-Really liked her proposal. It is very informative and persuasive. Also, I really how she offered help when others might need it. To me, the freedom of religion is one of the most important things a country should have.
-I think it is really possible to for the UN to do what Airined is asking for. Libya deserves to be free and fight for their beliefs. A democracy will probably help a lot with the issue.
-Racism is a huge problem in many parts of the world. It is not easy to change it completely, but the UN can sure try to make a difference and start helping countries like Italy.
--Discrimination is also a huge problem affecting many parts of the world; this is why I chose Sarah’s proposal. Every human being should be treated equally. I think a better leading government could try to solve this problem.
-Freedom should be present in every country. This is why I chose Natalia’s proposal. I really liked how persuasive she was and the fact that many people in Syria don’t have any rights to fight foe what they believe in is horrible.
-It is horrible to think that women are still being discriminated today. It is just unbelievable! Women should be free. Man or woman we are all the same. The UN should support these women that are fighting for their freedom and equality.
-I chose this proposal because it talks about how women are being terribly mistreated. I also liked the idea of giving women an artifact they can use for help.
-I chose Karolina’s proposal because UN can sure give her what she is asking for and help all those people without a home or food in Ivory Coast which is a big problem.
Tibetans have never been well treated. The Chinese government has never given them the freedom they deserve. Tibetans have suffered immensely from the Chinese security forces crackdown, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary and secret detention, forced disappearances, torture and custodial deaths, denial of legal rights and harsh sentences from partial juries. This has to stop! Tibet really needs help and support from the United Nations to become the Nation they want to be. Tibet dreams of becoming independent and free. This can only be done if the UN supports them on all they need. It may be hard but is totally worth it. We all have the right to be free, why not them? First of all, they should support those monks, teachers and university students trying to save the Tibetan language. Chinese should not be the official language of Tibet. Tibetans should be able to have their own language, not a language they are forced to learn. I think military support from the UN could help, so that the Tibetan people could protest for what they think is fair and right, without the Chinese having to kill, torture, or arrest anybody that does. Tibet definitely needs a fair government. A government that lets them keep their identity, their religion, their FREEDOM! Please, I know that with your help we can make Tibet a better place for Tibetans to live in and also help them preserve what is most important, their culture!
Tibetans are in constant competition with Han Chinese migrants who are often better educated and who benefit from discriminative government economic policy, which harms Tibetans, and the Chinese government encourages them to integrate into Tibet.
Chinese government is attempting to remove Tibetan language from the educational system. Chinese has become the main language in schools and dominates everyday life in Tibet. The threat to the survival of Tibetan language is one of the most critical and urgent concerns of Tibetans living under Chinese rule. Monks, teachers and university students voluntarily travel around Tibet and hold workshops and forums on the importance of the Tibetan language and the threat it is under, they all have one goal: to save the Tibetan language and identity. China's government has also tried to control over Buddhist practices in Tibet. Also, Tibetan nomads have faced restrictions and forced extradition. Chinese government laid policies to enforce a systematic crackdown on influential Tibetans like singers, writers and environmentalists. Since 2008 more than 60 Tibetan writers, bloggers, intellectuals and cultural figures have been arrested. Overall, Chinese has taken away Tibetan's freedom. The United Nations and international community have done very little to address the core issue of China’s illegal occupation of Tibet.
People should really care about these problems facing Tibet. Every society should have the right to maintain the customs,culture, and religions they want. No society should be told what to do or how to do it. Each society is supposed to have their own identity and it should always be that way. How would you feel if you were forced to learn a language you are not familiar with or to have many of your rights taken?
Buddhist missionaries from India came to Tibet in the 7th century and started an alphabet system for the Tibetan language, also started translations of Buddhist texts. During this century Tibet was a strong kingdom. By the 10th century, things began to fall apart with Tibet separating into several principalities. In 1206, Genghis Khan included Tibet in his empire and in the mid-1600's, the Mongols allowed the Dalai Lama to have political power within Tibet.
