alternative network letter vol 3 no.3-sep 1987-equations

8/7/2019 Alternative Network Letter Vol 3 No.3-Sep 1987-EQUATIONS

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ALTERNATIVE NETWORK LETTERA Third World Tourism Communication

And Information Alternative

For Private Ci rculation Only Vol. 3 NO.3 September 198

Two lessons in Public Protest Lifting Lhasa's veil

WHEN the Goa government announced its Master Plan for Tourism at hundred years ago, a visit to Lhasa took stamina, nerve, and a gooda Panjim seminar on June 9, it hardly expected the kind of public deal of luck. Geographic barriers and governmental xenophobia hadreaction it evoked. Demonstrators protesting against the plan being A isolated the Tibetan capital to such an extent that Europeans called

'rammed down their throats' took over the stage, bringing the seminar to a it "The Forbidden City': The Chinese occupation in 1951 sealed Tibet's borderstandstill for over an hour. 13 persons were arrested for - among other things even more firmly, and for t h ~ nextthree decades the Himalayan region remained

'prevention of damage to public propertY: a tantalising mystery.Condemning the demonstration as iundemocratic' - thus newly defining

Today, however, all it takes to reach Lhasa is aChinese visa and a plane ticketpublic protest in an open society - the protagonists of the Plan probably

The lure of foreign currency has persuaded China to open one of the fewexpected the police action to calm things down. Which it did not. Instead

remaining bastions of the mysterious to tourists, and the outside influencethe protest spread to the streets. Activists of various hues, women's and youthexcluded for so long are spurring a rapid metamorphosis of the city.

leading citizens and opposition political par.ties were one in decryingLhasa is already far different from seven years ago when it was without asingle

the Master Plan, demanding that the Plan be discussed in detail at tne localhotel, restaurant or transport facility, making tourism impossible. Now at leas

level by Goan people most likely to be affected by it. A member of thea half-dozen inexpensive hotels cater to travellers flocking overland from

Ecological Council urged a moratorium on the clearance of any new hotelsKathmandu and in restaurants like "The Merry-Making Dining Room", high

unti I the Plan was itself cleared.altitude renditions of Western fare including "Yak" burgers, top the menu.

Caught in the crossfire, the Government and especially theOn the opposite side of town is the other end of the spectrum, the 1,00unflappable Tourism Minister, Dr Proto Barbosa - did a quick about turn.

bed, $lOO·a-night Lhasa Hotel, a joint venture undertaken by China and HolidaNo, it was not the Master Plan, only a draft plan. No, we don't know howInn International. The hotel's opening in September 1985 signalled a new ermany 5-star hotels will come up, we haven't received even 17 applicationsin Tibet's infant tourist industry that began in 1979 with a few carefully selectetill today (so the number must be 16). We don't do thegroups paying up to $300 a day per person. By 1984, restrictions had easeThey are cleared by an all-lndiC! inter-ministerial committee.to allow a trickle of independent travellers and last year, after several preliminarad infinitum. ad nauseum.border openings, the overland trip from Nepal to Lhasa became possibleThe embers had, however, been set alight. An united citizens' front theand the trickle turned into a flood.Jagrut Goenkaranchr Fauz (Vigilant Goans Army) emerged from among those

In 1986 nearly 30,000 tourists visited Tibet and Chinese officials predid thaby 1990 the figure will rise to 100,000 a year. They will be a welcome source

of income butTibetans themselves view the influx with mixed emotions. ManyIII EDITORIALfeel China's tourism campaign is simply another attempt at exploitation. ''Thecut our trees, mined our gold, and took our grain. Now that there is nothingwho had been arrested. The Fauz aims to mobilise the Goan people toleft, they are selling our country to the foreigners;' is how one Tibetan bitterlyfor a total ban on new 5-star hotels, calling for the withdrawal of industrysummed up his feelings.status to tourism and the maintenance of astrict code of condud in advertising

Goa, especially its 'wine and women' culture. On the other hand, some view the presence of tourists as insurance agains

As a result, the Government which had hoped to push through the Master a recurrence of the violence and destruction which marked the first decades

