The Uyghur community, both in China and abroad, are facing ongoing persecution. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this community, please see my previous post – an interview with “Mr X” – which outlines the complex situation in China, in particular the east of the country (Xinjiang province). This province in was in fact once East Turkestan before being later seized by China and held under the Communist State.
Unlike the Han Chinese, the Uyghur community are an ethnic minority (mostly Muslim) which face a range of ongoing religious, cultural, social, economic and political restrictions/abuses under the Chinese government. I therefore first urge you to read my previous post to get a full insight into the issue. Slowly, slowly the issue is gaining more publicity but not enough. MUCH more awareness needs to be raised. Finding out more is a good place to start!
In light of this, I’d like to share with you the account of one Uyghur sister who was forced to flee China with her family due to the situation they were living in in their home country.
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My name is Gulnaz and I am a Uyghur Muslim. My place of birth is East Turkestan but the world knows it as Xinjiang because China says so. When I was a child, eleven years old, my family fled “Xinjiang”. At that point I had already seen enough. This 11 year-old girl had seen enough to understand that she was not safe in China. Today I am 23 years old and even after so many years, Xinjiang still haunts me.
Below is a write-up by me. I have tried to not reveal much about myself and have simply written my story. Maybe you will understand my position after reading it. If you wish, you may also share it.
I remember being not allowed to attend school because I had to work in the fields with my father. Sometimes I would work alone if my father was unwell. My little hands weren’t able to help much but I had no choice. I remember the eyes of Chinese guards looking at us in the market. It made me feel as if I belonged to a different planet – a planet which they disliked. This happened only because we were Uyghurs and Muslims. One night, they stormed our house, checking every nook and corner. My mother hid me in the basement, gave me a little bottle with liquid in it and instructed me to drink it if an officer tried to touch me. Thankfully, nothing happened and we were told that these were normal search operations. But soon a horrific incident followed which forced us to flee the country.
One of my aunts in the neighborhood was pregnant with her second child and her family was planning to send her away as Uyghurs weren’t allowed to have a second child. Somehow the Chinese officials found out about my aunt and they forced her to have an abortion. In a dingy hospital room, one night, she died. Patime was six months pregnant and doctors operated on her, risking her life.
This incident shocked my family and my father decided to leave China. We immediately fled to Turkey but kept changing places, sometimes countries, every two years or so.
Throughout this time we kept hearing news about China’s crackdown on Uyghurs, the Urumqi Massacre, how they were demolishing mosques, arresting innocent people and about their raids to find Uyghurs living abroad too. My father warned us to never reveal our Uyghur identities and refrained from teaching us about the Uyghur culture too. The terrifying news of Thailand detaining 300 Uyghurs and sending them back to China instilled fear in us again. The fact that no protests or hunger strikes by detained Uyghurs could save them made it clear that once China finds about our family then we will be punished too.
Despite of all the hardships we faced, my father never compromised our education. He made sure that we got a good schooling. He thinks that only good education can lead us off this path of slavery and fear. Today, he wants me to become a teacher so that I can contribute towards making our world a better place for everyone. I however think that I am an activist inside and whenever I listen to or come across a news of injustice, my blood boils and I become determined to do something. Our world has been seen as divided between “First World” and “Third World” countries but Uyghurs aren’t given a place within any of those spheres. We are people living in a fourth country which has been left to suffer by world leaders but why? Aren’t Uyghurs human beings too? So a few years back, the Uyghur in me took over and I made my account on Twitter (@iamgul8).
Here I try to talk with as many people as I can to convey the struggle of Uyghurs in China. Why should we suffer just because we are Uyghur or Muslim? What is our crime? Out of the many people I have contacted, some of them have always asked about my story but I can’t say anything else because that could place my family in trouble.
After writing this story, my chances of being chased by Chinese officials are greater so I may go quiet. However – our story is important. The world has ignored Uyghurs for long enough and now they must stand with us. Like many Uyghurs, another Gulnaz may get abducted, tortured or killed but her fight, our fight against injustice must be continued by someone and it has to be you!
In search of a safe world,
Gulnaz Uighur
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Please help raise awareness of this persecuted community who face imprisonment, torture and even death. Get active on social media and share the truth! You can start by sending a solidarity message to imprisoned Uyghur scholar named Ilham Tohti via the Amnesty International Write for Rights campaign. Your words can really make a difference to ease his suffering and show the authorities that they are being watched!
Credits and acknowledgements:
Thanks to Gulnaz for sharing her inspiring story. All my very best wishes to you, your family and the Uyghur community. May the persecution come to an end soon, insha’Allah.
Gul’s post was first published on the World Uyghur Congress website (29/05/2017). The original piece can be found here.
Image credits: Kök Bayraq (Uyghur flag) (CC)
Voice of Salam 