A Stone Is Most Precious Where it Belongs

Description

The extraordinary memoir of a woman who gave up everything to help her people

In February 2018, twenty-four members of Gulchehra Hoja's family disappeared overnight. Her crime – and thus that of her family – was her award-winning investigations on the plight of her people, the Uyghurs, whose existence and culture is being systematically destroyed by the Chinese government.

A Stone is Most Precious Where it Belongs is Gulchehra’s stunning memoir, taking us into the everyday world of life under Chinese rule in East Turkestan (more formally as the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China), from her idyllic childhood to its modern nightmare. The grandchild of a renowned musician and the daughter of an esteemed archaeologist, Gulchehra grew up with her people’s culture and history running through her veins. She showed her gifts early on as a dancer, actress, and storyteller, putting her on a path to success as a major television star. Slowly though, she began to understand what China was doing to her people, as well as her own complicity as a journalist. As her rising fame and growing political awakening coincided, she made it her mission to expose the crimes Beijing is committing in the far reaches of its nation, no matter the cost.

Reveling in the beauty of East Turkestan and its people – its music, its culture, its heritage, and above all its emphasis on community and family – this groundbreaking memoir gives us a glimpse beyond what the Chinese state wants us to see, showcasing a woman who was willing to risk not just her own life, but also that of everyone she loves, to expose her people’s story to the world.In February 2018, twenty-four members of Gulchehra Hoja's family disappeared overnight. In one evening, all those she had left behind in Ürümchi when she fled to a new life in the United States were arrested because of her. Her crime – and thus that of her family – was her award-winning investigations for Radio Free Asia on the plight of the Uyghur people.
 
A Stone is Most Precious Where it Belongs is Gulchehra Hoja’s, stunning literary memoir, taking us into the everyday world of life under Chinese rule in East Turkistan (more formally as the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China). The grandchild of a renowned Uyghur musician and the daughter of an esteemed Uyghur archaeologist, Hoja grew up with her people’s culture and history running through her veins. She showed her gifts early on as a dancer, actress, and storyteller, putting her on a path to success as a major television start for China’s state TV. Slowly though, she began to realize the realities of Communist rule and understand what China was doing to her people. As her rising fame and growing political awakening coincided, she made the decision to flee the US, where she has fight to expose the crimes Beijing is committing in the far reaches of its nation. Revealing the beauty of East Turkistan and its people – its music, its culture, its heritage, and above all its emphasis on community and family, A Stone is Most Precious Where it Belongs gives us a glimpse beyond what the Chinese state wants us to see – showcasing a woman who was willing to risk not just her own life, but also that of her family, to expose her people’s story to the world.
 

Gulchehra Hoja is a Uyghur journalist based in the United States. Her reporting on the situation in East Turkestan (commonly known as the Xinjiang Autonomous Province) for Radio Free Asia – which led to the incarceration of her entire extended family – has been widely recognized in the US and Europe. She has earned honors such as the 2019 Magnitsky Human Rights Award; the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation in 2020; recognition as one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world every year since 2016; and an appearance at the 2020 Oslo Freedom Forum. She has been profiled for The Washington Post and The Financial Times, among many other publications. 

Additional information