The unconditional love, loyalty, and respect we have for our parents, siblings, partners, and children are some of our greatest strengths. It is when these strengths are tested that we reveal our true character as humans. Will we break our bonds of fellowship when faced with the reign of a tyrannical government, or will we stay strong for the ones we love, even if it breaks our moral compass?
For one man and his son, that dreadful scenario became a reality. And after hearing their story, it’s plausible that there are many more like them facing a similar situation. This story isn’t just about the father and son involved, but the practices of an entire nation-state whose reach leaves no corner of the globe untouched, and no kinship untested.
Better Opportunities
In 2014, a man from Xinjiang, a territory in northwest China that is home to a variety of ethnic and religious groups, left with his son and moved to Turkey. According to the father, moving out of China would offer his son a better high school education, among other positives.
A Bright Future
The man dreamed of giving his son a better future and hoped that if the teenager did well in high school in Turkey, he might get a scholarship to a good university. After arriving in Istanbul, the man got a job waiting tables and started saving up to afford to live in the city.
An Ethnic Minority
The father and son duo were part of an ethnic minority group called the Uyghurs, which is a Turkic minority group who typically practice Islam. So when they arrived in the new country without knowing anyone, they moved to a neighborhood in Istanbul home to many Uyghur immigrants.
A New Home
Despite relocating to a brand new city, the man’s 15-year-old son thrived in the new setting. The teenager spent all of his time studying Turkish culture and quickly learned multiple languages including Japanese and English.
2 Years Later…
When he wasn’t studying, the 15-year-old spent his time drawing and sketching in a notebook. The father and son had never been happier. However, after two years away, the teenager had become homesick and wanted to take a trip home to China to visit his mother and grandmother.
A Lot has Changed
The boy’s father, who goes by ‘O’ to protect his full identity, didn’t think traveling back to their home was a big deal and let his son fly back in January 2016. However, O didn’t know that things had changed a lot since they had left China two years before.
A New Target
In the years after O and his son moved to Turkey, the Chinese Government began targeting and spying on Uyghurs, both in China and abroad as the government feared the ethnic group harbors separatist and extremist views.
A Surveillance State
After several extremist Muslim Uyghurs were tied to several knife and bomb attacks in 2014, and others fought with extremists in Iraq and Syria, the Chinese government started collecting DNA samples, iris scans, and used cellphone surveillance to spy on the ethnic group and keep tabs on the community.
Treated Like Criminals
Since the government started suppressing the group, hundreds of thousands of people have been sent to re-education camps where they are treated and punished like criminals, despite the fact that few, if any, have ever been charged with a crime.
Punishing Innocent People
According to Uyghurs, they are being punished and suppressed by the Chinese Government for the extreme actions of a handful of people. As a result, Uyghurs like O have tried to relocate to other countries where they won’t be targeted. However, leaving China isn’t enough to escape the surveillance.
Asserting Their Control
Even after Uyghurs and other minorities leave China, the government still finds ways to spy on them and assert their control. Because O and his son left China before the government cracked down against the ethnic group, he didn’t realize how bad it had gotten until his teenage son returned home.
The Day it all Changed
When O’s son landed in Xinjiang, he vanished without a trace. After failing to reply to his calls and messages, O called the rest of his family back home and found out that the teen had been taken by the police and sent to one of the camps.
False Accusations
For the next two months, O heard nothing about his son. When the teen was finally released from the camp, authorities accused him of trying to join extremist groups in Syria, which was a complete lie, and took away his passport so he couldn’t leave the county.
Losing Contact
O tried to call his son and his family back in China, but eventually, they asked him to stop trying to contact them, as Uyghurs’ calls and messages are checked. Further, anyone who has had contact with people outside of China are routinely sent to the camps.
The Blackmail Begins
After O’s son disappeared a second time, O finally witnessed firsthand the twisted way the government was spying on citizens abroad. O was contacted by a security operative who ordered him to spy and provide information about Uyghurs in Turkey. If he didn’t do as he was asked, his son and family would suffer.
The Deal
“When everything is done, if everything is going as well as we expect, then I can try to apply for a permit for you to call each other. Maybe once a month,” the agent told O. “What could I do?” O said. “I told them, ‘My son is in your hands. He is the only thing that matters to me. I will do whatever you ask.'”
Exploiting Their Weaknesses
The blackmailing tactic has become extremely common for Uyghurs abroad, and the goal is to not only get information about their activities while abroad but to also create dissonance within the ethnic group and intimidate people about speaking out against the government.
Becoming a Spy
Like most Uyghurs living abroad, O felt he had no choice but to become a spy in the hopes of helping his family. The first time he sent information about two other Uyghurs he had met in Turkey, he was disgusted with himself. “I can’t believe this is my situation now,” he said. “I’m a spy for the Chinese government.”
Overwhelming Guilt
“I feel guilty,” O said. “I know this isn’t right. I know that there is no such thing as the law there.” After his son was taken, O moved to Sweden seeking asylum since he believed he could never return to China. “You understand the position I’m in,” he said. “I’m doing something illegal in Sweden, but if I stop, they will take my son.”
Still Waiting
With no other options, O decided to tell Swedish authorities everything in a written report. So far, O hasn’t heard anything from authorities in Sweden and although his son has been released again from the re-education camp, the agent told O that he would need to do more for the government if he ever wants to speak to his son again.
Government Forces Man to Spy on His Neighbors to Save His Own Son is an article from: LifeDaily