The influx of Chinese population into Tibet is now so great and the impact, worse. Chinese language has almost replaced our mother tongue in various places. In a place like Pae, about 300 km from Lhasa, one can not differentiate between a Chinese and a Tibetan. When I enter a restaurant there are people in Tibetan traditional costume but who speak only Chinese.
The Chinese have replaced the Tibetans to such an extent that in Tibet’s remote outskirts Chinese now come to trade for hides, an occupation traditionally carried out by Tibetans. Chinese have also started to pick herbal plants, also traditional Tibetan employment. Tibetans today even swear in the name of Mao.
Many Tibetan youngsters from schools and farms are recruited into the army where they are thoroughly indoctrinated. At a certain level of schooling there is a public exam. The only Tibetan children who pass are those who can afford to bribe the authorities. The children, deprived of sufficient education, have no positive future. They know nothing about farming and take to anti-social activities. It is heart breaking to see so many Tibetan youngsters become useless and a burden on their families.