The Avalanche and the Silence
By Khedroob Thondup
When a glacier avalanche struck Tibet recently, the devastation was immediate and profound. Entire communities were left in shock, families torn apart, and countless lives disrupted. Yet what stands out most is not the natural disaster itself, but the deafening silence from the Chinese authorities. No official tally of the missing, no acknowledgment of the dead — only a void filled with rumour, grief, and suspicion.
Why the Numbers Matter. Disasters demand transparency. In any society, the first responsibility of the state is to inform its citizens of the scale of tragedy. Numbers are not just statistics; they are the names, faces, and stories of human beings. By withholding this information, Beijing reduces Tibetan lives to abstractions, erasing their suffering from public record. This is not incompetence — it is deliberate policy.
The Pattern of Coverups. The refusal to announce casualties is not an isolated incident. It fits into a long-standing pattern of Chinese authorities in Tibet suppressing information whenever Tibetans suffer disproportionately. Whether it is uprisings, self-immolations, or environmental disasters, the state’s instinct is to conceal rather than confront. This strategy serves two purposes: Control of narrative: By silencing reports of Tibetan deaths, Beijing avoids international scrutiny and domestic sympathy. Denial of identity: To acknowledge Tibetan suffering would be to admit that Tibetans are distinct, resilient, and enduring — qualities the state seeks to erase.
The Human Cost. Behind the silence are families waiting for word that will never come. Mothers searching for children swept away by ice, elders mourning neighbors buried under snow. The absence of official acknowledgment compounds the trauma, leaving Tibetans not only bereaved but also invisible. This invisibility is itself a form of violence — a calculated erasure of Tibetan existence.
Why This Coverup Matters Globally. The glacier avalanche is not just a Tibetan tragedy; it is a warning to the world. Tibet’s fragile environment, already destabilized by climate change and reckless development, is a harbinger of crises to come. If the Chinese state refuses transparency here, what hope is there for honest reporting on future disasters that will affect millions across Asia? The coverup in Tibet is a rehearsal for broader denial.
Conclusion. The silence after the avalanche is not accidental. It is policy. It is the continuation of a decades-long strategy to suppress Tibetan suffering, erase Tibetan identity, and control the narrative of Tibet’s place in the world. The world must recognize this silence for what it is: a coverup, not of numbers, but of lives. And until those lives are named, counted, and honored, Tibet remains buried under more than snow — it remains buried under the weight of deliberate erasure.
Khedroob Thondup is a former Tibetan diplomat and parliamentarian, and nephew of the 14th Dalai Lama. He is also the editor of the book: Dalai Lama, My Son and Tibet in Turmoil.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and should not be attributed to Tibet Express.
