An estimated 200 Uyghurs live in the Greater Boston area today, according to the Boston Uyghur Association, working urgently to strengthen community bonds, which they see as integral to preserving their culture and protecting their people.

"The same Uyghur identity that was fading from within me was also fading from the homeland under Chinese pressure," said Sidiq, a name he created to use publicly to protect relatives in Xinjiang, where authorities are known to target families of those who speak out.

Sidiq's uncle and cousin are among more than a million Uyghurs detained in China's shadowy network of detention camps, he said, where human rights groups report many face torture, sexual violence, and forced labor.

"It's a long-term strategic plan," explained Sidiq's father, who serves as the Boston school's dean. "It may not have immediate results in a political sense, but it will help the Uyghur people to at least maintain their culture."

Sidiq, who moved to the United States when he was 5, helps manage the school along with a board and several paid instructors. Launched out of a mosque in Wayland and now online due to the pandemic, the school is now among the largest Uyghur American organizations, with over 30 students currently enrolled and more attending events.