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Heart and Soul: The Canadian Uighurs

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The Canadian Uighurs

27/11/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, The Canadian Uighurs

Canadian Uighurs tell Idil Mussa about those who have been through Chinese re-education.

Experts say China has detained as many as one million Uighurs and Muslims in "re-education" camps in Xinjiang province. Survivors have shared stories of countless alleged abuses including mass surveillance, forced labour and forced sterilization. 

Uighur activist Rukiye Turdush said she feels helpless in Canada knowing Uighurs back home are being forced to learn Chinese, renounce their faith and abandon their culture.

"We said never again after World War Two, but it's happening again in the 21st century in China."

In this programme, reporter Idil Mussa meets Canadian Uighurs, like Turdush, to hear their stories. She learns that the Chinese state has tried to stop all contact with their families, how the Canadian Uighur community suffers from a collective guilt knowing their loved ones are suffering and how Toronto has become a hive of activism to raise awareness of their plight.

(Picture: Rukiye Turdush. Credit: Idil Mussa/BBC)

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