Persecution of the Uighur in China Prove Concentration Camps Did Not End with The Holocaust
While many may think of the mass murder of 6 million Jews in Germany when they hear the word “concentration camp,” in reality concentration camps are not limited to Nazi Germany. Between 1941 and 1945, in the midst of World War II, Germany fell under the control of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party. During those four years, two-thirds of the Jewish population in Europe was brutally murdered solely due to their religion. When we reflect on this today, the vast majority of people think the Holocaust is horrific and wonder how something this awful could have happened, especially so recently. How less than 100 years ago were people being carted to camps and separated from their families to be killed in gas chambers? While it is nice to think that the horror of the Holocaust and concentration camps is a thing of the past, this perception comes from ignorance, because right now, just a plane ride away from us, China is running huge concentration camps. This time, the target is the vast Muslim community in China. While this issue is one of the most egregious violations of human rights today, it lacks coverage and recognition due to the secrecy China aims to keep over these camps and their government.
The Basics: What, Where, and How
In 2017, the Chinese Communist Party, also known as the CCP, began establishing and building up Muslim concentration camps which the Chinese government calls “Vocational Education and Training Centers”. While at first the Chinese government denied the existence of any type of camp, after photo evidence of camp construction, they labeled the camps as voluntary “re-education camps”. Since the initial discovery, there are now 380 known camps, thought to house "at least a million but likely closer to three million citizens''. The camps hold a diverse groups of innocent individuals such as the Uyghur Muslims and other Muslim sects, some Christians, and foriegn citizens living in Xijiang, the location of most camps. The goal of these camps is to “strip these peoples of their traditions, culture and language”, by forcing traditions and beliefs of the Han Chinese onto the Muslims. While China has stated these camps are for dangerous people so the government can “offset extremism and separatism in Xinjiang'', it is obvious the intent is far more cruel. Rather than being the threat the CCP paints the imprisoned to be, the people brought to the camps are devout followers of Uyghur Muslim culture, traditions, and beliefs. Despite their innocence, many can end up as victims of this horror story for seemingly insignificant actions. For example, a citizen may have been caught at a mosque and while to most this would seem normal, the Chinese government has found it to be probable cause for detainment. These are the largest mass internment camps since World War II.
The Uighurs are a minority Muslim community who primarily reside in Central and East Asia. More so than any other group, the Ugihurs are living in extreme tragedy due to the concentration camps and are the main target for the Chinese Communist Party. Around 11 million Uighurs, along with other smaller Muslim groups, live in Xinjiang, which before being annexed in 1949 by China, was known as East Turkestan. The Uighurs are targeted due to the fertile land they live on and what the Chinese government perceives as extremist and threatening views such as their opposition to the consumption of pork. To identify the Uighur people as dangerous, China often refers back to attacks in 2013 and 2014 that the Uighurs have confirmed were from their militia. However, it is undeniably unfair to persecute an entire group of people due to the actions of one terrorist group. The region is rich in both oil and resources, which has attracted many of the Han Chinese to invade the Muslim region. These natural resources, along with the want for control and spreading of the Han Chinese ethnicity, are primary reasons for the concentration camps. This region is also crucial to the plans the Chinese government has for the new “silk road,” commonly referred to as the belt. A key part in the establishment of this new trade system is the control of Xinjiang and therefore the control of its inhabitants.
The Protocol to Ethnic Cleansing
The Muslims in the internment camps are reportedly being tortured, both psychologically and physically, and forced to disobey their religion. In hopes of sucking the religion and culture out of each detained Muslim, they are forced to eat pork and drink alcohol, both of which are against their religion, and forced to memorize and recite communist songs. Some Muslim women who are not in the camp have been forced to marry Han Chinese men and engage in grueling work for the economic benefit of the CCP. Families are being separated, innocent Muslim men and woman are being kidnapped and raped, and some even murdered. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will prevent resistance and succession at any cost, even the persecution of the Uighurs. For the Muslims not yet residing in the concentration camps, their lives are too very controlled due to the extreme nature of the surveillance system in Xinjiang. Through the use of advanced technology, Chinese leaders have developed systems that permit and support an intrusive and invasive government. This extreme censorship has allowed for the subduing of minorities and their actions, especially in connection to their religion. The cameras provide an in-depth look into the lives of each Muslim person in the area, so much so that the government is able to identify individual’s actions and therefore predict future interactions. These systems have had the power to suppress the expression of religion and inflict a constant fear on the innocent Muslim citizens trapped in these digital government attacks. Many of the Uighur people are also being exploited for cheap and forced labor, another form of the torture inflicted upon Muslims in this region. In Xinjiang, dozens of mosques have been vandalized and ruined, men can no longer grow long beards, and women can no longer wear veils. Some reports even claim children are being brainwashed by their teachers and various other government officials in an effort to have them provide intel on their Muslim parents.
How YOU Can Help
Call your local Senators to pass the Uighur Forced Labor Prevention Act which requires corporations to show evidence that any products sent to the United States from Xinjiang were not made through forced labor as well as other things to stop the forced labor of the Uighur Muslims.
Need a script?
"I am a constituent. Please vote YES on Senate Bill 3471. The House passed it unanimously and the Senate should too. I do not want to purchase items made with Uighur forced labor."
Georgia State Senate: 404-656-5040
Sign this petition and donate if you can: https://www.change.org/p/stand-up-for-the-uyghur-muslims-in-china-antonioguterres-amnesty-un
SPREAD AWARENESS! This issue is not receiving the attention it needs and deserves.
By Ruby Kaufman