Eye Witness Account: A report from Tibet


IN an exclusive interview on 8th April 1997 Mr. Jayang Thargay aged 20, who escaped into India in 1996 tells the true story of the World Food Programme Project# 3357 (Agricultural Development Lhasa River Valley Project) in central Tibet. This project covers towns of Taktse, Toelung, Meldrogonkar counties, Chushul district of Lhasa River (Kyichu) valley. Jayang was employed as an accountant of Taktse Work Group of the project. Taktse is located, about 26 km to the south west of Lhasa.

When asked he says that he has not seen any training being given to the Tibetans who participated in the project including himself as opposed to 36,000 people being claimed to be trained by Chinese officials during the project. Most of the Tibetans were farmers and are recruited in the project as unskilled laborers. Tibetans usually perform the most difficult task such as hauling huge boulders. They are entitled to be paid a minimum wage of 6-8 yuan as per the project review submitted by Mr. Zylstra an international irrigation expert at WFP, but Jayang says Tibetans get less than 5 yuan per day.

Jayang further corroborates that Tibetans who participated in the project didn't receive the ration of 1.925 kg wheat flour nor the 45 grams of butter oil as sanctioned by WFP. Chinese officials are reported to be selling these items openly in the markets such as in Lhasa for hard cash.

Jayang says that his Taktse Work Group has about forty persons, which consist about thirty Chinese and only ten Tibetans. The leader of his group was a Chinese. He has seen many Chinese muslim who bribe Chinese project officials to get good jobs in the project. The amount of the bribe one need to pay depends on the job post being sought. Therefore, Tibetans who are supposed to be the 'project beneficiaries' land up doing the worst jobs with minimum pay and benefit.

According to Jayang in April-May of 1993 he saw a team of WFP inspectors consisting of about eight or nine persons with two ladies in the group, who have come to Taktse for project inspection. Before the inspection team finally arrived in Taktse he witnessed a group of Chinese muslim workers of the project packing their tents, removing their white caps and running for cover from the inspection team. To Jayang's surprise the Chinese project officials recruited local Tibetans on that day for double wage to misinform the WFP inspection team. This is to show that Tibetans are happy with the project and are actively participating!

He has seen with his own eyes that the wire square mesh measuring two meters by two meter (2X2) with height one meter constructed in Taktse for use as erosion control embankments on Kyichu River are required to be filled with pebbles and other stones only. However, Chinese officials fill these with half mud and the top half with stones to mislead the WFP inspection team. He says such wire square mesh inappropriately built, if used as embankment would cause the collapse of Kyichu River banks in few years.

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Last updated: 15-Sept-1997