Plan in 30 days time, now finds itself sitting pretty. Nearly 3 months later, of Chinese rule. And many Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, the country's

in late August, copies of the Plan were finally released to the public. And exiled spiritual and political leader, have expressed the hope that the tourists

it will take yet longer to get it legitimised. So much the better. will leave with an increased awareness of the suffering Tibet has experienced

One lesson that governments - whether Goan or otherwise - seem slow under Chinese occupation.

to understand, is that the foundations of tourism are shaky. Should there be The extent to which casual visitors follow the political intricacies of the

widespread public protest, travel agents and individual tourists alike wil l give situation remains questionable, but by their very presence tourists are having

Goa a hasty by-your-Ieave. As happened during the Konkani agitation lastan impact on Lhasa. In some ways the changes are beneficial. Tourism is the

contd O'>.'erleaChristmas. This factor alone should be reason enough to take the peoples'of view rather more seriously.

And the second lesson a more severe one is that the people will soonerINSIDE

or later put their point anoss, in every which way, if it was not sought originally.

It has happened before in Tahiti, in Hawaii, in Manila, in Seoul, in Bangkok,Cattle cars fo r the Jumpen ............ , .......... ,....... , . ~ , .... 2

in Penang, in Mombasa, in Jamaica and in Mexico. It is happening today

in Goa. It might happen tomorrow anywhere. The voice of the people is Indian Theologians Meet ................................ ;., ..• ,.3paramount. In tourism, as in all things. The India Connection ............................................. 3

As Remo, popular Goan singer puts it, 'watch it now:Network News Roundup ...................... ; .......... ....... 4

Paul Gonsalves



2

("oold. from page r

major motivating fador of government efforts to restore some of the thousandsof temples and monasteries destroyed during the occupation. As one Tibetanremarked: "The Chinese can't bring tourists here unless there is something toshow them:' Of Tibet's estimated 6,254 religious buildings, 160 have beenrestored so far. Frequently, the only modern touch to their traditional splendouris a prominent sign stating "Photos 30 Yuan Each" (about $8).

The golden-roofed jokhang Temple in the heart of Lhasa was one of the fewsites not requiring complete restoration, but even it did not escape the CulturalRevolution: at one point, it housed Red Guard factions and a pigpen in the

front courtyard. Today, dozens of worshippers prostrate themselves day andnight in front of the temple's closed doors, and on the few mornings in aweekthat Jokhang is open, devotees wait in long lines to bow before 7th centurystatues, the holiest in the land.

The worshippers crowding the Jokhang are only one example of the apparentreligious freedom visible everywhere In Lhasa. Until recently Tibetans went

to prison for the crime of reading Buddhist scriptures.

But some feel the current display of religious freedom is superficial. The

Chinese may be encouraging the Tibetans to preserve their lifestyle as a tourist

attraction. This view echoes the fears expressed by the Dalai Lama in aMarchspeech regarding restridions on the study and teaching of Buddhist philosophyin Tibet. Historically, Tibetan Buddhism has been an intellectual pursuit, at

least in the monasteries. By allowing only the external manifestations of religion,it has been reduced to little more than a form of blind faith which is what

the tourists see.

Another concern is how the vitality and integrity of religious rituals can bepreserved in front of crowds of curious onlookers. A recent example is the "skyburial" site near Lhasa, where Tibetans condud traditional funeral rites in which

The current display of religious freedom is superficial.

The Chinese may be encouraging the Tibetans to preserve

their lifestyle as a tourist attraction.

corpses are dismembered and fed to vultures. Sensation seeki ng tourists becameso intrusive that by 1985 the government was forced to ban onlookers.

The most significant threat to Lhasa's Tibetan identity comes from recentgovernment efforts to increase the number of Chinese settlers in Tibet - an

expansion made possible by the new tourism revenues.

Tourism threatens Lhasa's culture in yet another way: the city's remainingwealth of old religious and art objeds, already decimated by the CulturalRevolution, is vanishing as the demand for souvenirs increases. Meanwhile,both Tibetans and professional art dealers are smuggling out artifacts that bring

high profits in the West. "In three years there's not going to be asingle old thingleft in Lhasa;' predicts aTibetan art dealer in Idthmandu, who has seen prices

double in the past year.

