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Feb. 8, 2004. 08:09 AM www.thestar.com
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We had no rights:
Acrobats 7
defectors say they are
fleeing ethnic persecution in China
Government `used us to create this image of ethnic
unity'
NICHOLAS KEUNG
IMMIGRATION/DIVERSITY REPORTER
Acrobats by profession, they feel more like
puppets in the hands of the Chinese government. |
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TANNIS TOOHEY/TORONTO STAR
Seven members of a Chinese
acrobatic troupe are in hiding in Toronto after
defecting last week. From left, Dilshat Sirajidin,
Ablikim Memet, Abduweli Ablimit, Abdurusul
Abdukerim, Gulnar Wayit, Aygul Memet and Jappar
Abchjreyim. In foreground is translator Mohamed
Tohti. The acrobats spoke yesterday of
repercussions back home.
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INICHOLAS KEUNG
IMMIGRATION/DIVERSITY
REPORTER
Acrobats by profession, they feel more like puppets in
the hands of the Chinese government.
Seven of 13 performers defected last week after
performing with the Xinjiang acrobatic troupe in
Toronto and Ottawa. As Uighur Muslims, they say they
detested being used by China's Communist regime in its
propaganda to cover up grotesque human rights
violations against the ethnic minority group. "We
performed for the government and they used us to
create this image of ethnic unity. We didn't have a
choice. We had no right to oppose," said juggler
Dilshat Sirajidin who, at 40, is the oldest of the
five men and two women.
The seven filed their refugee claims in Toronto last
Monday, but have yet to retain a lawyer. Under the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, they are
entitled to full refugee hearings, a process that can
take years.
Yesterday, the acrobats were greeted like heroes by
the entire Uighur community in Greater Toronto — 55 in
all — at a North York restaurant. Most of the closely
knit Uighur family of exiles are here as refugees,
fleeing "political persecutions and ethnic
discrimination" in the remote Xinjiang region of
northwest China.
"We are here to celebrate the brave decisions that
they made. This is the happiest day for our community.
"We are all brothers and sisters. We have gone through
the same suffering and struggles to be in a free
country, and we know how they feel," said Shemshidin
Ahmet, 62.
Ahmet drove from Montreal to be at the party yesterday.
Deciding to stay in Canada wasn't easy for the seven,
who are all married and have children back home,
especially after learning that officials in China have
already visited their families in Xinjiang in an
attempt to lure them to return.
"They threatened my family that if I did not go back,
they would not see me again because they would not
allow them to leave the country or let me go back,"
said contortionist Aygul Memet, 28, the mother of a
young daughter.
Acrobat Gulnar Wayit said after she disappeared her
relatives in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, were
called to a meeting with authorities from the cultural
department, which runs the acrobatic circuit.
"My family was very happy for me, but they told me to
stop calling them or it would give them more troubles.
They told me to take care," said Wayit, 28, who has
been involved with the circuit for almost two decades.
The troupe has travelled all over the world from Japan
to Malaysia, Thailand, Greece, Russia, Poland and
other Eastern European countries to perform at events
put together by the Chinese government.
Wherever the performers went, they said they were
always closely monitored by government-appointed
troupe leaders and cautioned not to talk politics or
meet with Uighur exiles overseas. The acrobats were
paid the equivalent of $35 a day for 18 hours of work.
At night, they had to cram into a small hotel room
shared with six or seven people.
"Aygul and I were the only women there and we had to
share room with all the men, which was completely
against our religion," noted Wayit who, like her
colleagues, often lived on noodle soup while on tour.
Life isn't any easier in Xinjiang, said Abdurusul
Abdukerim, whose wife is carrying their first baby.
Although practising Muslims, the 27-year-old acrobat
said they were not allowed to visit mosques for
prayers, except for funerals. During fasting periods,
the officials would force them to break their
religious traditions and eat with them.
"They would even feed us pork even though they knew,
as Muslims, we can't eat pork at all," Abdukerim said.
The asylum seekers, who are still in hiding, left the
troupe after their final performance in Ottawa and
were immediately whisked to Toronto, where they filed
their refugee claims.
"We were very afraid and we could hear each other's
heartbeats when we got in the (getaway) car,"
Sirajidin said.
Sirajidin said they hope the current media attention
can help shed light on the plight and repression faced
by the Uighurs in Xinjiang.
The group said they were outraged upon learning of the
statement issued by the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa last
week, blaming the Toronto Uighur community for their
defection.
"We are not children. We made our own decision. No one
pushed us to make the decision or forced us to stay,"
Sirajidin noted.
He said the acrobats have been overwhelmed by the
support they received from the community. When he
learned that two Toronto acrobatic troupes have
contacted the Star to offer help, he was speechless.
"We have not practised our acts for some time, but
we'd love to perform for free for all Canadians, so
they can see our rich culture," he said. "It is nice
to be in a free country and we get to do what we want."
All seven acrobats know their future in Canada is full
of uncertainty, but agree that there is no returning
to China.
"We have no home to go back to. Our head would have to
go first if we are sent back to China," said Wayit,
moving her hand across her neck as if cutting her own
throat.
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