Foreign Correspondent of Australia has put together a vivid documentary entitled The Uighur Dilemma
Its a tragic story of the destruction of the ancient and amazing old city of Kashgar. The Uighur Dilemma tries to give both sides of the story - Chinese and Uighur - a fair shake. Watch it and decide for yourself.
The first segment serves as an introduction to the Uighurs' story. It does a good job of explaining the situation, and has some magnificent footage to go with it. Many groups are fighting for the preservation of old town Kashgar. One such group is fighting for Kashgar to be classified as a UN World Heritage site, which would provide non-Chinese oversight of the construction, preservation and limited demolition of old town Kashgar.
The Uighurs are an Turkic ethnic group primarily living in the Chinese province of Xinjiang or East Turkestan as they know it. The region has seen upheavals and violence (most recently in July 2009). In the Uighur city of Kashgar the Chinese authorities have started a building development by destroying parts of the old city. While the authorities view this as earthquake prevention, some Uighurs are convinced it is the latest attempt by the Chinese authorities to control the Uighur population.
In July 2009 violent clashes broke out in the region's capital Urumqi between the Uighurs and the Han Chinese immigrants. Over 200 people are reported to have been killed and over a thousand arrested.
HT Uyghur Blog
Demolition of Kashgar - The second segment addresses the demolition of Kashgar and the sensitivities surrounding the process. One argument is that the officials are doing it for control of the Uyghur population versus the actual safety concerns. The Han officials argue that if a major earthquake were to hit Kasghar, it would be complete devastation. The Uyghurs note that they have been living in the same homes for hundreds of years, and working the same family business for generations, and if they are forced to leave, they will lose their heritage and no longer have purpose in life.
Transition to a New Life - Segment three begins with the Uyghur transition of living in old town Kashgar to the new flats provided by the government. The narrator says that it's, "not the quality of the new, but the loss of the old that worries people.' However, one government official that is interviewed says that, "If you come back in five years to the core of old town Kashgar, its special features will be preserved; every family will have a job, everyone will live in an anti-earthquake house, the basic infrastructure will have been completed, and people's lives will have great improved."
Which argument do you believe? Is there any right answer to this problem? We personally think that the demolition of Kashgar draws a slight resemblance to forced removals in the 1960's and 1970's in apartheid South Africa. Obviously there are many different factors, but the idea of controlling and containing a group with limited ability to prosper is a reoccurring, successful tactic. For now, we will leave that comparison for someone else's thesis.
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