01:00:00:18

Old Log New Leaf animated logo

Sound effect

01:00:07:04

Odessa films animated logo

Sound effect

01:00:15:19

Black Screen

Music

01:00:17:04

Kazakh Mother Rust Sweater  with Son Plaid Shirt

- IN KAZAKH:
We are all separated.

01:00:19:09

None of my 16 siblings
can contact me now.

01:00:27:20

They're scared to.

01:00:31:07

Kazakh Male White Sweater

- IN KAZAKH: He kept saying
everything is fine,

01:00:33:19

but he was obviously
malnourished,

01:00:37:13

very thin.

01:00:39:20

We don't know what's actually
happening to him there.

01:00:44:11

Uyghur Male Blue Sweater

- IN UYGHUR: I guess my father
was tortured and died in prison

01:00:49:20

because of me.

01:00:51:07

Maybe they also put
my brother in prison,

01:00:55:00

or some kind of camp.

01:00:58:14

Kazakh Mother (rust sweater) and Son (plaid shirt)

- IN KAZAKH: He sweetly
said goodbye to us,

01:01:02:10

got in the taxi... and left.

01:01:05:15

We haven't seen him since.

01:01:11:16

Pink Hijab Woman (Gulbahar Jelilova)

- IN UYGHUR:
The long chains on our feet,

01:01:14:06

they make a sound like
'shrak shrak'.

01:01:16:11

That shackle won't leave
my ears.

01:01:21:22

Grey Hijab Woman (Mihrigul Tursun)

- IN UYGHUR: I witnessed
the death of nine women,

01:01:27:19

captives in the cell with me.

01:01:31:11

Brown Hijab Woman

- IN UYGHUR: They said,

01:01:32:08

'Please tell my father I'm
captured in this prison.'

01:01:35:19

Another one said,

01:01:36:23

'Please inform my daughter
I'm held in this prison.'

01:01:40:23

'Tell my mother I'm here.'

01:01:43:14

It made me dizzy.

01:01:46:21

Uyghur Male with Facial Hair

- IN UYGHUR: The beating
went on for hours.

01:01:48:09

I screamed
and lost consciousness.

01:01:50:09

When I came to,
they hung me like this.

01:01:55:13

Uyghur woman White/Blue shirt

- IN UYGHUR: I have received
a lot of personal threats

01:01:57:05

since I began to testify.

01:02:00:17

I haven't stopped so far.

01:02:02:15

God willing,
I won't stop either.

01:02:07:04

Pink Hijab Woman (Gulbahar Jelilova)

- IN UYGHUR: I tell this
to the whole world,

01:02:08:13

even if they kill me.

01:02:13:14

Title Card: Photo of Troops in Square

In recent years, the Chinese government escalated repression against Uyghurs and others in Western China.

01:02:22:12

Title Card: Photo of Police Checkpoint

As of 2023, from one to two million people have been detained. Those remaining are subject to intense surveillance and restrictions.

01:02:32:15

Title card: Photo Woman in Pink with Boy

The government uses a public campaign of images and slogans to justify mass arbitrary detention

01:02:42:09

Propaganda Poster: Man Sweeping; 伊斯兰包含着病毒主义 (Translation: A contagious ideological disease)

- JEWHER IN ENGLISH: Islam is a
contagious ideological disease.

01:02:46:16

Ideological disease.

01:02:49:04

A contagious
ideological disease.

01:02:52:22

A disease.

01:02:59:04

Propaganda Poster: Road Roller over 3 men; 三个恶劣

The three evils

01:02:58:20

恐怖主义

Terrorism

01:03:00:19

分裂主义

Separatism

01:03:02:09

极端宗教主义

Religious Extremism

01:03:04:17

Three evils

01:03:08:13

Propaganda poster: Ax over three black figures; 杂音和噪音

All static and noise
need to be eliminated.

01:03:12:11

Jewher to camera

Static

01:03:13:22

and noise.

01:03:15:22

Static and noise.

01:03:18:13

All static and noise
need to be eliminated.

