During the last couple of years, China has been taking Uighur Muslims into concentration camps. The government has tortured them, forced them to do labor work and “taught” them life skills. Putting the Uighur Muslims in camps to reform them does not change the fact that it’s still cruel.

It wasn’t until China began to force Muslims to leave their religion, eat pork and drink alcohol — according to The New York Times — that I began to pay more attention. This is a violation of human rights, and it’s disgusting to see this after so many years of repeated history. Even after tragedies, like the Holocaust, and the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda and Darfur, nothing seems to change.

I am a Muslim who lives in America — a country where we are feared. I can’t be myself in public. I am seen as a threat to society, and my hijab is the weapon.

When it comes to the freedom of minorities, people don’t seem to care. Just because there aren’t many Muslims in China doesn’t mean the situation should be overlooked. I was shocked to hear that nobody — not even the United States or the United Nations — is helping them. At this point, it isn’t just discrimination toward a culture or a religion — it’s religous and cultural genocide.

Although we are allies with China, we have to save the Uighur Muslims. This situation is a mass murder, and nobody is helping them. It is disappointing that this heartbreaking situation is not even making news headlines.

China is a country where Muslims are hated, just like Muslim Americans. If it’s happening in China, it could happen anywhere else. We have to change how we react to these problems, and we must take action.

Our school has a large Muslim population, and Minnesota also has the largest population of Somali Muslims in the United States. Because of that we are all affected by this issue. It’s our own people who are getting hurt, and there’s no one to prevent it. This is my community. So if we don’t help them, who will?