The Tibet Within

This is a Canadian-made film on the plight on the Tibetan people and their heroic efforts to preserve their culture, which focuses on two aspects: the suppression of the Tibetan people, language and culture in the Tibetan homelands, and the efforts of those in the diaspora to keep them alive.

The resolution of the problems in Tibet should be seen as one of the most important in our time, because whereas everyone everywhere seems to have taken to violence to achieve their aims, the Tibetans have only engaged in peaceful protests, lobbying and attempts at reconciliation.

If the rights that are due to them to be able to preserve their cultural heritage are abandoned or forgotten it sends a clear message to everyone, that the only way to achieve one’s ends is through violence.

The film looks first at some of that heritage as it is being maintained outside Tibet, especially, of course, in India where Institutes for the preservation of Tibetan culture have been a major effort on the part of the people and government in exile, and we also see how Tibetans in the diaspora in other countries like Canada have also striven to maintain their traditions and their language.

In sharp contrast is the evident suppression of the Tibetan peoples in China, where they are now a minority in their own country, where their resources are stripped, their lifestyle and language is suppressed, and their culture is commercialised for the tourist market.

This powerful film is made by Eva Cirnu and exists in two versions, both published by her on youtube. The first is in English, the second in French. Do not let this become a forgotten cause.