t’s morning in Istanbul, but Joseph is reliving his morning routine in the camp, before the 16-hour shift starts. After the prisoners had sung Communist songs for their breakfast, the Chinese guards played a video for them shot in cinema verité style. It began with Chinese plainclothes agents tackling Uyghurs, cramming them into unmarked cars, and pulling bags over their heads.
Then, the camera would pan away, revealing, not China, but a foreign street with signs in German, Arabic, or English. Joseph says the film was a tease: Run away. Please try it. We’re everywhere. Even Washington, D.C.
“Will there be television cameras filming us in Washington?”
“Could be, Joseph. Look, you are the first Christians to make it out of the camps and into America. The first Kyrgyz family. Maybe even the first intact family.”
“You will make sure there is no Chinese media there, right?”
“I can’t do that Joseph. The U.S. is a free country.”
Joseph’s wife, Julie, can’t hold back: “Can we cover up our faces then?”
“No.”
Joseph smiles in a sad way: “Tell me again. Why do we have to do this?”
“It’s called ‘media training.’ We are just trying to get you used to the camera. Look Joseph, the press is interested in you. If the press weren’t interested, we could be waiting in Istanbul much longer.”
