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Recent Reading: How I Survived a Chinese Reeducation Camp
Some books you read not for the experience of reading them, but for the information within. Such is the case with Gulbahar Haitiwaji's memoir, How I Survived a Chinese "Reeducation" Camp: A Uyghur Woman's Story. As the title suggests, this is a first-person account of Haitiwaji's experience in Xinjiang, where she was subjected to "reeducation" on suspicion of terroristic activity. This book was written with the help of Rozenn Morgat and Haitiwaji's daughter Gulhumar, and translated from French by Edward Gauvin.
To quickly summarize for anyone unaware, the Uyghurs (also spelled "Uighur") are an ethnic minority in China, inhabiting the northwestern region of Xinjiang, which is quite large. They are predominantly Muslim, and speak Uyghur, a Turkic language, and frequently have more culturally in common with neighboring Kazakhstan and Tajikistan than with the Han in eastern China. For many decades, the Chinese government has viewed Uyghurs with suspicion and since the 1950s has continually ramped up levels of surveillance against Xinjiang. I wrote a paper on this situation in graduate school several years ago concluding that China is enacting a slow genocide against Uyghurs, with the intent of fully wiping out their culture.
Uyghurs are subjected to relentless video surveillance, intrusive police home visits, regularly summoned to the police station for interrogation without any suspicion of a real crime, forcibly sterilized. and punished for any excessive displays of religiosity such as wearing a hijab or visiting mosque too frequently. Some years ago, "reeducation schools" entered the picture.
Haitiwaji's novel is unremarkable in terms of writing. Particularly in the beginning, it jumps around its timeline frequently in ways both unnecessary and sometimes confusing. It style is simplistic and straightforward and it does not go into as much detail as it might have about the day-to-day in the camps. However, Haitiwaji's story, and that of those around her, is absolutely vital, and the courage it must have taken for her to come forward is remarkable. This is a critical read not because it's a great book, but because the torture that Haitiwaji went through must be known, and it is still happening to thousands of Uyghurs who were not able to escape.
Originally, Haitiwaji got away. She and her family left China in 2006, moving to France and applying for refugee status there on the basis of the mistreatment they had already experienced in China. But in 2016, Haitiwaji was contacted by Chinese authorities and told there was a problem with her pension from the oil company where she had worked in Xinjiang. She would have to return to China to sign some paperwork to sort it out. Although suspicious of their intentions, Haitiwaji did as she was asked. Once in Xinjiang, she was arrested on the basis of a photograph her adult daughter Gulhumar had posted online, showing her waving the flag of east Turkmenistan, perceived by Chinese authorities as a sign of separatism. Haitiwaji insisted the image was simply from a cultural gathering of Uyghur expats, but the police would not hear it: Gulhumar was a terrorist, and therefore Haitiwaji was also a terrorist.
Haitiwaji is far from alone. Throughout her years in captivity, more and more Uyghur women pour into prison, frequently sentenced to long periods of incarceration for minor or distorted "violations." Haitiwaji herself is sentenced to seven years of reeducation on the basis of Gulhumar's photo. These women appear before military judges without counsel or even a clear understanding of what the charges against them are. Family members struggle to find out where their loved ones are being held. Physical abuse is common; privacy is nonexistent.
Once one family member falls under suspicion, a cloud comes over them all. Haitiwaji's family in Xinjiang, her mother and siblings, eventually beg Gulhumar to stop calling them asking about Haitiwaji, because the frequent foreign phone calls are attracting police attention and subjecting the family to lengthy interrogations. A palpable atmosphere of apprehension and fear exists both among Uyghurs in China, but also among the expats, who know their families in Xinjiang may suffer for the actions of the expats.
Once free, Haitiwaji realizes that her lone escape has not meant any victory for the Uyghurs. In fact, the only reason Haitiwaji was eventually able to get away was her French connection: at Gulhumar's relentless urging, the French government pressured China to release Haitiwaji and send her back to France. But many Uyghurs do not have a foreign government to advocate for them, or family members with the time and knowledge to agitate for their release. So Haitiwaji penned her story and eventually agreed even to put her name and face on the book, because the world must know what is happening to the Uyghurs.
