WEBVTT

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Food is all about connection.

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I know for me, the taste 
of a piping hot Earl Grey

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always reminds me of comfort
and security of home.

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And, you know, particularly 
when we feel disconnected,

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that taste can mean everything.

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However, there are some people 
who simply cannot go home.

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People like the Uyghurs,

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a Muslim minority group
from Western China.

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Isobel Yeung went there undercover 
last year to report on camps

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where China has imprisoned
more than a million Uyghurs

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To quote unquote re-educate
them away from their traditions.

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One of these traditions is 
their distinctly unique cuisine

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and style of cooking.

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And for the more than 1 million
Uyghurs now living outside of China,

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it's never been more important.

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PRESERVING CULTURE

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So what's the secret
to making good laghman?

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The dough has to be prepared right.

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Who taught you how to do this?

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My mom.

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We grow up eating laghman,
making laghman.

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In my country, I was a nurse.

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[After] coming to America,
[I became] a restaurant chef.

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(Ysobel) Oh, my god.

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Wow, perfect.

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Oh, my god, that texture is amazing,
they're like the perfect consistency.

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Uyghur food is really interesting
because it does seem

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like a mix of different types of foods.

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Yes.

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There's definitely 
some Chinese elements in there

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with noodles, and garlic, and ginger,

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but then there's also a lot of like 
Central Asian flavors, right?

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(Ysobel) <i>Adila and her mom, 
Maria, are Uyghurs.</i>

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They come from Northwest China
in a region called Xinjian.

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Unlike the majority of China's
population who are Han Chinese,

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The Uyghurs are mostly
Muslim Turkic ethnicity

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who have their own language and
traditions much closer to Central Asia.

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My favorite Uyghur dish
is laghmen or lamian,

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hand-pulled noodles served with meat,
pepper, scallions, cumin, and spices.

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What does the laghmen mean to you?

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Laghmen is a traditional dish
passed down from the ancestors.

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That is also why we teach our children
how to make laghmen and tell them,

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"Don't forget Uyghur culture.

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Remember us when you are making laghmen."

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Thank you, bye. 
Have a good one. Thank you.

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(Ysobel) <i>Adhila moved from China to
Boston to study when she was 17,</i>

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<i>almost a decade later,</i>

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<i>she opened the only Uyghur restaurant
in Massachusetts at the time,</i>

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<i>with dishes based on her mom's recipes.</i>

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<i>During that time, Uyghur lives in China 
have deteriorated dramatically.</i>

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<i>In an effort to, in their words, 
"combat terrorism,"</i>

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<i>The Chinese government
has sent over 1 million Uyghurs</i>

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<i>to sprawling prison like camps 
over the last three years.</i>

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<i>Here they're frequently interrogated
and tortured, banned from practicing Islam,</i>

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<i>and forced to recite 
Chinese Communist Party ideology.</i>

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<i>Xinjian has been transformed
into a dystopian surveillance state.</i>

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<i>Maria and Adila's own family 
have been swept up in the crackdown.</i>

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<i>In 2018, Adila's father-- 
Maria's husband,</i>

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<i>stopped answering their calls.</i>

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<i>Eventually, they learned 
he too had been taken to the camps.</i>

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My family are on my mind
and in from of my eyes

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all the time when I'm working.

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If I don't think about them,
I might lose my motivation.

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The father of my children is in jail.

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(Ysobel) <i>When Adila is not working 
in her restaurant six days a week,</i>

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<i>She's searching for any information
she can find about her dad.</i>

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This is my father, born in 1971.

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What did he tell you about 
how the situation is changing in Xinjian?

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He's like, you know,
we can't talk directly.

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We always said, <i>cold</i> or <i>warm</i>.

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Because he's worried about 
the Chinese government listening?

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Yeah.

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And if anyone get detained,
they would say, "He left."

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My father always call me
[the favorite tree.]

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(Adila's father)
<i>Adi hun. Adi hun. Adi hun.</i>

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<i>I miss you, Adi hun.</i>

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<i>Adi hun, my child.</i>

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I like it a lot.

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(Ysobel) <i>Uyghurs is China can be 
locked away for anything from praying,</i>

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<i>wearing a long beard
or having relatives abroad.</i>

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<i>In our dealers father's case,
it was for fasting during Ramadan.</i>

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What do you think
your dad's life is like, right now?

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Oh, I don't want to think about this,
it's very hard.

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I get scared, you know.

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He can't eat proper food meal.

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My mom cooked for him every day.

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I can't think about what he's eating now.

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(Ysobel) <i>Last year, Adila took part
in a social media campaign</i>

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<i>called #MetooUyghur.</i>

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<i>She's also given testimony 
about her missing relatives</i>

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<i>and lobbied Senators, like, Elizabeth Warren,</i>

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<i>but speaking out has exposed her 
on Chinese social media.</i>

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I was dragged in a WeChat group 
with 500 Chinese there.

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They were like seeing me 
like I'm a terrorist,

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and they post all the information 
about the restaurant,

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my personal information,

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where did I go to school,
where do I live, my car, everything.

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Wow, that must've been scary.

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I was so scared.

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(Ysobel) <i>In spite of the threats,
or maybe because of them,</i>

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<i>The work that Adila, Maria, and 
chef Arkin are doing at the restaurant</i>

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<i>feels more important now than ever.</i>

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Wow, that's one massive noodle!

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<i>Just having a restaurant like this 
advertising halal food</i>

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<i>is no longer allowed in Xinjiang.</i>

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It seems like for all of you,

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you know, having this Uyghur restaurant,

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is so much more than just
about selling the food.

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It's about introducing a culture
and making sure it stays alive.

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There are many many jobs 
we can make money, like easier jobs.

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A restaurant is really hard, 
every day, a year long.

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If you like my food, if you like me,

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this is the way you get
[to know] Uyghur people now.