North Face

by Matt Dickinson

  Tashi bit her lip. The thought of leaving Tibet was almost unbearable. Just when things had started working out so well at Base Camp.

  ‘We’ll have to sell the yaks and whatever else we can. Bribe our way across the border. Make our way to India.’

  Tashi swallowed hard. A sharp stone seemed to have lodged itself in her throat.

  ‘I can’t think about this now,’ Karma said quietly.

  Karma packed a sleeping bag and some survival rations into a small rucksack and went to hide out in one of the hermitage caves high on the valley wall.

  Tashi left the tent and watched her brother go. Then she turned towards Everest, the mountain that had brought the family so much prosperity and peace. The holy mountain had saved them once. Could it save them again?

  Or was exile the only answer?

  A rumour started going around. Word amongst the yak herders had it that Chen was at Base Camp because he was being punished by Beijing for a serious misdemeanour; that it was a way of teaching him a lesson.

  The incident on the Nangpa La began to be linked with his name. The one that Tashi had heard about, where the Tibetan nun had been killed by Chinese troops as she went on pilgrimage.

  Was it Chen that ordered his soldiers to open fire on those pilgrims? Was that why he was now wearing the uniform of a lowly recruit? Why his three shiny stars had vanished?

  The incident had been reported all round the world, a blatant example of brutality on the part of the Chinese towards the local Tibetan population.

  Certainly Chen looked to be in a poisonous mood as he stomped around his new domain, poking his nose into everything in an intrusive fashion. The previous Base Camp commander had been a kindly type who just got on with his job and went no further.

  Chen, on the other hand, looked like a man who was spoiling for a fight. He seemed to particularly despise the yak herders, announcing that he would start a programme of random searches for contraband or banned religious items. He was drinking heavily too. A crate of cheap Indian liquor was delivered to his tent every few days.

  Tashi was working with a Swiss team at that time. The leader, Christophe, told her that, back home in Geneva, he worked for a charity that campaigned for religious freedom in Tibet.

  Tashi told him about the Tiananmen Square incident and it piqued Christophe’s interest in the new Base Camp commander.

  ‘I’ve got a satellite internet feed into my tent,’ Christophe told her quietly. ‘There’s some sites I can check out for you. Try and find out more about this guy.’

  Tashi was treading on eggshells, hiding herself away, terrified that Chen would recognise her. Her father was secretly trying to sell the yaks, but things were going slower than he had hoped and he had had no offers. If he couldn’t sell them there would be no journey into exile. Neither of the parents was well enough to survive a trek across the Himalaya on the rugged smugglers’ trails.

  They would need to cross one of the border points which were known to be manned by corrupt officials, something which was only possible with hefty bribes.

  Tashi took to wearing her ski goggles and face scarf around Base Camp, particularly when she knew Chen was around.

  A couple of days after their conversation, Christophe pulled Tashi aside.

  ‘I’ve got more background on our “friend”,’ he said. ‘There are websites that chart the dark deeds of Chinese officials and his Tiananmen stuff is on there.’

  ‘Yes? What did you learn?’

  ‘Chen was a star recruit,’ Christophe told her. ‘He graduated top from Beijing’s most prestigious officers academy. It seemed he was headed right for the highest echelons of the army, perhaps even destined to become a general.’

  Tashi frowned, thinking about the empty bottles stacked outside his tent.

  ‘So how come he ended up like he is?’

  ‘That protestor he shot,’ Christophe said. ‘He was the son of a high-ranking politician, a member of the politburo. It was a terrible irony; the politician was one of the people who sat in an office and ordered the army to slaughter their own people. Inadvertently he caused the murder of his own son.’

  ‘But Chen couldn’t have known that, could he?’ Tashi said in a shocked whisper. ‘He was just following orders, yes?’

  ‘Yes,’ Christophe agreed. ‘But it cast a shadow over his entire career. He was sidelined to Tibet where he’s been getting more and more bitter and twisted ever since.’

