By Horigul Yusuf
(Published with the permission of The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China)
I, Horigul Yusuf, write this statement as a Uyghur currently living in Australia. I have grave concerns for the safety and whereabouts of my family members in East Turkistan.
I came to Australia with my children to reunite with my husband at the end of 2005. I have maintained phone contact with my parents, brothers, and sisters since I arrived in Australia. I was always grateful I had the means to hear their voices and check their well-being.
Things took a turn for the worse. I last spoke with my parents on October 22, 2017. It was a short and sharp conversation. My mother warned me to cease contact for fear of being sent to prison.
I wanted to talk to my brothers, but my mother told me that they were not around to speak with me. She told me that they went to a school (a re-education camp). I could hear the fear and concern in my Mum’s voice, but she didn’t say much and hung up on me.
I have grave concerns for my two brothers – Abdulahad Yusuf and Abdulsamad Yusuf. My brother Abdulahad was born on April 16, 1974, and my brother Abdulsamad on April 4, 1972. They have three children each. I am concerned for the well-being of their children as they do not have their fathers to support them.
I also learned that my dad passed away, but my brothers could not attend his funeral.
I demand justice for my innocent brothers, and I want to be able to talk to my family again. Five years have passed, and it has negatively affected my children and me. My family in East Turkistan is only a phone call away, yet I cannot hear their voices. We have done nothing wrong, and our only crime is we are Uyghur.
Published with the permission of ETAC
The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC) is a coalition of lawyers, academics, ethicists, medical professionals, researchers and human rights advocates dedicated to ending forced organ harvesting in China.