The Human Cost of Surveillance

The Chinese government's extensive monitoring of ethnic Uyghurs is impacting countless families, as exemplified by the Kuchar family. Abdul Latif Kuchar recounts a harrowing night in December 2017 when he lost contact with his wife Mariam and children after government officials forcibly detained them. This incident marks the beginning of a larger narrative illustrating how the crackdown on Uyghurs has led to the containment and disappearance of thousands, destabilizing family structures and instilling fear within the community. The focus on individual stories, like that of Abdul Latif, serves to humanize the statistics surrounding the surveillance and oppression experienced by many Uyghurs.