The Uyghurs

I've been reading a lot on the unrest in China lately and have been disturbed that the Uyghur people (Xinjian's minority group) are being made out to look like terrorists, while the Han Chinese are seen as victims.

Here is what I know after living among both the Han and the Uyghur people in Urumuqi, China for 5 months:

Overall, the Uyghurs are not and have never been treated well by the Han Chinese. The Hans were actually sent to Xinjiang province (then known as Uyghurstan) in order to breed out the Uyghurs.

picture of Uyghur women baking bread (gosh I miss that bread!) in a Tandoori oven

The Uyghurs are not permitted to hold high government offices and are generally poor, many living in literal mud huts. They are down trodden and oppressed by the Hans and their government and have been since their country was invaded.

In the picture below, we look down on a courtyard belonging to some of our Uyghur friends

This is their surrounding neighborhoodI never felt threatened around the Uyghurs, though many Chinese people were worried for my group's safety when we told them we were going to Xinjiang province.

It is incredibly difficult for the Uyghurs to get a good education as the good schools are taken up by the Han population (the school Noah and I taught at had roughly 4,000 students, 30 of those were Uyghurs with an administration that was entirely Han). See what they're up against?

The media is using the fact that the Uyghurs are predominately Muslim to play on our fear of Islamic extremists.

However, we found nothing but friendship and peace in our experience with the Uyghurs and I hope that one day they will be seen as equals to those that oppress them.

Free Uyghurstan!