Where did you come from ?

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There are numerous times when people asked me: where did you come from? By instincts, they know I don’t belong to their territory. I have a distinctive accent, which made it harder for people to guess where I came from.

 

I often tell them that I came from Xinjiang. Most people would show their surprises and say: Xinjiang? Wow. You don’t look like Uyghur people..

I would say: I am han. They would ask in hesitation:..isn’t there a lot of minority problems? They would usually stop there, since they don’t know which side I belong to.

 

Most of the time, I would say: Actually, it is fine. Xinjiang is rather peaceful. I never saw any problems there. They would just shrug and smile in disbelief. How could they believe in me. There are many news reporting crimes and protests.

 

But how could I say things differently. I grow up there. When I was a little kid, many of my friends were Uyghur children. When it was grape season, they would invite me to go to their home and eat their grapes. Their parents treated me like their own. There were often Uyghur people selling water melon on the streets. Before I buy, they would open a water melon for me to try. If I praise their water melon, they would gave me their water melon for free. It would be an insult if I pay. During weekend, they would start fire and dance around the fire, I would join them. They would teach me how to dance.

 

I like them from the bottom of my heart. I never witness a fight or protest. I often see they argue or shout. They often yell. But they are born like lion. It was in their nature to play tough. They are so proud. They need to be praised. And they deserve to be praised. They made all sorts of good food. They made best cheese, best dry fruits, best hot chicken, best roasted lamb and so on….They were the reason why Xinjiang was such a fascinating place, not our boring han.

 

I don’t know how to respond to the recent riot. I only wish that time can turn around. I can still merge into their crowd and was not seen as a kid from a different ethnic group.

 

 

 

 

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