Smith College SFT

WHO ARE WE?

Students for a Free Tibet is an international organization which was founded in 1994 and currently has almost 400 chapters in high schools and colleges internationally. It is one of the only world wide non-profit organizations run entirely by students and is one of the largest grassroots student movements in the country right now. Smith SFT was founded in 1995.

WHY DO WE EXIST?

In the Himalayan mountains of central Asia, 6 million people are facing terrible human rights abuses and cultural genocide. Since the Chinese Communist invasion of Tibet in 1949, 1.2 million Tibetans have died and over 120,000 Tibetans have been forced to flee their native country.
The Chinese government continues to oppress the Tibetan people today.

Tibetans are often imprisoned without trial and are tortured.
Tibetan women are forced into sterilization, and newborn infants are routinely killed by Chinese authorities.
Buddhist monks and nuns are not free to practice their religionóeven to display a picture of the Dalai Lama.
The Tibetan culture is being systematically destroyed.
Children in Tibet are not allowed to learn the Tibetan language and must escape to India to receive an education in Tibetan.

Incredibly, the people of Tibet continue to protest this unlawful occupation, for the most part nonviolently, and struggle to maintain their cultural and religious identity. They have not lost all hope and neither have we. As students privileged enough to have freedoms of speech and action, we believe that we have a responsibility to work for those who do not have the same freedoms.

WHAT DO WE DO?

Awareness raising and education

Distribute literature to people to familiarize them with the Tibetan cause.
Sponsor lecturers and films, such as during Tibet Awareness Week, spring 1998.
Outreach to other student organizations and community groups about the situation in Tibet.

Direct Action

Letter writing campaigns: to various key officials at specific times, for example to President Clinton before he travels to China, to our congress people when a Tibet related bill is in the legislature, to Madeline Albright and to special Tibet coordinator.
Rallies: for example every year on March 10, anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising, we have a silent march and vigil in downtown Northampton. We also attend larger vigils and rallies such as the protest in Boston when Chinese president Jiang Zemin visited in 1997.
Fasts: to express our solidarity with the Tibetan struggle or particular causes, such as to commemorate the ninth birthday of the Panchen Lama, the world's youngest political prisoner, in April 1998.
Economic action: at different times we have supported different forms of boycotts and selective purchasing action. Currently we are working on passing a Tibet Resolution in the city of Northampton.

Leda and Amanda table in the post
office on Human Rights Day 1998.

Coalition work

Work with other Tibetan support groups such as the Tibetan Students Association of UMass, the Western Mass Tibetan Association, Amherst College SFT, Hampshire College SFT and UMass SFT.
Work with other human rights groups, such as Amnesty International.
Attend SFT conferences all over the country and participate in international campaign strategy.

Introduction Campaigns Past Events Upcoming Events Media Links