China Undercover
April 07, 2020NARRATOR:
This is Gulzire, a Uyghur refugee living in Germany. Over two years ago, she received a chilling voice message from her sister.
GULGINE:
[Speaking Uyghur] When I go home, if I disappear, don’t tell anyone or say anything. There are people listening everywhere. Everyone has someone following them.
GULZIRE:
[Speaking Uyghur] She repeatedly said things like, “Don’t look for me or you will cause problems for us.” I became very scared.
NARRATOR:
Gulzire’s sister, Gulgine, was living in Malaysia but had decided to go back to Xinjiang when their parents stopped replying to messages.
GULZIRE:
[Speaking Uyghur] We agreed when she returned home that she would change her profile picture every week. This would let me know that she was safe and well.
In January 2018, her profile picture suddenly changed to a dark, half-shaded room. So I started looking for my sister.
NARRATOR:
A month later, Gulzire was told by a friend in Xinjiang that her sister was “studying”—the code word for being detained. No one knew when Gulgine would be released.
GULZIRE:
[Speaking Uyghur] The last message she sent was 47 seconds long. I haven’t heard her voice again.
I listen to the messages every day.
GULGINE:
[Speaking Uyghur] If you leave a message, I’ll listen to it from my friend’s phone tomorrow morning. Stay safe, may God protect you sister.
GULZIRE:
[Speaking Uyghur] It’s as if she’s talking to me. Listening to her voice comforts me. But it also breaks my heart.
GULZIRE:
[Speaking Uyghur] I’m in such a difficult position. In the 21st century, people can see loved ones in an instant, but I can’t see mine. Sometimes, I even talk to the birds in the sky, saying, “You can fly to my country; maybe you can give greetings to my sister and family.”
GULZIRE:
[Speaking Uyghur] Even if my sister has been released, I can’t say she’s now living freely, as she’ll still be living under surveillance. I believe she’s under extremely heavy surveillance.
NARRATOR:
Gulzire has heard through a contact in China that her sister, Gulgine, might have been one of those released from detention.
GULZIRE:
[Speaking Uyghur] If she’d been released and gained some freedom, she’d have found a way to contact me. Neither her profile nor her wall picture have changed.
…
SADYRZHAN:
[Speaking Uyghur] I haven’t been able to contact my wife for almost two years.
NARRATOR:
This is Sadyrzhan. Two years ago, his wife, Muyeser, went to visit her parents in China. She never returned.
SADYRZHAN:
[Speaking Uyghur] Our children have been deprived of a normal childhood without their mother’s love. They’re traumatized.
NARRATOR:
She left behind three children.
NARRATOR:
He believes she was released from detention but doesn’t know where she is now. The only thing he’s heard is this message she sent to a mutual contact.
MUYESER:
[Speaking Uyghur] After this message, I’ll delete you from my contacts. Don’t ask questions, we can’t give answers. Sadyrzhan mustn’t look for me, or contact our family. Don’t contact anyone in China.
SADYRZHAN:
[Speaking Uyghur] The reason she hasn’t called me is because I live abroad. If she did, she’d be incarcerated immediately.
In that message she didn’t ask, “How are the children?” I don’t think a mother can forget her three children.
NARRATOR:
He’s also seen photos of his wife which were posted on Chinese social media.
SADYRZHAN:
[Speaking Uyghur] When I saw these photos for the first time, my heart ached, as if it had been pierced by a dagger.
The old Muyeser, who used to dress like this, wore a headscarf and covered herself modestly, has suddenly transformed into this style. It’s certain that pressure from the Chinese Communist regime has forced Muyeser to forget her Uyghur and Muslim identity.
She’s even been forced to give up her motherly love and forget about her children.
Of course we miss her. Our hearts are burning.