Chinese customs restrictions prohibited the export of uncertified antiques,but some professional exporters avoid"customs inspections by having their

purchases carried by porters or yaks over unguarded Himalayan passes intoNepal. Although commercial dealing in religious images is traditionallyconsidered a sin - "How can you pray to a god one day and then sell him

the next?" asked one indignant Tibetan the lure of cash sometimes overcomesreligious scruples.

In this respect, Tibet may be no different from many othertraditional cultures,

which under the pressures of modernisation, have replaced their old values

with economic ones. The Chinese understand this point well: it is the basis

of their new liberal policy in Tibet. Chinese officials believe that the "problem"of religion cannot" be solved by administrative measures but rather by

development and improving people's living standards. The final irony will be

if economic improvements do more to undermine Tibetan culture than all theviolence of China's earlier attempts to destroy it.

From an article by kERRY MORAN in the INDIAN EXPRESS 26 July 1981.

Tourism: cattle cars for the lumpen by Hugh & Colleen Ganlzer

Tourism in India is rapidly becoming an activity which is speeding far out of

the reach of the common Indian and the greater mass of international travellers.

Nowhere is this obsession with catering to the rich more apparent than in

the Indian Railways.

On March 4 we travelled AC First Class on the Taj Express from Agra to Delhi.The standard of service and level of comfort on that trip were impeccable. Theymatched anything that we have experienced in Europe's famed TEE and

Britrail's excellent First Class.

Then, from Cochin to Delhi we travelled in AC sleeper mach No. 7072 on

the Kerala Express leaving Ernakulam on March 27. The train ran over an hourlate. Fellow passengers V PJoseph and Chandrasekhar held first class ticketsfrom Ernakulam, boardetl the train at that station, but were compelled by the

railway authorities to travel in an ordinary Second Class coach from Ernakulam

to Renigunta. They were told that no AC second class sleeper berths wereavailable. In fact, in our bay, berths No.9, 11 and 12 remained unoccupiedfrom Ernakulam to Renigunta. We will not blame anyone for believing that some

railway employees somewhere down the line hoped to peddle these berths

to affluent travellers prepared to pay for the privi lege of getti ng out-of-turnaccommodation.

As for the trip from Delhi to Ernakulam on the Kerala Express leaving Delhion March 6: It was a nightmare.

Our train left Delhi over 1Yz hours after the scheduled time of departure andwas late all down the line. On that journey, we were doing our yearly longtrip by second class which we do as amatter of experience: a practice which

we strongly recommend to Madhavrao Scindia. *We were travelling in a reserved second class sleeper, coach No. 5877. The

compartment was built to seat 72 and sleep 72. At 10-55 on March 7, whenwe were able to walk, with difficulty, down the length of the compartment,we counted the number of passengers that had been crowded into it. There

were 126 of us. People and their belongings were packed like animals in theupper berths, the lower berths, the floors, the corridors, and jammed into thespaces in front of the toilets. No cleaners visited our coach at any time. It is

difficult to imagine the state of the train, its compartments, and its passengers

after such a harrowing two-day-two-night journey.

The railways carryover 90 percent of the domestic tourist traffic. If theGovernment has decided that only affluent, foreign-exchange-spendi ng touristsneed to be looked after, it should spell out its policy frankly and e x p l i ~ i t l y .

But then it should also admit that it has, quite frankly, opted for cattle 'tarsfor the lumpen.

INDIAN EXPRESS 14 April 198• Indian Railways Minister



A New InternationalistTraveller's Code

otltJey .peqle ~ L . ( l\3ue d1ffereJ ~ e . u rof ~ l 1 c f l f a ~ r ' 1 (.ti1.dw a ~ 5 o f T k i f \ b ~ . does hot wtak:e yfM ri3"t

- Oh d4{feYM:

Workshop for Indian TheologiansA workshop on 'Theology and Tourism in India' was organised at Baga, Goa,

between August 24-27, 1987. Jointly sponsored by Equitable Tourism Options

(EQUATIONS), Bangalore, and the Board ofTheological Education ofthe Senateof Serampore College (BTESSC), in collaboration with the Ecumenical Coalitionon Third World Tourism, Bangkok, the participants ir.lcluded church leaders,theologians and others from India and abroad.

