Unofficially Exiled: A conversation with Qutlugh
Protest in Washington, D.C., after the July 2009 Urumqi riots Wikimedia Commons
I first met Qutlugh* while taking a foreign language course. Through numerous chats, Qutlugh has offered me insights into what it is like growing up under China’s repression in Occupied East Turkestan renamed Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by China. Effectively exiled from her homeland, she monitors the situation in Occupied East Turkestan closely.
What follows is a short interview. Given the delicacy of Qutlugh’s situation and the fact her family is still in East Turkestan, she was hesitant to discuss somethings in an effort to maintain her and her family’s safety.
*Not her real name.
Can you tell me about yourself?
My name is Qutlugh and I’m an Uyghur. I grew up in the northwestern part of modern-day China which is called Xinjiang by the Chinese government. I grew up in a multicultural environment, went to Chinese school, studied Mandarin, but still managed to learn my own native language. At the moment I am doing my PhD abroad.
How has the situation in Occupied East Turkestan progressed? What has changed since your childhood?
Growing up in this government designed environment, I didn’t know what was going on, or what happened in the past. My family didn’t tell me—my parents didn’t tell me anything about our history or anything that may be sensitive to the government. The only thing I could tell is that we are marginalized as days go by. The space for Uyghur language has decreased. I know there were Uyghur universities and my parents received education in Uyghur. There were Uyghur grade schools and now the Uyghur schools have been replaced by Han Chinese schools and Han Chinese education.
Do people in East Turkestan still use Uyghur language as a predominant means of communication?
Only private conversations that are face to face. You could not use it on social media. I was told to use Chinese to speak with others in East Turkestan.
What other changes have you seen in your region regarding security?
Security measures have escalated. Since 2016 I started seeing more and more police checkpoints and “convenience police stations” (便民警务站) buildings under construction on every street block. You can barely get to anywhere without having your ID card with you.
What about in regards to travel?
The policies haven’t been consistent for travelling abroad. Back then going abroad wasn’t that difficult, but later they were asking non-Han Chinese to show proof of “being a good Muslim” from the committee of religious affairs (宗教委证明). Later, they withdrew this policy and Uyghurs started applying for passports. Lots of people started applying for passports, but in autumn 2016 (note: after Chen Quanguo was appointed Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) all the passports were confiscated. For travelling inside the region, there were cards given to people who are deemed “safe” to go to other prefectures after July 2009.
When did you leave East Turkestan?
Just before the passports were asked to be handed in, so in 2016. I was questioned for two hours at the border, as usual.
And you have not been back since?
Yes. I was about to go back last summer, but one of my friends got this news about people who went back home and were detained. They had their passports confiscated. And a month later, some Uyghur students studying in Egypt were arrested and deported to China. They were sent to camps, and two ended up dead.
Have you been able to contact your family?
I tried in July 2017. My family told me that they won’t be able to contact me frequently. When it is suitable, they will contact me themselves. The next time we were in contact was three months later, a brief phone call—just five minutes. Another time they left a message, but I could not get a hold of them. But I heard that cadres will question why families are getting calls overseas and I worry my family will be harassed so I did not contact them. Then we started having emoji conversations on WeChat.
Did you have problems maintaining communication on WeChat?
Initially, it was okay, but my phone went funny. My email was bombarded with spam; my phone would have problems so I deleted it. So then we were out of contact for 5 months. During these last 5 months, I tried to get information about my family through my friends. I didn’t want to stay in the dark. So I got a second phone to download WeChat. From then on, we resumed weekly greetings.
When you say “greetings”? You mean just short pleasantries?
Yes. No video, no voice calls.
How does it make you feel that you can’t have sustained contact with your family essentially because of your ethnicity?
If you were not an Uyghur, like Hui students or Han students here, you are able to speak to your families and travel back home. But here as an Uyghur, I can’t even speak to my parents freely and I cannot even go back home. It feels like I’m unofficially exiled.
I feel angry and at the same time helpless...
It’s difficult seeing what your “compatriots” have, but you can’t...
I can’t be open about this, but I’m being open with you. Although I’m angry about this situation, there’s a tiny bit of relief that my family has not been detained. Although I have no word on the extended family.
Why is China doing this?
