Letter From Your Uyghur Sisters - Zumrat Dawut and Tursunay Zeynudunqizi
Zumrat Dawut and Tursunay Zeynudunqizi
Letters to Islam21c
1 December
2020
Sandra Sanders /
Shutterstock.com
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My name is
Zumrat Dawut. On the 31st of March 2018, on a Saturday, I was taken by the
police to their headquarters. When I got there, they apprehended me, and I was
interrogated.
They took
away my phone, checked my call register, and saw that I was getting calls from
Pakistan. They checked my bank account, looked through my passport, where they
saw that I had made international trips. They then started asking me why I went
overseas.
I also have
three children, and they asked me why I had a third child. They also asked,
“Did your husband teach you to have many children because that is what is
taught in Islam?” They were putting a lot of pressure on me.
My passport
had an American visa which I had applied for in 2016, so they asked me
questions like, “What are you trying to do with an American visa?” and “Do you
know Rebiya Kadeer?” and “Who do you know overseas?” I answered their questions
truthfully, but I had no idea why they were asking.
And never
in my mind did I ever think or imagine I would ever be sent to a concentration
camp.
I had
committed no crime – whatever they asked, I had given an appropriate answer.
The next day, they took me to a hospital for a medical check, before taking me
to a camp and locking me up.
I was
incarcerated there for 2 months and witnessed many things. After I left the
camp, the authorities decided to fine me for having a third child, even though
he was already five years old and registered in the system. The fine was 18,400
RMB (~2,800 USD). The fine I received was quite low compared to what I heard
from other women, who received fines ranging from 40,000 RMB (~6,000 USD) to
100,000 RMB (~15,000 USD).
Even after
paying the fine, I was still not left alone. I was forced to have a
sterilisation operation.
At first,
myself and others had not agreed to have such an operation, but we were told we
would end up back in the camps if we didn’t go through with it. My husband, who
is from Pakistan and was born and raised in a Muslim country, could not
comprehend such an act, but he was threatened by Chinese authorities that he
could not go back into China nor would his wife and kids be allowed to leave if
they did not to agree to the sterilisation.
– Zumrat
Dawut
Zumrat Dawut, who spent three
months in a detention camp, shows an app the police allegedly force Uighurs to
install so they can monitor them.
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Peace be
upon you. My name is Tursunay Zeynudunqizi. In our homeland of East Turkestan,
I saw with my own eyes the level of oppression the Chinese are carrying out to
the Uyghurs in the concentration camps.
They
punished us a lot. We were malnourished, and many of us were on the brink of
death from starvation. We were only given a steamed bun and some water as a
meal. Many died through all kinds of beatings and torture, and I saw this all
with my own eyes.
Women are
forced to have their heads shaved – I too had my head shaved. The women are
beaten and tortured, and if you talk back during an interrogation, you are
beaten even more. I was beaten so bad during an interrogation that I became
unconscious.
Still to
this day, I suffer the injuries from the camps. I suffered internal bleeding
from my beating, and I had a major operation because of these injuries.
I am
thankful I got out of the camps alive. Many women are beaten to death in the
camps, with anywhere between 1-3 people dying a week. I saw this all with my
own eyes.
They are
oppressing us Uyghurs in this way. They forcefully sterilise the women. At
night, the camp guards pick women at random and rape them – I saw this as well,
and we all experienced that.
The guards
also beat the men, sometimes even to death. No one can question what happens in
the camps.
One day, I
had a high fever, and a teacher who taught in the camp called for the guards to
take me to the hospital in the camp. The doctor said they would give me an
injection to lower the fever. While I was there, I saw many men who were
physically maimed very badly. Men with their heads split, some missing their
big toe, and all of them were being injected with something I am unsure of.
I saw this
all with my own eyes. This is the life of the Uyghurs in China’s concentration
camps.
They are
killing Uyghurs every day. At least 1-2 Uyghurs die every 2-3 days – that is
what I have witnessed, and God knows what’s happening in the other camps.
Through the
torture, beatings, and rape, many women lose their minds and are taken to
mental facilities. I beg you, please save us from Chinese oppression.
– Tursunay Zeynudunqizi
It may be difficult to read and share these stories, but that is why it is incumbent upon any reader with a heart to resist that feeling and help raise awareness nonetheless. This is the bare minimum we can do, and is shown to harm the Chinese regime. Do not fall for Shaytān’s “What can I do?” trap; you have the ability to make Du’ā, condemn a Munkar (itself an act of worship), and raise awareness about their plight.
But there
is also more that you can do.
Original Headline: “I saw it with my own eyes”
– A Letter From Your Uyghur Sisters
Source: The Islam 21.com
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