UYGHURS
Aisha Mamoor
The Uyghurs are a minority group of people living in northwest China. They are located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), and are predominantly Muslim. The Uyghurs have lived in the same geographic location for centuries and are the largest ethnic group that have lived in the shadow of Western China. They have a deep connection to their ancestral land called East Turkestan. This name is also used by other Central Asian peoples such as Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tatars and Tajiks. The name “Turkestan” in Persian means “Land of the Turkic peoples.” Today, the Chinese government refers to it as a Mandarin name, Xinjiang, which means "New Territory." Although the Uyghurs still think of their land as East Turkestan, they are forbidden to use this term. This restriction on their freedom of speech is just one example of the extreme violations of human rights which they suffer at the hands of the Chinese government. Because they have their own culture, religion, and language, they are frequently targeted for persecution by the Chinese government.
As seen in the map, East Turkestan lies in the heart of Central Asia. It has a rich history and a diverse geography, consisting of deserts, mountains, extensive areas of grasslands and rivers.
As an Uzbek American myself, I have created this platform to represent my Central Asian brothers and sisters and to demand justice for their religious freedom, cultural rights, and homeland - all which have been robbed by the Chinese government.
China has done it’s best to keep you from hearing about their terrible treatment of Uyghurs. In fact, shortly after 9/11, China portrayed Uyghur activists as Muslim terrorists as an international cover for its increasingly appalling suppression. Uyghurs are being discriminated against in all aspects of their lives. Their religious freedoms have been restricted by the Chinese government. For example, the number of Uyghurs permitted to perform Hajj has been limited, Uyghurs are forbidden from fasting during Ramadan, and political authorities appoint imams at every mosque, often dictating the sermons preached during Friday prayers.
With Xinjiang under constant surveillance, it is probably the most heavily policed area in the world and a means by which the Chinese government is using to control and force the Uyghurs to assimilate. Undoubtedly, the Chinese government is erasing their culture and their identity.
Furthermore, mysterious facilities were built and hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs began to disappear into these camps. Initially, the Chinese government denied the existence of the camps. However, a UN report released in August 2018 estimated that over a million Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang had been imprisoned within them. Following the release of the UN report, the Chinese government referred to the camps as “vocational training centers” intended to “re-educate” the Uyghur population. There have been a plethora of witness accounts (of beating, rape, reproductive interference, etc) that confirm the conditions are truly far worse than prisons.
According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, more than 80,000 Uyghurs were forcibly transferred out of Xinjiang to work in factories between 2017 and 2019. In fact, over 80 well-known brands benefited from the use of Uyghur workers, including Apple, BMW, Gap, Nike, Samsung, Sony, and Volkswagen.
I hope you realize, after reading this, that human rights should be non-negotiable.
Indifference is racist. Silence is violent.
Refer to links below:
Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland: China's Muslim Borderland by S. Frederick Starr
Dragon Fighter: One Woman's Epic Struggle for Peace with China by Rebiya Kadeer
Jewher Ilham: A Uyghur's Fight to Free Her Father (Broken Silence) by Jewher Ilham
The Land Drenched in Tears by Söyüngül Chanisheff
The Uyghurs: Strangers in Their Own Land by Gardner Bovingdon
The Vine Basket by Josanne La Valley
The War on the Uyghurs: China's Internal Campaign against a Muslim Minority by Sean R. Roberts
China: The Rebirth of an Empire by Jeremy and Jesse Veverka
In Search of my Sister by Jawad Mir
The 10 Conditions of Love by Jeff Daniels
Uyghurs: Prisoners of the Absurd by Patricio Henríquez
Contact Congress, using the link below, and ask them to support bill HR649 Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act: