Lhasa reminds me of Arizona: dry, sunny, animal skulls as ornamentation, and armed police checking your papers if you happen to look different.
Speaking of police and hyperboles, it’s becoming something of a dilemma whether or not it’s appropriate to post photographs of the security forces in Lhasa online. These consist of paramilitaries [People's Armed Police], city police, and plainclothes PSB agents. One is not supposed to take pictures of these individuals (if you are seen doing so, they will seize your camera and not return it). Since sponsorship is required for foreign nationals to go to most places in Tibet, it’s not simply a personal decision; which comes up against a contrary feeling that an (in effect) occupation of a provincial capital as the status quo is somewhat odd and should be publicized. Given the biased rhetoric that comes from both Chinese and Western sources with regards to Tibet, more information seems useful.
It is difficult to take lots of pictures (especially in the Tibetan/Muslim areas of the city) without catching the security forces peripherally – the patrols are often that dense. I’m somewhat sympathetic to the restrictions on outright voyeurism. There are definite concerns about identifiably photographing these individuals, as they could potentially become targets (unlikely but one never knows.)
The paramilitaries were, for the most part, rather genial (especially when the officers aren’t around). They do interact with the community – it’s unfortunate, for example, that I couldn’t take a picture of a little girl wearing a butterfly costume drawing in a coloring book with two PAP guards. The juxtaposition was so very China, and priceless. (That or a really good PR setup.) The soldiers barter alongside tourists, which seems a much better state of affairs than the alternative – at least they are less likely to (in theory) shoot into a crowd. They are mostly young, and don’t really want to be there. They are extremely handy if you want directions, as they can be found at most major intersections in the city.
While I feel as though I’ve self censored plenty of things I might have written (though more for personal rather than political reasons); the (superficial) exposure to this type of Orwellian reality produced more anxiety than I thought it would. The notion that a photograph could endanger someone else’s livelihood (either the soldiers or local guides) is sickening but ultimately necessary, given the current situation.
Kitschy non-political pro-China-everyone-happy photos to be uploaded soon.
