Disrupting Uyghur Genocide, A Conference to End Uyghur Erasure

On April 18 I attended “Disrupting Uyghur Genocide, A Conference to End Uyghur Erasure” in New York City. 

Sponsored by the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, the Uyghur Human Rights Project, and World Uyghur Congress, the conference brought together advocates, educators, and activists from all over the world. 

One of the most memorable moments for me was hearing from and meeting Mihrigul Tursun, whom I had read about in Because I Have To by Jewher Ilham. I knew her story, which is deeply harrowing, but reading something in a book and sharing a room with someone in real life are very different experiences. 

Mihrigul attended the event with her two children, who ran about the tables making guests laugh. It was heartwarming to see them playing like any other kids would, but also devastating–knowing that Mihrigul’s children are triplets, seeing only two of them with her, and knowing why. Mihirigul spoke so articulately about her experiences, and I was struck by her gravity and strength. I was inspired by how she was “showing up” so publicly to speak about something so difficult, under circumstances in which most people would want to hide away and never discuss the issue again. 

There was a large Jewish presence at the conference and a running theme of the connection between the Jewish community and the Muslim community. From the speakers, I learned more about how much these two communities have helped each other in the past and continue to help each other. For example, I did not know that many Muslims in North Africa took in Jews during the holocaust. A repeated mantra through the programming was “never again,” in reference to the holocaust. 

It all came back to the sentiment of one of Wiesel’s most famous quotes “The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.” I left the event feeling hopeful that the action we are all taking–both as communities and as individuals–will eradicate indifference throughout the world, and with it, injustice.