søndag 5. september 2021

As China woos the Taliban, Uyghurs in Afghanistan fear for their lives

Tuhan's family crossed the border from China's western Xinjiang region to Afghanistan 45 years ago to escape persecution. Now, as the Taliban exerts control over the country, she fears she and other ethnic Uyghurs could be sent back to China by members of the militant group keen to curry favor with Beijing, which has been accused of carrying out a genocide on the Muslim minority.

Tuhan, who is using a pseudonym to protect her identity from the Taliban, is caught between a homeland where Uyghurs are facing increasing repression, and an adopted country where they are considered outsiders. What worries them most is that they could be deported to China. Over the past few years, the Chinese government has escalated its security and religious crackdown in Xinjiang. Up to 2 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are believed to have passed through a sprawling network of detention centersacross the region, according to the US State Department.