China came to control Tibet in the 18th century, but they didn't maintain their authority for long. In 1911, Tibetan's rebelled for their authority and independence, this was completed by 1913. A meeting was held with Britain, China and Tibet to come to an agreement regarding Tibet's status. China never came to an agreement and the situation culminated in a battle in eastern Tibet in 1918. The British attempted to settle the dispute with a truce, but failed. When the Tibetan leadership in Central Asia was weak, the Mongol Khan secured it. This protection continued when Mongol Dynasty reigned over China. The first European travellers to visit Tibet reported that Tibet was considered as a mythic country. At the end of World War II, the Mao-Tse-tung Army defeated Chang-Kai-chek and invaded Tibet. After installation of a pro-Chinese Administration, the first decisions brought a severe famine, suppressed civil rights and imposed the Chinese language. In March 1959, Lhassa population obliged the Dalai-Lama to escape in India, against his will. In the 1970's, during the Cultural Revolution the Red Guards destroyed nearly 2000 official buildings and holy places, and burnt nearly all the Tibetan libraries and books to get rid of the Tibetan civilisation and language.
Natural disasters have made a big impact on Tibet. On April 14, 2010, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake followed by a number of powerful aftershocks struck in Kham, eastern Tibet. At the time, at least 600 people were reported dead and more than 10,000 injured by Chinese & Western media, but Tibetans with contacts in the area heard the death toll might have been as high as 4,000.
There are many health issues occurring today. The most common serious health problems for Tibetan children appear to be acute upper respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, hepatitis, hydatid disease and tuberculosis. Goiter is a serious problem in many areas of Tibet. It is especially a problem in certain regions of western Tibet because China's iodized-salt program has not reached these areas. Iodine deficiency also leads to stunted growth and in some cases to mental retardation. Another localized illness is leprosy, which prevalence is unclear. According to some sources, it is a problem in some areas of eastern Tibet, particularly regions of Amdo.
Common Languages:Tibetan is quite different from Chinese. It used to belong to the "Tibeto-Burman" family, although recently some linguists have taken up the label "Sino-Tibetan". Tibetan is written in an alphabet and is polysyllabic; is inflected with case, declension and gender structures adapted from Sanskrit; and is not semantically tonal. Tibetan borrows some words from Chinese, but it also borrows Indian, Nepali and Mongolian words.
Common Religions: The common thread of Buddhism bound China and Tibet together to some degree in some eras. However, Confucianism and Taoism were always important in China, but totally absent in Tibet. Even in terms of Buddhism's, Tantrism is central to Tibetan Buddhism but only represents a small movement in Chinese Buddhism.
Customs: -Presenting Hada Present hada is a common practice among the Tibetan people to express their best wishes on many occasions, such as wedding ceremonies, festivals, visiting the elders and the betters, and entertaining guests. The white hada, a long narrow scarf made of silk, embodies purity and good fortune. -Proposing a Toast and Tea
Proposing a Toast and Tea when you come to a Tibetan family, the host will propose a toast, usually barley wine. You should sip three times and then drink up. Entertaining guests with tea is a daily etiquette. The guest must not drink until the host presents the tea to you. -Greetings Greetings don’t forget to add "LA" after saying hello to the Tibetan people to show respect. Make way to others. Try not to make any sounds while eating and drinking. -Sky Burials Sky burial is a common form in Tibet. There are many prohibitions. Strangers are not allowed to attend the ceremony. Visitors should respect this custom and keep away from such occasions. Music: Categories of Tibetan Music Tibetan music can be generally divided into three kinds: Folk Music, Religious Music and Palace Music. Folk music is the main part of Tibetan music. Many of the other two kinds of music originate from the folk music and are made some changes according to their target groups. -Folk Music relates to real life and is music by and for the ordinary public.The folk songs can be heard in various forms, such as children's songs, love songs, drinking songs, work songs and pastoral songs. -Religious Music is popular among the temples. In Tibet, the music ofBon and Tibetan Buddhism are similar, which are generally divided into narrative music and instrumental music. -Palace Music is mainly played in the Potala Palace, Tashilhunpo Monastery, Sakya Monastery, Dzongyab Lukhang (also known as Naga King) Park, and some other temples. Palace music has created a pretty perfect system of composition, instrument and performance. Some of the excellent traditional parts have been absorbed into Tibetan operas and other kinds of music. Famous Musicians, Singers and Songs
Since 1949, Tibetan music has made rapid progresses and many expert musicians have sprung up both in Tibet and the inner land of China. The famous ones include the Tibetan opera artists – Dunzhu Zhaxi and Va-ma-tshe-ring.
