MURDER IN THE MOUNTAINS:
AN ETHICS CASE STUDY
THE CASE STUDY
Personal leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them.
— Stephen R. Covey, management consultant, author - See more at: http://josephsoninstitute.org/quotes/quotations.php?q=Business%20ethics,%20management#sthash.qUmIWC0q.dpuf
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing," ~Albert Einstein
In a unique collaboration, bridging the worlds of high altitude mountaineering, academia, and the corporate sector, the authors have developed an ethics case study to be used in both the classroom and the boardroom. The case study, "Murder in the Mountains" examines the fatal shooting of a 17-year old Tibetan nun that had ripple effects across the world including implications for international relations, the mountaineering industry, and business at-large.
The case study challenges participants to refine their own compass of ethical decision-making and define their guiding values of personal integrity.
John and Tom,
Sorry for the brief email, but I have just returned to Basecamp here on Cho Oyu in Tibet, back down with client who could not make the summit. There is a story that happened here on the 30th and the 1st that is not being told. It is tragic, it is haunting, and it is apparently all too real for Tibetans.
On the am of the 30th, I walked out of our dining tent to gaze over towards the Nangpa La (this is the pass between Tibet and Nepal, commonly used for trading, also used by people trying to escape China). As I looked across the broad expanse of the pass, we saw a line of Tibetans heading towards the start of the pass – a common sight, as the trade routes are open this time of year.
Then, without warning, shots rang out. Over and over and over. Then the line of people started to run. Uphill. At 19,000ft. Apparently the Chinese army was tipped off about their attempted escape and had showed up with guns. Watching the line snake off thru the snow, as the shots rang out, we saw two shapes fall. The binoculars confirmed it, 2 people were down and they weren't getting up.
Then more Chinese army swarmed thru Basecamp. I figured the safest place for my person at this point was up the hill so in the midst of this, I made the choice to move my people up for our summit push.
The story just gets worse. From Tibetans I know here in camp, apparently 7 – yes, 7 – people were shot then shoved into a crevasse, just below where a huge international presence, namely Basecamp, sat and listened.
Tom, please don't use my name 'till I get out of Tibet if you relay this story on Exweb. John, this story needs to be told big format. Apparently it happens all the time. I want to do a story where we try to get across the pass, do a little background on this incident and tell the world about this little corner of the planet, where people are dying attempting to reach for a better life.
THE EMAIL
Synopsis
It is September 30th, 2006 at the Nangpa La pass at the border of Nepal-Tibet Autonomous Region. Located over 19,000 feet high in the Himalayan mountains, this pass is close to Cho Oyu, the “Turquoise Goddess”—the 6th highest peak in the world and just twenty miles away from Mount Everest. This longtime trading route is also a popular passage amongst Tibetan pilgrims on their journey to visit the Dalai Lama currently in exile in Dharmasala, India. Seventy-five Tibetans are making the journey through the glacial Nangpa La pass.
Adjacent to the Nangpa La pass, prayer flags blow in the wind at the Advance Base Camp where nearly 100 mountain climbers are preparing for their ascent up Cho Oyo. Off in the distance from camp, a loud popping noise is heard. A Romanian videographer named Sergiu Matei takes out his video camera and captures images of the Chinese border guards of the People’s Armed Police (PAP) shooting at the Tibetan pilgrims as they make their way up the Nangpa La pass. A 17-year old Buddhist nun named Kelsang Namtso dies.
After witnessing the incident, Luis Benitez, an American mountaineering guide decided to take his four clients towards the summit and get out of advance base camp where Chinese border guards are still milling about with the young Tibetan children they captured. Luis returned to base camp after one of the clients became sick and sent an email that effectively ended his guiding career in the region and sparked international outrage.
Chinese border guards with captured survivors of the Nangpa La shooting.
Luis Benitez, Head Guide of Adventure Consultants
Sent to Explorer's Web and National Geographic