7-year-old Bayan bounces with joy. “Welcome to Texas… and freedom.”
(Photo: ChinaAid)
|
Born in Xinjiang, Ms. Gulzira, moved to Kazakhstan in 2014 where she lived until July 2017 when she returned to China to visit her hometown. Three days after her arrival, CCP authorities arbitrarily arrested her. After Chinese police interrogated Ms. Gulzira, they accused her of having “improper thoughts” and sentenced her to 15 days of “reeducation.” Authorities extended this time to a year, however, when the head of police forged her signature to a confession without her knowledge.
If Ms. Gulzirae would remain silent and never speak the things she saw and witnessed in China’s concentration camps, the Yining County Party secretary claimed, she would be given 250,000 yuan [38,830 USD]. Ms. Gulzirae said:
I rejected the money because what I long for is freedom. When I returned to Kazakhstan, I wanted to let others know what happened because I am not the only one who has been detained in the concentration camp. Many people like me have been [and still are] suffering. We all need money, but if I take the money [and remain silent], I will lose freedom.
CCP authorities initially detained Ms. Gulzira in prison camps on July 15, 2017, and released her on October 7, 2018. As authorities forced her to remain in Xinjiang, they forced her to work in a glove factory 10 days after her release.
In January 2019, CCP officials allowed her to return to Kazakhstan and reunite with her family.
Following Ms. Gulzira’s release, ChinaAid and our partner organization Atajurt Kazakh Human Rights helped relocate her family to a third country. We also provided medical treatment and other recovery support for her and her family.
Currently, the CCP imprisons an estimated one to three million Uyghurs, Kazarks, and other Turkic ethnic minorities in “reeducation camps” like the ones Ms. Gulzira survived. Reasons for arbitrary imprisonment may be as simple as growing a beard, wearing a veil, or having a home with a “dense religious atmosphere.” On January 4, 2021, citing evidence of forced sterilizations, torture, and an intricate forced labor system, the US Department of State declared the gross human rights abuses the CCP commits against Uyghurs as genocide.
Regarding Ms. Gulzira’s escape from the CCP’s heinous reeducation camps to the US, Dr. Bob Fu, founder, and president of ChinaAid, said:
We are thrilled to be able to see Ms. Gulzira, her husband, and their 7-year-old daughter arrive safely in the US. ChinaAid’s sponsorship and the State Department’s facilitation tremendously helped secure her family’s safe arrival. Ms. Gulzira’s courage in sharing the cruel treatment she and others experienced in CCP’s reeducation camps reveals her exemplary resilience. After years of separation from her loved ones and suffering unspeakable emotional, physical, and spiritual torture, I pray she will find safety, healing, hope, and a new life of freedom in west Texas—for herself and her family.
(Photo: ChinaAid)
|
China Aid exposes abuses in order to stand in solidarity with the persecuted and promote religious freedom, human rights, and rule of law. If you wish to partner with us in helping those persecuted by the Chinese government, please click the button below to make a charitable donation.
ChinaAid Media Team
Cell: +1 (432) 553-1080 | Office: +1 (432) 689-6985 | Other: +1 (888) 889-7757
Email: [email protected]
For more information, click here