Tibetan Slavery was Not Better than American Slavery. It was Differently Abominable.
“I may not be free under Chinese Communism, but I am better off than when I was a slave.” —Wangchuk, quoted in “In Tibet, a Struggle of the Soul”
“Old Tibet was dark and cruel, the serfs lived worse than horses and cattle.” —Dechen Chökyi Drönma, the 12th Samding Dorje Phagmo, quoted in “Female living Buddha condemns Dalai Lama”
“When the Chinese speak of pre-1951 Tibet, they emphasize the shortcomings of the region’s feudal-theocratic government: life expectancy was thirty-six years; 95 percent of Tibetans were illiterate; 95 percent of the population was hereditary serfs and slaves owned by monasteries and nobles. … The statistics about Tibetan illiteracy and life expectancy are accurate.” —Peter Hessler, “Tibet Through Chinese Eyes”
Because Tibet is a centuries-old battle ground in the Great Game of Empire, politicians and academics argue angrily about the correct name for the people who were forced to serve Tibet’s priests and nobles. Should they be called slaves, serfs, or their Tibetan name, mi-ser, as though they were nothing like slaves or serfs?
The Dalai Lama used “serf” when defending the system he had ruled:
“The relationship between landlord and serf was much milder in Tibet than in China…
