Exhibiting The Achilles Heel Of PragerU & Casting An Aura Of Skepticism

PragerU is an American advocacy group that creates and promotes a conservative field of vision on several political, economic, and sociological subjects. Although the u in Prageru stands for university, it isn’t an academic institution. PragerU is widely known, and considered to be deceptive. Several historians and political scientists have cast their aura of skepticism toward PragerU, or inaccurate claims about several topics. One of those topics includes the occupation of Palestine. In my new series the contraview I’ll react to the false allegations that PragerU is selling. I recommend you first watch the video and then read the article. I’ll put the link at the end of the article.

• A Black South African Man Against The Demonizing Of Israel & The Label Of Apartheid
• Taking The Argument Under A Scope: The Eradication Of The Apartheid Label
• South Africa Doesn’t Have A Claim On Apartheid

Did the Zionists have the legal or moral right to invade Arab Palestine, uproot its Arab citizens from their homes and seize all Arab property for themselves just based on the “religious” claim that their forefathers lived there thousands of years ago? Only a thousand years ago the Moors lived in Spain. Would this give the Moors of today the legal and moral right to invade the Iberian Peninsula, drive out its Spanish citizens, and then set up a new Moroccan nation … where Spain used to be, as the European zionists have done to our Arab brothers and sisters in Palestine?…”

Malcolm X, Muslim minister, and human rights activist

I. A Black South African Man Against The Demonizing Of Israel & The Label Of Apartheid

What I first noticed is that the title of the video is that PragerU emphasized that it is a black man — a black South African man — who would give his thought on the label of apartheid in Israel. If I were to support the state of Israel, it is understandable to put a black man there who has been through the system of apartheid. Because the claim that is being presented would look more valid when a man says it who has been through that system. The name of this man is Kenneth Meshoe.

Let’s say hypothetically that if you were to make another version of this video with let’s say a white man, and you were to show these videos to two separate groups of supporters of Palestine, which would be more appealing? This is not an attempt to undermine the experiences this man has faced, the brutal reality that was created at that time, or to state that they used this man for his skin color. I want to rather show that PragerU has in some sense utilized and profited from his experiences. Also, this man is a supporter of Israel, I don’t want to state that he doesn’t have his take on this issue, but throughout the video, I don’t think he has arrived at that conclusion on a fair foundation.

II. Taking The Argument Under A Scope: The Eradication Of The Apartheid Label

Kenneth stated at the beginning of the 5-minute video that there is a widespread allegation — really slander, he said — that Israel is an apartheid state. He also stated that this notion is simply wrong. It is inaccurate, it is malicious, and it will not help promote peace and harmony in the Middle East. Well, I agree with the fact that it doesn’t actively promote peace, but it helps us understand the occupation and the grotesque reality that is created by the Israeli government. In the eyes of Kenneth, its purpose is to demonize and isolate Israel.

Later on, he stated that because it is so inaccurate, it betrays the memory of those who suffered through real apartheid. That’s an interesting point; it betrays the memory of those who suffered through real apartheid. Notice how he said “real” apartheid, so it is a low-key attempt to delegitimize the apartheid that is going on in Palestine. Also, he appears to employ a strategy aimed at appealing to the emotions of the audience, seeking to garner resonance from an affective perspective. Even though it may or may not hurt those who’ve suffered from apartheid, we can’t hold back from labeling countries that commit human rights abuses as apartheid based on their feelings. It isn’t just keeping that label away based on some emotional level, and for the record, South Africa doesn’t claim apartheid. I’ll explain that in a second.

He later goes on and speaks about how he was born under apartheid and that he and his parents had experienced apartheid. I think he’s trying to say that he knows what apartheid looks like, based on the fact that he grew up facing that reality. Then he said, “But having been to Israel on a number of occasions, I know that nothing is happening in that country — that I have either seen or read — that can be compared to apartheid in South Africa”. If you’re familiar with the art of argumentation, you’d notice that he has made a logical fallacy here, that fallacy is an anecdotal fallacy. Meaning that this fallacy occurs when people use their limited personal experience to make sweeping conclusions about a given topic without any other contributory evidence or reasoning. Besides that, just because you’ve visited Palestine a couple of times doesn’t mean that you can conclude that there isn’t apartheid. We shouldn’t make conclusions based on anecdotal facets for several reasons, such as confirmation bias, subjectivity, limited sample size, and the list goes on.

III. South Africa Doesn’t Have A Claim On Apartheid

South Africa doesn’t claim apartheid. What do I mean by that? I mean that it isn’t up to South Africa to determine whether a country is committing apartheid or not, but it is up to international law. I talk about this in a different article I wrote a while ago.

A lot of people who support the state of Israel say that Israel isn’t an apartheid state, most of the time based on the fact that Israel doesn’t have a system similar to the system that was created and perpetrated at that time. What people forget a lot is that the current system of Israel doesn’t have to be the same or analogous to the system of segregation, oppression, and domination in South Africa. apartheid is defined by international law.

Back to the video, he talked about what Nelson Mandela fought for. He fought for the right to vote, and all these rights. Kenneth also mentioned healthcare, he said that Nelson Mandela fought for the right to be admitted to the hospital or medical facility of your choice. The reason I mention this is because it plays a crucial role in his argument. Before I go into his argument, I do want to say that I find it funny that he mentioned Nelson Mandela considering that he was a supporter of Palestine. He mentioned it in a speech in 1997 on the international day of Solidarity. He said;

“We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Let’s proceed, he further goes on about a personal story about how when he had to visit a white doctor he would have to go to a back room, a specially segregated room where black patients of white doctors went who could never enter through the same door that was used by white people. Then he said, “Now compare that to Israel”. He continues and now talks about a black pastor friend of his who went to Israel where he had an accident and had to be hospitalized. When he came back to South Africa, he said to as many people as he could, that the people who are talking about apartheid in Israel are talking nonsense.

That friend told him “When I was in that hospital in Israel,” he tells people, “On my right was sleeping a Jew and on my left was a Palestinian Muslim, and in between that Palestinian Muslim and that Jew was this black South African.”In private, the Palestinians he was in the hospital said to him, “This ‘Israel-is-an-apartheid-state’ thing is what politicians are saying. It is not what we are experiencing on the ground.”

Again he’s falling back on someone else’s experience, making again a logical fallacy, the anecdotal fallacy. He has repeatedly relied on anecdotal stories and has arrived at a conclusion. Later he repeats his appeals with an emotional statement. Nobody is minimizing the suffering of South Africans. The government of Myanmar has also been labeled as an apartheid regime, and is that also delegitimizing the suffering of the South Africans? It is just absurd that the label of apartheid doesn’t fit with the current situation in Israel because it doesn’t fit your view, perception, and your memories of apartheid in South Africa.

- The West Guardian-

Ruqayyah Ali

A Black South African on Israel and Apartheid | PragerU

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Exploring the Nuances and Misunderstandings Surrounding the Discourse

Zionism, in my opinion, is one of the most controversial ideologies that exists to this day. It is a nationalistic movement that can be defined as, a movement for (originally) the re-establishment and (now) the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel. Its primary goal is to create a safe haven for the Jews. What has happened to the Palestinians in the name of the establishment of Israel is beyond our comprehension of the human realm of mind. I can’t put in words what the aftermath is of Zionism and how it has affected the Palestinians. In this article, I’ll address the arguments made by zionist advocates who claim that there is somehow a connection between Anti-zionism & Anti-semitism and the ongoing Apartheid.

