From Human Rights Watch, showing Uyghurs held by the Chinese government.
Editor’s Note: This article is the third in a new opinion series by the Anti-Racist Collective, a student organization seeking to “deconstruct racial discrimination on campus.” This series is titled “World Conflicts & Humanitarian Exigency.”
Anti-Racist Collective President Oumye Toure, Guest Columnist
Preface: This article provides clear context and general information about the Uyghur genocide and details my personal experiences and reflections upon having a discussion with a young Uyghur man. I implore you to reflect similarly, and contemplate the individual, family, and diaspora-wide toll that something as burdensome and inescapable as a genocide has on a people.
Introduction
“More than a million Muslims have been arbitrarily detained in China’s Xinjiang region. The reeducation camps are just one part of the government’s crackdown on Uyghurs.” The Uyghur people of East Turkistan, also referred to as Uigurs or Uighurs, are being ethnically cleansed and forcefully assimilated by the Chinese government. East Turkistan is occupied by the Chinese government, who refers to the region as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
Uyghurs are a Turkic, muslim-majority ethnic group. The Chinese government is abducting Uyghurs into concentration camps where they are forced into labor, force-fed government propaganda, tortured, and sexually assaulted. The oppression Uyghurs face at the hands of the Chinese government also includes arbitrary arrest and abduction, religious suppression, forced separation from children, invasive digital and physical monitoring, and organ harvesting. The Chinese government has also attempted to suppress Uyghur population growth through mandatory pregnancy checks, sterilizations, coercive UID implantations, and abortions. Additionally, Uyghur women have “reported forced marriages to Han Chinese, and designated Han “relatives” are reportedly sent to Uyghur homes through the “United as One” policy to observe and interact with Uyghur families in their private sphere.” The obvious forced assimilation of Uyghurs is an attempt to erase Uyghur cultural and religious practices. Unsurprisingly, the United Nations has issued a report describing Uyghur persecution as amounting to crimes against humanity, while China asserts its repression is saving Uyghurs from themselves. China claims Uyghurs are political threats and dangers to the sanctity of the state. Forced Uyghur labor has reportedly been used by Patagonia, Puma, Zara, H&M, and Adidas, among a variety of other American and international companies. Some companies have met these accusations with claims that they have stopped sourcing goods from China.
While this article focuses largely on Uyghurs, they are not the only Muslims being targeted in China. Hui Muslims have faced similar persecution, surveillance, and discrimination. Hui educational and religious institutions have been targeted and surveilled, with Hui muslims fearing for their safety as a result. Chinese Muslim scholars have reportedly been detained, and foreigners who study Islam in China have been barred from travelling to China. Many Chinese Muslims are hesitant to discuss their religious identity and expression with survey researchers due to fear of persecution or targeting by the government.
Occupation & Geography
East Turkistan, currently occupied by the Chinese government, is located in Central Asia and borders Mongolia, Russia, and Afghanistan. It is home to Uyghurs and other Central Asian ethnic groups including Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and Tajiks. Empirically, Uyghurs have been the overwhelming ethnic majority and have longstanding ties to the region. The latest census lists East Turkistan’s population at 21.81 million with at least 11 million Uyghurs and approximately 8.75 million Han Chinese, although Uyghur sources assert the real population (of Uyghurs) is closer to 20 million. It is worth noting that the majority of the Han, the largest ethnic group in China, currently residing in East Turkistan settled there after 1949. Between 1949 and 2008, the Han population rose from 6.7% of the population to 40%, which is the largest demographic change in a major region of China since the founding of the People’s Republic. This migration has altered the ethnic demographic of the previously Uyghur-majority region. Chinese occupation of East Turkistan has been referred to by scholars as “settler-colonial occupation.”
Concentration Camps, Forced Labor, and Political Prisoners
According to Rushan Abbas, the executive director of the Campaign for Uyghurs, Islamophobia and discrimination are used as a nationalistic weapon of the Chinese government to exterminate Uyghurs. In a Congressional-Executive Commission on China conducted in March, 2020, Abbas explained detainees in camps are abducted, disappeared, stripped of human dignity and basic rights, and subject to forced labor. Abbas referenced companies in the United States utilizing Uyghur forced labor, including GAP, L.L. Bean, Calvin Klein, H&M, BMW, Siemens, Volkswagan, and Nike. She cited frustrations with the world’s indifference toward China’s genocide and Uyghur suffering. Abbas specifically remarked on China’s hosting of the Winter Olympics of 2022 despite public knowledge of the genocide and emphasized the need for consequences in the international community for China’s blatant genocide.
