Scary Future

You may know more about the movie Avatar than you do about mining in Tibet, but the movie offers uncanny parallels to the situation on the Roof of the World. Tibet is the largest colony in the world. Tibet is under military occupation by Chinese troops. Tibet is being ruthlessly exploited for its valuable minerals, against the wishes of the inhabitants, who deeply resent what is happening to their land.
In Avatar, the action takes place some 150 years into the future, on a distant moon called Pandora. Here, rapacious foreign CEOs and military figures seek a mineral of astronomical value called unobtanium. The only thing stopping them in this endeavour is the blue-skinned Na'vi, who refuse to allow mining on their sacred ground. Tibetans have, throughout their history, prevented mining of their land—which they regard as sacred. Today, there are many valuable minerals being extracted in Tibet by Chinese and foreign companies. And one alone would qualify for the status of unobtanium. That's lithium. Lithium is used for making batteries for computers, cellphones and many other gadgets. And lithium is a very rare mineral, in very short global supply. Tibet is one of the prime sources: lithium is extracted from lakes in some places. In fact, you probably carry a tiny piece of Tibetan lithium around in the battery of your laptop, iPod, cellphone or other device.

Although Avatar was released in China, the film was quickly pulled from all 2D cinema screens, leaving the 3D version only. Chinese officials most likely did not care for the subversive political message of Avatar: many Chinese have been kicked out of their homes by property developers—or to make way for major engineering projects. The film has never been screened in Tibet. It could spark riots there: Avatar is told from the point-of-view of indigenous people who defy invasion by a colonial power and, against all odds, manage to vanquish them.