Sadly, Typical Russia.

Since 2014, millions of Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other minorities have been locked up in China and subjected to torture and forced labour. Some of those freed talk about trying to rebuild their lives in neighbouring Kazakhstan.

Photography by Robin Tutenges

A Chinese course book

Saliman Yesbolat used to live in Ghulja county, Xinjiang. After she refused to denounce her Uyghur neighbours to the police, she was forced to perform the raising of the Chinese flag every Monday at dawn, and to attend Chinese lessons twice a week in the basement of her building, where she would learn the Chinese language, patriotic songs and Xi Jinping's discourses by heart. This is her exercise book.

Forced to leave China

At 65, Imam Madi Toleukhan is one of the oldest refugees in Bekbolat, Kazakhstan, where more than 100 families took shelter after fleeing the Chinese regime. 'We were richer back there. I owned a herd, but I was too afraid for my sons, my grandchildren and their future: I came to Kazakhstan to save them. I didn't want them to be the fourth generation to suffer at the hands of the Chinese government, he says.

Remembering Uyghur culture in exile

Two members of the Dolan Ensemble, a Uyghur dance troupe based in Kazakhstan, get ready before performing a traditional dance to mark 40 days since the birth of a baby. Founded in 2016, the troupe performs at festivals or private events that bring together members of the Uyghur community, some of whom have had to leave Xinjiang.

Torture, infertility and damaged genitalia

In Kazakhstan, medical care for camp survivors is poor. Most victims can barely afford to see a family doctor. Anara*, an endocrinologist in a Kazakh hospital who has examined about 50 camp survivors since 2020, noticed recurrent infertility problems among her patients. 'Men or women, many have damaged genitalia. Some told me they'd been given drugs, others said they'd been raped. As they didn't come to us right after being released from the camps, it's impossible to know what kind of drugs they were administered in Xinjiang, she says. *Not her real name

The tiger chair

Ospan* spent a year in a re-education camp. He says his mind and body were crushed by the tortures he experienced in a tiger chair - a steel apparatus with handcuffs that restrains the body in painful positions. Aged about 50, this former shepherd, who took refuge with his family in eastern Kazakhstan, is no longer fit for work. Physically wrecked and prone to headaches, he mourns the loss of his memory above all. 'I used to know a lot of songs and I loved to sing; I also knew poems by heart ... Now, I can't sing any more, I can't remember the words,' he says. *Not his real name

Broken families and imprisonment

Aikamal Rashibek saw the dreadful efficiency of the CCP's brainwashing on her husband, Kerimbek Bakytali, after he was released from a Chinese psychiatric hospital. 'He disappeared for a year. When he came back, he didn't tell me anything about what happened to him. He was highly unhinged, always nervous, and got angry whenever I asked questions. He couldn't stop repeating that he hated Kazakhstan now, and that he wanted to go back to China with the kids to give them a Chinese education, says Aikamal. They are now separated.

Missing loved ones in China’s camps

In March 2017, Miyessar Muhedamu, left, a Uyghur woman, was arrested in Xinjiang under the pretext that she had studied Arabic in Egypt when she was young. Her husband, Sadirzhan Ayupov, right, and her three children have not seen her since. Now that Miyessar has left the camp, Sadirzhan receives a short call every few months. He suspects she might have suffered abuse, yet Miyessar can’t speak freely. ‘She told me she’d been in a re-education camp, and that she’d been released. When I ask her what she went through there, she doesn’t answer,’ says Sadirzhan.

Life after fleeing China

Sent to a re-education camp in 2018 at the age of 64, Yerke* saw her health quickly deteriorate. Locked a tiny cell with dozens of other women, she almost lost the use of her legs due to the cold floor she had to lie on. She was in the camp when she learned of her son’s death: pressured by the Chinese authorities, he took his own life. After her release, Yerke fled to Kazakhstan with some family members, but two of her children remain in China. *Not her real name

Forced labour and confessions

Dina Nurdybay, 32, was arrested in Nilka county, Xinjiang, because her traditional Kazakh clothing business made her a separatist, according to the Chinese authorities. She spent 11 months between two re-education camps, a CCP school and a forced-labour sewing factory. After proving she was capable of being ‘well behaved’ and having performed a self-criticism in front of the whole village, Dina was released and managed to escape when she obtained a week’s leave to visit her ailing father in Kazakhstan.

