Written by Genevie Hong and edited by Owen Spargo
A Modern Genocide
Since 2017, China has been detaining Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in internment camps in the Xinjiang region of China. More than 1 million Uighur Muslims are currently being held in nearly 400 internment camps. The Chinese government claims that the camps are merely vocational training centers or so-called “re-education centers,” aimed to alleviate poverty and counter terroism threats and they the “cleansing” of Uighur and Muslim minorities. However, numerous Uighur survivor accounts say otherwise. These Communist Party run camps do not re-educate uighurs, but instead are brainwashing and forcing Uighurs and muslim minorities to abandon their traditional religion, language, and culture. According to survivors, also reported abuses which included torture, medical neglect, and sterlization of women. A majority of those detained in the “re-education camps'' have never even been charged with crime. According to the Interparliamentary Alliance on China, “A body of mounting evidence now exists, alleging mass incarceration, indoctrination, extrajudicial detention, invasive surveillance, forced labor, and the destruction of Uighur cultural sites, including cemeteries, together with other forms of abuse.” This is a crime against humanity and could potentially be legally labled as the principle of genocide, which defined by the UN is as any of several acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
Who are the Uighurs?
The Uighurs are a Turkic Muslim Group who are culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations. The majority which includes about 11 million Uighurs, live in the northwest territory of the Xinjiang region of China while many Uighurs communities are also found in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Australia. The Uighurs speak several dialects of two languages divided by territory, but Mandarin Chinese is heavily influenced in Xinjiang.
Why are Uighur Muslims Being Targeted?
Originally, the region of Xinjiang was called East Turkestan and had been an independent country until 1949 when China gained control. For centuries, the Xinjiang region is known for being abundant in resources such as oil and minerals. It is also China’s largest producer in gas, and China’s Belt and Road initiative, the most expensive infrastructure project in history. Since then, a number of Han Chinese have moved into the region. As a result, there have been various incidents of terroism and conflicts caused by Uighur extremists in Xinjiang or other parts of China. Some incidents include the attack on China’s Tiananmen Square in 2013 and the knife attack that killed 29 people and wounded 100 others at Kunming Station in 2014. For these reasons, the Uighur local government officials have banned Uighurs from fasting and attending mosques during Ramadan, and in 2017, a directive stating that “religions in China must be Chinese in orientation” and that Uighurs should“ adapt themselves to a socialist society” was issued by President Xi Jinping. The Chinese government has intensified their authority to an extent. Individuals in Xinjiang are constantly being checked on everyday. A large network of cameras able to scan almost everything from license plates to individual faces are installed all over Xinjiang. More police stations are being set up, and everyone is being checked on even when going to the car or the market. Even smart phones are also checked.
How You Can Help
Everyday, Uighur relatives go missing in their homeland and families and friends don’t know whether they are dead or alive. It’s hard to believe how something so inhuman is currently happening in the world and needs to be talked about more. Many nations have tried to make efforts in stopping the potential genocide. In July 2019, 22 countries have signed a letter to the U.N. Human Rights Council in regards to the concerning matters and “disturbing reports of large-scale arbitrary detentions of Uighurs”. An international cross-party group of politicians called the Interparliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) have also responded to the U.N. asking to “establish an international, impartial, independent investigation into the situation in the Xinjiang region”. Likewise, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. secretary of state has also urged “all nations to join the United States in demanding an end to these dehumanizing abuses”.
In the meantime, here are some ways you can help save Uighur Muslims and minorities in China:
Sign petitions
Contact your state senators and urge them to co-sponsor S.3471.
Write and call to the Chinese embassy
Stop buying from companies that use Uighur and Muslim minorities' forced labor
Amplify this issue on social media
More information and links can be found in these sites listed:
https://www.saveuighur.org/about/
Sources
Cover Photo by John MacDougall sourced from AFP via Getty Images
1. Graham-Harrison, Emma. “China Has Built 380 Internment Camps in Xinjiang, Study Finds.”
2. Kashgarian, Asim. “Washington, New York Protesters Call for Recognition of Uighur Abuses as Genocide.” Voice of America, 2020,www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/washington-new-york-protesters-call-recognition-uighur-abuses-genocide.
3. News, BBC. “The Uighurs and the Chinese State: A Long History of Discord.” BBC News, BBC, 20 July 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-22278037.
4. The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 24 Sept. 2020, www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/24/china-has-built-380-internment-camps-in-xinjiang-study-finds.
5. Wood, Bryan. “What Is Happening with the Uighurs in China?” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 2020, www.pbs.org/newshour/features/uighurs/.
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