Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Film Depicts Uighur Diaspora's Struggle to Keep Identity

Rikar Hussein

   Walking across the streets of London on a sunny morning, Aziz
   IsaElkunis holding his little daughter's hand and talking to her about
   what it is like to be a bird.

   At first, it may seem like an ordinary scene of a father chatting with
   his daughter as he takes her to school, but the conversation soon
   alters to show how it feels for thousands of Uighurs who are unable to
   "fly freely" and return to their homeland of Xinjiang in northwestern
   China.

   "Look, my daughter, look at the birds," the filmmaker tells his
   daughter in "An Unanswered Telephone Call," a short film based on his
   life story. "They fly freely above the trees; they don't know
   borders.At the moment, if I become a bird right now, I would fly
   straight off to my homeland."

   Film

   The next scene of the film takes the audience deeper into the nostalgic
   feeling accompanying most Uighurs abroad, as they long to know the
   whereabouts of their loved ones stranded in China's Xinjiang province.

   Elkunmeets Lucie, a French woman from Nice, who is also taking her
   daughter to school, while at the same time exuberantly face-chatting
   via phone with her mom on her 80th birthday.

   "How lucky you are to be able to speak to your mother through a video
   call. I'm jealous,"Elkuntells Lucie.

.