A testimony from our “100 Camp Testimonies” Book
I am from the Tengritagh district of Ürümchi, and I would like to testify for my brothers and sister, as well as my experience from my last trip to Ürümchi.
Abdusopur Eli, my elder brother, was born in 1969. On July 16, 2016, he was expelled from Ürümchi, where he did business, and forced to return to Üchturpan County, Aksu Prefecture. It was an order from the higher-ups that forced all southerners living in Ürümchi to return to their hometowns. Abdusopur was taken to an internment camp upon his return to Üchturpan County. I had been in contact with my younger brother Abdüshkür Eli, asking him about Abdusopur’s situation. But in September 2016, my younger brother Abdüshkür was also taken to an internment camp. I have not been able to obtain any information about my brothers ever since.
Patime Qurban, my older sister, was taken to the internment camp in Akchi County in late 2016 for no reason, and she was held there for four months. After being released from the camp in March 2017, she went to Ürümchi for medical treatment, during which time we spent a week together. After she returned home, she was taken to the camp for a second time on the pretext of having met me. I heard that Patime was released from the camp in May 2020, but I could not get in touch with her.
Allow me to give you an account of my experience from my last trip to Ürümchi in March 2017. I left Istanbul for Ürümchi on March 24, 2017, and when I arrived at my apartment in Ürümchi, its door was sealed off by the Uchtash residential committee. According to an official order, all apartments/houses whose owners are abroad would be temporarily sealed off. I called a Chinese man named Songlong, who was the local residential committee official in charge of the aforementioned matter, and he told me that I could open the door carefully without tearing apart the seal, and that he would deal with it on Monday as I arrived on weekend.
I was very much surprised that none of my relatives came to the airport to greet me in 2017, while in the past my relatives always came to greet me at the airport. My neighbors in Ürümchi told me that I should get rid of the books written in Uyghur, including the holy Koran, before the arrival of the local residential committee official. I had a lot of books in my apartment, and on my first night home I packed two carton boxes full of books, all of which were legally published. A relative of mine drove me all the way to Toksun (two hours’ drive from Ürümchi) to discard the books as I could not find a place without a surveillance camera in Ürümchi.
When we got back to my apartment, the neighborhood committee officials paid us a visit around midnight, who expelled me and my relative from my own apartment, saying that I let a guest stay in my apartment without their permission. They knew that I had a guest because the surveillance cameras were installed everywhere. I told them that the apartment was registered in my name as I bought it myself, but they kicked me out of my own apartment regardless, and sealed off the door. What was equally ridiculous was that I could not even stay at my relatives’ homes as it was forbidden to receive guests. As a result, I stayed at a hotel for a week at Yan’an Road area. I spent the whole week talking to the neighborhood committee officials, begging them to let me access my own apartment. I wrote self-criticism letters, confessing to my “wrongdoings,” and finally they allowed me to get back to my own apartment.
There were a number of things that stood out to me during my stay in Ürümchi.
In 2017 I witnessed that there were abnormally low numbers of Uyghurs out on the streets of Ürümchi, the surveillance cameras were installed everywhere, and barricades were set up on both sides of the roads.
Social gatherings were not allowed. Friends or relatives could not meet or dine together. Uyghurs who, with foreign citizenship, visited Ürümchi were shunned by their friends and relatives. My friends and relatives told me, “We’ve been sleeping with our clothes on for months now.” The reason was that the police would detain Uyghurs at night. Uyghurs would check in on one another to ensure that their loved ones were not interned/detained as the Chinese regime’s mass internment campaign was at its peak in 2017. Uyghurs originally from the southern parts of East Turkistan were forcibly expelled from Ürümchi, and it did not matter whether they were doing business or working in Ürümchi.
Uyghurs from different districts of Ürümchi could not live together after getting married without authority’s permission. For example, the groom would not be able to bring the bride, who was from a different district, to his district after the wedding if they failed to seek permission beforehand. Uyghurs were not allowed to sell their own properties without authority’s permission, and when they contacted the relevant authority, they had to state the reason for the sale and the purpose for the money from the sale. In addition, the buyers would also have to be approved by the authority, and only then could one go forward with the sale of property.
During weekends and holidays if you wanted to invite some guests over, you must provide guests’ IDs to your local police station in order to get the permission for a gathering. There were guards stationed outside residential buildings and areas, discouraging visitors. They would pose questions like, “Why did you come? What is the purpose for your visit?” As a result, after my sister came to Ürümchi, she could not access my apartment building, not even once. I talked to my sister only when we dined or shopped together.
