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'Only respect will restore trust rioters destroyed'

By Hu Yinan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-15 07:47

Guli, concerned about the relationship with her peers, explained: "We don't talk about the riot at work. We try to focus on other things. It makes us all feel uncomfortable.

Thorson Saute barbecues on her stall at Thokson Bazaar, the largest of its kind in the city of Aksu in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Xinhua]

"I hope this thing can pass naturally and not affect our office environment. We've all worked together for so long and we've formed a special bond. I just don't want this violence to ruin that."

The dedicated doctor has come a long way in her career. Literally. Her hometown is 1,700 km from the regional capital. About 96 percent of the two million residents in Hotan are Uygurs, while the Han population is mostly fluent in the local dialect.

Guli went to all-Uygur schools as she grew up and, even at college in Urumqi, she enrolled in a class that included 180 Uygur students but no Han.

Today she said she believes integration between all the capital's ethnic groups is "inevitable".

"I know quite a number of Han and Uygurs who are in love or are married. If no major incident breaks out, and with a stable environment, assimilation will happen because it is what life here needs," she said.

But in the wake of the latest catastrophe, much remains to be done to rebuild the trust between the ethnic groups.

"Taking things too seriously or arbitrarily creating a tense environment won't help either side. I think the next step is to rationally and tactfully resolve this issue and let nothing that hurts each other happen again. After all, we can't live without each other," she said.

One effective strategy in securing trust in the past, she went on, was the "don't ask, don't tell" technique.

"The ethnic groups never usually argue about anything, maybe that's because we don't talk about sensitive issues. Both sides are very cautious, everyone respects each other," she said. "The Han people around me are like that. We never say anything that hurts the other's ethnic dignity."

But she added: "Of course, assimilation is one thing, but you must never lose what makes you 'you'. There's got to be mutual respect."

A younger Guli felt differently. "I never used to think about these things and, as a kid, I would fight when I had to. But that's changed since college.

"Especially at work, where we meet everyday and spend most of our time. We each have our advantages and deficiencies as Uygur and Han, but we don't have to talk about them."

As security eases a week on from the disaster, like most local residents, Guli is still afraid to walk outside. Instead, she has been taking taxis to work and back. She said the armed police presence made her feel safer, but she does not know what will happen when they leave.

"I hope time can wear things off as soon as possible. Let it pass, all of this, let it pass quickly."

The names of all interviewees have been changed to ensure their safety

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