Palestine is our unforgettable historic homeland. . . Let me repeat once more my opening words: The Jews who will it shall achieve their State. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and in our own homes peacefully die.

Theodore Herzl,

I). Refuting the Disconnect: Debunking the Link Between Denying Jewish Self-Determination and Anti-Zionism

What I have noticed is that if people talk about the concept of Zionism, they don’t define the terms such as Zionism or Anti-semitism. Let’s define the terms Anti-zionism & Anti-semitism. Let’s start with Anti-semitism. The definition of Anti-semitism — according to the United State Holocaust Memorial Museum — is prejudice against or hatred of Jews. Antisemitism could be based on several aspects of Jewish traditions. I think that antisemitism is based on the cultural-religious practices of the Jews. It would be antisemitic to deny Jews their right to self-determination based on their ethnicity or cultural-religious practices. Jewish self-determination isn’t necessarily linked to the state of Israel. The reason why the political form of Zionism doesn’t align with Judaism is that the Jewish tradition and religion clearly have instructed the Jews to await the coming of the Messiah at the end of times before they can return to ‘Eretz Israel’ as a sovereign people in a Jewish theocracy. Also, when the notion of political Zionism came into existence around the 1890s, a group of orthodox Jews named Haredi Jews rejected the Zionist state out of hand. Let’s define the term of Anti-Zionism. Anti-zionism can be defined as an opposition to the establishment or support of the state of Israel: opposition to Zionism. I find it hard to say whether the Jews have the right to the land of Israel. I’ll clarify. I find it hard to say that the land of Israel has the right to exist based on the grave violations of human rights Israel has violated. Generations of Palestinians have endured the pain and struggle to stay on their land, their claim to their ancestral homeland has been eradicated before and during the Nakba, and the traumas have been ingrained in the collective mindset of the Palestinians. The land of olives, the land of religion, and the land of the Palestinians have been turned into a hellscape which the zionists are responsible for. Palestinians to this day are suffering in silence, eclipsed of their land and effacing them. They’ve suffered from enormous loss and profound grief. Back to the argument, now that we’ve defined these terms we already see that these terms standing on their own contradict themselves. However, we do have to consider that one could hide their Anti-semitism through Anti-Zionism, yet stating that all Anti-Zionism is Antisemitic is wrong considering that Anti-Zionism is based on the Human Rights abuses Israel has committed against the Palestinians and is based on the policies that have deprived Palestinians of multiple facets of their lives, for example, economic hardships. When we criticize the Israeli government, we are specifically addressing the policies and actions implemented by that particular administration rather than making broad generalizations about the Jewish people as a whole. I oppose the fact of discriminating or denying those people their right to self-governance based on their identity.

II). A Israeli System Of Oppression & Dominance: The Ongoing Crisis Of Apartheid

Apartheid, before I go into the nuances and complexities of this concept, I want to make clear that when a nation is labeled as an apartheid state — in particular, Israel — that it is not to demonize a state but to look at this conflict through a lens that gives an image of the ongoing crisis. Israel has been labeled as an apartheid state for a valid reason considering the massive seizures of Palestinian land and property, unlawful killings, forcible transfer, drastic movement restrictions, and the denial of nationality and citizenship to Palestinians are all components of a system that amount to apartheid under international law. Several people have denied the ongoing apartheid in Palestine [1][2][3][4][5][6]. It’s important to recognize that human rights organizations don’t label Israel as an apartheid state to be a hellish bully. In fact, the authorities of Myanmar have also been accused of committing the crime against humanity of apartheid against ethnic Rohingya. If you want to know what is happening in Myanmar, I encourage you to read one of my articles that I’ve written about the Rohingya genocide. I’ll soon publish more articles about the ongoing genocide that’s being perpetrated by Myanmar against the Rohingya. Back to Israel, yes also Israel has been accused of apartheid, but before we go into the details of Israel and the ingrained DNA of apartheid, let’s define the term apartheid. The Rome Statute defines apartheid as inhumane acts, committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime. Israel still dominates the Palestinian territories, and the lack of rights of people living in the same vicinity, but are separated by walls, checkpoints, and roads. Gaza is the biggest open-air prison in the world, that is the place where the Gazans are being oppressed even though Israel pulled out Jewish or Israeli settlers in 2005. I honestly think it was a move to gain more power. Under international law, the term of occupation doesn’t apply to this territory, however, I argue that Israel still maintains significant control over Gaza, particularly with regard to its borders, airspace, and territorial waters. Also, this is essential to mention that Israel has implemented a blockade on Gaza since 2007, restricting the movement of goods and people in and out of the territory. They have no adequate access to power, water, or health, with a collapsing economy. The argument that often is made by the advocates of Israel, is that Israel is not an apartheid state based on the conclusion that it didn’t have the same system of apartheid as in South Africa. What people often forget is that the system of apartheid in Israel doesn’t have to be a replica of what happened in South Africa in order to an apartheid state. I think when we’re looking at a state who commits these brutal crimes on a daily basis we look at the structures the system had. South Africa doesn't define what can be defined as apartheid, but international law does define that. Also, one of the bravest and most rebellious people who’ve stood up against apartheid, in my opinion, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu have recognized the ongoing crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinians [1][2]. In conclusion, statements like Israel is an apartheid state and that anti-zionism isn’t anti-semitism are fair statements and need to be substantiated when debating the defenders of Israel.

Article About The Rohingya Soon

The West Guardian

Ruqayyah Ali

Diaz Az Zahra

From The Uyghur Homeland To Oppression

China has blocked the UN for years from investigating crimes against humanity that are being committed in the Xinjiang region. In addition, China’s campaign against the Uyghurs can be labeled as systemic persecution to erase and shatter their identity. China has fully denied what is happening in the Xinjiang region to the highest extent. Even though there is evidence that this genocide is taking place, several individuals deny what is happening in Xinjiang. One of the most crucial pieces of evidence is the leaked internal Chinese government documents about Xinjiang. Files that expose the organized mass detention of the Uyghurs In addition, you also have testimonies from Uyghurs who describe what their experiences were like. Uyghurs who have suffered in these ethnic-focused concentration camps to erase their cultural and ethnically ingrained roots It is important to mention that satellite images have been published that expose the crimes China is committing. In this article, I will explain the profits companies gain from Uyghur forced labor.

where the words are banned from being said.
The flowers are not allowed to blossom.
and the birds cannot sing freely.

