'When They Came to Take Our Children'
A report from the Tibet Action Institute
In January, I wrote this…
…about the Chinese government forcing Tibetan children into boarding schools and away from their parents and culture. It’s the sort of news we in the West seldom see, so I bring it to the surface when I can. The Chinese resettlement of Tibetan children is the same tactic that occupying forces have imposed on native peoples far too many times.
Yesterday, I received the latest report from the Tibet Action Institute on the colonial boarding school system. Below, you’ll find the Summary and Key Findings. You can download the full report, in Tibetan or English, by clicking here. Please consider sharing this post with any friends who might be interested.
SUMMARY AND KEY FINDINGS
An existential struggle is underway in Tibet today. Notwithstanding decades of colonial repression, Tibetans have maintained their distinct identity. The Chinese government perceives this as a threat to its control and is now using Tibetan children as a means to forcibly assimilate the Tibetan people. Students are targeted by a host of oppressive policies permeating every aspect of their lives. The most devastating of these is Beijing’s massive network of colonial boarding schools and preschools. Almost four years after Tibet Action Institute first exposed this system, this report presents new evidence of its corrosive impact. Not only does the boarding system threaten the wellbeing of individual children, it jeopardizes Tibetan language, culture, and Tibetans’ future as a distinct people. Tibet Action Institute urges the United Nations and concerned governments to call on the Chinese government to abolish the system of boarding schools and preschools in Tibet.
Drawing largely on rare firsthand accounts from Tibetans who are based inside Tibet or recently escaped into exile, this report finds that:
• Children are highly vulnerable to negligence and abuse in Chinese government-run boarding schools;
• In rural areas, preschool boarding can start as young as age four;
• Students are restricted from enrolling in Tibetan language classes or engaging in religious activities, even during school breaks;
• Tibetan children are losing their mother tongue as Tibetan-medium schooling and language classes are shut down;
• The separation from family and deliberate reshaping of children’s identity in boarding schools is causing emotional and psychological harm, including attachment trauma and alienation;
• The colonial boarding school system violates both Chinese domestic law and international law and is contrary to best practices that have been conveyed to the Chinese government for decades by numerous bodies of the United Nations; and
• Initiatives by Tibetans to develop culturally-relevant educational resources have been harshly suppressed by the Chinese government, but the desire and expertise to build a Tibetan-run education system still exists.
I wish I could tell From the Pure Land readers what direct action to take that might halt this attempted extermination of a culture, but the only advice I can offer is to support Tibetan groups in exile and to pray and meditate—practicing tonglen, for example—to strengthen the resolve of Tibetans and soften the hearts of their oppressors.
Mel’s book, The New Middle Way: A Buddhist Path Between Secular and Ossified - Enlightenment for Regular Folks, is available from Amazon. Instead of a book release party, he’s hosting 90 minutes of meditation, prayer, and talks to heal the world. It’s a free Zoom webinar that starts Sunday, June 1, at 1 P.M. New York City time. Registration is required.
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