Gulbahar Haitiwaji

Xingjiang, China | Forced Imprisonment | Engineer | 60 drawing hours

Reference Photo by Emanuelle Marchadour

Gulbahar Haitiwaji is a retired petroleum engineer and survivor a Uyghur re-education camp in Xinjiang.

She and her family emigrated to France from Xinjiang due to discrimination, and after 10 years was called back to complete retirement papers. After arrival, she was instead sentenced to a re-education camp because of a photo of her daughter at a demonstration.

Inside these camps, Gulbahar endured 11-hour days of Chinese language instruction and pledges of allegiance to China, eroding her sense of self. She felt constant fear and believed mysterious vaccinations were intended to poison them, only to realize later they were being sterilized. Their rooms had bunk beds, a bucket to serve as a toilet, and cameras panning the room. There was no mattress, no toilet paper, no sheets, nowhere to wash.

They began each day with a pledge of sorts to China. The police told her that the sooner she confessed supposed crimes, the sooner she could leave, so she gave in.

Despite her suffering, Gulbahar feels blessed to have been released, owing it largely to her family abroad who fought for her freedom. She advocates for action, urging the US government to pass laws to end Uyghur suffering, rescue refugees, stop American companies from profiting, and cease pension fund investments in Chinese surveillance companies. Her story sheds light on ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs, calling for international intervention.