A wake up call

Leaked documents and files revealed China’s systematic brainwashing high-security prison camps; in which more than 15,000 Muslims have been interned since 2017.

These so-called ‘vocational skill training centers’, located in Xinjiang (China), are far from it. The orders are clear, by the term religious extremism; the Chinese officials have imprisoned ‘suicide bombers’, ‘terrorists’ and ‘killers’. However, Uighurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim minorities have reportedly been interned without trial and no charges have been levied against them. Nevertheless, as wrong as the idea of these camps might come off as, the Chinese Government persists in claiming that the actions implemented in Xinjiang are justifiable responses to a threat of extremism and terrorism. Will the Chinese Government and its authorities ever be held accountable for increased repression and human rights violation?

The leaked documents from the concentration camps include a nine-page memo sent out in 2017 that states how camps should be regulated as high security prisons, which strict regulations and punishments should be executed, and the one and only golden rule, there is no chance of escaping. Further evidence also exposes how detainees were selected and monitored for the sole purpose of their Muslim culture and thought objectionable mannerism. Some orders included in the memo are: "Never allow escapes", "Increase discipline and punishment of behavioral violations", "Promote repentance and confession", "Make remedial Mandarin studies the top priority", "Encourage students to truly transform", "[Ensure] full video surveillance coverage of dormitories and classrooms." Eventually, after a year or so, Muslims are released from the prison; however, not without the ratification that the individual has “improved” their language and vocational skills. Former detainees report that they suffered torture, rape, sterilization, and other abuses.

But why is the Chinese Government so persistent on repressing these cultural beliefs and morals? Part of why Xinjiang region is important to China is its’ richness on energy resources; and so, as the country’s economy grew, so did its need for energy. The government demanded control over the geographical location on which Xinjiang sits. However, that is where the predominant ethnic Uighur group resides. Subsequently, by 2013, the country launched the Belt and Road initiative (a trillion-dollar investment in things like fiber optic cables, train lines, and gas pipes meant to boost the country’s economic and political influence around the world). If you were to plot these projects on a map, you would see a lot of them pass through Xinjiang, designating the region as the arguably most important corridor for the whole initiative. China needed to assure that this rich land remained securely in their hands; and as a result, the government utilized the idea of ‘vocational skill training centers’ as an opportunity to dilute the influence of potentially rebellious Uighurs. Moreover, the Uighurs came to be perceived as a separatist and extremist threat.

Meanwhile, millions of families are being ripped apart, the Chinese Government continues to try to delete evidence of the concentration camps. Reporters who have tried to speak up about the situation have been tracked by Chinese authorities. The government doesn’t want the world to know what’s happening in Xinjiang; therefore, consider this article as a wake-up call on what’s happening and spread the word.