Bay Area Friends of Tibet

Working to raise awareness and funds for the displaced Tibetan people
The Chinese army invaded Tibet in 1949. After an abortive national rebellion against Chinese rule in 1959, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibet's head of state and spiritual leader, and some 80,000 Tibetans fled their country into exile. By 1997, this number had reached 130,000. By the mid 1980s, over 1.2 million Tibetans died of starvation, forced labor and execution; thousands of Tibetans were imprisoned and tortured for their beliefs; and all but a handful of Tibet's 6,000 monasteries were destroyed.

A Minority in Their Own Land

Since the early 1980s, China's policy of encouraging Chinese immigration to Tibet has become the single greatest threat to Tibetan culture. Chinese in Tibet now outnumber Tibetans 7.5 to 6 million. Of more than 12,000 shops in Tibet's capital, Lhasa, fewer than 300 are Tibetan-owned. China's 1992 economic "opening" of Tibet to foreign development is creating jobs for Chinese immigrants, jobs for which Tibetans are not trained, and further economically marginalizing Tibetans.

Tibetans have responded with non-violent demonstrations calling for independence. From September 1987 to March 1989, protests gathered momentum and international attention until China imposed strict martial law. Although martial law was lifted in 1990, thousands of Chinese troops remain in Tibet. Political unrest continues and is spreading to Tibet's smaller towns and more remote regions. Meanwhile, China continues its widespread campaign of forced abortions and sterilizations, pervasive persecution of Tibetan Buddhism, and accelerating depletion of Tibet's timber and mineral resources.

Tibetan refugees have resettled in communities throughout India, Nepal and the rest of the world. Tibetans continue to flee persecution in Tibet in record numbers. Led by the Dalai Lama, the 1989 Nobel Peace Laureate, Tibetans struggle to retain their culture in exile. With the long-term goal of regaining Tibetan independence, the Dalai Lama has outlined a Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet which would:

Transform Tibet into a zone of peace;
Stop the mass transfer of Chinese into Tibet;
Respect human rights;
Protect Tibet's natural environment; and
Commence earnest negotiations with China.
The Chinese government has repeatedly opposed any negotiations with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile and the brutal oppression of Tibetans continues unabated.

WHAT BAY AREA FRIENDS OF TIBET DOES:
Educational Outreach
BAFoT organizes special events that introduce hundreds of people to Tibetan issues. Tibet Day cultural fairs have been held annually, since 1984, in San Francisco, the East Bay, and Santa Cruz. Plans to extend Tibet Day into the North Bay are underway. BAFoT also sponsors film festivals,lectures, and performances by Tibetan artists. Volunteers distribute educational materials at various Bay Area events year-round.

Grassroots Action
BAFoT works with other Tibet support groups such as the Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC) to organize activities on behalf of Tibet's struggle for human rights and self-determination, and takes part in events that promote Tibetan culture, such as the Pacifica Tibetan Arts Festival. BAFoT's urgent action network conducts letter-writing campaigns and notifies the media of Tibet news and local events. BAFoT newsletters provides the latest information on current Tibetan issues and suggests actions that individuals can take to address the crisis in Tibet.