Abduweli Ayup, an Uyghur linguist,

I. Trapped In The System: The Hidden Horror Of The Uyghur Exploitation Crisis

Exploitation is defined as the action or fact of treating someone unfairly to benefit from their work. The ethnic minority, the Uyghurs, are being exploited by the Xi administration, and the products are entering the USA, Europe, and other democratic countries affected by these forced labor practices. We first have to recognize that forced labor, which is a violation of human rights, involves exploiting people and making those innocent people break their backs just to profit from them. Stripping them away from their freedom and, in the case of the Uyghurs, their religious and cultural practices Stripping their space away to gain wealth to just force them Painting a picture of the Uyghur crisis and showing it to the world is important to show what the Uyghurs are facing. According to estimates, the Chinese authorities have sent more than 1.8 million Uighurs to forced labor camps. The Xi administration and its domination over the Uyghurs have extended the brutal reality of forced labor exploitation. One of the examples that shows that there is forced labor is when Muslim inmates from these ethnically targeted camps — to eradicate an “Islamic virus” — were hunched over sewing machines. This is a brutal reality, and the Communist Party has admitted that a sprawling network of camps in the Xinjiang region is providing job training and putting detainees on production lines for their good. They’re “offering” an escape from the temptations of “radical Islam”. Portraying Islam as a threat to Chinese society is a false and unfounded assumption. Also, UN human rights experts have questioned and raised concerns about the forced labor of the Uyghurs in China. Uyghurs are being pressurized into labor following a palette of tactics if they don’t obey the given commandments. For example, some detainees in these camps have spoken to the Amnesty organization, describing the conditions in which they were working: from minimal pay to minimal pay, poor working conditions, a discriminatory work environment, and often continued restrictions on their freedom of movement under threat of further punishment. The trade of these products means that behind the goods that have been made by the hands of Uyghurs who are being exploited by an inhumane and unethical administration that ethnically cleanses the Uyghurs. Making them marry Han Chinese to erase the ingrained cultural roots of the Uyghurs. Companies must take responsibility for thoroughly auditing their supply chains to ensure they are free from forced Uyghur labor. In conclusion, we can agree that forced Uyghur labor is a grave violation of human rights, keeping the exploitation alive and depriving these people of their freedoms. We should raise awareness and keep the governments accountable. The world should free the Uyghurs from the chains of exploitation.

II. Behind The Closed Factory Doors: The Uyghurs Facing A Nightmare

From my perspective, the Chinese government is seeking to destroy the Uyghurs by utilizing the totalitarian power they possess by violating their basic human rights to dehumanize the, by framing this caricature and mocking the history of the Uyghurs. The Xi administration has created an Orwellian mass surveillance hellscape with the core aim of humiliating them. As I’ve said earlier, China has created ethnic-aimed camps in the name of establishing a dominant Han society, creating the Chinese empire on the backs of the innocent Uyghurs. The bloodthirsty collective punishment has resulted in the persecution and genocide of the Uyghurs. An attempt made by the Chinese government is in full motion with brainwashing them has altered the human and physical geography of the region and its indigenous Uyghur population. There have been individuals who’ve claimed that what is happening in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is crimes against humanity which is correct to the fullest extent. However, I adopt the field of vision of the USA and label the crisis of the Uyghurs as genocide with for example the attempt to suppress birth rates. My conclusion is that this is a grave violation of human rights and is worthy to be labeled as genocide. That idea is also supported by the Holocaust Museum.

The West Guardian

Ruqayyah Ali

PA Leader’s Support for Xinjiang Policies Raises Ethical Questions and Global Attention

The Chief of the Palestinian Authorities (PA) Mahmoud Abbas has visited China and has concluded that China isn’t committing Crimes Against Humanity. In fact, the Chief of the PA claimed that “nothing to do with human rights and is aimed at excising extremism and opposing terrorism and separatism’’. He has expressed his support for the policies which are executed by the Xi administration. Despite all the evidence that shows for example that the UN has concluded that Chinese actions in Xinjiang directed at its Uighur Muslims likely amount to ‘crimes against humanity. The U.S. has stated that China’s repression of Uyghurs is genocide and the persecution of the Uyghurs has been recognized by the Trump administration. Being a leader of a territory of a population that the majority is Muslim and not recognizing the brutal reality the Uyghurs are facing is stabbing your fellow Muslim brothers and sisters in their backs.

“The notion that Uyghurs can sing and dance so, therefore, there is no genocide — that’s just not going to work. Genocide can take place in any beautiful place.”

NURY TURKEL, an Uyghur-American lawyer and policy expert,

I. Unmasking the Human Rights Crisis: The Disturbing Realities of Xinjiang’s Detention and Surveillance Policies

The dystopian hellscape that has been created by the Xi administration is sadly a brutal and harsh reality that Uyghurs face. In the Xinjiang region which by the Uyghurs is referred to as east Turkistan face religious restrictions, forced labor, forced sterilizations, and the list goes on. The Chinese government claimed that it is running an extensive mass deradicalization campaign targeting potential extremists. The Xinjiang region is an autonomous region located in the northwest of China and is home to 12 million Uyghurs according to official Chinese records. In another article, I have written about the question of the Uyghurs, about cultural eradication and the consequences of the actions that are being undertaken. Xinjiang is one of the most assorted territories in China and according to China’s 2020 census, the region had a population of approximately 25.8 million. The Xinjiang region includes people from all sorts of ethnicities and half of the people belong to the Turkic and predominantly Muslim ethnic group, which includes Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Uyghurs, and way more. The conclusion is that the Xi administration and its campaign have a clear aim of purposely and collectively targeting the Uyghur population based on their ethnicity and religious-cultural practices. With the use of violence and intimidation to root out Islamic religious beliefs.

II. A blinded Vision: The Fading Moral Field of View of Mahmoud Abbas

Abbas claimed that the policies of the Xi administration have nothing to do with human rights and are aimed at excising extremism and opposing terrorism and separatism. In my opinion, I would label his reaction as colossal negligence, because he doesn’t recognize the horrors the Uyghurs face. It is hypocritical of Abbas to not recognize the crimes that are being committed and especially from someone who knows what the Palestinian people have to go through, because of the zionists, the colonial occupiers. From a man, who knows the Palestinians have been ethnically cleansed in 1948 and 1967 and not even recognizing or speaking about the ongoing ethnic cleansing in the Xinjiang region. China, a colonizing nation-state. A man who knows what it’s like when your country, your homeland is occupied by occupiers because he fled to Syria when Israel started its campaign of ethnically cleansing Palestine.

The West Guardian

Unveiling the Shadowlands: Inside China’s Orwellian Dystopia & The Desperate Plight of the Uyghur People

Unveiling China’s Islam Erasure Campaign: The Uyghur Tragedy in Xinjiang Exposed

China’s treatment of Uyghurs can be characterized as crimes against humanity. The systemic campaign of homogenization and cultural erasure has resulted in the demolition of an estimated sixteen thousand mosques, an attempt to tear one of the components of the identity of the Uyghurs. These actions and measures implemented by the Chinese government are not only transgressing these people’s fundamental rights but also undermining cultural diversity and heritage preservation. The radical turn of this campaign of cultural genocide and forced conversion has had an impact on hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and still has. The radical turns of this campaign have resulted in China sending Chinese cops to spy & to ensure that Uyghur Muslims do not fast during the holy month of Ramadan. This endeavor of eradicating the collective identity of the Uyghur Muslim population forms one of the prime examples of why there needs to be put an end to this mistreatment of Uyghurs.

A person can only be born in one place. However, he may die several times elsewhere: in the exiles and prisons, and in a homeland transformed by the occupation and oppression into a nightmare.

Mahmoud Darwish,

I). Cultural Genocide Unmasked: Uyghur Erasure and the Tragedy of Cultural Homogenization

The government’s campaign has a clear purpose of collectively targeting the Uyghur population based on their religion and ethnicity with the use of acute violence and intimidation to root out Islamic religious beliefs. I am utterly repulsed and deeply appalled by the fact that the Chinese government targets not only Uyghurs within its borders but also those outside of its borders. Not only are Uyghurs being mistreated within the borders of China & being subjected to intense surveillance, forced labor, and involuntary sterilizations, among other rights abuses. Amnesty International reported that Saudi Arabia was preparing to deport an Uyghur woman and her 13-year-old daughter to China. A mother named Buheliqiemu Abula and her teenage daughter were detained near Mecca and told by police they faced deportation to China along with two Uyghur men already held, according to a message received by Abula’s friends. They were held hostage since November 2020. It’s inhumane to hear about the efforts China is willing to make to expunge the Islamic faith (Iman) of Muslims.

