Olympic...

Yesterday was Sunday, April 27, 2008. It was one of the most eye opening days of my life. Since I made plans to attend the Olympic Torch Relay about a week and a half ago I had been thinking a lot about it. I knew it was an intense situation, I had seen the protests, the arrests, the crowds, and the controversy plastered all over the world news for the past few months. As a group, those of us who planned to attend had talked about what might happen. Nothing could prepare me for what I experienced.

I joined the group on the subway at 9:45 am. About 45 minutes later with some help from an old Korean man on the subway who showed off his ability to speak English, Italian and Spanish, we had arrived at Olympic Park.

This is the sight that greeted us when we got off the subway.

We had arrived early, actually about four hours early. Fortunately for avoiding boredom and unfortunately for humanity there were many sights to be seen. And not a single Tibetan supporter for the first four painful hours of our day.

What time machine took me to the 1932 Olympics?!!?

Chants upon chants, flags in my face, young Chinese asking to take photos, and utter confusion on my part. How could the youth of a nation so blindly support a government that so unabashedly disregards human rights?

Scary.
Let's not forget that Taiwan isn't even part of China right now.

The Olympic Flame.

The start of the relay was peaceful. Peaceful because Chinese supporters had made it clear along the worldwide relay route that it is not safe to be Pro-Tibet. As much as I wanted to be there as a supporter of Tibetan independence my natural tendencies to avoid getting my ass kicked by an angry mob prevented me from doing so.

Some Chinese tied this flag to balloons. Tell me how you really feel. Really. The torch on its way.

The torch went on its route and we decided we would follow it along its route in hopes of seeing some other viewpoints. We were on our way to the subway when the crowd of Chinese supporters in front of us swerved in the direction of a small group of people on the flatbed of a semi. They held signs supporting Tibet and protesting China's treatment of North Korean refugees. The crowd rushed the truck which was loaded not only with protesters but members of the press. The Chinese supporters began throwing water bottles, rocks, and basically whateverr they could get their hands on at the truck.

The mob on the right approaching the truck of protesters to the left.
Riot police pushing the mob back.

It got intense.

The Tibet supporters/protesters were forced to retreat into the Hotel. I saw a few cameramen and journalists with bloody head wounds and we were all rushed by the riot police. At one point I was sure the gas was coming out so I turned and headed the other direction. Fortunately it didn't come to that and the police got things under control. It was disgusting to watch the peaceful Tibetan supporters have their voice silenced by the ignorant mob.

We were all separated in the mayhem but we managed to regroup and head to Insadong where we hoped to see the torch pass.

It felt so nice to see this group. My heart was honestly still beating from the chaos at Olympic Park but a monk handed me a yellow balloon and I was instantly calmed. FREE TIBET.

In Insadong we found a little sanity at this Buddhist temple. They had just finished a march which thankfully everyone got through safely. We were all exhausted so we decided to eat lunch and catch up with the torch at its final stop, City Hall.

More of the madness near City Hall.
Traditional Korean games.
The finish.

The day was exhausting. For the life of me I couldn't understand the Chinese supporters. Actually, it wasn't that there were Chinese supporters. That is to be expected at any event such as this. It was their moxie. The signs reading "One World, One China," "Tibet is, was, and always will be part of China," "Independent Tibet, NO WAY." Basically the supporters were protesting the protesters. Many Chinese supporters wore white masks reading "CNN" with a red circle around it and then crossing it out. Other signs read "Stop Media Distortion," "Tell the truth about China," "Stop lying BBC," I mean we are talking about CHINA. When I think about media and China only state run media and censorship come to mind. At one point Chinese supporters rushed a CNN cameraman who was forced to retreat. Need I say more?

Learn what is happening and come to your own conclusions. Media is as free as you choose. Truth is real but sometimes it takes a little effort to find it.

I leave you with some beauty from the trip back from this insane day.

The Seoul Riverwalk. The lanterns are in preparation for Buddha's Birthday. Ironic.
Traditional Korean musicians and dancers.