The book is a fast read; its roughly 230 pages go by quickly, but for the weight of suffering in the tale. The scope and scale of terrible things happening around the world at any given time can be exhausting, but if you have time to read about some more, I would recommend this book. Haitiwaji's story also suggests China is not immune to international pressure on the issue, although international sanctions against products coming out of Xinjiang on suspicion of forced labor of Uyghur prisoners has not put an end to the camps yet. Still, the less they are able to sweep the plight of the Uyghurs under the rug, the more they will be forced to moderate action taken against them, one hopes.
Crossposted to![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
booknook
Haitiwaji's novel is unremarkable in terms of writing. Particularly in the beginning, it jumps around its timeline frequently in ways both unnecessary and sometimes confusing. It style is simplistic and straightforward and it does not go into as much detail as it might have about the day-to-day in the camps. However, Haitiwaji's story, and that of those around her, is absolutely vital, and the courage it must have taken for her to come forward is remarkable. This is a critical read not because it's a great book, but because the torture that Haitiwaji went through must be known, and it is still happening to thousands of Uyghurs who were not able to escape.
Originally, Haitiwaji got away. She and her family left China in 2006, moving to France and applying for refugee status there on the basis of the mistreatment they had already experienced in China. But in 2016, Haitiwaji was contacted by Chinese authorities and told there was a problem with her pension from the oil company where she had worked in Xinjiang. She would have to return to China to sign some paperwork to sort it out. Although suspicious of their intentions, Haitiwaji did as she was asked. Once in Xinjiang, she was arrested on the basis of a photograph her adult daughter Gulhumar had posted online, showing her waving the flag of east Turkmenistan, perceived by Chinese authorities as a sign of separatism. Haitiwaji insisted the image was simply from a cultural gathering of Uyghur expats, but the police would not hear it: Gulhumar was a terrorist, and therefore Haitiwaji was also a terrorist.
Haitiwaji is far from alone. Throughout her years in captivity, more and more Uyghur women pour into prison, frequently sentenced to long periods of incarceration for minor or distorted "violations." Haitiwaji herself is sentenced to seven years of reeducation on the basis of Gulhumar's photo. These women appear before military judges without counsel or even a clear understanding of what the charges against them are. Family members struggle to find out where their loved ones are being held. Physical abuse is common; privacy is nonexistent.
Once one family member falls under suspicion, a cloud comes over them all. Haitiwaji's family in Xinjiang, her mother and siblings, eventually beg Gulhumar to stop calling them asking about Haitiwaji, because the frequent foreign phone calls are attracting police attention and subjecting the family to lengthy interrogations. A palpable atmosphere of apprehension and fear exists both among Uyghurs in China, but also among the expats, who know their families in Xinjiang may suffer for the actions of the expats.
Once free, Haitiwaji realizes that her lone escape has not meant any victory for the Uyghurs. In fact, the only reason Haitiwaji was eventually able to get away was her French connection: at Gulhumar's relentless urging, the French government pressured China to release Haitiwaji and send her back to France. But many Uyghurs do not have a foreign government to advocate for them, or family members with the time and knowledge to agitate for their release. So Haitiwaji penned her story and eventually agreed even to put her name and face on the book, because the world must know what is happening to the Uyghurs.
The book is a fast read; its roughly 230 pages go by quickly, but for the weight of suffering in the tale. The scope and scale of terrible things happening around the world at any given time can be exhausting, but if you have time to read about some more, I would recommend this book. Haitiwaji's story also suggests China is not immune to international pressure on the issue, although international sanctions against products coming out of Xinjiang on suspicion of forced labor of Uyghur prisoners has not put an end to the camps yet. Still, the less they are able to sweep the plight of the Uyghurs under the rug, the more they will be forced to moderate action taken against them, one hopes.
Crossposted to
booknook