Uyghurs are tortured and forced into labor in concentration camps while their children are sent to assimilation camps, similar to those the United States forced indigenous Americans children into while prosecuting their elder family members. Inside assimilation camps, Uyghur children are force fed nationalist Chinese propaganda and forced to abandon their Uyghur identity. Uyghur scholars, academics, and advocates are often abducted, disappeared, and/or imprisoned due to pseudo government accusations of ‘separatism.’ The story of Ilham Toti, an Uyghur academic who advocated for Uyghur and Chinese discourse, demonstrates the unpredictable lengths taken by the Chinese government to oppress the Uyghur population. Despite advocating for mutual understanding, Toti was unjustly sentenced to life in prison, to the chagrin of human rights organizations around the world. His daughter, Jewher Ilham, has written two books on the injustice she and her family have faced.
Uyghurs Are Not Chinese
Forced assimilation of Uyghurs is cultural and religious. It is an attempt to erase any divergence from mainstream Chinese culture, religion, tradition, and history. Uyghurs are phenotypically, linguistically, and ethnically different from mainstream Chinese society. Hui, the second largest Muslims ethnic group in China, have distinctive differences from Uyghurs, including the fact that Hui Muslims are Chinese, while Uyghurs are not and have never been Chinese. The Hui are not native to one particular region, whereas Ugyhurs are Turkic and originate from East Turkistan. The Hui began a period of rapid assimilation into mainstream Han Chinese culture in the 14th century. They, too, use Han Chinese language and surnames.
Religious Persecution of Hui Muslims & Uyghurs
Uyghurs are barred from freely expressing themselves in all respects. Dress, language, diet, religion, and education are a few of the various aspects of life monitored digitally and physically through Chinese government personnel. Uyghurs are also forced to go against their Islamic (religious) beliefs by consuming pork and alcohol and are reportedly labeled as “extremists” and/or threatened with internment camps if they refuse to do so. Detained Uyghurs have reported being “forced to renounce their religion” and were “required to sing songs and make statements swearing allegiance to the Communist Party.” The Chinese government also uses imperative aspects of the Islamic faith like praying the mandatory 5 daily prayers or attending the mosque (Islamic place of worship), as a basis for arrest or detention. That a significant and frequent tenant of faith is persecuted demonstrates blatant religious discrimination of the Chinese government, also communicated by leaked Chinese government documents have revealed obvious religious discrimination.
Hui Muslims have also faced discrimination including the forced removal or alteration of mosques (religious places of worship). In fact, Hui government employees have been threatened with unemployment if they do not comply with coercive efforts to shut down or alter mosques. Additionally, Hui Religious leaders have been unjustly imprisoned, and Hui schools have been demolished. For example, in Ningxia, Yunnan, and Henan provinces, all Hui-run nurseries, child care, centers, and religious schools were forcibly closed. Weizhou, a majority Hui community, is ‘guarded’ by checkpoints, with the main mosque forcibly closed and altered with Buddhist-style architecture. When speaking with a man from NPR, a Hui man said “Of course we are afraid we will become the next Xinjiang.” Three years prior, this man “abandoned his family’s property in Xinjiang in order to transfer his residency to Tongxin county”, seeking safety and attempting to evade persecution. Another Hui man interviewed by NPR stated “The pressure on not just one’s religious behavior, but how one lives one’s daily life, is unbearable. It weighs on your chest.” Both men interviewed requested anonymity for fear of persecution by authorities.
Empirical U.S. Government Involvement
The United States has historically assumed a pro-Uyghur position, denouncing oppression, ethnic and religious persecution, and torture, though American companies still utilize forced Uyghur labor in the production of goods.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio introduced the “Uyghur Policy Act of 2023” bill to “support the human rights of Uyghurs and members of other ethnic groups… and safeguard their distinct civilization and identity and for other purposes.” This bill recognizes the cultural repression of Uyghurs, ongoing human rights violations, and the pseudo-use of allegations of extremist activity to arbitrarily target Uyghurs. The bill claims to “press” Chinese authorities to allow “regular, transparent, and unmanipulated visits” by various organizations, including members of Congress, Congressional delegations, and the press. Lastly, the bill states the Secretary of State and United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations will use their “voice, vote, and influence” to advocate for Uyghurs. Congresswoman Young Kim of California has made similarly aligned claims, denouncing the torture, imprisonment, and brainwashing of Uyghur Muslims. In 2021, Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, aiming to prevent products produced in Xinjiang and suspected of utilizing forced labor from being imported into the U.S.
Karahadin
I recently had the opportunity to speak with a young Uyghur man, who I believe to be in his early twenties, about his experiences. To maintain anonymity, I will refer to him as Karahadin going forward. The name is a reference to the Uyghur Kingdom in the 9th century, which heavily contributed to the spread of Islam in the region. Karahadin has not been back to (occupied) East Turkistan since he left over ten years ago. He was very likely an adolescent or pre-teen when he left his home country and family. When his grandmother died, he was not able to go home and attend her funeral. He has not seen his father since he left, and does not know if his father is still alive. Karahadin explained that there was virtually no communication coming from East Turkistan; some families have extremely minimal contact with family members and others have completely lost contact with their relatives.
