Uighur Genocide
21st Century Concentration Camps
I was chained to my bed for 20 days as punishment, though I never knew what for – I was told I would be going to “school”. The government has built them to “correct” us.
When they sterilised me against my will, I understood the method of the camps, the strategy being implemented: not to kill us in cold blood, but to make us slowly disappear. So slowly that no one would notice.
Never Again Again and Again.
In 1948, the international community swore to the promise of “Never Again” when the United Nations General Assembly passed the Genocide Convention. Assessing the consequences from the mass murder that took place in European and Asian continents between 1936 and 1945, UN member states agreed to prevent and punish fellow members who seek the systematic extermination of victims who belong to religious, ethnic, or racial minority groups.
Tragically, however, the remains of several communities including Bosnian Muslims, Rohingya Muslims and Uighur Muslims show the evident gap between the international community’s promise and its practice.
Since 2017, international communities have condemned China for the physical, psychological and religious abuse of over 1.8 million Muslims in the Xinjiang region. Uighur Muslims have been imprisoned in concentration camps, under the pretence of “re-education” where they are subjected to inhumane treatment. Escapees have recounted horrific stories of physical, mental and sexual abuse on a daily basis.
Under the guise of anti-separatism, the Chinese government has committed to the eradication of religious symbols, beliefs, terminology and clothing. Uighur Muslims are forced into eating pork and drinking alcohol, practices which are prohibited in Islam. Any acts of non-compliance towards these practices have dire consequences, and often people who resist are simply never seen again.
Although there is clear proof that such crimes are being committed in Xinjiang, government representatives continue to deny that these camps serve any purpose other than education. When learning about the holocaust, the most commonly asked question is how the rest of the world allowed it to happen. In this case, history repeats itself, while the world turns a blind eye and remains silent.