01:03:21:10

Static

Sound effect

01:03:25:10

Title Card white on black: Old Log New Leaf

and

Odessa Films

present

Music

01:03:28:12

Pan Wall of Portraits

Music

01:03:34:11

Title Card white on black: All Static & Noise

Music

01:03:38:08

Forbidden City with Mao’s portrait and traffic

Music

01:03:39:13

Forbidden City with Mao’s portrait and traffic:

Executive Produced by

Mothertongues

Zun Zun Media

Music

01:03:46:11

Pan of exterior banner w/ socialist core values in Chinese

Music

01:03:48:17

Pan of exterior banner w/ socialist core values in Chinese:

Produced by

Janice Englehart

David Novack

Music

01:03:54:18

Photo of boy

Music

01:03:56:20

Photo of boy:

Cinematography by

Kaya Dillon

Music

01:03:59:55

Exterior soldier sculpture

Music

01:04:04:06

Police with white gloves:

Edited by

Nancy Novack, ACE

Music

01:04:08:15

Street scene red flags

Music

01:04:10:08

Street scene red flags

Original Music by

David Williams-Mitchell

Music

01:04:14:14

Concentration camp view from road

Music

01:04:16:23

Concentration camp view from road:

Written by

Janice Englehart

David Novack

Nancy Novack

Music

01:04:23:12

Fence:

Directed by

David Novack

Music

01:04:38:19

Jewher in dressing room before dance.

When I dance,
I think about the old days

01:04:42:00

when I used to perform
with my mum.

01:04:45:06

We used to go to family
dance competitions.

01:04:48:20

My father didn't know

01:04:51:04

that I know how to dance or sing

01:04:54:09

because my father always wanted
me to focus on my studies.

01:05:06:15

When I put the hat on myself,

01:05:08:19

I miss my mum so much
cos she used to help me with it,

01:05:12:16

with putting the make-up,
putting the accessories and hat,

01:05:20:02

and I didn't have to worry
about anything.

01:05:25:10

I wanna show this
little moon.

01:05:28:02

This is a necklace
my friend got me.

01:05:31:06

But now anything
with a crescent moon, it's...

01:05:34:07

If the government
found you are wearing it,

01:05:37:13

then you will be targeted.

01:05:44:10

OK. Go.

01:05:46:07

Jewher walking down dark hallway

Sound effect.

01:05:48:20

Jewher ID card in Mandarin:

姓名: 菊尔.伊力哈木

国籍: 中国

民族: 了维吾尔

流浪的年: 18

01:05:49:07

Jewher Chinese ID card

My name is Jewher Ilham.

01:05:52:11

NAME: Jewher Ilham

NATIONALITY: Chinese

ETHNICITY: Uyghur

AGE WHEN EXILED: 18

I was born and raised in China,
but I'm a Uyghur girl.

01:05:58:09

Jewher’s dance on stage

Uyghur folk song w/ male vocals

01:06:27:17

Uyghurs are
Turkic ethnic minorities.

01:06:32:00

We have different culture
compared to Han Chinese.

01:06:43:11

We have our own language.
It's very close to Uzbek.

01:06:49:14

We use Arabic script.

01:06:52:17

And we are primarily Muslims.

01:06:56:23

The Uyghur traditional dance,

01:06:59:03

it's something deep in my heart
that I love so much.

01:07:03:07

When I'm sad, I dance,

01:07:05:01

and then I don't remember
any sadness.

01:07:08:02

When I'm happy, I dance.

01:07:10:02

When I feel angry, I dance.

01:07:13:08

So no matter what kind of
extra emotion I have,

01:07:17:01

I dance so I can become
more calm.

01:07:25:02

Map: China

Music

01:07:26:09

Most of the Uyghur population
live in

01:07:29:14

Map: Xinjiang added

what the Chinese call Xinjiang.

01:07:32:14

But Uyghurs in the diaspora

01:07:34:08

Map: East Turkestan added

prefer to call it
East Turkestan,

01:07:37:03

and this is a name from

01:07:38:10

before the Chinese government
took over in 1949.

