THIS IS PART FIVE OF A FIVE-PART EDITORIAL SERIES.

*A full warning about content that may be viewed as offensive, triggering and/or otherwise distasteful is being provided now. This series will discuss acts of rape, forced abortion, sterilization, murder, torture, forced labor and genocide. This writing is meant to help give the Uighur people a voice and to show that they are being thought about, cared about and fought for in as many ways as possible. The Uighur people deserve their lives, their families, their culture and the one thing that we all hold dear: their freedom. These next sections will discuss the acts being committed against the Uighurs.*

Indoctrination:

Uighur children are losing their culture at the hands of the CCP, who are destroying families and ‘re-educating’ youth with propaganda that strips the Uighur of their cultural roots. It is reported that nearly half a million Uighur children have been placed into boarding schools where they are taught to love China and the CCP. Part of this indoctrination is the removal of the Uighur language from children’s education as well as the CCP forcing Uighur children to learn and speak in Mandarin.

*A full warning about content that may be viewed as offensive, triggering and/or otherwise distasteful is being provided now. This article will discuss acts of rape, forced abortion, sterilization, murder, torture, forced labor and genocide. This writing is meant to help give the Uighur people a voice, and to show that they are being thought about, cared about and fought for in as many ways as possible. The Uighur people deserve their lives, their families, their culture and the one thing that we all hold dear: their freedom. *
As part of their campaign to quell notions of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has banned many religious and lifestyles practices for Muslims practices. These restrictions have included, “banning veils and beards, cracking down on Quran study groups, and preventing Muslim officials from fasting for Ramadan.”The CCP has also noted several behaviors to watch out for among the Uighur people. If caught, people can land inside of a so-called “re-education” camp. Seemingly innocent offenses such as, “quitting smoking or buying a tent”are enough to get you arrested and thrown into a “re-education camp.” This loose set of rules for the Uighurs to follow is why so many of them are going into these camps and not seen or heard from for years on end.

THIS IS PART THREE OF A FIVE-PART EDITORIAL SERIES.

*A full warning about content that may be viewed as offensive, triggering and/or otherwise distasteful is being provided now. This article will discuss acts of rape, forced abortion, sterilization, murder, torture, forced labor and genocide. This writing is meant to help give the Uighur people a voice, and to show that they are being thought about, cared about and fought for in as many ways as possible. The Uighur people deserve their lives, their families, their culture and the one thing that we all hold dear: their freedom.

The horrible truth about this situation is the prevalent and horrific accounts of rape. The rape did not occur randomly, as it was used as a systematic punishment in the previously described camps. One method of torture described was the use of solitary confinement. Prisoners were removed from their normal cells and placed in dark cells where they were shackled and left. While in these cells, many women have described terrifying experiences of not only being raped but witnessing it as well. Following are accounts from people who were inside the camps.

Forced Labor

One staple of all acts of genocide is that the parties committing them often do not let the labor of those being erased go to waste. The same is true here, as “Xinjiang is home to 84 percent of China’s cotton and therefore is a major supplier to China’s clothing manufacturers,” according to a report by Citizen Power Initiatives for China (CPIC). The region traditionally “…used to rely on seasonal, migrant workers from other provinces in China.” However, there has been a shift in this source of labor as apparently “the newly found supply of local labor has both solved this labor crisis and helped increase profits for the growers.” This shift stems from a move by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to enslave and use the labor of the Uighur people and to exploit them to help improve the profits on the products made by them.

The cotton fields in the Xinjiang region are being supplied by the forced labor of the Uighur people. In addition to the work in the cotton field, it has been viewed through satellite imaging that the CCP has built hundreds if not thousands of factories in or near their “reeducation camps” and are potentially using the persons in the camps to fill these factories and turn out products. These claims of course cannot be completely confirmed due to the CCP refusing to allow any person to film, photograph or document anything having to do with these factories; however, the satellite imagery and accounts for persons who have escaped Xinjian provide at least the accusation that the CCP must address.

I understand with the current pandemic why many people want to vote early for their health to protect themselves. Ultimately, this is a personal decision, and I would never tell you what to do. I do, however, implore you to not vote early and to consider my reasoning as to why.