Olympic History for Tibet!

The Beijing Olympics have come to a close, bringing with them an end to years of campaigning around the Olympics by Tibet Groups globally.

While tens of thousands of athletes, journalists, and spectators have been in Beijing for the Olympics, Tibetans have been in the midst of the most intense crackdown by Chinese authorities in decades. Tibet has been under military lockdown since March, when peaceful protests by Tibetan monks ignited an uprising throughout Tibet in opposition to China's occupation. Harsh new security measures are now in place, thousands of Tibetans are still missing or in detention, and a climate of fear prevails. While Tibet is in theory open to foreign visitors and journalists, in practice, only a government-approved few have been permitted.

The historic protests in Beijing, in Tibet, and around the world this Olympic year have shown that Tibet is one of the critical issues facing the Chinese leadership, both current and future.

The Olympic spotlight has dimmed, but the situation facing Tibetans is more urgent than ever. Please support Tibetans inside Tibet by participating in urgent actions online and joining or starting a local Tibet Group.

For background and further information about International Tibet Support Network's Olympics campaign, please visit the ITSN Olympics Campaign website.

Forbidden Team

'The Forbidden Team', a film about the Tibetan National Football Team, is a powerful outreach tool for the Olympics campaign because this moving story is symbolic of the Tibetans' struggle to keep their identity alive in the face of aggressive Chinese opposition and it's about one of the world's favourite athletic events - football (soccer)!

The film tells the story of the formation of the Tibetan national football team and the team's efforts to play its first 'international' game against Greenland. The team is not recognized by FIFA (the football world governing body), the Chinese government attempts to block the match taking place, and because of the refugee status of the Tibetan players many of them are unable to obtain visas to travel to Greenland to play. Despite the many obstacles, the match takes place and although the Tibet team loses 4 - 1 to Greenland, the Team rejoices in the victory of overcoming intense political opposition by China and being able to play its first match.

Further information on film is available from the The Forbidden Team website.

The film is available in DVD format for ITSN members for non-commercial screenings. Further information on conditions for screenings and other materials such as a how-to guide for holding a screening event, a fact sheet including discussion points on the film and the Olympics campaign, and more is available in the Forbidden Team Screening Kit available for download from the ITSN members worksite.