I’m still reading from Immigrant Ambassadors, and lately Hess argues that the identity of Tibetan youth is becoming more cosmopolitan because their focus is to support the Tibetan cause, which is becoming “increasing internationalized” (210). Her opinion reminded me of an incident I had read about from a Refworld page where 300 Tibetan youth were detained after protesting at a rally for the Chinese Olympic Torch (http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,USCRI,,AFG,4562d8cf2,4a40d2a75d,0.html). It reminded me because I was surprised to hear about protests by Tibetan youth. I had a vision of quiet village people in my head and then all of the sudden they’re protesting, so when Hess talked about their cosmopolitan identity I wondered if that was the cause for the protest. I tend to connect such passionate protesting with nationalism. Now I’m not an authority on Tibetan youth, or the Tibetan cause, but that kind of nationalism has to come from somewhere.
What would cause them to identify so passionately to the Tibetan cause? The fact that they’re born Tibetan? Or born exiles? Or the education which teaches their history from a heavily Tibetan perspective, and probably lacks coverage from a Chinese perspective? Does exposure to other cultures and nations increase ones own nationalism?
I believe there are too many variables to prove that the cause of increased activism is a result of international exposure.
I don't believe anyone is "born" into a strong national identity. If Tibetan youth do in fact have a strong sense of nationalism, I feel like it must have been learned somewhere. If they're protesting, it's because they've learned that behavior at some point along the way.
ReplyDeleteI kind of wonder, though, how strongly nationalism and protest are connected. Does the fact that someone participates in a protest necessarily mean they have a strong national identity?