  Five more days passed. Tashi continued to hide herself, skulking round Base Camp without being noticed by Chen. Then there was a meeting of the yak herders to discuss the compensation rates for animals that were lost on the glacier. Tashi was there, not expecting that the Base Camp commander would attend.

  When Chen swept into the tent the meeting became stilted; the Tibetans were reluctant to speak out in front of the boss. Tashi hid her face as best she could.

  Chen suddenly pointed at Tashi.

  ‘Take off that stupid mask,’ he ordered. ‘You look like a bandit.’

  Her hands trembling, Tashi did as she was asked.

  Chen went rigid.

  ‘I know you,’ he barked. ‘Come outside.’

  Tashi’s guts turned to ice. She followed the Base Camp commander out on to the moraine.

  ‘I haven’t forgotten you and your family … ’ he said with a thin smile. ‘How is your brother, the criminal?’

  Tashi held her head high and looked him right in the eye.

  ‘He’s not a criminal,’ she said.

  Chen’s attention was drawn to the camera hanging from Tashi’s neck.

  ‘Let me see that,’ he said.

  Tashi passed it to him. Chen turned it in his hands.

  ‘This is worth thousands of dollars,’ he said. ‘How did you get it?’

  ‘It was a gift from a climber,’ Tashi replied, well aware how unlikely it sounded.

  ‘A gift?’ Chen exclaimed. ‘My goodness you must have done something quite extraordinary to earn it.’

  ‘It was a lady from Poland,’ Tashi said. ‘We were friends. She wanted to encourage me … with my hobby.’

  Chen stared hard at her, his dark eyes not flinching. Then he stepped closer, his voice lowering to a whisper.

  ‘I’m going to go back through the records,’ he said. ‘Look in the books and see if any climbers have reported a camera lost or stolen in the last few years. Then we’ll see about your “gift”.’

  He handed the camera back to Tashi.

  ‘Now. Are your parents here?’

  Tashi nodded.

  ‘Come on then.’

  Tashi led the commander to the tent. Her parents went pale as they saw the imposing figure enter.

  ‘Greetings!’ Chen said. ‘A pleasure to meet old friends.’

  And so the interrogation began.

  How long had the family been at Base Camp? Had they heard from Karma recently? Had they seen him? Did he still engage in criminal activities? Was he still a devotee of that counter-revolutionary the Dalai Lama? Was he plotting against the government of Beijing? Was he planning to incite further riots?

  ‘We have nothing to tell you,’ Tashi’s father replied to each and every question.

  Chen steadily became enraged.

  ‘You play an innocent game,’ he said. ‘But let’s see if there is evidence to the contrary shall we?’

  Chen began to rummage through the family’s meagre possessions.

  Tashi felt her throat clamp up as she saw his fat fingers running over her personal things.

  Then he found Tashi’s special magazine. The one featuring her photographs.

  ‘What is this?’ Chen asked.

  He thumbed through the pages, then stopped, scowling, as he found her article.

  ‘It’s you!’ he exclaimed.

  ‘Yes! Th
e editor came here and saw my photographs.’ Tashi whispered. ‘He wanted to use them.’

  ‘A foreigner asked you to take these?’

  ‘No. The photos were my idea, sir,’ Tashi felt her heart spinning. She clenched her fists together behind her back. She wanted to leap at Chen, snatch the precious magazine from his hands.

  Chen looked at the inside page, tutting when he saw the details of the publisher.

  ‘An American magazine,’ Chen said suspiciously. ‘You are working for the Americans, taking photographs in a sensitive border zone.’

  Chen ripped the magazine in two and tossed the halves to one of his guards.

  He continued his search and, underneath Tashi’s sleeping mat, he found a book. He took a look at the title then held it between two fingers, at arm’s length, like it was a piece of stinking dirt. It was Tashi’s copy of the Dalai Lama’s autobiography, My Land and My People.

  ‘This book is forbidden,’ Chen said. ‘It is illegal.’

