Breaking Our Silence

Peace on the evening of April 30， 2014， was broken at 7：00 p.m. when the ground shook with a sudden blast at Urumqi South Railway Station in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Three were killed and 79 wounded. On May 1， eleven Uygur students jointly wrote an open letter titled We Will Stay Silent No More！， condemning the terrorist attack.

On the evening of April 30， Mardan was eating dinner with friends in a restaurant on Heping （Peace） Street not far from the railway station. Ferhad， who had never before met Mardan， was at work in an office in Hotan， over 1，000 kilometers from Urumqi. Soon， the two strangers met in a WeChat group， hosted by the popular instant messaging and networking app.

“The group is basically made up of young people from Xinjiang， both Uygur and Han，” illustrates Abudrixit， one signer of the letter. “It started with ten and grew to 100.”

The group became saturated with witness photos and real-time information within two hours after the blast at the railway station.“Some suggested writing a public letter，” recalls Mardan.

The letter was by no means an impulsive act. The idea was first conceived in March 2014 when Kunming Railway Station was attacked by eight assailants from Xinjiang.

“We’ve read too many stories online illustrating the public’s misunderstanding and panic about people from Xinjiang，” explains Mardan. “We brainstormed in the group， devising a way to have our voices， the voices of college students， heard.”

At about 10：00 p.m.， Mardan answered a phone call from Kurban from North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power， who proposed the idea of “making an immediate response.” “Great！” Mardan exclaimed. “But it won’t work if it’s only you and me.” Soon， nine others from the group joined the team.

The head writer was 28-year-old Kurban， who talked to Mardan on the phone. “I was extremely frustrated when I heard the news about the blast，” remarks Kurban. “This stuff happens again and again， hurting everyone badly.”

At midnight of April 30， Kurban began writing the letter. He called his mother， who declared， “I’m with you， son！”

Kurban finished his letter at 5：13 a.m. the next day and posted it for the group. Ferhad， one of the 11 cosigners， suggested speaking from the perspective of legal theory while others insisted on“telling the world our true feelings.”

“We must tell the truth，” stressed Abudrixit.

“We can stay silent no longer and we will remain silent no more，” Mardan added， which became the title and the final sentence of the letter.