By Lola Benzinatti, United States
Image Source: ABC News
As of 2021, Uyghurs, who are a group of nomadic Muslim Turkish minorities living in Xinjiang, are currently being oppressed and sent to concentration camps where their identities are being punished and forced to adapt to mainstream Chinese standards. The Chinese Communist Party has been discriminating against the Uighurs for several years, due to their religion and identities and currently, around 2-3 million Uighurs have or had been sent to camps. In this article, it will talk about one main reason as to why this is happening.
“There were 40 of us in the room, all women, wearing blue pajamas. It was a nondescript rectangular classroom. A big metal shutter, perforated with tiny holes that let the light in, hid the outside world from us. Eleven hours a day, the world was reduced to this room.”(The Guardian) stated Gulbahar Haitiwaji, a survivor of one of many Chinese “re-education” camps for Uighurs. On November 30th of 2016, Gulbahar Haitiwaji was kidnapped and sent to a “re-education” camp for no apparent reason. According to The Guardian, she believes that she was sent to a camp because they claimed that her family members were ‘terrorists’ for attending demonstrations, with no proof at hand to confirm their ‘violent’ accusations. Just like Gulbahar Haitwaji, many Uyghurs have been kidnapped for ridiculous inequitable reasons.
The main reason why Uyghurs are being detained is due to the Uyghur Independence Movement in Xinjiang. The Uyghur Independence Movement is the protest of oppression and discrimination against Uyghurs in Xingjiang. With multiple demonstrations throughout weeks, the movement created tensions between the Uyghurs and the Han, resulting in riots and violence. This infuriated the Chinese government and oversaw this movement as ‘terrorist attacks.’ Due to the movement, the start of detaining Uyghurs and sending them to “re-education” camps began because this allowed the Chinese government to give a ‘justifiable’ reason as to why Uyghurs were being detained (The Washington Post).
Moreover, the Uyghur population is being increasingly persecuted because of their Muslim identification. Throughout history, the Uyghur population has adopted the widespread religion of Islam. However, this clashes with the ideals of the greater Han population in China, who do not follow a set religion or abide by Confucianism or Buddhism instead. The Muslim Uyghur population, therefore, is receiving increasingly socially-stratified treatment from Chinese people who feel even further disconnected to their plight. This is ironic and painful, as faith should be something to bind communities and people together.
In conclusion, the government has done nothing to stop the oppression and genocide pinpointing at the Uyghurs. They have only ignored the situation and made lies to cover their wrongdoings as justified doings. Uyghurs are in a crisis, and we need to do something about it.
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