I think the purpose [of the classes] was to destroy our religion and to assimilate us… They said that we couldn’t say ‘as-salamu alaykum’ and that if we were asked what our ethnicity was we should say ‘Chinese’… They said that you could not go to Friday prayers… And that it was not Allah who gave you all, it was Xi Jinping. You must not thank Allah; you must thank Xi Jinping for everything.

a former camp detainee in Xinjiang,

In these internment camps these Muslims have to follow these classes and these “educational” are largely focused on brainwashing and indoctrinating detainees about the “evils” of the Islamic religion. The Chinese government denies the diversity of this culture and these operations that have been taken threaten the Uyghur culture. The mosques that are being demolished, the teachings of religion that are being suppressed, and the many Uyghur individuals who have been coerced into forsaking their faith in order to conform to the ideals of ‘prosperity’ promoted by Xi Jinping. Such actions not only strip away the religious freedom of the Uyghur people but also dismantle the vibrant tapestry of Islamic culture that has thrived in the region for generations. The Uyghurs are being transformed into some sort of uniform society that aligns with the dominant culture of China under the guise of assimilation. The culture of the Uyghurs has been colonized in the sense that, that has also happened in the context of European colonialism, where indigenous cultures were suppressed and marginalized in favor of the dominant European culture, leading to the erosion of native languages, customs, and belief systems. Additionally, in order to destroy the Uyghur people’s connection to Sunni Islam, an integral aspect of their identity, adults are made to imbibe alcohol and food during Ramadan — two major religious violations for any practicing Muslim.

II). Targeted Persecution: Unraveling China’s Agenda against the Uyghur Population

Well, of course, China denies the fact that it commits crimes against humanity. The motive behind China’s commitment to these barbaric and inhumane actions against Uyghurs is its perceived necessity to combat terrorism and root out Islamist extremism. China has also claimed that Uyghur militants are campaigning for an independent state by committing violent actions like plotting bombings. China is accused of exaggerating the threat in order to justify the repression of the Uyghurs. .The Chinese Communist Party claimed the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in 1949. The Uyghurs that live in that region refer to the region as East Turkestan. The policies targeting Uyghurs have inflicted profound personal suffering, family separation, and the dismantling of the social fabric within Uyghur communities. Stories of individuals who have experienced trauma, loss, and forced assimilation shed light on the human toll of these actions. Thousands of Uyghur children were separated from their parents. And their mothers or fathers were forced into Chinese internment camps, prisons, and other detention facilities, according to evidence from government documents in Xinjiang. Also, China has economic interests in the region for example the Belt and Road Initiative. The Belt and Road Initiative is a massive China-led infrastructure project that aims to stretch around the globe and there have been several analysts that perceive this move as a troubling expansion of Chinese power. If they want to reach this initiative then Beijing hopes to eradicate any possibility of separatist activity to continue its development of Xinjiang, which is home to China’s largest coal and natural gas reserves. In this way, the Uyghur population is marginalized and the developments are often disproportionately enjoyed by Han Chinese people, and Uyghur people are increasingly marginalized. In my opinion, the Uyghur people are being exploited and China is building their Chinese empire on the backs of the Uyghurs. This represents the largest mass detention of a religious group since World War II. As I’ve stated in my other article about the Question of the Uyghurs is that I think it’s pivotal and essential that we advocate for international intervention, and that we raise our voices against the repressive state-organized crimes against humanity that are being committed to this day. The oppression and the dystopian hellscape that these millions of people face are just horrendous. The forced cultural assimilation aims to eradicate and erase the identity of the Uyghurs.

The West Guardian

Examining Putin’s Justification for Annexation Through the Lens of Ukraine’s Tragic History

The Holodomor, which means death by hunger in Ukrainian, refers to the man-made starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932–33 which was orchestrated by the Soviet government under Joseph Stalin. “Holod” means “hunger” in the Ukrainian language. The famine disproportionately affected Ukrainian-speaking rural areas, leading to a demographic shift towards Russian-speaking urban areas in the region. Furthermore, in the time of the Soviet era, the government implemented these policies aimed at Russification as well as encouraging Russians in various ways to move to Ukraine. Understanding the language question is essential in order to understand Ukraine as a nation. Ukraine has been subjected to centuries of enforced Russification. This has involved the systematic persecution of the Ukrainian culture and language.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

George Santayana

I). The Holodomor: A Weapon of Mass Starvation Used to Crush Ukrainian Nationalism

The Holodomor was a devastating famine that occurred in Ukraine during the early 1930s. The famine was caused by forced collectivization policies implemented by Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. The Holodomor stands as a disastrous reminder of the demolishing power of authoritarian regimes on the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people. The origins of the Holodomor in Ukraine and the famine in China’s Great Leap Forward both stem from the forced collectivization policies implemented by Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong. One of the causes of the Holodomor is that by the end of the 1920s, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin consolidated his control over the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Stalin felt threatened by Ukraine’s strengthening cultural autonomy. To prevent “Ukrainian national counterrevolution,” Stalin initiated mass-scale political repressions through widespread intimidation, arrests, and imprisonment. As follows, leader Stalin took measures to ruin the Ukrainian peasantry and the Ukrainian intellectual and cultural elites to prevent them from seeking independence for Ukraine. Stalin was stunned by the strength of Ukrainian patriotism and the emergence of a non-Bolshevik Ukrainian state. Policies to collectivize agriculture were implemented by leaders, Stalin, and Mao Zedong in their respective countries. In the 1930s Stalin’s collectivization policies in the Soviet Union were implemented, while Mao Zedong’s policies in China occurred during the Great Leap Forward in the late 1950s and early 1960s. During to 1920s Stalin also dreaded the Ukrainian peasantry, whose staunch resistance to Bolshevik rule forced the Soviet state to recognize the importance of Ukrainian culture and delay the violent collectivization of agriculture. In 1928, the Soviet leadership announced a policy of collectivization, by combining individual private farms with the collective farms of state property. The Teams of Communist Party agitators coerced peasants to let go of their land, personal property, and sometimes housing to collective farms, and they deported kulaks who were wealthier peasants as well as any peasants who resisted collectivization altogether. The process of collectivization involved the forced amalgamation of small farms into larger communal units and the erasure of more successful farmers, known as kulaks or kurkuls, had a disruptive impact on agricultural production. Both Ukraine and China led to a drop in agricultural production, disorganization of the rural economy, and food shortages. In the case of Ukraine, the enforced collectivization under Stalin’s rule led to widespread resistance and even armed uprisings in some areas, as peasants were reluctant to give up their land and private property. Similarly, Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward campaign aimed to rapidly industrialize China and increase agricultural production through collectivization and other policies. However, these policies led to widespread famine, as peasants were forced to abandon traditional farming methods and work in communal farms or backyard steel production, leading to a decline in agricultural output and food shortages. While it is impossible to determine the precise number of victims of the Ukrainian genocide, most estimates by scholars range from roughly 3.5 million to 7 million. Forced collectivization helped achieve Stalin’s goal of rapid industrialization but it also contributed to a famine of catastrophic proportions in 1932–1933. As a result of all of this, it is estimated that around 3.5 to 5 million people have died. The Holodomor famine in Ukraine was a catastrophic event that left an indelible mark on the country’s history. According to recent demographic studies, an estimated 13.3 percent of Ukraine’s population died at the time of the Holodomor. The promotion of a ‘new Soviet identity’ and official pressure on Ukrainians to use the Russian language intensified. The central government resettled people and manipulated migration patterns to promote Russification (see National Composition of Ukraine and Migration). Russians were encouraged in various ways to move to Ukraine, and large numbers of them were settled there.

