Session 10 - May 9 (Symposium on Xinjiang)

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The USC U.S. - China Institute is offering a complimentary online workshop for educators. There is no cost to participate. 

An estimated one million people, mainly Uyghurs, have been detained in Xinjiang without charge, a fixed sentence, or the right to appeal. After initially denying the existence of these centers, Chinese officials now insist they are vocational schools to combat religious extremism, separatism and terrorism.  Heavy surveillance and discriminatory policies have been documented in the region for years, but this massive program of preventive detention and “transformation through education” is unprecedented and has been condemned by many. Outside the centers, technological advances are utilized to monitor and control the population.

Our symposium features presentations by scholars with expertise on Xinjiang and Uyghur history, culture and life. They will discuss Uyghur beliefs and Chinese government policies in the region. Is this cultural genocide? Or is it a measured and essential effort to preserve stability and foster development? What can or should governments, organizations and individuals outside China do?

Speakers 

Elise Anderson - Sr. Program Officer for Research & Advocacy, Uyghur Human Rights Project

Dr. Elise Anderson earned dual PhD degrees in Central Eurasian Studies and Ethnomusicology from Indiana University-Bloomington in August 2019. Her doctoral research, which is based on years of primary research in the Uyghur region, focuses on the relationships between Uyghur music and politics. She is fluent in Uyghur and proficient in Mandarin. In 2019, she served as Liu Xiaobo Fellow at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, a U.S. federal commission tasked with monitoring the status of human rights and the rule of law in the PRC.

Dru Gladney - Professor & Chair of Anthropology, Pomona College

Dru Gladney specializes in the peoples, cultures and politics along the ancient and modern Silk Road—in particular, issues of globalization and transnationalism in China and its close neighbors. Over the last few years, he has engaged in a large comparative survey of nomadic families in Western China, bolstered by in-depth fieldwork with nomadic Kazakhs in the Altai Mountains bordering China and Mongolia.

Nurnisa Kurban - Board Member, Uyghur LA

 

Dr. Nurnisa Kurban is an Uyghur American and Board member of Uyghur LA. She is also an assistant principal at Helen Bernstein High School. Her goal is to educate people about Uyghurs and the human rights violations and atrocities that they are facing in China.

 

 

Register for the webinar at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vi1EzjL6TLauST4ARy3IlA. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

[Jessica Ng]

While traveling in Kazakhstan last summer, I met someone with personal experience on this subject. My tour guide at Burabay National Park was a young man from Xinjiang; he had fled to Kazakhstan after a college friend called him one day, warning him not to return to school. The detention of minorities in China is a horrifying example of what much of the world seems willing to tolerate for different reasons, including political and economic consequences. For older students, this is a topic that should be explored alongside the study of the Holocaust, Japanese internment camps, and other examples of persecution and genocide. I found this online comic the other day, attributed to a Uyghur man now living in Japan. It would be an engaging way to introduce the topic, or provide a relatable, human story for students to connect to.

[Mario Ruiz]

Hearing Nurnisa's story was chilling. I'll be frank and honest, prior to this webinar, I knew nothing about the Uyghur ethnic group. Not only that, but I knew nothing about the prejudice that they faced. It got me to thinking: how many other ethnic minority groups are there that I am unaware of that have faced such harsh prejudice and persecution in their history or currently in this day and age? That would be an interesting project to present to students. Maybe have each student/group research an ethnic minority group and how they faced some kind of injustice. My level of students might have difficulty in completing a project like that, but presenting them with the material so that they may be aware of prejudice and injustice in the world would help my students to become more compassionate and understanding of others and their unique stories. 

[Meghann Seril]

One point that Dr. Kurban brought up was about how textbooks and school curriculum don't reflect Uyghur history. I think about our own curriculums and how many groups of people are left out of the history books. I am also sad to say that I don't know a lot about my own Filipino heritage, having been raised in the United States from the age of 2. I am really grateful for the opportunity to learn about the situation in Xinjiang. Like Mario, I was not familiar with the history, hearing only recently about the "re-education camps." I think this symposium was a moving way to end our seminar as it reminds me that we have an opportunity in our classrooms to highlight those stories that are not often told. We can go beyond the textbooks to bring in what we've learned about China, Japan, and Korea to give our students a better world view. I look forward to sharing our lesson plans and hope to be able to integrate your ideas in my classroom.

[Brigid Schmidt]

Like Mario, before today I knew very little about the Uyghur people. After listening to the lectures today, I briefly mentioned this to my husband, who reads a lot and is just generally very knowledgeable, and he not only knew all about the problems they are facing, but also said he recently ate at an Uyghur restaurant. He even has seen the image that Dr. Anderson showed us! Like Dr. Anderson, I have a strong interest in music and the arts, so her talk was enlightening. As a singer, I am used to singing harmonies, so it was interesting to me that their music is more melodic rather than focusing on harmonies. Similar to how I grew up learning music, some of their music is a reflection of religion-but not all. I think in many cultures music is apart of a religious experience. When I work with the music program at my school, it would be really neat to listen to some music from that region and the Uyghur people. 