01:07:43:09

The full Chinese name

01:07:44:20

Map: Uyghur Autonomous Region added

is actually Xinjiang
Uyghur Autonomous Region.

01:07:48:02

That means we're supposed
to have

01:07:50:07

some self-controlled government,

01:07:52:20

but it doesn't really function
that way.

01:07:55:16

Jewher interview in empty theater

Uyghur people, they don't
have the access to control.

01:08:03:00

Empty street; police walking

Nowadays, the Uyghurs
are living in a very,

01:08:05:15

Man walking on tree lined street

very difficult situation.

01:08:14:17

Jewher in theater

The Chinese government
doesn't want the outside world

01:08:17:13

to know what is
going on in Xinjiang.

01:08:20:12

Jehwer walking on college campus

01:08:24:17

Title card:

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA

2018

I've been living in Indiana
since 2013.

01:08:30:18

Jewher walking up stairs

I am currently a senior student
at Indiana University.

01:08:35:20

Jewher in theater

I'm studying political science
and Arabic.

01:08:38:22

Jewher pointing to family photos

This is a picture of my father
in his classroom.

01:08:41:11

He was teaching.

01:08:43:23

This is also a picture
we took at Xinjiang

01:08:47:10

when we were travelling
together,

01:08:48:19

Jewher 100%

and we went to lots of cities,

01:08:51:07

lots of places,

01:08:53:01

and it was really nice.

01:08:55:22

Jewher with family photos

This is three weeks
before we left Beijing,

01:08:58:08

and we wanted to take a family
photo in the living room.

01:09:05:01

My dad bought me this shirt.

01:09:06:23

He loved green,
and I loved green too.

01:09:09:18

Jewher 100%

Even though red is
my favourite colour,

01:09:11:10

and he doesn't allow me
to wear red.

01:09:15:19

Family Portrait

My father, Ilham Tohti,
is a well-known scholar.

01:09:20:11

Series of shots of Tohti at podium

He created this website,

01:09:22:07

and he would post things
about Uyghurs, about Xinjiang.

01:09:26:07

It's actually about all
the other ethnic minority groups

01:09:29:10

as well, and the government,

01:09:31:10

and then his suggestions towards

01:09:33:16

how to treat
ethnic minority groups.

01:09:36:22

Jewher in Theater

What is the better way and how
will it improve the situation?

01:09:43:00

Tohti with index finger raised

My father have gotten
so much attention

01:09:49:11

So Indiana University invited
him as a visiting scholar.

01:09:54:13

Jewher in Theater

My dad decided to take me
with him

01:09:56:03

because I could help him
settle down,

01:09:58:12

and I also can see
how America is like.

01:10:02:18

So I was only planning
to come for a month.

01:10:06:01

Airport animation

Airport sounds in Chinese

01:10:08:23

Title card:

Beijing Airport

2013

Immigration

Airport sounds in Chinese; sound effects

01:10:11:21

We waited
on two different lines.

01:10:15:01

Mine went so quick.

01:10:17:21

They just looked at my passport

01:10:18:22

and looked at my face
and let me pass.

01:10:21:11

For my dad, it took so long.

01:10:26:22

He got very impatient.

01:10:28:20

'I have my visa.

01:10:30:12

'I have my passport.

01:10:32:10

'I have the invitation letter.'

01:10:37:00

There were around
four to five men who came.

01:10:43:01

And they were dragging
my father's shirt and his arm

01:10:46:09

and tried to push him.

01:10:50:10

And then they took my dad away.

01:10:55:07

I was in shock - so scared.

01:10:58:13

I was only 18.

01:11:00:23

And then they said,
'You come with us.'

01:11:11:22

After two hours,
there was one lady came.

01:11:16:05

She was holding my passport.

01:11:18:23

She said, 'You can go.
Do you wanna go?'

01:11:22:11

She was repeating it
like a record machine.

01:11:25:11

' Do you wanna go?
Do you wanna go?

01:11:27:06

'Do you wanna go?'

