A Uyghur Teen’s Life After Escaping Genocide—The Experiment Podcast

Описание: This episode was originally published on August 19, 2021.

Here in the United States, 19-year-old Aséna Tahir Izgil feels as though she’s a “grandma.” Aséna is Uyghur, an ethnic minority being imprisoned in labor camps by the Chinese government. The pain she witnessed before escaping in 2017 has aged her beyond her years, she says, making it hard to relate to American teenagers.

“They talk about … TikToks … clothing, malls, games, movies, and stuff,” she says. “And then the things I think about [are] genocide, Uyghurs, international policies … all the annoying adult facts.”

For years, the Chinese government has been persecuting her people, but few have escaped to bear witness. In this episode of The Experiment: Aséna shares her family’s story of fleeing to the U.S. to escape genocide, adjusting to newfound freedom, and trying to deal with the grief and guilt of being a refugee.

This episode’s guests include Aséna Tahir Izgil and her father, Tahir Hamut Izgil, a Uyghur poet and author.

Listen to The Experiment:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

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In your web browser: https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/...

Further reading: https://www.theatlantic.com/the-uyghu...