II). Ethnic and Cultural Complexities in Eastern Ukraine: The Legacy of the Holodomor and Soviet-Era Policies

There is a significant amount of ethnic Russians living throughout the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, particularly in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. In the introduction of my article, you’ve already read that in the time of the Soviet era, the government implemented these policies aimed at Russification as well as encouraging Russians in various ways to move to Ukraine. The success of the different Russification policies is evident to some extent in the linguistic assimilation of Ukrainians. There has been a notable rise in the number of Ukrainians who consider Russian as their native language, particularly in the regions with a higher percentage of ethnic Russians. In the eastern and southern regions, the resettlement of ethnic Russians to Ukraine during the Soviet era has had a significant impact on the ethnic makeup of the country. This has contributed to the ongoing controversy surrounding the claims of ethnic Russians in Eastern Ukraine, as they assert their right to autonomy and self-determination in a country where the majority speaks Ukrainian and identifies as Ukrainian. The presence of ethnic Russians in Ukraine has also been a source of tension in relations between Ukraine and Russia, with Russia often citing its duty to protect the rights of ethnic Russians. On February 24, 2022, Putin announced a “special military operation” that he wanted to protect the people who were subjected by the Kyiv regime to genocide and who were bullied for eight years. The conflict in Eastern Ukraine is not only related to the ethnic makeup of the regions. There are also political, economic, and historical factors that play a role. Look, for example at the annexation of the Crimean peninsula which in 2014 was spurred by a complex mix of factors, including historical ties between Crimea and Russia.

III). The Annexation of Crimea: A Move to Protect Ethnic Russians or an Act of Aggression?

The Russian Federation annexed Crimea in 2014. Russia has deep cultural, economic, and political bonds with Ukraine. Look at the bond that they have. If we look at it historically. Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, is sometimes referred to as “the mother of Russian cities. Additionally, the Russian diaspora, Moscow claimed a duty to protect these people as a pretext for its actions in Crimea and the Donbas in 2014. Approximately eight million ethnic Russians were living in Ukraine as of 2001, according to a census taken that year, mostly in the south and east. There are more factors why Russia has interests in Ukraine. For example, Crimea is important to Russia for a variety of reasons. First, it has a long history of being part of Russia and was only transferred to Ukraine in 1954 during the Soviet era. Many Russians see Crimea as an integral part of their country and view its transfer to Ukraine as a mistake. Secondly, Crimea is strategically important for Russia as it provides access to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The last reason why Russia wanted to annex Crimea, is because I said earlier that there is a high presence of ethnic Russians in this region, which is one of the justifications used by Russia. The annexation of Crimea was popular among many Russians who saw it as a way of restoring their country’s power and prestige. The strategic importance of the Sevastopol port, which is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. This port provides Russia with access to the Mediterranean and is crucial for its military presence in the region. The importance of this region doesn’t stop here. Most importantly, control of Crimea gives Moscow continuing access to the naval base at Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. In 2008, for example, Russia used the fleet to ferry troops and to conduct a blockade against Georgia, the Black Sea Fleet provides Russia with substantial operational capability within the immediate area.

The West Guardian

The Brutal Campaign for Cultural Erasure and Demographic Control

The despotism against the Uyghur population in Xinjiang continues, despite the Chinese government’s denials. The allegations of human rights abuses and terror committed by the PRC are highly controversial and disputed, but evidence of the atrocities being committed continues to emerge. This is being carried out through the establishment of so-called “re-education” camps, which China claims are voluntary. However, numerous reports from former detainees and human rights organizations suggest that the camps are not voluntary and are instead places of detention and forced indoctrination.” Prominent organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reported on the human rights abuses committed against the Uyghur population in China.

• an estimated one million Turkic Muslims are without any legal process incarcerated in internment camps.
• Reuters journalists have observed with satellite imagery and found that thirty-nine of the camps almost tripled in size between April 2017 and August 2018
• Most people detained in the “ re-education” camps were never charged with crimes and had no legal avenues to challenge their detentions.

I.Uyghurs: A systematic erasure of cultural identity

The Chinese government’s campaign against the Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region is aimed at eradicating their cultural identity and assimilating them into the dominant Han Chinese culture. They are effectively ethnically cleansing the Uyghur population to homogenize the region and reduce the Uyghur demographic footprint. The Chinese government has since 2014 imposed forced interethnic marriages on Uyghur women. Honestly, it’s unbelievable what kind of measures the CCP has taken to destroy the cultural footprint and the cultural resonance. They have implemented numerous and various measures which are suppressing and eroding the cultural components that belong to the Uyghur community. If we scrutinize and examine the measures that have been executed by the CCP, we’ll see the brutality and inhumane actions they’ve carried out. Crimes against humanity are defined as a reference to specific crimes committed in the context of a large-scale attack targeting civilians, regardless of their nationality. These crimes include murder, torture, sexual violence, enslavement, persecution, enforced disappearance, etc.

That’s what we can speak of based on the observations of many prominent and respected organizations. I think that one of the ways China is disrupting the cultural resonance of the Uyghur population is through forced abortions and sterilization. Individual women have spoken about forced abortions and forced birth control. Şemsinur Gafur is one of these individuals who have spoken about these dystopian and draconian measures. Gafur who was a former obstetrician-gynecologist who worked in a village hospital in Xinjiang in the 1990s said she and other female doctors used to go from house to house with a mobile ultrasound machine to check if anyone was pregnant. Also, Bumeryem Rozi, said authorities in Xinjiang rounded her up along with other pregnant women to abort her fifth child in 2007. She said that the authorities said that if you deliver this baby, we will seal her house. You will be taken to a “People’s Gathering” and we will send your husband to a different “People’s Gathering. This isn’t the first time China has taken an unnecessary responsibility when it comes to family planning,” as evidenced by the One-Child Policy which I will discuss in this article.

II. Controlling Population Growth: A Critical Analysis of China’s One-Child Policy

The one-child policy (in Chinese: 独生子女政策) was a policy or rule implemented by the Chinese government which was introduced in 1979 and phased out in 2015. The Chinese population control authorities like to claim their efforts have averted a cumulative total of over 400 million births. Why was this policy even implemented by the Chinese government? The reason why it was implemented was as a means of controlling population growth, which had become a major concern for the Chinese government due to the rapidly increasing population and limited resources. By the 1950s, population growth started to outpace the food supply, and the government started promoting birth control. In the aftermath of Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward in 1958, an ambitious effort to rapidly modernize China’s economy, the country was struck by a devastating famine that led to the deaths of tens of millions of people. The famine was caused by a combination of factors, including misguided agricultural policies, natural disasters, and political repression. The Great Leap Forward was an economic plan and campaign that lasted from 1958 to 1961. The government’s efforts to collectivize agriculture and industrialize the economy resulted in widespread food shortages and a breakdown of traditional farming practices. The ‘Great Leap Forward’-famine in China from 1959–61 was the single largest famine in history in terms of absolute numbers of deaths. This has resulted in a sharp contraction in the Chinese economy and between 30 to 45 million deaths by starvation. In the 1970s, the government implemented the “Later, Longer, Fewer” (LLF) policy, which encouraged couples to delay marriage and have fewer children. China is one of the countries that implemented family planning early on, and its policies have been regarded as some of the strictest in the world.