01:11:31:08

'What do you mean?
How do I go without my dad?'

01:11:37:15

He got a little bit angry
of my attitude,

01:11:41:03

and he pushed me away.

01:11:44:12

He said, 'Go. Mang balam, mang.  Akangha karma.

01:11:47:22

'Don't look back.

01:11:50:23

'Don't cry in front of them.
You're a strong Uyghur girl. (music)

01:11:54:11

'Let them
know how Uyghurs are like.'

01:12:01:11

And...

01:12:03:06

we never had a chance
to actually say goodbye.

01:12:14:11

Jewher in Theater

And that was the last time
I saw my dad.

01:12:18:03

Photo of Tohti stamped 02_02_2013

February 2nd 2013.

01:12:28:05

Title Card: TURKEY

01:12:31:01

Title Card: HOME TO OVER 60,000 UYGHURS IN EXILE

01:12:50:23

- IN ENGLISH: Not all Uyghurs
in Turkey are religious.

01:12:56:18

But because
they lost their freedom

01:13:00:04

of practising their religion
in East Turkestan,

01:13:05:03

they want to show
their strong Uyghur identity.

01:13:11:20

They are not nationalists.

01:13:13:07

They just speak Uyghur language
and practise cultural Islam,

01:13:19:05

not fundamental Islam.

01:13:22:16

But the Chinese government
could not bear with it.

01:13:27:00

- IN UYGHUR:
The atheist Chinese regime

01:13:29:04

disregards the Muslims' privacy

01:13:32:00

Your bravery is stronger

01:13:33:15

than the silence
of the cowardly regime.

01:13:37:03

- IN ENGLISH:
'In Turkey, every Uyghur has

01:13:40:02

'one family member
arrested. At least one.

01:13:43:14

'Some of them, like,
more than 30 Uyghurs,

01:13:46:20

'all their family members
are arrested.'

01:13:50:02

- IN UYGHUR: Can you tell me
why they were arrested?

01:13:53:07

- IN UYGHUR: They were detained
because we are living in Turkey.

01:13:58:01

And they were in contact
with us.

01:14:00:19

- IN UYGHUR: This picture
was taken at the airport

01:14:02:22

when I left -
the last with my father.

01:14:05:15

Three months later,
he was arrested.

01:14:08:21

- IN UYGHUR:
My wife is in a jail.

01:14:10:11

My child is in the hands
of the Chinese,

01:14:13:02

in the special camps.

01:14:16:02

- We all have such stories.

01:14:17:08

- Three years since I've heard
my mother's voice.

01:14:18:18

- My whole family
has been taken away.

01:14:21:02

- Just because we live in
foreign countries.

01:14:33:11

- IN UYGHUR:
These are your parents, right?

01:14:35:11

- Mm.

01:14:36:11

- Your father and mother. I
assume this is your father, yes?

01:14:39:07

This is your cousin.

01:14:40:12

Is this your uncle?

01:14:42:04

What happened to your mum
and dad? And when?

01:14:46:00

- IN UYGHUR:
My father was taken around 2017.

01:14:49:03

That was about
a year and a half ago.

01:14:51:17

- And you heard your father was
sentenced to four years, right?

01:14:55:11

- Mm, mm.
- Who else has been sentenced?

01:14:57:23

- This cousin was sentenced
to five years.

01:15:00:22

- Five years.
How about this cousin?

01:15:03:02

- He's been
taken to a re-education camp.

01:15:04:13

- A re-education camp. and her?

01:15:06:19

- My sister is also
in a re-education camp.

01:15:11:07

- IN UYGHUR:
This is all I could find.

01:15:13:13

- Who is this?

01:15:15:01

- my cousin.

01:15:16:15

- This is your mum, right?
Looks like you.

01:15:20:01

How about this one?

01:15:21:21

- my father.

01:15:23:06

- How about this one?
- My sister.

01:15:25:04

My parents were taken
around May 2017.

01:15:29:05

- Mm.

01:15:30:10

For my mum,

01:15:31:18

I don’t know the exact time,
but it could be around May.

