Conversational Ruptures: Uyghur Activist Munawwar Abdulla on Censorship & Solidarity Against Genocide
Our latest conversation is with: Munawwar Abdulla, an organizer for the Boston Uyghur Association, on the CCP's ongoing systemic campaign of persecution and genocide against Uyghurs and Tibetans.
by Julianne Murthy, Biology ‘25
On Feb. 5, 2024, in Harvard Square, Uyghurs and allies of the Boston Uyghur Association gathered to commemorate the Ghulja Massacre of 1997. Despite being a frigid evening, activists brought speakerphones to announce their speeches, and set up handmade signs and candles atop multiple chairs. There were signs that read "Free East Turkistan" and "No More Genocide." Several people in the crowd waved the teal blue flags of East Turkistan.
On that commemorative day in 1997, peaceful demonstrations were met with excessive and violent force by the Chinese government, marking a turning point in the Uyghur people's struggle for autonomy. Today, 27 years later, the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) oppression has intensified to alarming levels: a systematic campaign of persecution and genocide that demands global attention and action.
The gathering was organized by the Boston Uyghur Association (BUA), a group of Uyghur activists in the Boston area that create cultural events and raise awareness about the genocide in China. In January 2023, BUA held a rally against Thermo Fisher for unethical DNA collection practices targeting Uyghurs and Tibetans. They also organized a demonstration in front of the Massachusetts State House against the starvation genocide of Uyghurs amidst COVID-19 lockdowns. In the advent of the White Paper Movement of the pandemic, Uyghurs were being disproportionately cut off from accessing food and medications.
The Uyghurs, a distinct Turkic ethnic group indigenous to East Turkistan, have faced repressive policies from the Chinese Communist Party since their land was forcibly annexed in the 1950s. In 2014, President Xi Jinping launched the “严厉打击暴力恐怖活动专项行动 - Strike Hard Against Violent Terrorism Campaign," unleashing a dystopian wave of invasive surveillance, non-consensual biometric data collection, and tightly controlled network of checkpoints throughout the region. Today, Uyghurs face detention without due process in "re-education camps," often accused of non-criminal behaviors such as practicing their faith or maintaining contact with family abroad. These camps are forced cultural assimilation centers where Uyghurs are subjected to brutal torture, religious suppression, and forced labor. There are also many reports of sexual assaults, forced sterilizations, forced abortions, along with mass disappearances of thousands. It is estimated that 2 to 3 million Uyghurs are currently detained in these camps.
Propaganda and disinformation campaigns by the CCP downplay the extent of human rights abuses perpetuated against Uyghurs and paint a distorted picture of the genocide to Chinese citizens and to the outside world. Global companies currently using forced Uyghur labor in their supply chains, such as Apple, Uniqlo, Tesla, and Nike, are also not taking responsibility for human rights violations. Despite the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act being passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2021, several corporations are not clearly disclosing their mapped supply chains, or are lobbying against the act. Information and censorship control in China also contributes to making labor auditing extremely difficult.
Faced with persecution and displacement, many Uyghurs have fled East Turkistan, seeking refuge in countries around the world. Within the U.S., it is estimated there are 10,000 settled Uyghurs. In the Boston community, the Boston Uyghur Association stands as a beacon of resilience against the genocide. Through rallies and collaborations with other human rights initiatives, the non-profit organization works tirelessly to preserve Uyghur culture through community events, raising awareness about the atrocities in China, and advocating for international action.
I spoke with Munawwar Abdulla, who organizes events and manages social media content for BUA, in an effort to learn more about the genocide as it stands today.
This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Julianne Murthy: Tell me about yourself: where are you from, what was your journey like, what brought you to work in Boston Uyghur Association?
Munawwar Abdulla: I'm Munawwar and I am from Australia. My parents migrated there from East Turkistan in the 80s and 90s (the political situation was already terrible back then), and then we moved to the U.S. so that my parents could work on Uyghur human rights issues—currently with [the] Uyghur Human Rights Project. I came to Boston for work—I'm in neuroscience, and after meeting with the Uyghur activist community here, we decided to formalize the protests/projects we were doing by forming BUA.
JM: For you and your coworkers that have family and friends in East Turkistan impacted by the acts of the CCP, are you able to maintain communication with them? If so, have there been any risks/challenges associated with staying in touch with family?
MA: My family hasn't been in touch with our relatives in over seven years, I think, and we can only find out what's going on with them through friends of friends who aren't as outspoken as us. Early on when millions were being placed in camps, each location would need to fill a quota of people that needed to be detained, and so they cast a wide net of "crimes" including things like having contact with people abroad, or just having traveled before. Many people in the community were blocked and deleted and haven't heard from family in years.
JM: What are the ways that the association helps refugees and orphans in East Turkistan? Does the organization help with receiving Uyghur refugees in Boston?
MA: We don't really have any contact with people in East Turkistan because that will endanger their lives, so it's very difficult to get them to come here to seek asylum or even send them donations. But we do send Zakat money to refugees in Turkey, as well as anyone who is struggling locally. We helped Uyghur asylum seekers in Boston by protesting in front of the Boston asylum office and meeting with the office director. Some individuals waited up to 10 years for their asylum case to proceed and now they all got approved after our appeal. 90% of the known asylum cases to BUA have all passed as of now. We also provide some financial aid to people who need it for their asylum cases. There are also some elder members of the community, artists for example, who were working back in East Turkistan but now have to start their lives all over again after getting stuck here—so we help them get cultural grants and such to help them get back on their feet.
JM: I’ve noticed that the Boston Uyghur Association has often partnered with/advocated for injustices happening in Ukraine, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Iran, Belarus, Palestine, etc. In your opinion, what is the importance of movements advocating in solidarity with other movements for freedom in the world?
