In an era in which it is typical for people to take to the streets to protest a cause, there has been an overwhelming silence regarding a particular human rights issue: the Chinese oppression of the Uyghur population. Recent media releases, including New York Times footage of the forced labor of the ethnic minority, have brought forth the question- Who are the Uyghurs and why are they suffering in silence? The Uyghurs (pronounced wee-gr) are a mostly-Muslim minority ethnic group that mainly inhabit Xinjiang China, which is also referred to as East Turkestan or the Uyghur Autonomous Region. About 12 million Uyghurs are assumed to live inside the Uyghur homeland,…