01:15:34:22

She was taken just
after my sister.

01:15:37:21

Title Card: HEYITGAH MOSQUE, KASHGAR

UYGHUR REGION, CHINA

01:15:41:10

- IN UYGHUR:
In the beginning of 2013,

01:15:43:05

people who prayed regularly,
or were good at school -

01:15:48:01

young guys like my brother,
like my cousin -

01:15:51:21

were taken overnight
for questioning.

01:15:54:04

By 2015, people couldn't pray
openly or wear a hijab.

01:16:01:05

It became so strict that we
couldn't even wear long clothes.

01:16:06:21

- One day, they knocked the door
down and broke into our home.

01:16:11:13

They entered and said,

01:16:14:00

'Your daughter wears
long clothes -

01:16:16:05

'a black scarf and black coat.

01:16:19:01

'Your daughter needs
to be careful,

01:16:21:11

'and you should be careful too.'

01:16:24:12

I got my passport,

01:16:25:17

and a month later,
my parents sent me to Turkey.

01:16:30:17

Title Card: HEDICHE

Student, 18

MUNEVVER

Student, 18

01:16:34:18

- IN ENGLISH:
I interviewed 3000 Uyghurs.

01:16:39:01

I can tell 3000 stories.

01:16:44:00

People trust me,
and I'm a good listener.

01:16:47:14

I listen to their story.

01:16:49:14

I write it down, and then it
translate it into English

01:16:52:19

and sent it
to different reporters.

01:16:56:06

It's part of my life.

01:17:01:11

I'm Abuweli.

01:17:03:13

ID Card:  NAME: Abduweli Ayup

NATIONALITY: Chinese

ETHNICITY: Uyghur

AGE WHEN EXILED: 40

01:17:05:12

I came to Istanbul 2015,
end of August.

01:17:11:06

IN UYGHUR:
♪ If I have my father,

01:17:13:23

♪ if I have my mother...

01:17:17:20

♪ my mother...

01:17:23:01

♪ I am not alone in exile. ♪

01:17:31:18

IN ENGLISH:
I left China in 2015.

01:17:36:11

Actually, I didn't want
to leave. I didn't.

01:17:40:23

I just...
I just wanted to study.

01:17:44:20

This is my book.

01:17:47:09

IN UYGHUR: Mother Language.

01:17:50:01

It's for kids, Uyghur kids,
to learn their mother tongue.

01:18:02:23

I born in Kashgar, 1973.

01:18:07:14

Title Card: KASHGAR

UYGHUR REGION, CHINA

01:18:24:08

When I was young,

01:18:25:16

I don't have any knowledge
except my hometown.

01:18:30:06

I don't know the world.

01:18:33:01

And I decided that
I need to learn more, actually.

01:18:36:05

I need to know
what's happening in France,

01:18:40:12

what's happening in London,

01:18:42:14

and what's happening in,
like, Berlin.

01:18:46:10

Title Card: Beijing

01:18:50:01

I think that,
'Oh, Beijing is a great place.

01:18:52:22

'That's the place to create,
to educate.'

01:18:56:15

And I decided to study
in Beijing.

01:19:00:05

I studied Turkic languages
and Turkic literature.

01:19:04:07

- IN UYGHUR:
Here is Abduweli Ayup.

01:19:07:04

He's one of
the active organisers

01:19:11:16

of our valuable
Uyghur Cultural Research Group.

01:19:14:03

- IN UYGHUR: We all agreed
together to make this club.

01:19:17:10

This club works well

01:19:21:22

because it comes from
our inner strength and unity.

01:19:26:14

IN ENGLISH:
'After that, I studied ancient

01:19:28:04

'Uyghur literature
and modern Uyghur

01:19:31:04

'and Uyghur culture.'

01:19:32:23

- IN UYGHUR: There are
two main rivers. What are they?

01:19:37:04

- IN UYGHUR:
The Yellow and the Yangtse.

01:19:39:00

- If asked where the first
indigenous people were located,

01:19:42:17

what's the answer?
- The Yellow River.

