Still Here, Still Fighting: Discussing the Uyghur Muslim Genocide

While we like to think of genocide as something of the past, its presence still looms over the international community. Violent crimes are being perpetrated against people based on their ethnicity, religion, and race around the world. The genocide of Uyghur Muslims in China is one example of this. What started in 2017 has become a crisis attracting the attention of many activists and concerned global citizens. More recently, both the Canadian government and American government officials have declared the situation a genocide, instilling hope for international action to combat this issue. However, regular people are also organizing themselves to raise awareness about the genocide and push governments to take action. One group close to home is Stand with Uyghurs, a University of Guelph organization committed to fighting for the Uyghur Muslims. I got the chance to talk with founders Phoebe and Anjana about their group and the crisis. To learn more about them and join their group, you can find them on Instagram.

JAYU: Why did you decide to start the organization, and what inspired you to do so?

SWU: What made us decide to start the initiative was because we would like to educate our community about what is happening in East Turkistan. Not enough are taught or told about the Uyghur crisis and we recognised there needs to be a change. We would also like to inspire those who are already aware of this to speak up. We see so many people and the government being silent about the Uyghur crisis and that too needs a change. What inspired us to start Stand with Uyghurs at the University of Guelph specifically was seeing the lack of student initiatives in Canada and recognizing the need for one.

J: I'm glad you're hoping to inform people about this crisis, I agree we need to be talking about it more! My next question actually ties into that, can you give a general overview of what is currently happening in China? Who are the Uyghurs, how are they being attacked by the Chinese state, and how long has this been happening for?

S: The Uyghur Muslims are the indigenous inhabitants of East Turkistan, also known as XinJiang. The Chinese government is expanding detention camps in the region as a way to suppress them with over a million Uyghurs interned since 2017. The Chinese government claims this is a way to re-educate them and to eradicate their religious extremism. There has been reports of forced labour, organ and hair harvesting, sexual assault, forced sterilization and abortions, sexual violence and torture reported. Uyghur children are also forcibly separated from their parents and put into residential schools as part of the re-education process. The Uyghur Muslims are victims to ethnic erasure and genocide that is currently being committed against them. The camps have been mostly constructed between 2017 and 2018 however, the oppression by the Chinese government on religious and ethnic minorities has been a longstanding problem.

J: It's such an awful situation occurring, as you said, adults, children, and families are stripped of their culture and practices-what impact do you see this having on the community in the future?

S: We definitely see that the impact on the community is catastrophic both short term and long term. The future of the Uyghur Muslim population lies in the hands of the children today. As these children are separated and raised away from their families, they are forced to conform to ideals imposed by the Chinese government, abandoning their language, religion and traditions. These are reasons to believe that Uyghur children will suffer from an identity crisis and irreparable trauma. Cultural cleansing definitely plays a huge role in this crisis and will have a long-lasting effect. Uyghur women in the camps have been reported to go through forced contraception and sterilization. By taking away their autonomy and abilities to reproduce, it is evident that the ethnic group of Uyghur people will eventually cease to exist in East Turkistan if no one interferes to ameliorate the situation.

J: With this huge impact on the culture of the Uyghur people, it feels like we should know more about this crisis. However, China has released very little information about this. The Chinese state blocks a lot of incoming and outgoing information from its citizens and the international community, so what kind of obstacles do you think this has posed to tackling the genocide?

S: The Chinese natives are more likely to face obstacles in learning and researching this issue as a result of the Chinese government’s withholding and misrepresentation of information. It is very rare for Chinese citizens to speak up about the issue due to a lack of access to sources, media and channels that are not affiliated with the government. A significant contribution in addressing the issue has been done by the international community from activists around the world.

J: I'm glad you touched on that, because there have been so many Chinese natives speaking up about this crisis, but I wonder what has been done in international community, among government leaders. What is your perspective and opinion on the international community’s response to his crisis? The US recently declared the crisis a genocide, and Canada is, at the time of the interview, soon going into voting on declaring it a genocide as well. 

S: Seeing the many responses of the international community has made us hopeful. It’s amazing to see how many people have come together and become united to fight for Uyghur rights. This alliance is definitely a step in the right direction in ending the genocide. Because of the many voices all around the world, we are seeing different governments taking a stand in confronting the Chinese government about it. Declaring the Uyghur crisis as a genocide by the US government has definitely put pressure on China in addressing the problem which also signified the strong influence of the global alliance. We are very glad that the Canadian Parliament is soon going to take a vote on doing the same. China has a huge economic influence on many countries due to trading partnerships. This has led to many governments remaining silent about the genocide. We are hopeful that the decision made by the US would elicit and inspire other governments to follow suit in taking a stand for the crisis.

J: I also wanted to talk a bit about the social media response to the Uyghur genocide. Over the past year and the summer, I've noticed a lot of people posting about in on their stories or timelines, informing their followers about what is happening. How do you think social media and social mobilization can have an impact on the world’s response to this issue?

S: With social media, we were able to spread our message to a wider audience around the world, quickly and efficiently. It opens up more opportunities to speak and advocate about the issue and also motivate others to do the same. However, we also recognise a disadvantage of social media. With a large amount of information circulating on the internet, “viral” topics come and go very quickly. It is worrisome that the attention and voices for the Uyghur crisis will fade away once it is not a “trending” topic anymore despite not being resolved.

J: That's a really interesting point, that in this age of social media oftentimes important topics can disappear in the mix. I wonder, how do you plan to maintain the longevity of this movement to continue making a difference?

S: A way for our initiative to maintain longevity is through fundraising for the Uyghur Human Rights Project. This will be a more concrete reminder that a tragedy is still going on in East Turkistan and support is still needed. We also have plans in collaborating with other clubs not just at the University of Guelph but with other universities as well. We will continue to provide the general public with a continuous amount of information about the crisis to keep them informed and we will continue to advocate for their rights.

J: What are some additional resources you recommend people take a look at to inform themselves about the Uyghur genocide?

S: We definitely encourage everyone to stay informed about the issue! World Uyghur Congress is an international organization that does weekly briefings for people to stay updated about the new global development on what’s going on in East Turkistan. The Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project is an NGO based in Ottawa that releases updated news on the involvement of Canadian government in Uyghur issues. It’s great for Canadians who are interested in following the different ways to help!

J: That is lovely to hear. I'm sure a lot of people will want to get involved with your group as well, so I wanted to ask; how can fellow students or community members get involved with your organization, and what are some of your planned events and goals for the semester and future?

S: We can always be reached through email and our Instagram. We encourage all that feel passionate about making a difference to join our initiative! We are currently in the process of gathering designs from our members to print as stickers as part of the fundraiser. We will also be hosting several fundraising events as well as a documentary night in March which will be focusing on various human rights issues in East Turkistan.