We live in a world that still feels the consequences of the Second World War. The word "genocide" reminds everyone of the Holocaust and even with everyone in the West fighting against the horrible acts that are genocides, most of the world turns a blind eye when it comes to China's Xinjiang region. After covering the most inhuman act Islamic extremism has done, it is time to focus on the tortures that Uyghur Muslim families endure in the People's Republic of China.
The largest region in China, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is to be found in the northwestern parts of the country. It is inhabited by 25 million people, most of them Uyghur Muslims (~45%) and Han Chinese people (~39%). Most of the people in this region are Muslims (~60%) and for years, China has been trying to eradicate this religion from their territory..
The 21st Century 'Holocaust'
Concentration camps, forced labor, ruthless massacres, and human hair products. When someone mentions these things we immediately think about the Holocaust where Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany conducted inhuman experiments and killed millions of people, mostly Jews. Unfortunately, that is still happening to this day. The target are China's Uyghur Muslims and the genocide is done by the Chinese government.
Mostly men, but children, women, and older people as well are regularly being sent to so-called "re-education camps". There, the Uyghurs are tortured, waterboarded, electrocuted by the Chinese authorities, all while being forced to work days and nights without stopping. They receive harsh military-like training and their hair is regularly shaved, and later used to make various products. The U.S. CBP (Customs and Border Protection) seized over 13 tons of products made using human hair in a shipment.
There have been drone recordings of the camps leaked online and more and more people are getting aware of the fact that Xi Jinping's country is conducting an ethnic cleansing in the country's biggest region. While people are strongly opposing these terrific deeds by China, most of the governments remain quiet. Whether it is a big corporation that makes money off of China's cheap labor, famous personalities, or left-wing media that aims to present China in a good light, the Holocaust of the modern era is constantly being ignored.
While people on both sides of the spectrum haven't been vocal about this issue, most of us are moderate people (no matter left or right-wing) who will always fight for basic human rights. Unfortunately, most of the countries are too dependent on China to do anything. In a recent United Nations summit, only 22 (24) countries opposed China's policies in Xinjiang, while 50 (54) supported them. Of the countries supporting China, 23 are majority-Islamic states that are too dependent on China and the rights of Uyghur Muslims aren't their top priorities.
Mostly European countries condemned China's policies with Germany, France, and the United Kingdom being the most notable ones. The only European country to fully support China was Lukashenko's Belorussia. While the United States of America have been strongly critical on the Uyghur issue, they didn't take an official stance during the U.N. summit. President Trump has, however, imposed sanctions on Beijing and has condemned the actions of the Chinese government.
What most of us can do is spread awareness of this issue and hope that more people will fight the genocide that is happening to the Uyghurs in China. Their culture and religion are being erased, and while most of the governments still support the country's policies in Xinjiang, it is our job to put pressure on them and make them sort their priorities out. Basic human rights must not be ignored in the 21st century - China, it is time to stop!
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