Op-Ed Contributors

An outsider's impression of Tibet

By Sirkka Korpela (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-06 08:02

Finally, during our trip to the countryside outside Lhasa, I had a chance to see many of the new housing programs, sponsored and subsidized by the government.

I had to remind myself that in the past many Tibetans did not have a house of their own. Most of the old dwellings included domestic animals in the same quarters as the family. At one point I could see the old and the new house being built for a family; they were just about to move into the new quarters.

What a difference in terms of space, quality of materials and commodities (including separate toilets, sometimes using water to flush)!

Then there was a family of herdsmen; being summer, they were living in their tent (and beside the tent there was a small solar panel for generating enough electricity for hot water, TV and lights). They, however, told us they also had a permanent house in the village, where they stay during the winter. And best of all: the government is subsidizing 30 percent of the new housing, being built in collaborative efforts of the villagers. They display the characteristics of the traditional Tibetan culture, both in terms of the materials used and the colorful decorations in the main rooms inside.

These houses are very bright, spacious and beautifully decorated. I saw several generations living there together.

What I hadn't realized before is that the life expectancy of a Tibetan used to be a mere 35 years - so many generations couldn't be seen living together in the past - whereas now the life expectancy has almost doubled to 67 years.

This is not only an impressive testament to the improvement of human rights in Tibet during the past 50 years, but also provides the old folks the opportunity to tell their grandchildren what life was like in the past. They will pass on the best of Tibetan culture to their grandchildren, and they will also be able to tell how much life has improved since 1959!

The author is the former United Nations ambassador to Bolivia. The article first appeared in the Global Times.

(China Daily 08/06/2010 page9)