Tibetan Musical Instruments The instruments used in the Tibetan music are divided into wind instrument (flute, clarion, conch), plucked stringed instrument (six-stringed instrument), bowed stringed instrument (horn fiddle, Huqin) and percussion instrument (bell, drum, gong). Six-stringed instrument, horn fiddle, big clarion and vertical flute are the most featured instrument of Tibetan music. The Tongqin is the largest Tibetan wind instrument, with an average length of 3 m. and the Jialing is shaped like the Chinese Suona. Both of them are used on important occasions at the temples.
Dances: Tibetan dances, mostly mixed with dulcet songs, are like bright stars that illuminate this broad and mysterious land. Generallyspeaking Tibetan dances fall into four groups: Folk Dances, Religious Dances, Royal Dances and Opera Dances. Food:
Tibetan cuisine is not renowned for its spices and variety, but it is hearty and healthy and sustains those living on the high plateau. Most Tibetan dishes include generous portions of dairy and meat, but these days more and more young people eat vegetarian.
Tibet is a plateau area in the Central Asia, the world’s highest area. With an average altitude of 4,9 km (16,000 ft.), it is the highest region on the planet and is typically referred to as the “Roof of the World.”
Government Type: Tibet is an Autonomous Region of China, this means it is Communist. Education and Literacy Rates:Over the past five years, 8.22 billion yuan in government funding has been invested on education to improve school facilities and raise literacy rates and the quality of education. The special annual educational subsidies for the children of Tibetan farmers and herders increased from 353 yuan in 1985 to an average of 1,450 yuan in 2007.The literacy rate in Tibet is 13% among women, 35% among men. Languages:Tibetan is the main language of Tibet, especially in the rural areas. Religion: Most of the Tibetan population observes Tibetan Buddhism, which has evolved into four divisions: Ngingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Gelugpa sect. Religion is very important to the Tibetans with everything being centered around it. Birth Rate:The birth rate in the year 2002 stood at 23.7 per thousand. Death Rate:The death rate in the year 2002 stood at 6.1% Life Expectancy:The life expectancy in Tibet has almost doubled in the past half century, from an average of 35.5 years to 67 years. Ethnic Groups:Tibetans are the dominant inhabitants of Tibet (92.2% of the local population). There are also other ethnic groups, including Moinba, Lhoba, Hui, Deng and Sherpa. Legal System:Various-level governments of Tibet sent special personnel to publicize and lecture law knowledge in villages, and disseminate education materials. Unemployment rate:The registered unemployment rate at the end of 2004 was 4.3%. Poverty Population:The number of people under the poverty line in Tibet has plummeted from 480,000 in 1994 to 70,000, according to officials attending the meeting on aiding the poor and development in session in Lhasa.
The first phase of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was completed in the early 1980s and is now carrying both cargo and passengers.
Highways
Today, a 22,000-kilometer highway network radiating from Lhasa consisting of 15 main highways and 315 subsidiary roads has been formed. Most important are the Qinghai-Tibet Highway runs 2,122 kilometers from Xining to Lhasa.
Airports
The Lhasa Airport has scheduled fights to Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. The distance by air from Lhasa to Chengdu is more than 1,100 km.
