Note: This event will take place in person at Royce 314. Registration is required to attend and a panel discussion will follow the screening.

Panelists

• Abduweli Ayup
• Nancy Levine (University of California, Los Angeles)
• Arienne Dwyer (University of Kansas)
• Morris Rossabi (Columbia University)

Film Synopsis

After enduring torture at an internment camp for Uyghurs in China, Abduweli and his family seek refuge in Bergen, Norway. This documentary follows Abduweli’s journey to Germany, where he intends to confront a former internment camp prison guard. However, just before his departure, his daughter experiences a panic attack. Now faced with a profound dilemma, Abduweli must decide whether its best for his family to continue his mission of shedding light on the Uyghur genocide or to leave the past behind to avoid bringing up traumatic memories for himself and his family.

 Abduweli Ayup is a Uyghur linguist, educator, activist, and poet, originally from the Uyghur region of northwest China but currently based in Norway. His work came to international attention in 2013 when he was arrested on charges of “inciting separatism” after opening Uyghur-language kindergartens in his hometown and the provincial capital. After international outcry resulted in his release 15 months later, he left China and settled in Norway. He has published Uyghur-language textbooks for children and been involved in the establishment of more than 70 Uyghur mother-language classes around the world. His non-profit, Uyghur Hjelp, works to document the ongoing Uyghur crisis and support educational and cultural events. Abduweli’s work has been honored with the 2023 Linguapax International Award, the Linguistic Society of America’s 2024 Excellence in Community Linguistics Award, the Global Coalition for Language Rights’ first annual Language Rights Defenders Award, and an invitation to speak at the 2024 UN Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Additionally, Abduweli has released two documentaries in the past year: Freedom of Speech, which looks at three Uyghur heritage language schools in diaspora, and Behind the Mask, about his meeting with a former Chinese prison officer.

This event is presented as part of the UCLA Asia Pacific Center's Program on Central Asia and co-sponsored by the UCLA National Heritage Language Resource Center and UCLA Center for World Languages. This event is also included in our 2024 celebration of International Education Week at UCLA.

For questions about the event, please contact asia@international.ucla.edu

Sponsor(s): Program on Central Asia, National Heritage Language Resource Center, Asia Pacific Center, Center for World Languages