China, which plans to take the Olympic torch over Mt. Everest in Tibet, is banning climbers from scaling Everest this spring for fear that Tibetan rights activists will disrupt the plans for the torch. Critics of this route say that it is a way for China to bolster its claim to Tibet.
The colonization/displacement/religious suppression of indigenous peoples and religious minorities lies at the root of much suffering and war in this world. From Native Americans to Tibetans, from the Palestinians to the Sami, the same history of oppression for the sake of real estate has been masked in the cloak of religion or political creed or modernisation (or all of the above). We can get past this–witness the progress in Northern Ireland, but it takes courage of people on all levels of society, the courage of the oppressed to say “no, we won’t accept this” and the courage of those in whose name the oppression is being practiced to say “no, you may not do this in my name”.
I lift my knitting needles today to the courageous monks of Tibet.
Today’s knitting–another sweater I made for B, in that wonderful Morjärv yarn. I can’t get enough of this soft, colorful, durable yarn. My tip on knitting for fussy men without boring yourself to death–cast on with color A, knit a row, rib in main color, do a border pattern in color A and then the rest of the sweater in main color. Cast on the sleeves in color A, knit one row and then continue in the main color.