One of the most striking parts of our conversation was Karahadin’s statement that “all the Uyghur people in China… they’re brainwashed.” He was lucidly aware of the reality being faced by Uyghurs, which meant understanding his own family was a part of that reality; most likely, they were undergoing the same unthinkable persecution, brainwashing, and forced labor as other Uyghurs. Karahadin is forced to live outside of his home country, attempting to avoid the persecution the Chinese government has forced upon him. The accolades and final moments in childhood and adulthood, many of us experienced with the warmth of family throughout middle school, high school, and college, have been experienced in isolation. Uyghurs, in occupied East Turkistan and elsewhere, have continually felt the absence of irreplaceable warmth that should surround awards, ceremonies, and religious celebrations. During our conversation, he stated the number of years he had been without his father quickly, as if it remained at the forefront of his mind. His inability to contact his father in any capacity made me realize the depth of the persecution being faced by Uyghurs and my own ingratitude for the abundant blessings of my family. Karahadin was not only deprived of the presence and comfort of his father but also deprived of the certainty of his fate. To live in uncertainty is often indefinite agony, with hope and despair simultaneously welding themselves into your heart and mind. You cannot forget the loss of a father and grandmother in your life, and I am sure that he most definitely has not. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to speak with and learn from Karahadin. I implore everyone to learn more and support the Uyghur cause. Don’t limit your learning to this article!
Learn More:
- Podcast, The Digital Sisterhood, Titled “Dada I Won’t Forget Who We Are”, which features direct testimony from an Uyghur woman.
- Film Website, Screenings & Donations, https://www.allstaticandnoise.com/support
- Book, Jewher Ilham: A Uyghur’s Fight to Free Her Father (Broken Silence).
- Book, Jewher Ilham, Because I Have To: The Path to Survival, The Uyghur Struggle (Broken Silence Series).
- Learn from Uyghur Human Rights Project, Stop Uyghur Genocide, Campaign For Uyghurs, World Uyghur Congress, International Support for Ugyhurs, Uyghur Post, Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project, United States Holocaust Musuem, and Amaliah.
Get Involved
- Donate to and volunteer with organizations advocating and raising awareness about the Uyghur cause including Uyghur Human Rights Project, Stop Uyghur Genocide, Campaign For Uyghurs, International Support for Ugyhurs, and Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project..
- Donate to and support the resettlement and unification of Uyghur refugee families through Uyghur Refugee Relief Fund.
- Participate in and learn from events, such as those hosted and co-sponsored by Uyghur Human Rights Project, to stay informed and learn how you can be a better advocate.
- Contact members of Congress urging them to co-sponsor bills supporting Uyghurs’ right to exist.
- Sign Petitions, including “Tell Shein: Stop Profiting from Uyghur Forced Labor”, “Free Uyghurs from forced labor in China”, and “Petition for the Immediate Release of Professor Rahile Dawut and other Uyghur scholars.” to demonstrate public support for Uyghur freedom.
- Endorse and get involved in End Uyghur Forced Labour, the global campaign advocating for companies to end their complicity in forced Uyghur labor.
- Stop using brands that benefit from Uyghur genocide and forced labor. Websites like theses: Ethical Consumer, Homeland Security, Business & Human Rights Centre, Human Rights Watch,
- Contact religious and community leaders encouraging them to advocate against Uyghur abuses. Use your voice to raise awareness in your respective communities.
- Advocate for the freedom of political prisoners like Ilham Toti.
- World Uyghur Congress: Provides information, news, media, and actions you can take to become involved in the struggle for Uyghur liberation. They list demonstrations you can participate in, letters/petitions you can sign, and organizations you can donate to. Their recommendations include:
- Write letters to your local officials or call on local/national governments to pass relevant legislation.
- Write letters to companies who are linked Uyghur forced labour.
- Use #Hashtags on social media posts about the Uyghur issue. (#Uyghur, #FreeUyghurs, #CloseTheCamps, #NoRightsNoGames, #StillNoInfo, #UyghurPulse, #FreeIlhamTohti, #UyghurHumanRights, #EastTurkistan, #FreeGulshanAbbas #UyghurForcedLabour, #FreeUyghurScholars, #MeTooUyghur, #FreeRahilaDawut, etc.)
- Contact the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and urge them to provide humanitarian aid to Uyghur Refugees and Asylum Seekers.
If you are a Professor in a University, an independent researcher or scholar with a PHD, a PHD student, or a PHD candidate please sign the Statement by Concerned Scholars on China’s Mass Detention of Turkic Minorities or tell your professor about this initiative.
