of the world, this wedge of corrugated peaks and valleys is not immune to desires for freedom, communication and connection that have swept the world in the past few decades. With the internet and modern telecommunications, people even in the remotest corners of the Himalayas have some idea about the world outside their villages. In the villages with electricity, there’s at least one television showing vivid and luxurious pictures of the outside world. Gossip about the amazing things seen on TV spreads to villages without electricity. And the most amazing thing about the flashy images on TV is that the people in them seem to direct their own lives, doing as they please without constraint from higher authorities.
That is what these three revolutions are about: self-determination, freedom to choose and to communicate without fear of reprisal. As an American, it is hard to fully comprehend the degree to which hierarchal, tradition-laden cultures demand and reward conformity. To take a small example, I have taken to wearing a kira, the Bhutanese national dress, during office hours, because I receive a noticeably warmer reception from everyone I meet. No one ever told me I had to wear a kira, but my life is significantly easier when I do. Multiply this little example over years of a lifetime, and one could see how it might begin to chafe.
So, the Tibetans are taking advantage of the world’s attention on the Olympics to publicize their suffering at the hands of the Chinese. The Nepalis have been struggling to implement democracy since 1989 – not long when you consider that Americans are still working at it more than 200 years later. And though the Bhutanese are being reluctantly led into democracy, there are many who believe that the country will benefit from more voices shaping the government.
Monday is voting day here. Thimphu is fairly empty, because everyone except for government workers, who can vote by mail, has to travel to their home district to cast their vote. A friend of mine departed for Radi, in Trashigang, eastern Bhutan, a two-to-three day drive away, with a caravan of nine vehicles containing more than 30 people. All the bus seats in the country were booked weeks ago by people planning to travel to their home villages. The Indian border will be sealed from Sunday evening through Tuesday morning, so voters have to reach their destinations over the weekend. While many are taking the opportunity for a holiday with family and friends, those in the tourism industry find the timing of the elections difficult, as it falls right in the middle of the spring tourist season. Some of the most popular tourist restaurants are closing for a week while their cooks and servers travel home.
Comments
This poor fellow is drastically confused. Democracy is about criticizing politicians, and possibly ministers on a case-by-case basis. But democracy is never about criticizing poor overworked civil servants.
Can you imagine?