01:19:46:15

- IN ENGLISH: At a time,

01:19:47:20

you can say that
China is very free.

01:19:50:14

But after that,
something happened to us.

01:19:54:21

Officially, Uyghur language
banned in higher education

01:20:00:11

and high school
and middle school in China.

01:20:07:18

And I feel that Uyghur
is in danger.

01:20:12:19

It became a home language,
family language.

01:20:16:17

And family language only can
survive three generations.

01:20:22:18

The third generation,
that language will disappear.

01:20:30:06

And then I found out
there is a space we can use.

01:20:33:13

In China, formal education
restricted Uyghur,

01:20:37:09

but preschool is good.

01:20:41:00

There is no clear regulation
which language we can use,

01:20:45:09

which language we cannot.

01:20:47:19

Then I was very excited.

01:20:50:09

'Oh, this is the chance.

01:20:52:07

'This is the way we can do
to preserve our language.'

01:20:57:16

I decided to open the preschool
in Kashgar.

01:21:01:05

I rented a very big school

01:21:05:07

with the yard
and with the trees inside.

01:21:09:01

And we have a very beautiful
stream in front of us

01:21:14:10

with the trees.

01:21:16:18

It's perfect.

01:21:20:03

One day, around 100
of my friends are helping me

01:21:23:12

to decorate that school.

01:21:26:21

One dirty black Santana came.

01:21:32:06

They are police.

01:21:36:05

I said, 'I want peace.
I don't want this clash.'

01:21:43:09

- IN UYGHUR:
20 to 30 fully armed police

01:21:45:01

barged into our house.

01:21:50:06

They yanked off our head scarves
and beat everybody.

01:22:00:21

- IN UYGHUR:
'We're from the police station

01:22:03:10

'to check your passport.

01:22:06:13

'Come with us.

01:22:09:12

'We have some questions
for you.'

01:22:16:20

- IN UYGHUR: My mother and my
older brother were in the store.

01:22:20:05

Four plain-clothed police
officers came in a Jeep.

01:22:28:15

'We are just going to ask
you a few things.'

01:22:35:22

- IN ENGLISH: And they put
the paste on my mouth...

01:22:41:02

and pushed me inside
and put a black bag on my face

01:22:46:22

and handcuffed my hands.

01:22:52:05

- IN UYGHUR: They put
a black bag on my head,

01:22:54:09

handcuffs on my hands
and shackles on my feet.

01:23:01:10

I shouted, 'Where are you taking
me? I'm not going anywhere!'

01:23:08:01

- IN ENGLISH: They drove me
to a place I had never been.

01:23:43:02

Lower Third: ILHAM TOHTI

2009 interview with friend and writer Tsering Woeser

01:23:50:02

- IN MANDARIN:
Sit a little bit more over here.

01:23:53:10

- IN MANDARIN: This way, OK.

01:23:57:06

- My butt is heavy.
It's not easy to move.

01:24:03:15

- IN ENGLISH:
My father was charged

01:24:05:04

by the Chinese government
as a separatist,

01:24:09:13

which is completely not true -
nonsense.

01:24:14:03

- I don't like violence.
- Mm.

01:24:17:11

- And I have never thought about
choosing violence.

01:24:21:02

Why do we want autonomy?

01:24:24:02

Because it’s our lawful right.

01:24:26:04

Uyghurs are different
from the Chinese majority.

01:24:29:11

Different face.

01:24:31:22

Different language, culture,

01:24:33:19

religion, history.

01:24:36:03

Our environment is different.
Our needs are different.

01:24:40:00

There are so many Han Chinese,

01:24:41:18

so we need a form of autonomy
to protect ourselves,

01:24:46:11

so we can preserve our history,
inherit our ancestors’ ideals.

01:24:51:23

Autonomy is not separatism.

01:24:54:15

This country needs to abide
by the law.

01:24:57:22

I think without
an autonomous Xinjiang,

01:25:00:13

won't be a stable Xinjiang.

01:25:03:13

- IN ENGLISH:
My dad left Xinjiang

01:25:06:06

when he was 15 years old.