Something that all three of the speakers mentioned were the "education camps" and the way Uyghur people are treated. I feel saddened that I was not aware of this before. Dr. Anderson mentioned the government basically seeing everything you do. Dr. Kurban said that the government had control of social media, control of the media, said every move is monitored. It was heartbreaking to hear how she can barely communicate with her family. It is crazy to think you could be sent to these camps just for having an Islamic name or family members overseas, or having contact with foreigners. We saw all of the cameras in the pictures watching what people do. They are even imposing Han Chia propaganda on Uyghur students. I recently took a class on the Holocaust and Human Rights and this fits right in with those topics and stories. I have my 8^th graders read articles about current events from all over the world and we do class discussions on them. (Currently we do these in an online forum.) This would be a very important topic to being up to them. Thank you all for being so open and sharing your experiences.

[Billie Johnson]

I agree with you about the Holocaust.  That is exactly where my mind went when hearing the stories and lack of political will to do something about it. I'm too foolish to recognize that there are atrocities happening all over the world and the US cannot inject itself and try to be the police for the world.  Yet I think that action for human rights violations must start at the grassroots level.  In a perfect world, I wish people would just mind their business and leave others alone.  

[Billie Johnson]

Like Mario, Dr. Kurban's presenation/lecture had the greatest impact on me.  I think about the political will that it would take to address these atrocities, the economic impact, and even if there would be any transparency to address what is happening to the Uyghur people.  The images that came to mind when she was telling her story in incredible detail were scenes from the book The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson. Just that experience from when life was seemingly normal to all hell breaking loose.  My questions were not directly answered but I think the reasons for inaction are economically driven, so as Dr. Kurban stated she will need our help.  It was tough listening to the cultural history, lessons on geography, and then watching Dr. Kurban look so deflated.  However, it is important that something is done to preserve this history and cultural while it is actively under assault. The reeducation camps or concentration camps as they are more appropriately named are, as Dr. Anderson mention, where many products are manfuctured for use around the globe. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/china-83-major-brands-implicated-in-report-on-forced-labour-of-ethnic-minorities-from-xinjiang-assigned-to-factories-across-provinces-includes-company-responses Also, when WhatsApp was mentioned and how some people are living in an open prison made me think of Jingjing and Chacha. When this was first discussed in a previous course I thought silly and ridiculous but seeing its impact firsthand has certainly left an impression.  I think what I am left with is how long will the world wait?  That is my question for so many countries who mistreat its people for whatever reason.  Thank you for the top caliber scholars who shared illuminating information with us this morning. I remember we briefly touched on the Uyghur's plight in China but taking this deep dive certainly made me more reflective about my job and mission as an educator.  Thank you.

[Cynthia Stults]

Dr. Kurban's testimony and presentation were incredibly moving. To hear how the prejudice against the Uyghurs began decades before the reeducation camps were reported to the rest of the world takes it from cold words on a page, and brings humanity and emotion- basically it brings it to life and makes it real. I truly believe that if we can make historical issues connect with students on a personal, human level, they will care more about the topic we are studying and then leaern even more than if it is just words on a page. Personal accounts, be they diaries, journals, live or pre-recorded testimonials are the best way to make deep, human connections with our students. Even now, students need to know the importance of recording personal accounts of historical events. They are a tech savvy generation. They need to make a record of both their experiences (this pandemic would be a great example), but they have parents and grandparents who have witnessed "historical" events and have stories and testimonies that need to be recorded and documented. 

When teaching about more ancient cultures, this can be a harder task, as stories and accounts were passed orally, and not always written. In that case, the best option I can currently think of is to have students use given circumstances of the time, place, and what was occurring, and try and create a personal account of a person living in that time period. 

[Cynthia Stults]

As a proponent of arts integration in school, I'm always looking for ways to tie in arts to what we are studying. Music has strong ties both to religion and culture. I found that Dr. Anderson's presentation was a great surprise. I had wondered how an ethnomusicologist could contribute to the discussion, but I was amazed at how this one form of music, the Muqam, could be used to track when the government changed its stance on the Uyghurs. The Muqam was incredibly prevalent in their religious practices and had spread as artwork in restaurants, to being behind the design of the 12 Muqam's square. For the Chinese government to go from actively promoting this form and funding its preservation, to curtailing performances is incrediby suspicious. This rerpression of cultural/religious music as a means of control and forced assimilation has happened throughout history. If the party in power (or trying to take power) can eliminate or minimize the religion and culture of those they want to control, they can eventually force assimilation if those traditions and practices are not somehow passed down. This presentation demonstrates that we cannot discount the importance of the arts.