The Chinese government maintained a one-child policy, subjecting these millions of women to forced contraception, forced sterilization, and forced abortion, which I mentioned earlier in this article. Now, the Chinese government wants — because of the decreasing birth rates — women in the country to have more children. But back to my point. This is worth mentioning because apparently, China can’t stop taking these unwanted and unnecessary responsibilities. That was the reason why China implemented the one-child policy. China’s population was at full tilt approaching the one-billion mark, and the government was beginning to give serious consideration to curbing what had become a rapid population growth rate. Were there any exceptions? Yes, There were, however, certain exceptions, for ethnic minorities, for those whose firstborn was handicapped, and for rural families in which the firstborn was not a boy. The One-Child Policy was directed at all couples in urban areas of China. The policy restricted these couples to having only one child, with some exceptions for rural families and other special circumstances. The policy was enforced through a system of rewards and penalties, such as bonuses for those who complied with the policy and fines or other punishments for those who violated it. On Oct. 29, 2015, the government-mandated policy came to an end. Now, you may wonder in which way the one-child policy and the oppression against the Uyghurs have any sort of correlation. There is no direct correlation, however, the oppression against the Uyghurs is related to the Chinese government’s policies aimed at controlling and suppressing the Muslim Uyghur minority population in the Xinjiang region of China. I’m trying to draw parallels here that how this nationwide policy was implemented from 1979 to 2015 similarly is being forced onto the Uyghur population. Not that they can only have one child, but that they’re being restricted by Chinese policies that prevent them from having a child or aborting their baby. The one-child policy and the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghur ethnic minority involve the restriction of having more children due to Chinese policies. However, it’s important to note that the implementation and motivations behind these policies are different.

III. China’s Reproductive Policies: From the One-Child Policy to the Oppression of the Uyghurs

In this segment, I want to discuss the impact of the national policy which was implemented from 1979 to 2015. In light of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) policies, a pressing issue that warrants discussion is the ongoing phenomenon of cultural erosion in China, wherein traditional customs, beliefs, and values are being gradually displaced by a homogeneous and state-sanctioned cultural identity.

I) The Impact of the One-Child Policy on Chinese Society

While the Chinese government’s one-child policy was initially implemented as a means of controlling population growth, its consequences have extended far beyond this objective. The one-child policy had a wide range of impacts on numerous aspects of society including:

1. Gender impacts: the predilections for children of the male gender in Chinese society have led to a substantial gender imbalance. This has led to a shortage of women and a high number of male births. As a result, they would abort, kill, or abandon baby girls. To help ease the problem, the Chinese government altered the policy to allow parents to have a second child if the first one was a girl, but many parents still do not want to bear the expense of raising and educating two children, so they will get rid of girl babies until they get a boy. If we look at history, then we’ll see that son preference is traditional in Chinese Confucian patriarchal culture. While Confucianism has been a significant influence on Chinese culture and values, it is not the only factor that has contributed to the preference for sons. But, it is a common social custom and cultural tradition in China.

In addition to causing a gender imbalance, China’s one-child policy has also contributed to a rapidly aging population and a shrinking workforce. This is due in part to the fact that the policy encouraged families to have only one child, which has resulted in fewer young people supporting a growing elderly population. Furthermore, the cultural preference for male offspring has led to the most imbalanced sex ratio at birth in the world, with more boys than girls being born.

II) The Impact of China’s Policies on Uyghur Identity: Erasure and Its Consequences

The consequences that’ll come along with the erasure of this minority include the loss of cultural heritage, the suppression of freedom of expression, and the psychological trauma experienced by Uyghur individuals and communities. It’s also important to keep the oppression against the Uyghurs alive because these tragedies have and still take place about the ultimate suffering. It shows how important it is to intervene because we’re talking about people who are brutally dehumanized and families who live in constant fear. The Uyghur people are also facing discrimination and persecution due to their religious beliefs, with the government targeting their practice of Islam. Mosques and other religious sites have been demolished or repurposed, and Uyghur individuals have been punished for practicing their religion. If you were to ask me, hey can you give me three reasons why we as people should care about the Uyghurs, what would those reasons be?

1. Human Rights Violations: The Uyghur oppressed minority has been subjected to a range of human rights abuses such as forced labor, arbitrary detention, and the suppression of their cultural and religious practices. Standing with the Uyghurs means standing up against these violations and advocating for their basic human rights.
2. Cultural preservation: The Uyghurs have a unique cultural heritage that is being threatened by the Chinese government’s policies. The destruction of mosques and religious sites, the banning of traditional cultural practices, and the forced assimilation of Uyghur children into Chinese culture all pose a threat to the preservation of Uyghur cultural identity. Standing with the Uyghurs means supporting their right to maintain their cultural heritage and identity.
3. Global Moral Responsibility: The situation in Xinjiang has implications beyond the borders of China. It is a global issue that highlights the importance of upholding human rights and holding governments accountable for their actions. Standing with the Uyghurs means taking a stand for human rights and sending a message to governments around the world that the international community will not tolerate the abuse of human rights.

The West Guardian

“Breaking the Silence: Voices from Gaza on Life under Occupation”

and they searched his chest
but could only find his heart
and they searched his heart
but could only find his people
and they searched his voice
but could only find his grief
and they searched his grief
but could only find his prison
and they searched his prison
but could only see themselves in chains

Excerpted from Earth poem by Mahmoud Darwish, a Palestinian National Poet.

I. Caught in the Crossfire

At the heart of this systemic racism lies a brutal occupation that has been characterized by the fragmentation of Palestinian territory, the suppression of Palestinian resistance, and the entrenchment of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. This brutal and barbaric occupation has deprived and destroyed the childhood of young children. It is dreary and touching to realize the fact that four out of five children in Gaza say they are living with depression, grief, and fear. A lot of Children in Gaza have experienced three wars in the last decade — in 2008–09, 2012, and 2014. It is quite difficult to generalize the behavior of all Gazans after a war, as people may react and cope differently with trauma and stress. However, in general, some common behaviors have been observed among Gazans after the war. For example, PTSD and depression which many Gazans, particularly those who have directly experienced violence, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, which can have long-lasting effects on their mental health. There have been brought out numerous of reports that back up this tragedy. Studies before the 2014 attack had demonstrated already high levels of PTSD among the population in Gaza as a result of exposure to earlier wars and trauma. The damage that is committed in the name of the establishment and the existence of Israel doesn’t end here, considering the destruction, annihilation, and scarring of Gaza.

