Image: ‘De Oeigoerse Droom’ book cover
By Anne Kader
Ahmedjan Kasim, a young Uyghur activist in the Netherlands and now an author, has just published a new book titled “De Oeigoerse Droom” (The Uyghur Dream – My Fight against Chinese Oppression). The compelling story of the Uyghurs, as narrated by Kasim, has become palpable for Dutch readers. Kasim’s storytelling is commendable, Renze Klamer, a Dutch reporter, writes on the book’s back cover.
Communist China, with the assistance of the Soviet Union, occupied East Turkestan, the Uyghur’s homeland, in 1949. China deemed the forcibly annexed land the “gate to the West” and renamed it Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
In 2017, China started a political ‘re-education’ program to adapt the Uyghurs to Chinese culture by force. As a result, there are now more than 1,200 re-education camps in the Uyghurs’ homeland. Several million Uyghurs are arbitrarily detained, tortured, and brainwashed, and Uyghur women end up sterilized.
Ahmedjan Kasim (1996) fled to the Netherlands with his family at 15. His book tells the story of his family. Kasim has chosen to fight for the rights of the Uyghur people and the realization of the Uyghur dream: self-determination for millions of Uyghurs and complete liberty from Chinese oppression.
Communist China, with the assistance of the Soviet Union, occupied East Turkestan, the Uyghur’s homeland, in 1949. China deemed the forcibly annexed land the “gate to the West” and renamed it Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
In 2017, China started a political ‘re-education’ program to adapt the Uyghurs to Chinese culture by force. As a result, there are now more than 1,200 re-education camps in the Uyghurs’ homeland. Several million Uyghurs are arbitrarily detained, tortured, and brainwashed, and Uyghur women end up sterilized.
Ahmedjan Kasim (1996) fled to the Netherlands with his family at 15. His book tells the story of his family. Kasim has chosen to fight for the rights of the Uyghur people and the realization of the Uyghur dream: self-determination for millions of Uyghurs and complete liberty from Chinese oppression.