Originally written : September 11, 2022
By Afrin Pajulallah
Force. That is what encapsulates many accounts of violations of human rights. The act of pressuring an individual or a group to engage in behaviors or thought processes simply because they are different. And that is what has been going on in the oil-rich, environmentally, and ethnically diverse regions of Xinjiang, China. A horrible system of internment camps that imprisoned around a million of innocent Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group originating from parts of Central and East Asia, with the majority being Muslim. Under the dictatorship of an inconsiderate communist government, many fragile lives are being destroyed by the second because they did not fit the cookie cutter shape of a perfect nation that is free of inconsistencies such as different beliefs. The urge to start the exploitation of these minorities was brought on by radical Islamic influences, attacks, and movements in the region that had virtually nothing to do with the majority of the people being controlled.
With the outside appearance of an industrious, economically productive nation, the Chinese government has managed to hide many wrongdoings done to the people in the past, doing in the present, and will do in the future unless oppositional movements commence to protest human rights. Ranging from highly scrutinizing security to sheer abuse and slaughter of those the government did not agree with, the Uyghur tragedy is simply an example of an abuse of power.
The atrocities committed against the Uyghurs seem bottomless, with thousands of mosques being destroyed and thousands of children being torn from their righteous families and sent to strange boarding schools. It does not end there, with complete political brainwashing, mass rape and sexual abuse, forced labor, forced sterilization, forced contraception, and forced abortion. A direct result of the desire to hinder Uyghur population growth is a fallen birth rate of almost 60% through a span of three years. Aerial view photos show a timelapse of increased construction of internment camps in Xinjiang, clearly indicating that this cycle of torture is not going to end soon.
A horrible reality is that barely any action has been taken against this gruesome situation. The United Nations, which finally published its report on the genocide after a long wait, simply just recognizes the genocide taking place, and that even subtly as to not stir tensions with the Chinese government. It has long been known to not as sufficiently prevent or relieve other genocides from happening like the Rwandan genocide. Some protests do happen around the world for the freedom of the Uyghurs. In Turkey, many Uyghurs protested to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics as of January, 2022 as an action against the Chinese government. This is an example of the most publication a protest for the Uyghurs, however, as there are not many protests or calls to action to truly bring forth a change in the situation in Xinjiang. And that is why this needs to be talked about, to be inspiring people around the globe to help stop human rights violations like the Uyghur genocides amongst many, many others from continuing.
Citations
“Who Are the Uyghurs and Why Is China Being Accused of Genocide?” BBC News, BBC, 24 May 2022,
Press, The Associated. “China Cuts Uighur Births with Iuds, Abortion, Sterilization.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 29 June 2020,
Mamtimin, Ala, and Salih Hudayar. “The UN Is Downplaying Uyghur Genocide.” The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com, 11 Sept. 2022,
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