Expressing their concern over the negative effects of international tourism in1hird World destinations such as Goa, t ~ e participants unanimously agreed

that such tourism is a distortion of the theological vision of an integratedhumankind, violating principles of social and economic justice, freerlom andhuman rights.

They called upon churches and others to testify to a new form of tourism, onewhich respects and strengthens existing sodal and cultural practices andinstitutions.

The participants listened to the experiences of people affected by tourism, in

Goa, Orissa and in other parts of the Third World. They also learnt of theresponses by ecumenical European partners to the issues and concerns thus

raised. During an exposure visit to Sinquerim (near Candoliml, local residents

narrated their experiences of tourism's effects, and their fears that the industrywould completely destroy their traditions and livelihood.

Affirming their faith in principles of justice and human dignity, the participantsexpressed their solidarity with the struggles of local communities against theonslaught of tourism.

Resource people at the workshop inc! uded members of the Jagrut Goenkaranch

Fauz (Prof Sergio Carvalho, Albertina Almeida, Roland Martins, Mario Almeida),

Dr Thomas Thangaraj (Professor of Systematic Theology, Tami Inadu Theological

College, Madurail, Dr Koson Sri sang (Executive Secretary, EQWT, Bangkok)

and Rev Georg Pfafflin (Coordinator, TEN, and Director, Centre forDevelopment Education, Stuttgart, W Germany).

A full report of the workshop will soon be available from EQUATIONS and

BTESSC

Learning from Bhopal"Tell me;' says an official in the tourism department, lido we give upheavy industry because of one Bhopal?"

But what do we learn from aBhopal? Merely saying that every industryhas its disadvantages is not good enough. And it has to be followed upwith active steps to both mitigate the disadvantages of aggressive tourismand ensure that the locals do really benefit.

Ayesha Kagal in THE TIMES OF INDIA, 26 luly 1987

3

The India Connection

On February 12th this year, 14 of us left Vancouver bound for Hong Kong and

India for the Naramata Centre sponsored Study Tour. The Tour was thefulfillment of two years of dreaming and planning and included four days in

Hong Kong, three days in Bombay and twelve days at the Ecumenical Christia.n

Centre near Bangalore, South India. We heard about and experienced acomplex nation of paradox and struggle. India is acollage of beauty, generosity,warmth, high intellect, religious tolerance, faith, music, dance, literature, hightechnology, history, grandeur, political awareness and plenty alongside poverty,

malnutrition, disease, negled, illiteracy, political apathy, religious extremism,superstition and primitive work methods.

Bombay, a city of 9 million people, is trying to assimilate 1,500 newcomersevery day. Thousands are living in the streets because housi ng is too expensiveor not even available at any price. At the same time, people share what theyhave, look for ways to earn a living, use precious water very carefully, maintainfami lies and carry on religious practices and festivals in the midst of their lack

of material goods. We experienced friendly, beautiful people who respondedto us graciously and warmly.

During the 12 days at the Ecumenical Christian Centre near Bangalore, we

had excellent resource people on subjects that included: Understanding theJoint Family, the Caste System, Hinduism, the Dalit Movement (UntouchableMovement), India's relationship with the super powers, India as a Political

Democracy, Development Education Work in the Villages, the Peace

Movement, Nuclear Issues, Women's Issues. We also learned something of theIndian Women's Movement.

On route home, we stopped for aday in Bombay where vve took time to reflecton what we'd seen and heard and tried to analyze w hat it meant for us wherewe live.

We were encouraged to seek information and do information sharing and

to write letters of protest about economic and political injustice. We wereencouraged to be part of aTwo-thirds world network and to hold study groupson multi-national business practices, ecological imbalance, nuclear issues and

to practice alternate life styles. We were reminded that our part of the worldpresently consumes 83 % of the world's resources with only 17% used by theTwo-thirds world,

Marion Best in THE GOOD NEWS, Vol IS No 2

'DrLut. Proto Barbosa. Goa T ( ) u n s r r t ~ i i r i i s t e r , while announdngthe

T o u f i s l n M a s t ~ t PlanOw6overnmentwantsa/}(3pa11s (0 fill theirbellies,.. it isnola ;shame

fot Goons to Qecooks; butJers,wailers,elc. What were ourGoansdoingin 'the Oulf anyway'?' "



it

VI1=> trw/It' our r e a d e r . ~ to conlrtbute to the Network Letter byNETWORKshating their work Ideas andplans through these pages.