01:25:09:10

And my mum...

01:25:11:17

she came to Beijing
directly from Xinjiang

01:25:14:11

when she was around
18 years old.

01:25:20:04

I was born in Beijing
at the summer of 1994.

01:25:26:13

My parents got married
a year before I was born,

01:25:30:21

and they just never moved back.
They decided to stay in Beijing.

01:25:36:23

It's actually
a very weird feeling

01:25:39:21

to be an Uyghur who was born
and raised in Beijing

01:25:45:00

because I feel
sometimes isolated.

01:25:49:05

For the Uyghurs back
in Xinjiang, I'm an outsider.

01:25:52:22

They consider me too assimilated
by the Hans.

01:25:59:11

And my Han Chinese friends,
they think I'm too Uyghur.

01:26:04:05

So I always feel like
I'm stuck in the middle.

01:26:08:23

- IN ENGLISH:
When you were raised,

01:26:10:02

you spoke Mandarin Chinese?

01:26:12:03

- I grew up- I was
born and raised in Beijing,

01:26:12:21

Title Card: ON THE SILK ROAD WITH CELCAR

PODCAST

01:26:13:23

so I only spoke Uyghur at home.

01:26:16:07

And my Uyghur was really bad,
I have to say.

01:26:19:05

I learned my Uyghur
after coming to US.

01:26:22:06

- And the reason I wanna
point that out is that,

01:26:24:16

like, if your dad were
that hardcore separatist,

01:26:28:02

he would've raised you to be,
like, 'Uyghur. Uyghur. Uyghur.'

01:26:30:23

You know, like, 'Speak Uyghur.'
- He was-

01:26:32:07

- and, like, you know.

01:26:33:06

- And he never mentioned
anything about,

01:26:37:01

like, extremist thoughts.
- Wanting Uyghur's...

01:26:38:21

independence or...
- He never- Mm-mm.

01:26:40:14

I had some thoughts,

01:26:42:01

because from my look, people
can tell I'm not Han Chinese,

01:26:46:02

and they would treat me
differently.

01:26:47:05

And then I would ask my dad,
'Why is it like this?'

01:26:49:09

And then I would complain.
My dad would be, like,

01:26:50:13

'Shh. You shouldn't
say like this.'

01:26:53:09

- Mm-hm.
- 'Be calm and be nice.

01:26:56:09

'And then if you be
nice to people,

01:26:57:22

'people will be nice to you.'

01:27:02:11

I'm a very positive person.

01:27:07:05

My father taught me
to be this way.

01:27:09:16

He was very positive.

01:27:12:16

Before he got into prison,
he actually said,

01:27:16:05

'I kind of have a feeling
that I might get arrested.

01:27:19:12

'Please don't freak out.
Please don't be afraid.

01:27:22:18

'And please don't hate
the Chinese government.

01:27:25:12

'Don't hate China. I don't
want you to live in hate.

01:27:31:15

'Maybe I will be sentenced
to 10 years.

01:27:34:11

'Maybe I will be sentenced
to 20 years.

01:27:37:02

'But I don't think China's
government is that bad.

01:27:39:04

'They're not going to do
worse than that.'

01:27:41:19

Title Card: On September 23, 2014

the Chinese government sentenced

Ilham Tohti to life in prison.

01:27:49:12

- IN ENGLISH:
I met Ilham Tohti in 1993,

01:27:51:23

my second year as a student
at Minzu University.

01:27:55:19

At the time,
we are publishing a newspaper

01:27:58:01

and we want advice
from Ilham Tohti,

01:28:02:04

and we are going to have
a Uyghur forum.

01:28:05:19

He came to us,

01:28:07:10

and he told us that,

01:28:09:07

'Oh, I want to remind you -
who are ruling this world?'

01:28:14:10

'Who?'

01:28:15:22

'Politician and economist.

01:28:19:07

'Think about something real.'

01:28:22:01

He talked to us about what's
happening in East Turkestan

01:28:26:09

and about our water shortage...