[Jessica Ng]

Life in the XUAR, as described by Dr. Kurban and Dr. Anderson and depicted in the online comics posted in the Q&A of the webinar, seems truly Orwellian (excuse the cliché). Ordinary citizens are monitored via technology and by representatives of the state, both secretly and overtly. People are coerced to report on their own family members. The publishing and viewing of material on the internet is censored, while dissent is quickly silenced. State media is used to promote and strengthen loyalty to the president. It's encouraging that some leaders in different countries recognize this atrocity as such, but they have not taken any tangible actions that make a difference to people living in that region as a whole. We can and should begin to make a difference by bringing some of these stories into the classroom to inform lessons about history and tolerance. Cynthia observes above that our students are a very tech savvy generation; with careful facilitation on our parts, we need to expose them to these human stories, to help them make connections to historical events but also to be aware of issues going on today. This isn't appropriate for my ETK students, but I will prepare them for it by continuing to incorporate opportunities for them to practice empathy, tolerance, and kindness with each other.

[Hilda Dixon]

I think what professors Numisa Kurban, Elise Anderson and Dru Gladney are doing is wonderful because they are creating international awareness. They are bringing alive a vibrant culture that resists to be quiet. This is the first step. I hope they continue to do workshops like this one in order to bring universal support and togetherness, so that in this way, China would not have other option, but to change its tactic. After all, we are all connected, and we are all watching.

[Hilda Dixon]

I am a strong and passionate believer that humanity has 1,000 faces. What I mean is that all human societies pursue the same existential human experiences such as the right to live dignified lives and the right to prosper, but the way we access them might vary from one culture to another. I strongly agree that as people who live in different societies with different idiosyncrasies, we might be perceived from the outside different, but at the end we have the same core. It infuriates me when a dominant group of a society makes scandalous accusations of other minority groups such as the Chinese Uyhurs in order to pursue a hidden and obscure agenda. Sometimes, I felt that we get bumped with the same nail over and over again. Placing Chinese Uyhurs children in orphanages or boarding schools in order to comply with the dominant culture, do not work. We saw and studied this same issue with the Native Americans and with the Australian aboriginals. What it causes is a long-lasting emotional pain on the children. These native American and Australian aboriginal children grew up with some sort of identity discomfort because what was taught at school did not resemble with their culture values and ethnicity, creating emotional dissonances. As a result, we witness a higher degree of suicides in Native Americans.  These Chinese Uyhur children might experience the same when the Chinese history texts do not express positively and accurately about the minorities. On the same token, President Trump is doing kind of the same thing. He is separating undocumented Central American families that want to cross the border to the USA. We as Americans, we are doing the same thing. We are complicit because we do not do enough to stop these unethical practices. We are seeing on TV how ICE officials separate children from their mothers and place them in foster homes. We are putting the undocumented Central American parents in retention centers, too.  Perhaps not as harsh as China does, but we hear about cages. The difference is that undocumented Central American people want a better life here in the USA while China is doing this against its own Chinese people who happen to belong to a minority group. All in all, within this Chinese institutionalism racism tactic to make Chinese subgroups  comply, the Chinese Uyghurs forcibly act like the government want them to act, but in their quiet hearts,  Uyghurs will ever be proud.

[Meghann Seril]

Hi Billie! I also wonder about the political will to do something. I think it's an even more complex question to consider given our current situation. I wonder if this move into physical isolation will also mean political isolation with an "each country for themself" attitude. It seems that way listening to some of our politicians. I imagine like with many other movements, the political action will come from constituents making demands of their elected officials. Let's hope any action will not be too late.

[Meghann Seril]

Hi Jessica! I have been wondering at what age is it appropriate to start facilitating these complex and uncomfortable discussions with students? I know that when tricky subjects come up with my third graders I have to think so carefully about how I guide discussion while allowing students to share their truth in a safe space. It's so much to think about when we are already trying to pack a lot into a short day. I have been doing some work on becoming an anti-racist teacher. I hope this resources might be helpful for you and your little ones. https://secure.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/RacialEquity.pdf

[Sandra Flores]

First of all, I would like to thank Ms. Nurnisa Kurban for her bravery and her testimony.  As I mentioned in the webinar, it is different reading an article in the third person about a current issue and listening to a survivor.  Before this class, I was unaware of the different religions in China.  I was surprised to learn that many people practice different religions, but I hurt when I learned that people are sent to concentration camps because of their believes.  It disgusts me what they are doing to the Uyghur community.  People should not be forced to eat in order to prevent fasting.  People should not be force to work during religious holidays, people should not be force to drink alcohol and eat pork and sing songs.  What happens to people if they do no obey these "rules"?  Why is this going on? Did we not learn from the Holocaust.  They are doing the exact same thing.  China is trying to get rid of an entire population, they are not trying to "educate" this community.  

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