II. The Tragic Reality of Racial Discrimination

Originally occupied by Egypt, Gaza was captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war. Israel withdrew its troops and around 7,000 settlers in 2005. Israeli forces have been accused of perpetuating systemic racism against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Their policies and actions have created a system of discrimination and marginalization that affects every aspect of Palestinian life, from access to basic necessities like water and electricity to freedom of movement and the ability to build and develop their own communities. Gaza is considered by many to be occupied by Israel. While Israel withdrew its settlements and military forces from Gaza in 2005, it continues to exercise significant control over Gaza’s borders, airspace, and territorial waters and imposes a blockade that severely restricts the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza. Additionally, Israel carries out frequent military operations in Gaza and controls key infrastructure such as the electricity supply. This has led to ongoing debate over whether Gaza should be considered occupied under international law. However, it is generally recognized that Israel exercises a significant degree of control over Gaza. Israel has carried out several military operations in Gaza in recent years, for example, Operation Protective Edge in 2014 or Operation Cast Lead in 2008–2009

III. Gaza, A Territory On Trial

The actions of the Israeli forces are despicable and inhumane. It’s worth mentioning and addressing the fact — that I, along with many others support the cause of Palestine. — is that the people who show their solidarity with Palestine don’t hate Jews. I don’t deny that there are of course people who support Palestine and also hate Jews. It’s important to note that being critical of the apartheid policies that Israel has been committing and executing isn’t inherently linked to antisemitism. I think that antisemitism is a form of bigotry and hatred toward Jewish people which is based on their ethnicity, religious or cultural identity. Antisemitism is on a moral scale and many other dimensions blatantly wrong and should be condemned in any shape or form. However, skepticism toward the state of Israel isn’t inherently antisemitic considering that the criticism is based on policies which is a legitimate political debate. It is totally possible to be critical and skeptical of the Israeli government, its policies, and the way the IDF operates without hating Jews based on their ethnicity, traditions, or some other factors. As a supporter of the Palestinian cause, if you were to ask me do you think Jews should be able or have the right to govern themselves? My answer would be absolutely. If you were to deny the right to Jews to govern themselves that would be antisemitic. You may wonder, but if you think that Jews should be able to govern themselves, then why are you against Israel? It is possible to support the right of Jews to govern themselves, while also criticizing certain policies and actions of the state of Israel. It is important to distinguish between the right of Jews to self-determination and the actions of a particular government, as they are not necessarily the same thing. I may be skeptical about the policies of the Israeli government that include settlement expansion, military occupation, and human rights violations. These criticisms are not necessarily directed at the right of Jews to govern themselves, but rather at specific policies and actions that are harmful to Palestinians and violate international law.

The West Guardian

Examining the atrocities and calling for urgent action to protect the Rohingya people in Myanmar

“We have become the world’s refugees, Our pain has reached the sky, Our sufferings have no limits, Our homes have been burnt to ashes, Our dreams have been shattered, Our eyes have lost all hope, But we are still alive, And we will fight, Until justice is served.”

Hasina Begum, a Rohingya Muslim poet, and activist.

I. Breaking the Siege

As I’m reading the many reports that have been brought out by Amnesty International like the report that was published in 2017 named “My World is Finished”: Rohingya Targeted in Crimes against Humanity in Myanmar”, I learned about the atrocities committed against the Rohingya people. These heinous acts included violence, rape, sexual violence, and the burning of entire villages, all of which were characterized by their barbarity and utter lack of humanity. If you’re new to this subject, then the question that’ll pop up is, what are Rohingya Muslims? This is a common question that rises among people who are not familiar with the situation that is in motion to this day in Myanmar. The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in Myanmar, who primarily reside in the Rakhine State. They speak a dialect of the Bengali language. They have lived in Myanmar’s Rakhine State for generations, but have been subjected to persecution, violence, and discrimination by the country’s government and Buddhist-majority population. Furthermore, they are considered one of the most persecuted minority groups in the world, with the Myanmar government denying them citizenship and basic human rights, including access to education, healthcare, and freedom of movement. Many Rohingyas have fled the country due to persecution, violence, and discrimination. The United Nations has described the situation as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” The ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya involves a range of cruel atrocities, including mass killings, torture, rape, numerous other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary detention, forced displacement, and the destruction of villages and homes. The Rohingya crisis has led to one of the largest refugee crises in the world, with more than a million Rohingya refugees now living in overcrowded and under-resourced camps in Bangladesh. As a result, many Rohingyas have fled Myanmar to neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Thailand, as well as further afield to other parts of the world.

II. Massacre in Tula Toli, The Brutal Killing of Rohingya Muslims

In a village named Tula Toli, which is also known as Min Gyi, in that village in the Maungdaw district, a massacre took place in 2017. A bloodbath filled with the blood of innocent, pure-hearted, and defenseless people. The massacre in Tula Toli was part of a larger campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The military and Buddhist extremists view the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and have long discriminated against them, denying them citizenship, restricting their movement, and limiting their access to basic rights such as education and healthcare. It is important to note that not all Buddhists view the Rohingya as illegal immigrants. However, some extremist Buddhist groups in Myanmar propagate this view. There have been reports of extremist Buddhist groups, such as the MaBaTha, actively promoting anti-Muslim sentiment and inciting violence against the Rohingya. Back to Tula Toli, the advancing soldiers trapped several hundred unarmed Rohingya Muslim villagers. As the soldiers moved toward these Rohingya villagers, some of the abhorrent and foul soldiers fired at these people. Some of the other soldiers were approaching the people who were trying to flee. Some of the Rohingya managed to escape the constricted and oppressive dystopian cage. People were swimming across the fast-moving river to dashing to the surrounding hills, and many of the villagers who were filled with fear and who were terrified couldn’t run away or swim. Families with children, who had little chance of escaping, drowned in the water. It was a horrific and tragic end. A lot of atrocities were committed, and the actions that were being performed didn’t end there.

III. Silenced and Abused: The Epidemic of Sexual Violence Against Rohingya Women in Myanmar

“They first hit us in the head, to make us weak… Then they raped us.”

• S.K., 30, was one of five women who Myanmar soldiers raped in a house in Min Gyi, before setting the house on fire.

The use of sexual violence as a tool of ethnic cleansing and persecution is not unique to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. It has been used in other conflicts around the world, including in Bosnia and Rwanda. In these cases, the perpetrators were eventually held accountable for their crimes. When it comes to sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls — which is not new, it has been used as a tactic of oppression for decades — there has been little accountability for the perpetrators of sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls. The tool of utilizing the act of sexual violence has been well-documented by numerous sources, including international human rights organizations and media outlets. Tomás Ojea Quintana is an Argentine human rights lawyer who has served as UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar and North Korea, has said that while the recommendations of the Rakhine Investigation Commission report address the humanitarian situation in the region, they still restrict the movements of the Muslim community in particular. Overall, the use of sexual violence as a tool of oppression against Rohingya women and girls is well-documented by a range of credible sources. To address the crisis of sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls, the international community must take strong action to hold perpetrators accountable and provide support and resources for survivors. This includes calling for an independent investigation into the crimes committed against the Rohingya people and advocating for justice for survivors. It also means providing humanitarian aid and support to Rohingya communities, including mental health services for survivors of sexual violence.

Sexual violence is almost always underreported. Sexual violence is a deeply personal and traumatic experience that can be difficult for survivors to share with others, let alone report to authorities. There are plenty of reasons :

1. Stigma & Shame: Sexual violence is often stigmatized, and survivors may feel ashamed or embarrassed about what happened to them. This can make it difficult for survivors to come forward and report the violence.
2. Cultural and Social Factors: Cultural and social norms can also play a role in underreporting of sexual violence. In some cultures, discussing sexual violence openly may be taboo, which can prevent survivors from reporting the violence. In many societies, sexual violence is often considered a private matter that should be kept within the family, and victims may be blamed for what happened to them or shunned by their communities. For example, in some parts of India, there is a cultural stigma attached to discussing sexual violence, and survivors may face social isolation or even violence if they speak out. Similarly, in many Middle Eastern and African countries, there are cultural norms that discourage women from speaking out about sexual violence, and victims may face significant social and legal consequences if they do.

Any individual who has experienced this traumatic event has their motives for why they wouldn’t want to report what happened to them. That is understandable. Let’s say — which I hope never happens to you — you were a victim of a crime, a crime that has damaged you on an emotional, physical, and social level, and would become part of a lived experience that you went through…would you immediately tell the authorities? I also think that some people who unfortunately have become part of an undeniably heartbreaking crime would fear reporting what happened to them, because the authorities may not take it seriously. You might think, but that are the authorities, they’re going to take it seriously. I have to agree on that point, I mean it is the authorities anyway, yet it is still an experience you’ve lived through, and we’ve not even considered that people who have become a victim of rape don’t want to report it, because they fear that they’ll have to relive their experience if they have to give an interview with police or a medical professional. Fear of Secondary Trauma.

