On Writing About Syria’s Uyghur Community As a Chinese-American
All photos by Emily Feng The story began like this: I was moving back to the United States, after having lived abroad for the last ten years, working as a foreign correspondent, and while all my belongings were being shipped
The narrative begins with the author's return to the United States after a decade abroad, during which they worked as a foreign correspondent. Upon her arrival in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in neighboring Syria captured global attention, prompting the reporter to shift focus. While reporting on-the-ground in Syria, the author observed the presence of foreign fighters, primarily from Central Asia, many of whom were Uyghurs.
After months of securing access, the Uyghur fighters agreed to conduct their first-ever on-the-record interviews.
Interviewing the Uyghur community in Syria proved to be a complex and sensitive endeavor, as their existence and presence in Syria have been cited by the Chinese Communist Party in connection to the mass detention and arrest of Uyghurs and ethnic minorities in China since 2017. The author's interviews revealed that the Syrian Uyghurs had experienced significant trauma in China, including physical violence, threats of detention, and discrimination.
Despite these traumatic experiences, most of the approximately 20,000 Uyghurs in Syria did not initially seek to join armed militant movements.
The author's investigation into the Uyghur community in Syria highlighted the group's complex legacy in both China and Syria. Beijing views the Uyghurs as extremists and terrorists responsible for fatal attacks against civilians, while in Syria, their presence as foreign fighters remains a contentious issue. The author had to be cautious in her approach, speaking to the Uyghurs in their mother tongue, Levantine Arabic, and taking care not to trigger latent trauma associated with the Chinese language.
The author's personal background as a Chinese American with deep ties to both China and Syria further complicated her reporting. Despite her sensitive approach, the Uyghurs generally welcomed her presence, given their historically closed-off nature to outsiders. However, living conditions in Idlib, the city where most Uyghurs resided, were severely impacted by the 13-year-long war, with destroyed infrastructure and limited access to basic amenities.
The reporting process brought to light broader questions about the Uyghurs' future. Many had put down roots in Syria, establishing families, buying land, and enrolling their children in local schools. However, their aspiration to return to China remained a significant challenge, even as the war concluded. The author also noted the taboo surrounding permanent settlement in Syria and the potential impact of trauma on the next generation of Syrian Uyghurs, whose collective memory of home and suffering might be diluted as they assimilate into Syrian society.
Written by urgent.news from Literary Hub's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
