In Istanbul, the last Uighur bookshops struggle to survive
Located a few feet below street level in the busy Sefakoy district of Istanbul, the Kutadgu Bilik bookshop is a trove of Uighur culture. If you visit late on a weekday afternoon, you'll find children whizzing down the aisles, occasionally stopping to flick through the glossy Uighur-language books that line the walls. It is close to an idyllic scene.
As a people subject to ongoing repression in China – or genocide, as a U.S. congressional committee heard in Washington, D.C. – it could appear the Uighurs have found peace in Turkey, a space where they can preserve and even revive their language and literature.
But on 14 March 2023, the Kutadgu Bilik bookshop was raided by the Turkish police. They dragged books out in large bags to a van parked outside.
The first time the police raided the shop in August 2022, they confiscated hundreds of books. This time, members of the Uighur community protested. Some lay down in front of the police van to prevent it from leaving.
© codastory.com 2023