Factory Girl
Page 20
Author’s Note
Factory Girl is the story of Roshen, a Uyghur Muslim, who is taken from her home in the countryside near Hotan, China, and sent to work in a factory thousands of miles away. Although the novel is fiction, it is based on personal accounts I heard while traveling in Hotan and stories told to me by Uyghurs now living in the United States, as well as news reports and information gathered by human rights groups.
Uyghurs are ethnically and culturally a Turkic people living in an area they have inhabited for almost four thousand years. The land they call East Turkestan is now controlled by the People’s Republic of China. The Uyghur people used to be ninety percent of the population of their homeland; the Han Chinese are now in the majority.
China’s control of the Uyghur homeland has gradually evolved into suppression of the Uyghurs’ unique culture and Muslim religion. When I traveled in the countryside around Hotan more than a decade ago, visiting the homes of craftsmen in nearby townships, a policeman stopped the car and demanded our group go to the station for questioning. Our Uyghur guide convinced the officer we were harmless, and we continued on our way. This was alarming, but I didn’t feel it was dangerous—more like a routine security check at the airport. There have been changes since then. Today, armored tanks are parked on the streets of Hotan; police patrol with guns.
Throughout China, Uyghurs are regarded with suspicion and contempt. The dire consequences that threaten Roshen and Mikray in the story are not exaggerated. Chinese authorities rule with a particularly heavy hand in the Muslim Uyghur homeland.
Government workers check identification papers of Uyghur worshippers as they enter mosques for Friday prayers. It is a crime to teach religion to children.
Children bearing such Muslim names as Arafat, Asadulla, and Mujahid for males and Amanet, Muslime, and Fatima for females are not allowed to attend school.
The Uyghur language has been severely limited or removed entirely from the education system. Proficiency in Mandarin, the official language in mainland China, is a requirement for employment.
Police search private homes to stop Uyghur gatherings and to seize weapons. Owning any printed material believed to be critical of the government is punishable by arrest and imprisonment.
Local officials monitor Uyghurs’ cell phones and computers to spot “extremist” activities. Offenders are sent to “education” camps. Service for nineteen social media platforms in the Hotan area has been shut down by the government.
Any voice of dissent in East Turkestan has effectively been silenced. Unlike the people of Tibet, who receive a great deal of coverage in the world press, the Uyghurs and their plight are known to very few. More information about the Uyghurs can be found at uyghuramerican.org (current events and history); uyghurensemble.co.uk (music, literature, and history); josannelavalley.com (author information and photos).
It is my hope that the Uyghur people can maintain their unique identity and that someday they will see a better future for their homeland.
SingularReads.com
About the Author
JOSANNE LA VALLEY traveled to northwest China and spent time in the Uyghur homeland in its city of Hotan and the surrounding countryside. On this trip she first heard that Uyghur girls were being forced to leave their families to work in Chinese factories, and she wanted to tell their story. Her first novel, The Vine Basket, was called by Kirkus Reviews “a haunting tale of artistic vision triumphing over adversity,” and by School Library Journal, in a starred review, “an excellent choice for expanding global understanding.” Josanne lives in New York City.