Tashi Delek, Hello everyone,

You probably will be aware of the recent earthquake in Tibet.

On April 14th, a huge earthquake struck Yushu County. Yushu is a predominately Tibetan area on the border of Qinghai, Sichuan and the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Ninety percent of the buildings have collapsed and there are massive casualties and injuries. Many residents fled with just the clothes they were wearing and have lost everything. The weather in Yushu is cold and windy – overnight temperatures are around -5°C in April. The urgent humanitarian need is enormous.

Although the news here in New Zealand has been reporting this as the China earthquake, it was actually in a part of Tibet where most of the population is Tibetan. We thought you might like some links to international news stories and clips that explain what is going on there in a bit more detail:

The area is largely closed to foreigners as is a usual response by the Chinese Government regarding incidents in Tibet. Offers of assistance from Russia, Taiwan, the UN, the US, and India have all been turned down apparently by the Chinese government.

People have reported that the monks have been doing a lot of the rescue work. The death toll has apparently reached 2000 and could be as high as 10,000, although there is question about the accuracy of this because many bodies are being taken to monasteries apparently rather than hospitals and because of possible political reasons. More than 12000 are injured. The Dalai Lama has stated that he wants to be allowed to go to the area but no word from the Chinese Government has been made public that we are aware of.

You can help Tibetans in this difficult time. The easiest way at this time is to donate money. Even small amounts make a large difference in this part of the world where most people are very poor. You may like to think carefully about where you send your cash to ensure that the money gets to Tibetans who need it.

If you would like to donate within New Zealand, you can send funds to:

Friends of Tibet (NZ)
P.O. Box 66 002 Beach Haven
North Shore 0749.
(Please mark it as Earthquake Relief Fund)

They will pass on the funds to groups endorsed by the Office of Tibet. If you want to donate within Wellington or by cash please get in touch with us and we will arrange this and pass on all donations to Friends of Tibet (NZ) or to the Tibetan Village Project.

If you want to donate online directly, you may like to consider the Tibetan Village Project. Through our network of relationships we are aware that this group is physically in the area, is made up of at least some Tibetan people and works directly with Tibetans. We trust the people that personally know the group. You can donate securely by credit card or paypal through the Tibetan Village Project website

The other groups being endorsed by various parts of the larger Tibetan focused community are:

  • Yushu Earthquake Response a coalition of local grassroots NGOs from Qinghai - including Snowland Service Group, Tsongkha Charitable Association, Sanchuan Development Association, Friend of Rural Community Development, Shem Women's Group, and the Pentok Institute.
  • International Campaign for Tibet

If donating money is not your thing, but you feel moved to help, you may like to do as the Tibetans often do and offer up thoughts, wishes or prayers for those who have died and those who remain in whatever way you see fit. A common Tibetan prayer or mantra of compassion for all living beings is Om mani padme hum.

We can try to answer questions you may have also. Keep in touch with us by connecting with us on facebook, or following us on twitter.

Thanks again, and we will be in touch if we can organise a fundraising effort in the near future. Any help, ideas, time or resources are always most welcome.

Love from the Tibet Solidarity Network
20/Apr/2010