Insta
Nipping Dissent In The Bud: After ‘Re-Education’ Camps For Adults, Now Children Under Communist Government Gaze
Swarajya Staff
Jul 05, 2019, 04:48 PM | Updated 04:48 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Having already lodged up millions of Uyghurs in what it claims are ‘re-education’ camps, China has now turned its gaze towards the children in Xinjiang, BBC has reported.
The report speaks of a rapid, large scale campaign to set up boarding schools where children are formally assessed to determine if they are in need of ‘centralised care’ in a bid to cut them off their roots. Several children have already lost one of both their parents to the some form of internment, be it prison or the education camps.
While contact with the affected people in Xinjiang is allegedly almost impossible, the report states several accounts of ethnic Uyghurs in Turkey who speak of the missing children.
Uyghur parents say their children are missing in China.
— WorldUyghurCongress (@UyghurCongress) July 5, 2019
In 60 separate interviews, @TheJohnSudworth of @BBCWorld heard grief-ridden testimonies of heart broken Uyghur parents giving details of the disappearance in East Turkistan of more than 100 children. pic.twitter.com/v38gO7u6Ek
Xinjiang, the south-western province of China, is home to the mostly-Muslim Uyghurs and is prone to violence with several organisations demanding freedom from Chinese rule. Reports of giant internment camps in the region were initially denied by government authorities when they started emerging about an year ago. Since then, the authorities have agreed upon their existence, but term them as ‘vocational training’ centres.
This claim is contested by international observers who claim that the camps are used to wean away the Uyghurs from their religious tendencies and force them into aligning their beliefs with the Communist government.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Introducing ElectionsHQ + 50 Ground Reports Project
The 2024 elections might seem easy to guess, but there are some important questions that shouldn't be missed.
Do freebies still sway voters? Do people prioritise infrastructure when voting? How will Punjab vote?
The answers to these questions provide great insights into where we, as a country, are headed in the years to come.
Swarajya is starting a project with an aim to do 50 solid ground stories and a smart commentary service on WhatsApp, a one-of-a-kind. We'd love your support during this election season.
Click below to contribute.