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Acrylic and Resin on Canvas
22” by 28” (55.8 cm by 71.12 cm)
For ten years, China has committed large scale ethnocide in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the Uyghur people. Over 1.8 million Uyghurs have been detained and interned within the continuously growing number of “reeducation camps”. These are the largest internment camps post WWII, with the goal of mass forced assimilation to destroy Uyghur culture, religion, and especially any desire for autonomy.
The genocide goes largely ignored by the global community, becoming yet another human rights issue ignored in order to avoid upsetting relations with the Chinese government.
The silence on the issue extends to the vast majority of Muslims world wide. Empathy for fellow Muslims diminishes when the victims look less similar to us, or when that empathy comes at a financial cost.
Last year, the NYT unveiled thousands of photographs hacked from police servers in the region. They vividly reveal the faces of some of the victims, including those I used in this piece. On the right, is 15 year old Rahile Omer, jailed with her parents and the youngest prisoner. On the left, the oldest prisoner, 73 year old Anihan Hamit.