MA: Solidarity with other movements facing oppression and injustice should be common sense. Of course, we don't all have the bandwidth to do everything for everyone, but there is a lot of overlap with our struggles. Mass incarceration and the technology used to implement that, surveillance tech, forced labor/slavery in global supply chains—global corporations are usually complicit in human rights abuses in multiple countries—the use of "war on terror" rhetoric; these are all directly connected if you trace the governments, companies, and contractors involved, even if the governments seem like they oppose each other. They all learn from each other's playbooks too. And even with issues that are not directly connected, such as free speech, religious freedoms, and so on—although they may look different on the outside. For example, women in East Turkistan being forced to take off religious garments versus those in Iran forced to put it on, the core issue—freedom of choice—is the same, and we can learn a lot from each of our movements to stand against oppression. I also think those in power benefit from creating divides between those they oppress.
JM: What are some of the main challenges the association faces with its efforts? Has it been faced with islamophobia and racism in the past/present?
MA: One of the main issues we face is transnational oppression. The CCP has our family and friends hostage, basically. They have literally called our members and told them to stop talking about our issues otherwise their family members will be placed in camps, or they won't allow them to contact each other. Recently one member's little sister was put in prison—she was just a college student majoring in child education. That's why most of our more outspoken members are those whose families are in different countries, or whose family members have already disappeared or have been in prisons for years now. It's also why so many Uyghurs won't speak out or join advocacy efforts, since their actions may be drastically harmful to their loved ones.
Another challenge we face is disinformation. The CCP puts in a lot of effort [into] their "Uyghurs are happy" propaganda, as you may know, and so we get people from all groups who don't believe in what we're facing. The U.S. government supports the [Uyghur anti-genocide] cause—when it's advantageous to them—so a lot of Muslim countries are simply anti-Western and will support China in return for economic support, or some Muslim or left-leaning groups in America will just say it's "Western propaganda." Chinese people who support [the] CCP are always harassing Uyghurs who speak out, but that's a given at this point. Since we're Muslim, of course we have Islamophobes and racists who dislike us, although sometimes it's a matter of whether they're more Islamophobic or Sinophobic—either way, super problematic. And then of course there's just the issue of a complete lack of awareness about Uyghurs, Central Asia, China, and the history there. So we're in this awkward position where we have both suspicion and support from all sorts of groups.
JM: What are the ways that Uyghur communities now living outside their homelands maintain their culture and heritage for future generations (and in Boston specifically too)?
MA: One of the main ways is through opening up Uyghur language schools for kids on weekends. Through language we keep some of our history, heritage and culture, and it's a way to create community for the children as well as the wider community when we host events for things like [the] New Year, Nowruz and Eid. And of course, education in the Uyghur language is being banned by China so it's becoming more difficult to retain language even in our homeland. We're also working on getting a community space so that we can have more gatherings to share food and learn about our culture by just being together and sharing experiences.
JM: What is your view on how the Uyghur genocide is represented in the media?
MA: When the media portrays the genocide, it's interesting how polarizing and un-nuanced it can be. It's also incredibly difficult to get images of Uyghur suffering, or even for journalists to go there to do real investigative work, unlike places like Palestine or Ukraine where people are able to share what's happening live, and even then there are people who deny it. In China you have to use [a] VPN to get onto any social network that we'd be able to see in the West, and if Uyghurs are caught with that it will be grounds for imprisonment. And unless something like the White Paper Movement happens, Chinese social media is heavily censored as well.
I think because of the difficulty of seeing "evidence" from the people directly, there's a lot of confusion and misinformation which leads to the divides that I mentioned earlier, and people end up basing their views almost solely on who is reporting rather than the actual evidence being reported. And if there are videos, it's usually in Uyghur or Chinese, and there's simply not enough manpower to verify and translate those videos, so that's another huge barrier for the western public and journalists to access information. I think there's a big issue of trust in the public. Nevertheless, it's been great to see that our issue is even being covered. So many of us were used to just decades of explaining who we were. It's sad that it had to get to genocide-levels of oppression for the media to catch on when the world could have helped prevent that if they'd listened to us earlier. I guess it's the same situation with other communities too though.
JM: To conclude, what do you think are the best ways people in the Boston community can help support the effort?
MA: How to help! Actually, Free Uyghur Now came up with a great list recently. We also have some projects going on which you can find on our website. Donations will go towards keeping us afloat, printing signs and flyers, and providing help to local Uyghurs or to refugees in Turkey. Everyone at BUA are unpaid volunteers, of course.
As Munawwar has described, there are numerous ways to stand in solidarity with the Uyghur community:
Support collectives like the Boston Uyghur Association, Uyghur Human Rights Project, and the student-run Free Uyghur Coalition. You can support BUA in their frequent rallies, cultural events, and projects to volunteer for that they post on their Instagram page.
Raise awareness by sharing information about the situation in East Turkistan on social media platforms and to your networks. Amplify voices of Uyghur activists!
Demand action from your elected officials—call your Congressional representatives to support the “Uyghur Policy Act of 2023 (H.R.2766 / S.1252)” and the “Uyghur Human Rights Protection Act (H.R.1630)” bills.
Boycott companies that benefit from forced Uyghur labor and advocate for ethical sourcing practices.
Donate to organizations that support Uyghurs, like the Tarim Network and the Darman Foundation
The fight for Uyghur rights is a global responsibility. As there is great associated risk for Uyghur people with detained families to speak out, it is through international solidarity—of oppressed groups, worldwide allies, and dissident Chinese—that we can create enough pressure for the Chinese government to put an end to its genocide.