Musings on life and how I choose to interpret it…

It’s funny in a sad sort of way how carried away I can get sometimes with my vainglorious sense of self and duty. How I can pit my responsibilities against my resolutions and tattle off about inane matters one-by-one in order to tick things off as though they’re merely a hindrance or a point that needs to be acknowledged in a “ho hum whatdowehavehere today?” way. Case in point. “My dalliances with activism” just sounds so off-putting and cringe inducing that I am tempted to remove the last post away from the fleeting scrutiny of this anonymous net-world, to rid myself of this mind-numbingly self-indulgent reverie that I’ve dared to share with strangers from all stripes of ideology. But that would be a wishful sin committed in yet another guise of pride and I must live in terms with what I’ve decided to commit with.

I also need to get off my operatic bent and get straight to the damn point.

In case you were wondering what suddenly set off this barrage of yet another non sequitur claptrap — and trust me, I’ve surprised myself quite a lot as well — this is why: Yesterday, six pro-Tibetan activists of SFT from Canada, the US and the UK were detained in China after staging a bold and dramatic direct action aimed at reminding the IOC and the world in general about the upcoming Aug. 8 One Year Beijing Olympics Countdown. The two Canadian activists, Mel Raoul and Sam Price, rappelled down a section of the Great Wall of China and unfurled a 450-sq. ft banner that reads “ONE WORLD, ONE DREAM, FREE TIBET”, both in English and Mandarin. They remained on the side of the wall with the banner in its fully glorious and cheeky display for more than two hours before the Chinese authorities descended on them and whisked them away for detention. No one knows yet about the whereabouts or the conditions of those six brave souls.

Let us just — for the sake of fully appreciating what just transpired half-way across the globe here — try to grasp not only the logistical complexity of launching this action from the get-go, but also the sheer amount of fortitude, of grit, determination and the fundamental belief in what’s right, that leads six young people to undertake this. To train: climbing, rappelling, evading sinister figures; to contemplate and understand the risks involved and then to hop on a plane and land in a foreign and slightly unwelcoming city; to clear customs with a large fabric emblazoned with a politically provocative message; to find a spot in a tourist-flooded area that isn’t as heavily scrutinized as some other parts; to figure out the opportune moment in deciding to rappel down the ancient stones; to hold on to your message as long as it takes; to land an ideal vantage point to capture this momentous show of defiance and declaration; to guide the international news media as it tries its best to catch up and cover; to humble two powerful forces; to harden the resolve of thousands of aspiring activists and humanists all across the world; and to accomplish all of the above-mentioned without spilling a drop of blood in malice or uttering a word of threat. ‘Amazing’ does barely any justice.

Try ‘humbling’.

Now, this isn’t the first time that SFT has dared unsettling the beast right under its very nose. Just three months ago, four members of this chapter-based, youth-oriented organization donned heavy parkas and brandished another large banner with the same message from high atop the base camp of Mt. Everest (on the Tibetan side). I barely managed to write about it then and quickly offered the video of the action as a substitute for my inability to give due thought and admiration.

This won’t be the case now. For one thing: I’ve met, talked and shared drinks with the two Canadians who unfurled the massive banner. They’re both either gainfully employed or pursuing post-graduate studies. They’re grounded, unassuming and definitely not driven by impulse at every other corner. In other words: they’re not your typical, in-your-face, hard-core activists, man. I’m pretty certain the other four are, more or less, the same. This is not meant to lampoon your average political activist, but just to give you an idea — a level of intimacy, if you will — about the kind of people who believe in the non-violent struggle of the Tibetan people. Sure, we’ve got our share of grizzled, passionate to the point of extreme-activists, but they don’t set the gold standard around here. Generally speaking. Instead, what we harbour here is a delightful balance of practicality and idealism that supports creativity and encourages individuality in the dithering dynamics of an energizing group.

And when I tend to get distracted by the constant minor waylays of my daily routine, it serves as a good reminder in humility and perspective that there are others who are willing to risk their own neck and comfort for the sake of those who are unable to speak under the duress of the red, iron hand. Sam’s done it more than once already, just so you and I know. And did I mention Kate, our very own Superwoman always in the thick of everything? She’s in Hongkong at the moment doing some mad media-handling bizness. What about Lhadon Thethong? Not only does she kick China’s red ass constantly from high atop the office of SFT Int’l, she’s royally kicking their red ass right in their very own backyard. Or front-yard. At this very moment. On blog. On TV. Is it just me or are us Canadians grossly over-represented in matters of PRC ass-kickery?

I would like to congratulate these six individuals. And I would like to sincerely thank everyone involved — for deciding that the dangers presented to themselves from this action pales in comparison to the magnitude and to the extent of the lives that they’ve affected and will continue to. I hope they come out of this safe and relatively unscathed. I would like to extend a note of comfort and thanks to the family and friends who’ve either supported or reluctantly tagged along to the whirlwind lives of their loved ones. And I would like to conclude this note with a nod to that one feeling that far surpasses any mention of humility, acknowledgment or appreciation.

Hope.

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For further information and up-to-date coverage of this action, please visit our SFT Int’l Blog.

For all the details and latest from Lhadon in China, please visit her Beijing blog.