Jeremy Ball voices what so many others are feeling in the ongoing tragedy of Tibet.

I have delayed writing this article as I have faced a tough decision within my heart. Do I speak openly against China and risk having a black mark against my name at the Chinese Embassy and never being allowed to visit my beloved Tibet again nor show the people I lead on my tours to Tibet, the blessings deep within that land and her people, or do I speak frankly from my heart?

I went for a short walk to collect my thoughts and stopped at a cafe'. On the table in front of me was the daily paper which reported the courage and honesty of Kevin Rudd who, in China's capital Beijing and speaking in Mandarin, defended his early call to the Chinese authorities to cease their violence in Tibet. My heart opened and tears came to my eyes - at last a politician with conscience and courage.

I think by now we all know what is going on in Tibet - the killings at peaceful demonstrations and the mass detention of monks and students whose fate goes unreported, the expulsion of all media from the region and radical Chinese propaganda brainwashing the region and beyond. Perhaps the most insidious problem in Tibet, besides the tragic loss of life and basic human rights and freedoms, is the impenetrable iron curtain that surrounds this mountain kingdom - and this in an era of unprecedented communication and access to information. The Chinese "liberators" cut mobile phone connections and Internet connections so that Tibetans could not contact their family members outside Tibet. Neither could they be contacted to verify whether they were alive or to determine the truth of what was going on in the wake of the uprising.

From my friends within the Tibetan refugee community in Australia I have been made aware that the "crackdown" by the Chinese authorities, whilst claiming many lives, is not the worst part. The worst is to come and is happening now. It goes unreported and unnoticed by the Western media because it does not involve hundreds of civilians and soldiers in public places. Yet is the daily scourge of secret police visiting and tormenting suspected participants and "ring leaders" of the protests and putting several under house arrest. This is not unfamiliar to ordinary Tibetans - they've endured these kind of restrictions and far worse at the hands of the Chinese, for nearly 50 years and the world has stood by and allowed it to happen.

What the Chinese authorities are doing in Tibet bears a similarity to what the English did in Ireland, India, Australia, New Zealand, America, the Spanish in South America, the USA in Iraq, and the European carve up of Africa, and the list goes on. All of us in the West either have this imperialistic scourge in our Ancestor or, at the very least, have benefited from the fruits of taking another's land and humiliating and subjugating her people while raping the environment of its natural resources so the people in the motherland can benefit. In saying "no" to the villain outside of us and standing up for our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world, we say no to the imperialistic urges within ourselves.

On Saturday March 28 approximately 200 people gathered in Hay Street, in the centre of Perth, as did thousands upon thousands in other cities around the world. The organisers urged those assembled to remain peaceful and respectful. A speech by His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama was read out, with the Dalai Lama requesting that rallies not be directed against China or Chinese, but rather be pro Human Rights, and that we gather together and march in harmony showing our support for all those suffering around the world. The march was lead by Zatrel Rinpoche, the leader of the Tibetan Community in Perth and a former member of the Tibetan Government in Exile (Kashag).

In his speech, His Holiness re-asserted his support for the Beijing Olympics. "China has the world's largest population, a long history and an extremely rich civilisation. Today, due to her impressive economic progress, she is emerging as a great power. This is certainly to be welcomed. But China also needs to earn the respect and esteem of the global community through the establishment of an open and harmonious society based on the principles of transparency, freedom, and the rule of law.

"I express these concerns both as a fellow human being and as someone who is prepared to consider himself a member of the large family that is the People's Republic of China."

These are enormous problems that affect thousands of human beings. So how can you help? Take a stand for truth, freedom and love on our planet. Give of yourself and your resources. It is truly through giving that you receive. Through the realisation that other people are living in truly dire circumstances, you develop gratitude for the numerous blessings and abundance in your own life.

Know that if you stand up for others you will stand up for those aspects of yourself inside and your world just might change. I know mine has.