Extremists target poor, disgruntled people for separatist movement
Many of the illegal immigrants from China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region deported by Thailand in July expressed regrets and anger for being persuaded by terrorist-related groups to join jihad in the Middle East, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Some of them said they had sold all their property to pass through Thailand to Turkey, from where they would have ended up in Iraq or Syria to join terrorist groups such as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and the Islamic State, reported the Xinjiang Daily on Tuesday.
The newspaper interviewed several of the 109 illegal immigrants repatriated from Thailand to China on July 9, still being held by police in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.
"I was told that if I don't join jihad I will go to Jahannam ('Hell' in Islam), while a martyr of jihad will go to heaven," said Abbas, an immigrant. "And I wanted to go to heaven."
Many of the illegal immigrants were reportedly approached and persuaded by friends or relatives to join jihad overseas. But they were fooled, and when they came back they had nothing left, the paper added.
They were told one way of getting to Turkey was to surrender to authorities in a Southeast Asian country, and tell the authorities they were Turkish nationals. The smugglers said Turkish diplomatic personnel would help them migrate to Turkey.
"I was told not to bring too many clothes and a cellphone, and to throw away my ID card in Thailand," said Ushour, one of the immigrants detained in Xinjiang.
Ushour, who was in the clothing business and raised cows and sheep, used up all his savings to pay the smugglers, according to the report.
"We were not properly fed overseas," said Ushour. "I know now that I was deceived and I regret it."
Muhemmet Imin, a man who came to Urumqi from southern Xinjiang in 2010 to find a job, said he surrendered the 70,000 yuan ($11,300) his father gave him to start a business to a smuggler. "My father would not touch that money because it was so precious, and now I lost it all."
Imin said he had told his father he was going to Turkey to do business.
Many of the illegal immigrants were told they would be executed if they returned to China, and some of the immigrants attacked Thai and Chinese police officers when they were escorted onto a flight back to China on July 9, said the report.
"Xinjiang police treated us well when we returned," said Sawut, Yasen's wife, who was among those deported from Thailand.
The police arranged medical exams and counseling for the immigrants to soften their anxiety.
Chen Zhuangwei, Xinjiang deputy police chief, told the Xinjiang Daily that the snakeheads will be charged according to Chinese law, and those who were deceived will be assisted to return to normal life.
Wang Guoxiang, an associate professor at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that extremist groups often target two types of people - those struggling financially and those upset with their lives.
Shortly after the deportation of the illegal immigrants, the US government referred to them as "refugees" and voiced concerns over "harsh treatment" on their return to China.
Hua Chunying, foreign ministry spokeswoman, said on July 11 that the deportation of the illegal immigrants followed relevant international conventions and bilateral treaties.
Chinese police said they suspect that 13 of the illegal immigrants are involved in terrorism.
"They [extremist groups] organize the youth, brainwash them, and get them to fight. They are cannon fodder," Tong Bishan, division chief of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Public Security, said in a press conference in July.