The West Guardian

“We have never begged for sympathy, nor will we ever. We only ask that the world acknowledges the truth of what is happening to us, and that it supports us in our struggle to survive and to preserve our culture and identity.”

Abdurehim Otkur, an Uyghur poet and scholar.

I. Uyghur Under Siege

The Chinese government launched an operation what is called the “People’s War on Terror” in Xinjiang, which included the implementation of a wide range of repressive policies targeting Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities that live in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Since then, the situation has escalated rapidly, with reports of mass detentions, forced labor, and other human rights abuses continuing to emerge. These people also face systematic state-organized mass imprisonment, torture, and persecution amounting to crimes against humanity. These are barbaric and brutal crimes that are committed by China, or as I’d like to call China, a surveillance state. The 13 million ethnic Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang are being subjugated by the dominant military rule of the Chinese authorities. In the desolate, northwest Xinjiang region of the People’s Republic of China, the Muslim, Turkish Uyghur minority faces cultural extermination. The Uyghur identity is seen as an existential threat to their power and thus the Chinese authorities (CA) seek to eradicate it, with their inhumane and annihilating actions.

II. The Surveillance State of China.

Since late 2016, the Chinese authorities have taken extreme measures against these minorities in China. As I’ve pointed out earlier, China is a surveillance state for several reasons.

1. Extensive utilization of surveillance technologies, China has invested heavily in surveillance technologies such as facial recognition, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence. These technologies are used to track people’s movements, monitor their online activities, and identify and track individuals of interest.
2. Biometric data collection: Biometrics is the measurement and statistical analysis of people’s unique physical and behavioral characteristics. “China has heavily invested in surveillance technologies such as facial recognition, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence, extensively using them to track people’s movements, monitor their online activities, and identify individuals of interest. Biometric data collection is also widespread, with authorities collecting fingerprints and DNA samples from citizens for surveillance. The police in China have even collected voice prints using sound recorders attached to their facial recognition cameras. Several countries collect DNA samples from men because of the Y chromosome’s passing down with few mutations. When the police have the y-DNA profile of one man, they can also identify his paternal lineage for generations. While many countries use this method, China’s approach stands out because of its singular focus on collecting as many samples as possible.”
3. Strict control over media and communications: The Chinese government tightly controls the media and the internet, blocking foreign news sites and social media platforms are often blocked. The government also monitors social media and online chat groups for dissenting opinions and punishes those who criticize the government. For Xi Jinping, however, there is no distinction between the virtual world and the real world: both should reflect the same political values, ideals, and standards. The government has invested in technological upgrades to monitor and censor content. An additional factor to remember is that the Great Firewall of China is a system that blocks foreign news sites and social media platforms. The government also monitors online chat groups for dissenting opinions and punishes those who criticize the government. To enforce its control over the internet, the government has invested in technologies like the social credit system and internet censorship tools.

There are way more reasons why China deserves the label of a surveillance state. These actions that are committed by China aren’t the only actions. You can look at the human informants. Besides the technological surveillance that China has massively invested in, the Chinese government relies on a vast network of human informants to monitor and report on their neighbors, friends, and colleagues. The last thing I’ll mention is the use of drones which is another example of why China is a surveillance state. According to Bloomberg News, China Uses Facial Recognition to Fence In Villagers in Far West.

III. Voices Against Oppression

As a Muslim, I think it’s pivotal and essential that we advocate for international intervention, and that we raise our voices against the repressive state-organized crimes against humanity that are being committed to this day. The oppression and the dystopian hellscape that these millions of people face are just horrendous. The forced cultural assimilation in an attempt to eradicate and erase the identity of Uyghurs. In February, the Xinjiang governor canceled an EU visit, because of the backlash from Uyghur abuse. This action carries out a paradoxical nuance, as it simultaneously negates while asserting that this atrocious action takes place. It’s such a waste that the governor of Xinjiang canceled his EU visit, which totally could’ve been a step towards preventing future atrocities. By shining a light on the Uyghur crisis, individuals and organizations can help to prevent similar atrocities from occurring in the future. Also, Solidarity, which is important for raising awareness about the Uyghur crisis, can foster a sense of solidarity with the Uyghur community and other marginalized groups.

IV. The History Of Ethnic Cleansing

If we stand up for the Uyghurs and advocate for their freedom, it is crucial that we don’t forget the ethnic cleansing that is taking place. The definition of ethnic cleansing has been widely debated, but it is generally recognized as a form of human rights violation. Ethnic cleansing is the mass expulsion or killing of members of an ethnic or religious group in a society, often fortified by the state or other puissant groups, with the intention of making a territory ethnically homogeneous. It involves utilizing sundry forms of violence, including murder, rape, torture, coerced displacement, and eradication of property, to abstract a targeted ethnic or religious group from a particular area. The goal of ethnic cleansing is to engender an ethnically pristine or ascendant group in a particular territory by forcibly abstracting or extirpating other groups. There are a plethora of attempts to ethnically cleanse muslims.

1. The Bosnian genocide (1992–1995), in which Bosnian Serb forces killed over 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica and engaged in ethnic cleansing throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2. The Rohingya genocide in Myanmar (2017-present), in which the Myanmar military and Buddhist extremists have committed atrocities against the Rohingya Muslim minority, including mass killings, rape, and forced displacement.
3. The Indian government’s persecution of Muslims in Assam (2019-present), in which the government has stripped millions of Muslim residents of their citizenship and placed them in detention centers.
4. During the Indian partition in 1947, millions of Muslims were forced to flee their homes in what is now India and move to the newly-created Pakistan, while millions of Hindus and Sikhs fled in the opposite direction. This resulted in widespread violence and death.
5. Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Territories: Palestinians have faced discrimination, displacement, and violence at the hands of Israeli authorities for decades. Many human rights organizations have accused Israel of carrying out policies that amount to apartheid and ethnic cleansing.

There are way more examples, but let’s stick to the gruesome and monstrous ethnic cleansing of Uyghurs. The way this is being done is by :

1. Forced Detention: Uyghurs are being detained in large numbers in “re-education” camps, where they are subjected to political indoctrination, forced labor, and torture.
2. Forced Labor: Many Uyghurs have been forced into labor in factories across China, often under abusive conditions.
3. Sterilization: Uyghur women are being forcibly sterilized as part of a campaign to limit the growth of the Uyghur population.
4. Religious Persecution: The Chinese government has implemented strict controls on religious practice in Xinjiang, with mosques being closed or destroyed, religious texts being confiscated, and individuals being punished for practicing their religion.
5. Cultural Suppression: The Chinese government has also implemented measures to suppress Uyghur culture, including banning the use of the Uyghur language in schools and public life.

V. The Bitter Conclusion

I encourage everyone to read the reports that have been out and advocate for the freedom for these minorites, to release these innocent people from their undeserved suffering, and to give these people the justice they deserve. I’ve written this article and looking back at what I’ve wrote there is so much going on with the Uyghur genocide crisis that the acts that are being carried out. It’s indescribable. As I’ve arrived at the bitter conclusion, I hope that with my article that I have informed you or at least given you a insight of what is happening.

The West Guardian