This week, the BBC released thousands of leaked police images, files and classified speeches documenting, in damning detail, the Chinese Communist Party’s internment and genocidal intent against the Uyghur people.
The leak “establishes beyond the shadow of a doubt, beyond any question, that [the Chinese Communist Party] knows exactly what they’re doing,” as I told Rob Eshman of The Forward. “The documents show intent — that Party officials have fully committed to a genocidal plan.”
The files include 5,000 police photos of Uyghurs – the youngest, Rahile Omer, was only 15-years-old at the time of her detention. Each of these people was disappeared, taken from their homes and families, and this week, finally, the haunting stories of missing sisters, brothers, and parents have a face.
Many images show officers armed with batons and prisoners forcibly moved in chains with bags over their heads. Others are of people looking stoic with shaved heads. The report details the long-reported forced labor, forced sterilization and cultural eradication camps.
Now, finally, the world cannot look away. Right?
We have heard the stories. This week, we have seen the faces – let us lift them up – let us respond to tragedy through action and demand that our legislators follow suit. The Senate has approved legislation that would help fight the use of Uyghur forced labor and goods on U.S. soil. I hope you will join me in urging Congress to pass it swiftly.