cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/58557343
Relatives try to piece together information found online and from Nepal as Tibet advocates groups say information is suppressed in China
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In China, families with missing loved ones say they are relying on information from Nepal, as well as foreign embassies and social media. Tibetan advocate groups say information on the Tibetan side of the border remains heavily restricted.
On 30 August, Tibetan police reported that 10 people had been punished for spreading what authorities called “false information” about the scale of the disaster online.
“This crackdown is obstructing not just public reporting of the disaster and relief efforts but the basic work of establishing whether communities are alive and receiving the support that they need,” said Tencho Gyatso, president of the US-based Tibetan advocacy group the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT).
“Sources are now afraid to speak to outside groups including ICT. One source told ICT it was “extremely unsafe” to speak. Another asked us not to make further contact given the potential ramifications,” she said.
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Families of foreign tourists who went missing in Tibet are also desperately searching for information,
British nationals Sridhar Avvari, 43, his wife, Deepti, 41, and their 14-year-old son Abhinav went missing near the immigration area at Gyirong on 26 August, close to the Nepal-Tibet border. The family lives in India and relatives believe they over on to the Tibetan side.
In a call to the family days earlier, Deepti Avvari told them that there would be no signal but would talk when she returned to an area with network activity. After the flash flood, calls to Deepti’s phone stopped connecting.
“There was no signal, so we can’t talk … After coming down, I will call you again,” Deepti told Priyanka Rapaka, her sister in law.
They are desperately waiting for updates.
“We didn’t get any information from China … We are checking online only who are rescued and … how many are dead,” Rapaka said.
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