  ‘It shouldn’t be,’ Tashi replied. ‘It should be read by everyone who wants to know the truth.’

  ‘Oh yes? And what does your wise guru say on that subject?’

  ‘Our freedom has gone,’ Tashi said. ‘Our land has been stolen from us.’

  ‘He doesn’t mention that this was a lawless wilderness of savages until we came?’ Chen said quietly. ‘A place of bandits and murderers, devil worshippers and warlords? Without schools and roads and industry apart from stealing each other’s animals! Did he say that? Did he?’

  ‘No,’ Tashi replied. ‘Why would he say that when it’s not true?’

  ‘You’ve left me no choice,’ the commander said gravely. ‘I will have to report your counter-revolutionary activities to the authorities, see what action they want me to take.’

  He handed the Dalai Lama’s book to one of his men.

  ‘This is evidence,’ he said. ‘Guard it well.’

  The man nodded, holding the book like it was a hand grenade or some other lethal weapon.

  ‘Don’t even think about trying to abscond,’ Chen said. ‘I will have my guards watching this family day and night.’

  ‘We’ll look forward to that,’ Tashi’s mother said bitterly.

  ‘Meanwhile I will make more enquiries about your son,’ Chen said. ‘See if anyone has seen him here at Base Camp.’

  Chen and his men left the tent.

  Chapter 7

  Tashi ate with her parents that night but no one had much appetite. Even her favourite barley soup tasted sour on her tongue.

  ‘Why do we put up with this?’ her mother spat. ‘It’s not his business to interfere. He’s here to see the expeditions run smoothly, not persecute us. We should tell the others and get a demonstration going to get him removed from the post.’

  ‘He’s been appointed by Beijing,’ Tashi’s father said. ‘If we protest they’ll send the army in like before.’

  The family went quiet as footsteps marched past. Chen had been good to his word about keeping them under watch. Soldiers were passing close by the tent every half an hour.

  ‘Do you think someone will tell him Karma has been working here?’ Tashi asked.

  The family went quiet. Tashi saw her mother and father exchange a quick glance with each other.

  ‘None of the yak herders will say a thing to Chen,’ her father said. ‘But there are others who might not be so loyal.’

  Tashi got no sleep that night. She couldn’t stop thinking about her brother, alone and freezing up there in a desolate cave.

  Later, other moments from Chen’s visit played in her mind: confiscating her copy of the Dalai Lama’s book. Ripping up her magazine.

  Tashi knew she could soon get another copy of the book, but the article might not be so easy. The magazine had been a talisman. Something to be proud of. Something that was hers, born from her passion for photography. It was a symbol of her independence, her potential to become something more.

  In the darkest hours of the night Tashi swore something to herself: Chen wouldn’t get his hands on her camera.

  First thing in the morning Tashi took the camera to the man that ran the Base Camp store. He placed it in his strongbox for the time being, away from Chen’s prying eyes.

  Several days went past. Tashi felt continuously nauseous and jumpy. Her father had still had no offers for their animals.

  Chen took to walking past their tent several times a day. Was he getting a kick out of provoking them? To Tashi that seemed the most likely thing. The man was a sadist, dangling them on a string.

  Tashi made clandestine journeys up to the caves every evening, taking Karma food and tea. Her brother was out of sorts with the world, bored and restless.

  ‘Chen’s been asking around for information about you,’ Tashi told him. ‘But there’s a pact amongst the herders. No one’s telling him anything.’

  Karma began to make occasional trips down to the camp, making sure to keep away from Chen. He was taking crazy risks but none of the family could tell him to stop.

  At night he retreated back to the caves, curling up tight through the long, freezing nights.

  Another day went by. Then came a breakthrough: an offer was made for the yaks. The deal would be concluded in five days when the purchaser had the cash.

  ‘We’ll leave for the border as soon as we have the money in our hands,’ Tashi’s father told her.

  Tashi waited for nightfall and went to relay the news to Karma.

