Today is the International Day of the Disappeared.

With so many Tibetans unjustly disappeared by the Chinese government, it’s an important day for the International Tibet Network. I wanted to share with you today the stories of just a few young Tibetans who are currently suffering detention and abuse from the Chinese government.

In 2019, seven young Tibetan monks took part in a simple, peaceful protest calling for independence in Tibet. They were all detained by the Chinese authorities, the youngest just 15 years old at the time. Six of them still remain in prison, likely subjected to regular violence at the hands of the guards, the seventh, Tenzin Nyima, was beaten so badly by his captors he died - he was 19 years old.

The use of torture against Tibetan detainees is frequent, extreme and can often result in death. This violence and the recent increase in reported arrests of Tibetans for simply taking part in everyday actions such as sharing information with friends paints a stark picture of the situation in Tibet.

We need to speak up louder for them. For Tenzin Nyima, Tsultrim, Nyimay, Choegyal, Woeser, Choephel and Yonten and the many others like them who are currently detained or who have lost their lives for their peaceful struggle for Tibetan rights. And together, we’ll continue to tell their stories until Tibetans are free to practice their culture, religion and language free from violence and oppression.

China and the Olympics

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are just months away and China intends to use the Games to draw attention away from the gross human rights abuses, and to enhance its reputation in the world. By allowing the Olympics to be held in China the Olympics Committee and all Olympic sponsors are supporting the Chinese government’s unjust violence and murder of Tibetans.

Which is why we’re calling for a boycott of the Beijing 2022 Olympic games.

Our campaign has already seen significant momentum, with both the Olympics Committee and key sponsors feeling the heat of sustained press coverage, protests and direct questioning by politicians.

But the campaign isn’t over yet, and we have big plans in the coming months to make a big push to achieve this boycott and to shift attention back where it belongs: to the innocent people being detained and killed by the Chinese government.

Our movement is truly people powered, so we need your help to make our next campaign push as big as possible. Can you make a donation today to support the campaign?