On the 16th of September, the president of the European Uyghur Institute, Dr Dilnur Reyhan, was welcomed in the Mairie of Paris by Arnaud Ngatcha, the Deputy Mayor, to talk about our sensitisation work and our wish to safeguard Uyghur language and culture in Paris, which are more under threat than ever before in their home region of Uyghuristan.
After having spoken of the current tragedy that the Uyghurs are suffering at the hands of Chinese politics, the discussion turned towards the concrete measures that the Mairie of Paris could take to support the Institute’s struggle.
The city of Paris, the world capital of human rights, feels particularly concerned by the Uyghur situation and expressed, through the intermediary of the Deputy Mayor, its wish to help us in the work that we carry out within its jurisdiction. Thus, the question of how best to help us was asked.
Currently, our most pressing concern is to find premises for the Institute. Such a space would allow us to have a physical base where we could bring together all of our linguistic and cultural activities and share the richness of the Uyghur culture with Parisians. As the Deputy Mayor was very interested in the idea of helping us in our search, he suggested that we meet again at a later date to discuss the matter in more detail with other members of the administration.
The members of the Institute henceforth feel optimistic at the possibilities that could come from such a collaboration and have started looking forward to this second meeting.