One of the striking things that happened after the terrible earthquake in Qinghai is the high level of cooperation between local people and State forces. Monks rushed to the area from surrounding regions and acted as a vital second force in the rescue and relief efforts.

The manpower provided by the monks and local people was especially valuable given that Tibetans are adapted to strenuous work at high altitude. Despite health concerns, the government allowed the monks to take the lead in disposing of the dead according to Tibetan religious sensibilities. Only when the vultures were glutted did the monks decide to cremate the gathering piles of bodies.

Such smooth cooperation augurs well for the more difficult task of rebuilding. Local Tibetans need help to rebuild but its extent should be measured and considered in the light of community relations and ethnic cultural sensibilities. Care must be taken that the State's help - or assistance by non-Tibetan entities, governmental or nongovernmental - does not unwittingly end up creating incongruous villages that seem like an imposition on the landscape.