Jayme Hamel
The Uyghurs, often known as Uighurs, are a minority Turkik ethnic group from Central and East Asia. These people are native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. This region of China is located in the far northwest, and is the 8th largest country subdivision in the world. In addition to the Uyghurs, Xinjiang is also home to the Han, Kazakhs, Tibetans, Hui, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Mongols, Russians, and Xibe. The camps are aimed at changing the political thinking of detainees, their identities, and religious beliefs.
Since 2016, it has been estimated that over a million Uyghurs have been detained in Xinjiang re-education camps. The main purpose of the camps is to ensure the people adhere to the Chinese Communist Party Ideology. Voluntary departure from the camps is not possible and inmates are detained for at least 12 months depending on their performance on Chinese ideology tests. Communication between inmates and their families is limited to one phone call per week, in 2017, Human Rights Watch released a report saying, “The Chinese government agents should immediately free people held in unlawful 'political education' centers in Xinjiang, and shut them down”.
United Nations and many other sources say that as many as 1 million people are held in “re-education” camps in this region, and as of November 2019, 1 in 10 Uyghurs are being detained in re-education camps. Many detainees who have since fled China describe the harsh conditions. They are forced to pledge loyalty to the CCP and renounce Islam, as well as sing praises for communism and learn Mandarin. Some reported cameras and microphones recording their every move, similar to a prison. Others declare they were tortured and subjected to sleep deprivation during interrogations. Many women have experienced sexual abuse in the camps as well. Staying in these camps often result in lasting mental health complications.
Some eight hundred thousand to two million Uyghurs and other Muslims, including ethnic Kazakhs and Uzbeks have been detained in the camps. In 2019, The Art Newspaper reported that “hundreds” of writers, artists, and academics have been imprisoned, in what the magazine qualified as an attempt to “punish any form of religious or cultural expression” among Uyghurs. With the terrible conditions in the camps, we hope these innocent people will no longer be detained.
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