Tibet's Man on Fire
Tibetans continue to burn. This week, two monks from Taktsang Lhamo Kirti monastery, Lobsang Dawa and Konchok Woeser, set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule. A week earlier, a young mother by the single name Chugtso self-immolated, leaving behind her husband and a three-year-old child. Well over a hundred Tibetans have sacrificed themselves in this way since 2009. Yet it’s very difficult for journalists to cover the burnings, because Chinese authorities block access to the areas where they occur, and impose punishments on those who provide information to the outside world. The self-immolation a year ago of Jamphel Yeshi, however, took place in India, beyond the Chinese news blockade. National Geographic covered his story in detail…
(Jeff Bartholet for Nat Geo)
