Home › content

A recent report from Bat Nha Monastery, Vietnam

Mon, 2009-11-09 15:21 — ABN

Embed link updated. ABN
______________

“…the violent expulsion of monks and nuns from the Bat Nha monastery in Lam Dong Province and the government’s failure to protect them from assault, contradict Vietnam’s own commitment to internationally accepted standards of human rights and the rule of law…”

The monks and nuns from Bat Nha are followers of one of the world’s most influential Buddhist monks, French-based Thich Nhat Hanh, a peace activist and confidant of slain US civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Late last month the followers said they had fled Bat Nha for another pagoda after threats from unidentified people armed with hammers and batons.

Bat Nha Report from Help Bat Nha on Vimeo.

This is a good video and maybe reasonable precautions have been taken about protecting people who appear in it from being identified, but I would rather see much higher standards. It is easy for Vietnamese cops to view this and probably figure out who is who. There have been some people in Tibet who were recently punished - jailed, killed, who knows? - due to statements made on videos. The same thing has happened many times in China. It is easy to neglect security or be carried away by the moment while clips like these are being made, but everyone should remember that people can really lose their lives for appearing in footage like this. ABN

Comments

Mon, 2009-11-09 21:01 — zencom

I'm in agreement regarding

I'm in agreement regarding identities possibly being compromised as there was constant surveillance. The intention of the video is honorable, if not overzealous, but clearly in response to the sangha's plea for outside support.

Tue, 2009-11-10 04:28 — ABN

Reporting from a police state

To add a bit to this subject. If you go to Tibet, Laos, Vietnam, China, Burma, or other places under strict police-state control, please be 100% mindful of the fact that you are probably being followed, that the names and identities of people you speak with probably are being recorded, that those people probably will be interrogated after you leave the region, and that anything you publish later or post as a video can and probably will be analyzed by police. And there will be serious consequences for anyone who is identified as having cooperated with you.

This holds for writing as well as film. It's no good saying stuff like "when I was a town I will not identify speaking with a person whose name I will not give, he said such-and such..." This is no good because the cops will very likely know exactly who you mean, even if the event you are describing happened some time ago.

I do not know how many people have been jailed, tortured, or killed due to things like this, but I would bet there have been very many.

A second, closely-related issue is how much encouragement we, as foreigners, give to to local people during times of crisis. In the heat of the moment, many will say things that are very dangerous. It is very often wiser and kinder to observe with great sadness and silence what you see rather than encourage people to speak out, especially if they are being filmed. Put your energy and emotion into actions that will bring long-term good instead.

Tue, 2009-11-10 06:24 — Robyn

Re: Reporting from a police state

From a recent New York Times article:

"CHONGQING, China — A self-taught filmmaker who spent five months interviewing Tibetans about their hopes and frustrations living under Chinese rule is facing charges of state subversion after the footage was smuggled abroad and distributed on the Internet and at film festivals around the world.

"...Out of 40 hours of footage and 108 interviews came “Leaving Fear Behind,” a 25-minute documentary that is an unadorned indictment of the Chinese government. Although given the choice to conceal their identities, most of his subjects spoke uncloaked and freely expressed their disdain for the Han Chinese migrants who are flooding the region and their love for the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile since 1959."

Dhondup Wangchen, the filmmaker, has been in detention since March of 2008. According to the article, Wangchen had made certain arrangements before filming commenced (such as relocating his family to a neutral area) which indicates that he understood the potentially grave consequences in store for him.

As for all the people he interviewed...we don't know what happened to them. Though they may have been informed of the risk they were taking, they may not have fully understood what they were getting themselves into when they agreed to express such dangerous sentiments on film with their faces fully visible. I might very well do the same thing, if I were really mad, as these people justifiably are, and someone with a video camera offered to help me communicate my thoughts to the world.

Fri, 2009-11-20 05:13 — plumfrance

Correct link to Bat Nha video

Please visit: http://www.vimeo.com/7664798

Fri, 2009-11-20 05:31 — ABN

We fixed the link. Thanks.

We fixed the link. Thanks.