「巨大な刑務所の中にいるよう」　ウイグル滞在１０年のカナダ人夫婦

【オタワＡＦＰ＝時事】カナダ人のゲイリー・ダイクさんと妻のアンドレアさんは、中国の新疆ウイグル自治区に住んでいた１０年の間に、同国政府がイスラム系少数民族ウイグル人への弾圧を「非常に整然と」進めていくのを目の当たりにした。カナダ下院は今年２月、中国がウイグル人に対してジェノサイド（大量虐殺）を行っていると認定する決議案を採択し、他国の議会にもそれに続く動きが起きている。（写真は資料写真）
　「こうした流れを見ていて、良くないことが起きると思った」とアンドレアさんはＡＦＰに語った。「規制がどんどん増え、毎週のように新たな規則、新たな動きが生まれた」
　現在はカナダ南部マニトバ州に住む夫婦は、２００７年にウイグル自治区に拠点を移し、農業廃棄物を堆肥にする事業に取り組んでいた。２人は、ウイグル語と標準中国語が堪能だ。
　「ウイグルでの暮らし、地元の人々との触れ合いはとても楽しかった。私たちを受け入れてくれ、コミュニティーや文化面でも歓迎された。とても特別な時間だった。そうした時間が終わりを迎えるまでは」とアンドレアさんは振り返る。
　２００９年にウイグルで暴動が発生した後、「それまでの居住区は解体され始め、ウイグル人はアパートに次々と移送されていった」とアンドレアさんは言う。
　ウイグル文化の狙い撃ちは、ゲイリーさんの言葉を借りれば「非常に整然と」進められた。イスラム教の伝統を制限することから始まり、その後、食事や衣服、言語に関する規制へと広がっていった。また、イスラム教の聖典コーランの一部の版が禁止され、最終的にはウイグル語で書かれている書籍もすべて禁止されるようになったと夫婦は話す。
　「みんなが知っている大きな市場では、ウイグル語での会話禁止という看板が掲げられているのを見た」とアンドレアさん。「ありとあらゆることが当局に指図されるようになったと言ってもいい。たとえ許可されたとしても、そのやり方が限定された」
　取り締まりが強化された２０１６年には、警察官をより多くみるようになったと夫婦は言う。主要な交差点には検問所が、そして至る所に監視カメラが設置されるようになった。
　「食料品店に入るにも、いきなり空港並みの保安検査を受けなければならなくなった」とアンドレアさんは話す。

■１８歳になるのを恐れる子どもたち
　その次が収容所だ。
　「収容所が建てられ、数か月後にはウイグル人たちが連行されて行った。抵抗も争いも起きなかった。監視態勢が厳しく、みんな圧倒されてしまっていた」とゲイリーさんは言う。
　ウイグル自治区での襲撃をきっかけに設けられた収容所について、中国政府は、イスラム過激派からウイグル人を遠ざけるための職業訓練センターだと説明している。収容所の一つは、夫婦の家のすぐ先にも建設された。有刺鉄線の付いた高さ約４．５メートルの塀に囲まれた施設には、監視カメラが設置され、見回りも行われていたとゲイリーさんは話す。
　また、「（当時）１５歳だった息子の友人の何人かは、もうすぐ１８歳になるという年頃で、みんなおびえていた。１８歳で成人となるため、今度は自分たちが収容所に連れて行かれるのではと恐れていた」と述べ、「イスラム教徒だと思われないように」喫煙や飲酒をしている自分の写真をソーシャルメディアに投稿し始める若者も増えたと説明した。
　だが、どこでも監視されている状況に自分たちも慣れていったとアンドレアさんは言う。当時５歳の娘は、友達と人形で遊んでいる時に、空想で魔法の国に入る際の検問を当たり前のように取り入れていたと話す。
　ビザ（査証）の規制が強化されてウイグル自治区から出て行く外国人が増える中、夫婦も２０１８年にウイグルを離れた。
　「あまりにも規制が多くて」とゲイリーさんは言う。１２００万人のウイグル人と一緒に「巨大な刑務所の中で生活しているようだった」【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/05/11-14:00）

During the decade they lived in the Chinese region of Xinjiang, Canadians Gary and Andrea Dyck had a front-row seat to Beijing's very methodical repression of the Uyghur people, which Canada's parliament and others have declared to be genocide.
We saw these things starting to happen and we knew this is not going anywhere good, Andrea Dyck said. We started to see more and more restrictions. Every week there was a new rule or a new development.
Rights groups say up to one million Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim Turkic minority with a culture distinct from China's ethnic Han majority, are now detained in internment camps.
China has strongly denied allegations of human rights violations, saying training programs, work schemes and better education have helped stamp out extremism in the northwest region and raise income.
The Dycks, who are fluent in Uyghur and Mandarin, settled in Xinjiang in 2007 and ran a composting business for agricultural waste.
We just really enjoyed life, enjoyed being with the Uyghur people and being accepted and welcomed into relationships and the culture, and it was a very special time -- until it wasn't, Andrea told AFP on Friday from their home in Manitoba.
Following violent riots in 2009 that they witnessed, traditional Uyghur neighborhoods had started to be dismantled, people were moved more and more into apartment buildings, away from their communities, she said.
Targeting of Uyghur culture that Gary called very methodical started with restrictions on Islamic traditions, and expanded later to include rules on food, clothing, and even language.
The couple said some versions of the Koran were banned, and eventually all books in the Turkic language.
In a prominent market I saw a sign posted that said it's not allowed to speak Uyghur, Andrea said.
Every single thing became mandated in a way, (people are told) it's permitted, but then in this way only, she explained.
In 2016, as the crackdown intensified, the couple said they started noticing an increased police presence, with checkpoints set up at every major intersection and closed-circuit security cameras installed all over.
Suddenly, you had to go through airport-level security just to walk into a grocery store, Andrea said.
Next came the internment camps.
As the camps were being built, and people were being taken away months later, there was no pushback, there was no fight because there was so much security and they were overwhelmed as a people, Gary said.
A detention center -- Beijing has termed them vocational training centers meant to reduce the allure of Islamic extremism in the wake of attacks -- was even built down the road from their home.
Gary said a wall around it was 15 feet high, topped with barbed wire, and monitored by security cameras as well as guard patrols.
A few of our (then) 15-year-old son's friends were turning 18 soon, and they were fearful because they would be legal age and they were wondering if they were going to be taken to these camps next, and so they were actually dreading turning 18, Gary said.
Where (else) in the world does a 17-year-old dread turning 18, he lamented.
Many young men started posting photos of themselves smoking or drinking on social media so as to not appear Muslim. One family friend took up smoking again for his own safety, after years trying to quit for health reasons.
Tensions were high, with authorities constantly warning of possible attacks.
We got so used to this pervasive security, Andrea said, recounting how her five-year-old daughter and her friend made up an imaginary world for their dolls and the way you got into this world of magic was through a security system.
The couple left Xinjiang in 2018 amid an exodus of foreigners after visa rules were tightened.
There were so many restrictions, said Gary. We just felt we were living in a huge penitentiary with 12 million Uyghurs.
Also we felt we were becoming a liability to Uyghurs around us, those who knew us, that they could be taken into camps for any reason, and knowing us could be one of those, Gary said.