  ‘You’ve only got four more nights in hiding,’ she told her brother. ‘I’ll do one more journey to Advance Base Camp and that will be it.’

  Karma nodded. He understood the reasons for Tashi to keep working. If the family suddenly stopped taking the expedition loads, questions would be asked by Chen.

  ‘Hey, I’ve got a great idea!’ Karma exclaimed. ‘Why don’t I come with you? There’s no guards up there and Chen would never think we’d have the nerve. It will give us one last trip together on Everest before we go.’

  Tashi thought about it. Karma’s proposal was outrageous but she loved the idea of being up there with her brother a final time before their journey to exile began.

  ‘We’ll do it,’ she agreed excitedly. ‘Meet me in the morning two hours out of the camp, where the glaciers join.’

  Tashi loaded her yaks with the Swiss expedition’s equipment the following day. Christophe and his team were a jovial bunch, experienced climbers who had ganged together to pay for an Everest permit. Some of them were very young, university students who liked a joke.

  Tashi felt her cares lifting as she started the journey up the glacier. She beamed with pleasure as she saw Karma trek down the valley side to join them.

  Karma also got on well with Christophe and the leader was interested to know more about the children’s ‘crimes’ of owning a portrait of the Dalai Lama and a copy of his autobiography.

  ‘It’s a violation of human rights,’ he told them. ‘You should be free to express your religious convictions.’

  ‘Human rights don’t mean anything here,’ Karma told him. ‘The authorities do what they believe is correct and they don’t care what any other country thinks.’

  The conversation was fascinating to Tashi. The idea of a charter of human rights was one that she had never thought about before. The more Christophe told them about it the more she wondered how on earth the Chinese could get away with their treatment of the Tibetans.

  ‘The West is too frightened to offend Beijing,’ Christophe explained. ‘They don’t want to lose their markets in the East.’

  Tashi felt anger burning deep inside. The people of Tibet had a right to be treated fairly but that right was being ignored by the whole world. It seemed totally wrong.

  The trek came to an end all too soon. The yaks were relieved of their burdens and it was time to begin the journey
back down.

  ‘Can I ask a favour before we go?’ Karma said. ‘Tashi’s told me about the Tiananmen Square demonstrations but I’ve never seen any of the video clips. Could you show me?’

  ‘Sure,’ Christophe agreed.

  As soon as the mess tent was erected, he fired up his laptop and got online.

  For almost an hour, Karma and Tashi watched the video footage from Tiananmen Square. Christophe knew a great deal about the atrocity and was able to add a lot of detail.

  Karma was horrified by what he was seeing, but also amazed by the scale of the demonstrations.

  ‘A million people,’ he said in wonder. ‘Just imagine a million people all believing the same.’

  Karma could hardly bear to watch the footage of the young Chen shooting the unarmed protestor. He put his hands over his eyes, shuddering with disbelief.

  Then Christophe asked, ‘Have you heard of Tank Man?’

  ‘Tank Man?’

  ‘Let me find him.’

  Christophe entered the words ‘Tank Man’ into the search box and a new video clip came up.

  Tashi and Karma saw military tanks rolling into the square. The display of force was chilling. The demonstrators were largely gone but a hard core of protestors still remained.

  Then the camera zoomed in. Picked up a column of tanks as they rumbled forward.

  ‘Look at the man!’ Karma suddenly gasped.

  A civilian had walked over briskly to the leading tank and placed himself defiantly in its path.

  Tashi gasped at the raw drama of the moment. For a second she feared that a soldier would simply pop up from the tank and shoot the man dead. He seemed just an ordinary type, a businessman or trader.

  The tank swerved. The civilian adjusted his position. The tank dodged in a different direction. The man did the same.

  ‘Cat and mouse,’ Christophe said. ‘With everything at stake.’

  The clip ended.

  ‘What happened next?’ Tashi said. ‘Did the tank roll over him?’

  ‘The person filming had to stop. No one really knows what happened next or if that man survived.’