NEWS C'ommlll7icatiol7 /.'i vital to the Illp 0//1 Network e s p c c i a / ~ v when

ROUNDUP phY'iical distances cannot easily be bridgedby closer contacts.

Inter-Cultural Travel Services. Sri Lanl<a

las is soon publishing a Tourist guide book: 'Meeting Sri Lanka and Yourself;

to be circulated among Alternates in Tourism (AIT) networks internationally.

They offer assistance to travellers in 5 categories: individualsrgeneral groups,

special groups, locallregional programmes and senior citizens. For details,

contact the 105, National Secretariat, 43 De Waas Lane, Colombo 14.

TW-MAE-W, Philippines

Third World Movement Against the ExplOitation of Women is

conducting a Campaign Against Military Prostitution (CAMP International)

especially in the 'rest and recreation' areas near US military bases in thePhilippines. To express your solidarity, write to Sr Mary Sol Perpinan,

TWMAE-W, PO Box 5M-366, Manila, Philippines.

TEN, West Germany

Tourism Ecumenical European Network, coordinated by Georg Pfafflin, has

evolved a criteria for tourism projects received by donor agencies. This will

be finalised in late 1987. They also plan to offer alternative consultancy studies.

NANET, United States of America

The North American Coordinating Center for Responsible Tourism is planning

a Consultation between I':ovember 13-19, 1987, primarily focusing on issues

related to Middle East, especially Holyland, tourism. For detail!>, contaci VirginiaHadsell, CRT, 2 Kensington Road, San A n ~ e l m o , CA 94960, USA.

EQUATIONS and GRID. Goa

EQUATIONS and GRID (Goa Research Institute for Development) are planning

to publish a joint index of resources on tourism critiqUe/alternative tourism

available in India and elsewhere .. especially relating to Third World tourism.If you have materials that could be included in the Index, such as reports,articles, documents, research papers, graphics and so on, please write toEQUATIONS early.

RESOURCESThe Five Star Master Plan: An Assault on Goa's Culture/A Case for Concern,

(parts I & Ill, media backgrounders from lagrut Goenkaranchi Fauz (VigiliantGoans Army), Go Prof Sergio Carvalho, Opp. Revenue Office, Altinho, Mapusa

403507, Goa.

These media backgrounders consist of news clippings, critical articles, graphics,

photographs and other items detailing the basis of the JGF's formation andongoing activities. The JGF, formed as a response to the Goa Government'sannouncement of aMaster Plan for Tourism Development (see Editorial in this

issue), seeks solidarity and support from people concerned about the future

of India's most recent State, Goa, a former Portuguese

Towards Peoples' Tourism: A Workshop Report, EQUATIONS, Bangaloreand the Orissa !Jrban Rural Service (OURS), Faith Centre, Peyton Sahi,

Cuttack 753 001, Orissa.

This workshop, held on 20 &21 June, 1987, at Cuttack, raised for the fi rst l

in Orissa, questions regarding the orientation of tourism in the state, the firSt

to declare tourism as an industry. The report gives a summary of the

proceedings, including presentations on Orissa tourism, as well as theconclusions and recommendations which emerged. For acopy, contacteither

EQUATIO\JS or OURS.

Alternative Tourism: An Operations Manual for Third World Groups,

EQUATIONS, Bangalore.

Based on a participatory study by Paul Gonsalves of Life Travel Service, Bangkok,

and a visit to Village Stay Programme, Malaysia. this manual aims to provide

third world people with detailed guidelines.on operating and managingalternative forms of tourism. Life Travel was the first alternative agency in Asia,

and is amodel which can be readily adapted to third world situations elsewhere.

Write to EQUATIONS for a copy. Contributions of Rs. 15.00 in India, and

US $2.50 elsewhere, to cover costs and

Published by: Equitable Tourism Options (EQUATIONS), 10, Heerachand Layout. Jeevanahalli, Cox Town, Bangalore 560005, INDIA.

Design and Phototypesetting: Revisuality Digitised Typesetting and Graphic Uesign, 4211 Lavelle Road, Bangalore, India.

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