By Anne Kader
Gulchehra started her career as a hostess of a children’s program in her homeland East Turkistan (that China renamed “Xinjiang”), and later became a journalist whose reporting on the Uyghur genocide led to the detainment of her entire family in February 2018.
“A Stone is Most Precious Where it Belongs” is Gulchehra’s extraordinary memoir, an account of life under Chinese occupation in East Turkistan. As a grandchild of a renowned musician and the daughter of an archaeologist, Gulchehra’s gifts became visible early in her life as a dancer, actress, and storyteller. While growing up, she gradually began to understand the Chinese oppression of her people.
Gulchehra decided to expose Beijing’s crimes against the Uyghurs, regardless of the personal cost. “A Stone is Most Precious Where it Belongs” also gives the readers a unique glimpse into the beauty of Uyghurs’ homeland and its people.