[Updated] Uyghurs: China’s Genocide in a Mute World
Uyghurs: China's Genocide in a Mute World
A talk with Rushan Abbas
Even with the meteoric rise in media attention covering the Uyghur genocide, the world's actions have fallen short. Despite the passage of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in the US, and the diplomatic boycott of the Olympics by many countries, we're still faced with a massive humanitarian crisis that remains ignored. Why does the international community stay relatively quiet as the evidence becomes overwhelming?
Rushan Abbas was born, and raised in Urumchi, the capital city in East Turkistan (Xinjiang). She has been an activist since her university days, where she co-organized pro-democracy protests in the mid and late 80s. Since coming to the United States in 1989, she has been a tireless advocate for Uyghur rights. After Beijing accelerated the genocidal policies in East Turkistan in 2017, she established the Campaign for Uyghurs to advocate for her people among government officials, interfaith organizations, universities, and grassroots movements. In September 2018, her sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, was abducted by the Chinese regime and illegally sentenced to prison in retaliation for Rushan Abbas's activism. Today, Abbas continues to advocate for her sister's release and the freedom of millions of other Uyghers. Abbas received an N24 Freedom Fighter 2019 Award for her work.
This talk is part of the exhibition Witness to Guantanamo, on view through February 27, 2022. The exhibit draws on the Witness to Guantanamo Video Collection in the Human Rights Archive at the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Exhibit Cosponsors: Duke Human Rights Center @FHI, The Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment, Duke Center for International and Comparative Law, Duke Law International Human Rights Clinic, Duke Middle East Studies Center, Duke Islamic Studies Center. Additional sponsors for this talk include: Department of Religious Studies, Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, and the Center for Muslim Life.
Power Plant Gallery • American Tobacco Campus, Durham • 919-660-3622 • powerplantgallery@duke.edu