At first, I thought…they were just paranoid about the potential independence movement in East Turkestan and then the terrorist threat. Since 2016 this whole situation has escalated to a whole different level...by getting to know all these new policies, new measures and the human rights violations that they are doing now, I know now that this is just an excuse. I mean, the whole “War on Terror” is just an excuse to control the entire Turkic population. I got this impression from news and from my observation that while Hui people are left alone, Uyghurs are targeted the most. I still think they are paranoid—the assimilation policies, the monitoring measurements, the home visits, the surveillance investments that have been put into the region, the ban on language, and so on.
Ramadan has just ended. During the month of Ramadan I normally see articles about China’s repression of Islamic practices in the Uyghur territory. Can you talk a bit on that?
They’re opposing religions. Religion is part of Uyghur identity, most of the Uyghur population is Muslim and with a small Christian community. Islam is part of our identity, just like they stop you from speaking your own language...this is also a part of who we are—the collective identity of this nation. This wasn’t new though. A few years ago, people were still afraid to be open about fasting during Ramadan. At schools, I can remember in the early 2000s, government officials would come sometimes to choose random students and ask them to drink water to check if they are fasting or not.
How would you characterize the Uyghur population? Are they religious or more secular?
More than half of the population is secular. People are more secular now in urban areas, but in rural areas, people are becoming more religious. I think it is more to do with, well, the majority of the Uyghur population being culturally Muslim. For hundreds of years of Islamic history, Uyghur people are being born into Muslim families, so religion is embedded in their culture. Most of the people don’t pray 5 times a day, but they do go to mosques on Friday, and they also fast. But of course, it depends on the person and the areas they are from. Areas like Kashgar and Hotan are generally more religious. If you ask any Uyghur what their religion is, they will identify as Muslim even if they don’t practice. Thi is because it is part of the culture and we have a deep attachment to it. They will still choose halal food to eat when outside of East Turkestan. I would say most of them are cultural Muslims.
Is the Chinese government afraid of a rise in religiosity?
There are people in the region becoming more conservative, especially in their dress code.
Why do you think there’s a rise in “conservative” religious ideology?
Because when you’re facing difficulties, when you’re marginalized, when you’re helpless you tend to devote yourself to god. There’s no one you can seek help from except god. We say Allah is “Qudretlik” (Allah will lead the way in difficulty). I know how the government portraits religions as a dangerous infection. They claim that people who get affected should be spotted and “treated.” I said religions in the plural because it’s not only Islam that's under attack, Christianity and Buddhism (especially in Tibet) are too.
There were improperly treated cases where dispute between Uyghurs and Chinese weren’t handled justly by the law enforcement bodies. So discontent for the unjust system caused a few attacks to police stations. But instead of rethinking their counter effective policies, authorities came up with a greater crackdown and more oppressive measures. And then, of course, there are incidents, like the 2014 Kunming attack. Before 9/11 there were no “terrorist attacks,” but after 9/11 the government’s narrative changed to rebrand any conflict or attack, as an act of terrorism. They tend to overemphasise attacks if done by Uyghurs. The government even declared the niqab, the burqa, the symbolism of moon and star and having a beard, to be illegal.
Do you see the increase in conservative religious ideology as blowback against the Chinese government?
Yes. Definitely.
How do you feel about being abroad with more freedom to practice your religious beliefs?
I feel free to practice and also not to practice. It’s like someone’s freedom, it’s a human right to have religious freedom. If you make it harder to practice religion, out of frustration someone will become more religious. “It’s even more rewarding to practice in a difficult environment,” as the saying goes.
Do you think you can return home in the future?
I honestly don’t know. This is called by some a second Cultural Revolution. Well, there’s only half and half chance, right? This region is important to China as it is a gateway to Central Asia and Europe; especially with this new Belt and Road Initiative. The Uyghur homeland is the way to Central Asia and in the future, it can be a huge trade centre. It’s rich in natural resources and the landmass is important given the huge population of China.
So until the project has finished, or until they think they’ve assimilated Uyghurs enough, repression will continue. But they are planting hatred among the people. As far as I know, the majority of Uyghurs did not think about independence they just wanted to live as Uyghurs, to keep their identity. With the situation today, the persecution of the Uyghurs and Kazakhs and other non-Han populations, the majority of the Uyghurs still just want to be left alone. But with these policies by the Chinese government, more people will want independence.
We all know things are harder for us, we must accept that all the hardness we get is because some people are sabotaging us...and we were told that some of us are saboteurs. And for our own safety and the safety of the country, we have to suffer. This is what China wants us to believe.