Cultural genocide

China’s repression of ethnic minorities also involves cultural genocide. As Muslim rituals are forbidden in Xinjiang, people are trying to keep their traditions alive across borders. Here, a family is praying together in Kazakhstan after the death of one of their relatives in Xinjiang. They could not repatriate the body because the border between the two countries was closed at the time.

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"russia has a great culture! where are the Ukrainian artists?"

russia killed them.

hey

I often think about Hlodan family. Please take a moment to learn about them.

On April 23, 2022, on Easter Eve, russian missile hit the Tiras residential complex in Odesa, Ukraine. Eight people were killed, including Yurii's family - his wife Valeriia, three-month-old daughter Kira and mother-in-law Liudmyla. Yurii survived, because at the moment he went to the shop.

Look at baby Kira's tiny pink hat. Cute little onesie. That baby was so wanted and loved. Mother's post on Facebook form February says "These were the best 40 weeks ever. Our girl is 1 month old now. Daddy got her her first flowers. It's a whole new level of happiness".

Yurii donated diapers, one of the few things he could find in destroyed apartment, to the charity. He also took photo albums, his wife's collection of sugar packets, handwritten notes.

Yurii spoke about his wife very lovingly and tenderly: "Her ability to communicate with different people, to understand people, the way she knew how to talk, how beautifully she wrote... You can’t even imagine how she wrote! And what kind of mother she was... You can’t even imagine! This is a mother, this is a friend, this is a daughter - with the best qualities... I simply cannot find another person like her. Person like this can only be given by God once".

After losing his family, Yurii decided to join the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On 5 November, 2023, his colleague Oleksandr Yakovenko reported that Yurii was killed at the front. The whole family is gone.

on this day two years ago, russia's missile attack on the Kramatorsk train station killed 61 civilians trying to evacuate.

the attack targeted a vital lifeline for those fleeing war-torn regions. we will never forget and will never forgive. please stand with Ukraine in our fight for freedom and peace.

I love 'em

💘

Люблю їх

I JUST WOKE UP AND THERE ARE LIKE 166 NOTES WHAT

ТІЛЬКИ РОЗПЛЮЩУЮ ОЧІ, А ТУТ 166 НОТАТОК(??) ЩО

!!! ПРОШУ ПРО ПОШИРЕННЯ !!! МОН хоче знищити мій навчальний заклад

В березні МОН планують приєднати Українську академію друкарства (заклад, в якому я навчаюся) до Львівської політехніки. Окрім того, що це рішення є абсолютно свавільним та недемократичним, воно може призвести до підвищень цін на навчання, звільнень, втрати бюджетних місць та місць у гуртожитку. Під загрозою зникнення специфічні спеціальності (як-от моя), на яких навчають унікальним технікам друку типу літографії (якій навчають тільки в УАД), ми ризикуємо втратити наші корпуси та майстерні. Фахівці, які отримали тут освіту, неймовірно важливі для книгодрукування в Україні, тому дії МОН наражають на небезпеку український книжковий ринок.

Прошу про максимальний розголос про ситуацію. Я розумію, що не маю великі шанси на те, що цей пост отримає його, але якщо ви його бачите, це вже щось означає. Українське студентство буде боротися.

you just read a news piece "Ukraine returned 4 kids from russian territories aged 17, 9, 6 and 3" and think: finally some good fucking news, but then you scroll further and you see the numbers 19,000 deported and 1,400 missing and you just don’t understand what should we do to safe them, who should we ask and beg for help.