01:28:29:23

and joblessness

01:28:32:06

and poverty

01:28:33:20

and, like, climate change.

01:28:36:10

And then
I began to listen to him.

01:28:39:05

- IN MANDARIN:
The Uyghur Autonomous Region

01:28:40:23

faces these issues -

01:28:42:10

how to resolve inequitable
distribution in society,

01:28:46:21

local environmental
and resource conservation,

01:28:50:06

ethnic cultural preservation
and development.

01:28:53:22

These are also problems for
the Han Chinese in the mainland.

01:29:01:04

Although we are ethnically
different,

01:29:04:07

we all must protect
the environment we live in.

01:29:09:18

The more equitable
the distribution of resources,

01:29:14:11

the more harmonious the society.

01:29:17:19

- IN ENGLISH: He played
a very important role

01:29:20:11

for us to understand

01:29:22:05

what's happening
to Uyghur people.

01:29:25:01

He influenced us,
and he influenced a generation

01:29:31:11

- IN MANDARIN:
'I'd arrange lectures every week

01:29:33:22

'on a regular basis, and it was
packed with students.'

01:29:38:05

I lectured.

01:29:39:17

And I found our young people
were very interested.

01:29:44:18

I saw in their eyes
our next generation.

01:29:49:19

Title Card: FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

01:30:02:22

01:30:05:16

- IN UYGHUR:
My name is Tahir Hamut.

01:30:05:06

ID Card: NAME: Tahir Hamut Izgil

NATIONALITY: Chinese

ETHNICITY: Uyghur

AGE WHEN EXILED: 48

01:30:06:13

I'm a poet and a film director.

01:30:10:19

I met Ilham Tohti around 1991.

01:30:16:21

I was deeply inspired
and moved by him.

01:30:21:05

He was constantly
researching the issues,

01:30:23:07

constantly thinking
and meditating

01:30:25:07

and constantly writing articles
about it.

01:30:29:15

And then on New Year's Eve
in 2012, he called me.

01:30:34:00

During that conversation
he said,

01:30:36:17

'The Secretary of the Communist
Party will change this year,

01:30:41:05

'and with a new leader,

01:30:43:05

'conditions in
the Xinjiang Autonomous Region

01:30:46:10

'will be better,

01:30:48:00

'and for Uyghurs too.'

01:30:50:10

We had hope for Xi Jinping.

01:30:52:04

We thought
if he became president,

01:30:54:20

our situation would change
for the better.

01:31:19:13

Headline in newspaper: How Xijinping is Rewriting China’s History

01:31:21:10

Since 2012,

01:31:23:20

the situation has changed
dramatically.

01:31:28:18

Uyghur books
started being censored.

01:31:32:03

Films started being censored.

01:31:37:00

Then in 2014,

01:31:38:23

Ilham Tohti was sentenced
to life in prison.

01:31:49:17

The first thing I thought was,

01:31:49:20

Headline in newspaper: China sentences moderate Uighur scholar to life in prison, sparking condemnations

01:31:53:01

'Oh no.

01:31:54:16

'This is so bad.'

01:31:58:00

We immediately began deleting
articles on our computers.

01:32:04:23

But none of us imagined

01:32:08:11

there would be such
a large-scale attack

01:32:11:06

on a people with a population
of more than 10 million.

01:32:19:17

When it started,
I was in Ürümchi.

01:32:24:07

I saw it with my own eyes.

01:32:28:00

So many people arrested

01:32:29:03

with the excuse of so-called
'education and training'.

01:32:37:04

All my very close friends -

01:32:39:16

some of them poets,

01:32:41:07

some researchers,

01:32:42:11

some translators,

01:32:43:20

some artists,

01:32:45:10

some very established people in
the field of filmmaking,

01:32:50:09

very talented people.

01:32:55:14

Title Card: In 2017,

Tahir and his family

fled China.

01:33:14:16

- IN UYGHUR: In 2015,
huge changes began appearing

01:33:16:15

in our country, East Turkestan.

01:33:20:19

All of a sudden,
in every street,