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Gulzira Auelkhan and others attending the IRF Summit.
(Photo: ChinaAid resource)
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(Washington, D.C.—July 27, 2021) During the July 13–15 International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit held in Washington, D.C., Gulzira Auelkhan, a survivor of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) concentration camps in China, shared her story. In her journey to tell the truth about the horrific torture and persecution she survived, which others continue to experience in these so-called “re-education camps,” Ms. Gulzira stressed that even though freed, other individuals continue to be harassed, threatened, jailed, tortured, and even killed because of of their religious identity or beliefs.
Unaddressed abuses such as Ms. Gulzira experienced:
- threaten social cohesion and political stability, as well as
- undermine economic development.
- may foster radicalization and incite violent extremism.
Ms. Gulzira also shared some of her personal experiences:
In addition to the physical torture the other prisoners and I experienced in the concentration camps, we also suffered mentally and spiritually. CCP guards forced us to study Mandarin Chinese and the CCP’s laws. Because we feared that officials would extend our detentions if we failed the tests, we secretly wrote the answers to questions on our fingers. Once, when guards caught us, they inserted needles under our fingernails.The excruciating physical pain even pierced our hearts. If any of us fainted when guards punished those who failed tests, or did not follow the rules, guards poured cold water on our heads to shock us back to consciousness. Guards also regularly forced us to sit in the “tiger chair” for hours for not following their rules.After being released from my last concentration camp, one official offered me a large amount of money if I would keep quiet about what had happened. I rejected the money, however, because I longed for freedom. I knew that to remain free, I had to let others know what happened. I remembered that I was not the only one CCP authorities have detained. Because many people like me continue to suffer in the concentration camps, I have to share the truth and speak up for them.
After Tom K. viewed a segment of video featuring Gulzita, he commented:
…I must confess [that until a year or so ago], I knew nothing of the plight of Uyghurs [pronounced “Weegers.” Today, CCP authorities hold] hundreds of thousands (some say more than a million) in detention centers in the [Chinese] province nearest to Kazakhstan and throughout China.
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.
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