THE EAGLE PRESS
uighurs: a brutual
crackdown happening in
eerie silence
All humans are created equal. A phrase that has been reverberated through generations
and generations of human rights activists before us . As global - minded individuals , we are
always making sure to advocate for issues of utmost concern on social media in an attempt
to raise awareness as well . Recently , the Hong Kong protests about human rights have been
materializing in the news with extensive coverage . However , an even menacing issue that
began last year , has been hiding in the shadows of other human rights crisis ’. In the Xinjiang
region , an area majorly populated by Uighurs , the calls to prayer from mosques have plunged
into eternal silence . Uighurs are mostly ethnic Turkic Muslims who speak a language that is
quite similar to Turkish . Most of them had settled in the Xinjiang region but felt that their
culture was under threat from the mass influx of Han Chinese ( China ’ s ethnic majority ) who
were looking for economic opportunities . The Xinjiang region did have a history of extremism
and some terror attacks which were committed by the Uighurs , which led the Chinese
government to attempt and mend the situation . In order to begin the healing process , the
Chinese government decided to forcefully detain about a million Uighurs and send them to
internment camps .
Late in August of 2018 , a UN committee had said that there was credible evidence that a
million Uighurs were illegally detained into these internment camps . Upon questioning ,
China said that they were simply ‘ vocational ’ camps designed to transform the thoughts of
people in order to combat terrorism and extremism . China has a history of censorship ,
especially of grim events such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests .
If you would go around the Xinjiang region and ask any of the inhabitants about what was
happening in these camps , they would say exactly the same phrase as the Chinese
government . “ There are tens of thousands of people there now . They have some problems
with their thoughts ”. “ It ' s a re - education school .” These are some of the people the BBC
called and asked about the situation . Human rights groups have made claims that in these
camps , no re - education of any sort actually takes place . Instead , atrocities are committed by
compelling these Uighurs to renounce their faith , swear loyalty to China and Xi Jinping , all
accompanied by hostile prejudice .
MARCH 2020