Tag: xinjiang

1st March – Kunming train station

by liyangsthoughts, posted in Hometown

On a nice Sunday morning of March the 2nd, my partner and I met up with two friends at a local market to have some coffee and good food. One of the friends asked me if I have heard on the news about what happened in Kunming. She told me a group of unidentified people use knives attakced a lot of people at Kunming train station. My first reaction was to check my phone and go on Chinese social media to find out what happened. By that time, there was no news on who was responsible. But I already had a sick feeling that it could link to my hometown Xinjiang,  a region where it used to be known for its beautiful landscape, delicious fruits and unique dance and music. Now it is famous for one thing:  the East Turkestani separatist terrorist attack.

Due to my constant checking on different social media , my battery was dead soon. By the time I got home recharged my phone it was confirmed the massacre is carried out by them. Based on South China Morning Post 33 people killed and over one hundred injured.

On Chinese social media , there are floods of opinions and voices, most are about feeling sad for those 33 broken families who lost their loved ones in such a brutal and inhumane way, then there are questions. Questions over religion, questions over the system, endless questions.

I was born and raised in Xinjiang, I have Uyghur friends . When I type Xinjiang in Google research, the words it is associated with are riots, unrest, terrorist …. this is NOT what anyone want their birth place to be linked with. Truth is this is something very difficult to change from now on.

Before Kunming train station massacre, when you ask Chinese what they think about Xinjiang, most will probably answer that its a faraway place where there are tensions and troubles from time to time. It won’t really affect their daily life. After 1st of March, things changed. The threat of East Turkey separatist is a challenge that every Chinese will face , apart from the pollution and keep the economy grow, the government will have many worries hanging over the far northwest.

I won’t go into deep analyse on what cause it, because many people have their own opinions about China’s policy on ethnic minority. What I want to talk about here is how it affect my way of life.

First of all, I am determined to get fit, mentally and physically . My family and friends are still living in my hometown. I want to be strong for them in case one day they need my help. Also to be fit physically means if ever I am in a situation under attacked, I want to be able to fight back or at least run fast enough to save myself.

Secondly, I want to read more , learn more about what drive us to hate each other and what make us to love one another. I want to learn more about this thing called “faith”. People say you gotta to have faith, but if we don’t even know what faith is in the first place, how can we have it?

3. I want to be kinder to others. So many tragedies happening every single day, when was the last time you hear something from the news that truly made you feel the world is a wonderful place? I can’t change the world in one day, but I can change my attitude and actions towards things around me. Be kind , and I hope it will make things a bit easier.

Life is so so short. Think of those who stand on the train station, one moment they were thinking what to do, where to stay, who to meet at their next destination, next moment they lay in a pool of blood leaving behind their loved ones with broken hearts and wondering WHY! Why this world can be so cruel and yet we still try so hard to cling on. Continue live till another day .

Peace out.

The terror of summer

by liyangsthoughts, posted in Hometown

If you type “Xinjiang” in your google search, the results will show you the list of recent unrests in the region. That’s my hometown, where I spent 18 years of my life. I am now living in a city over 10,000 km away, to be precise the distance from here to Urumqi (the capital city of Xinjiang province in China) is 12541.62 km.

I search news update on my hometown almost on an hourly basis, but the more I read the more questions unanswered. What triggered the riot? Who are the people have been killed? Can the authority confirm its the terrorist group? This is the typical way of reporting ethnic conflicts in my country . You dont see these terrorists as individuals, you dont know what kind of family they come from, when and how they joined the terrorist group. The state news include the where, when, death tool, cause of riot – terrorists group want to separate the region.

This is the reason I want to write down my thoughts, my questions on this issue. I have Uyghur and Han Chinese friends . The Uyghur friends are as angry as the Han Chinese on the recent incidents. However, I know they will have a more difficult time. When they go to work, they will be judged, their kids at school will be judged. Because they look like the group who caused the riots.

Back to 2009,on 5th July, almost 200 people died from the deadly riot in the capital city of the region Urumuqi. Its the darkest day in my life. Because the unrest have such an impact on the daily life of my families and friends.

I find its very difficult to share my thoughts and my emotions with friends and colleagues here. Because the media here does not really cover much of the issue in my hometown. I am conscious of not making a scene or being self pity when I explain to people the situation . Most of time I felt it was irrelevant with the life going on this side of the world.

Therefore, this is the space where I can pour my thoughts into. I want to write down whats on my mind, and to be able to speak freely is the most important thing during times of crises . It helps to calm the mind and clear the view.

I spoke to friends and family back home on a daily basis, we contact each other through phone calls , Chinese twitter and Weixin. People share images of the city, there was a military exercise took place yesterday, tanks, soldiers and patrol cars are everywhere.

When I was a child, summer time the sun does not go down till 10pm at night. The city square is a place where people get together to dance, fly kites, date and chat. Now it is a place for the army to show that stability will come through force, and strong military presence will hopefully bring everyone the peace of mind.

Fear is in the air, it will take a long time to go away, I wonder if it ever will.

Related articles