Throughout history there have been occurrences where a people are scared of the threat that another may pose. This has been seen in recent history, as well as the present day. Currently in China, there are internment camps that have been set up for Muslims. There is estimated to be 1 million Muslims being detained in the Xinjiang region. Recently a Kazakh man named Omir Bekali was asked to come and speak to congress on his experiences in one of these Chinese camps but has been denied a visa to the US. Most people have remained silent about their experiences in the camps due to fear of prosecution by the Chinese government or their own. Bekali has said that he is afraid for his and his family’s safety, “’They kept going back and forth. Why did they invite me and then reject my visa?’” (Kang). He is desperate to get his family away from China’s grasp and is looking find safety in the US or Europe.
Bekali has had problems traveling, trying to get his family to safety last month his family was detained for three days in Turkey as he fled the town of Almaty, Kazakhstan after he spoke out. He is now reunited with his family but says he needs to be in a country that can actually stand up to China. Many countries and Muslim communities have been silenced or are afraid to speak against the injustices that China is committing. Most of these countries are afraid of China’s Economic power that they will use against anyone who chooses to condemn them. Bekali describes that all other countries are too afraid of what China might do to them to act, he has lost faith in them and now looks only to the countries that have the ability to condemn them (Kang). That is why he and so many others are looking to the United States. “‘In China, the government is engaged in the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities that is straight out of George Orwell,’ outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in a speech on Monday. ‘It is the largest internment of civilians in the world today’” (Kang). And despite this, Bekali still cannot get his visa.
What is currently happing in China reminds me of what the US was doing to Japanese citizens during WWII. As we discussed in class these people are being detained because they are associated with a threat because of their race or religion. I think as a country we need to show that we are not afraid of people because of how their religion associates them with a radical violent version. We need to not restrict access to our immigration based on religion and if our government is actually serious about helping these people who are being wrongfully detained, they need to make sure this man’s visa is approved so his family and him can have their safety and he can give a testimony of his accounts.
Article:
Kang, Dake. “Former Chinese Internment Camp Detainee Denied US Visa.” Religion News Service, Religion News Service, 23 Oct. 2018, religionnews.com/2018/10/21/former-chinese-internment-camp-detainee-denied-us-visa/.
contemporaryamericanreligion 
Its unfortunate, but the United States has no business meddling in a foreign countries policy, no matter how disgraceful that policy may be. The internment of all these people on the basis of their religion/race alone is undeniably wrong, but the United states Becoming involved is risky business.
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I had no idea this was happening and I think this article is important because it spreads the word. I agree with your statement “we need to show that we are not afraid of people because of how their religion associates them with a radical violent version”. I think as a country we need to be more tolerant of diverse religious views and live up to our claim of “free practice” while also maintaining the safety of American citizens.
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I did not know this was happening, it is crazy to think that something that effects so many people is not more known. I think that your comparison of what is happening in China to what the United States did to Japanese citizens in WWII is very accurate. Both instances are very similar because both countries fear a race or religion because of a radical group. I agree with your statement that people need to look beyond that fear in order to help people who are being wronged.
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Excellent to see a serious yet underexposed topic like this being talked about. The Chinese have had an officially atheist stance towards religion since the Communist Party came to power, and completely banned religious practices. But it seems that many in the West do not want to talk about the way the absolute power of the Communist Party has lead to atrocities like this one. It seems ironic that religious zealots in the U.S. are trying to push for a theocracy while China is equally zealous in abolishing theology all together
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