All posts tagged: Solidarity

‘Ethnic extinction’ in northwest China

“That’s right. Since I’m from Southern Xinjiang I know that I’ll never be able to find a job,” Kaiser told the Han taxi driver in Mandarin. “If you don’t have connections, you won’t even be considered for jobs. This country doesn’t serve the needs of the ‘common people.’” Kaiser used the term “lǎobǎixìng 老百姓” — or “old 100 names” — to refer to the predicament of the common people. Of course, the surnames that belong to these “old 100” — Wang, Li, Xi and so on — do not include the names of Uyghurs. Turkic Muslim Uyghurs don’t use family names as surnames; instead, the given names of their fathers become their surname. Nonetheless, the Han driver accepted Kaiser’s claim to “laobaixing” identity without batting an eye. The middle-aged man with a crew-cut replied, “That’s right. The other day, when I was at this intersection here at Solidarity Road” — he gestured out the window — “there was some sort of motorcade up to the governor’s residence. We just had to sit here waiting for …

The Xinjiang Ketchup Shirt

Are you interested in finding ways to stand with Turkic Muslims in their struggle for human rights in Northwest China? One of the ways to amplify knowledge about their struggle is by wearing it, making it a part of your everyday life. Many of the retailers who sell us clothes and tomato products are complicit in the oppression of Muslims in China. This shirt helps draw together those connections. Follow this link to find out more about how you can support the project. Below is a bit more about this effort from it’s creator, Joxkun. In addition to cotton, Xinjiang is also a major producer of tomatoes. Our research shows that 1/4 of the world’s tomato paste supply originates in Xinjiang. Several years ago, Juxkun had the idea to redesign a series of ketchup bottle and cans of soup in such a way to position them as an Indigenous Uyghur product. Things have changed since then. In May 2019, the Wall Street Journal published a report about western companies’ entanglement in a system of compelled labour connected to …

Streaming Mainstreaming Stories: A Day of Solidarity with Uyghurs

On April 26, scholars will hold a series of events called “Mainstreaming Stories: A Day of Solidarity with Uyghurs” at locations around the world. In twelve locations they will discuss the ongoing state of emergency in the Uyghur and Kazakh homelands. Timothy Grose (Rose-Hulman Institute, Indiana); Sandrine Catris (Augusta University, Georgia) Magnus Fiskesjö (Cornell University, New York) James Liebold (LaTrobe University, Australia) June Dreyer (University of Miami, Florida) Kristian Petersen (Old Dominion University, Virgina) Vanessa Frangville (Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium Sophie Richardson (Human Rights Watch) Rian Thum (Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana) Rachel Harris (University of London, United Kingdom) Mustafa Kérim (Indiana University, Indiana) Hannah Theaker (University of Oxford, United Kingdom) A guest speaker at the University of Denver, Colorado These events on three continents will offer students and communities members a chance to hear and discuss the evidence of the mass internment of as many as 1.5 million Uyghurs and Kazakhs and the effects and implications of this mass trauma. It will also give audiences a chance to get involved in actively opposing these processes. For all of you who won’t …