World

'I asked them to find my husband, but no one dared to go outside'

by Babel-Fish | July 11, 2009 at 07:53 pm

108 views | 25 Recommendations | 2 comments

Dong Yuanyuan should be on honeymoon, sightseeing in Shanghai with her husband. But late last Sunday night, their bus stopped when a set of traffic lights in Urumqi turned red.

A few seconds earlier and the newlyweds might have escaped the ethnic riot sweeping the city. Instead, the hail of rocks and sticks that crashed down on them began an ordeal that would leave the 24-year-old teacher with injuries to her head, neck, arms and legs – and without her husband.

This is very tragic, I expect her husband is dead, its awful what mob power can do, humans are truthfully violent animals sometimes when allowed to run a muck. Even within a communist state crimes caused by mobs happen and innocent life's are wrecked. No woman should be attacked in such away and have their future changed by a bunch of de-humanized animals.

3 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

sara star

at 23:33 on July 11th, 2009

It is horrible what she went through, and her recovery will be a long one.

Human Rights Watch has called for an investigation.

Dong was caught by a group of young Uighur men as she fled the bus with other passengers, losing sight of her husband in the crush. "They thought I looked like a Han, not a Uighur. The people came and started to beat me. I ran away but they dragged me back. I fell to the ground. Some people punched me as they didn't have rocks."

She came around hours later in the darkness, covered in blood; shaken awake by a Hui Muslim woman who hid the newlywed in her home. "I asked them to find my husband," said Dong. "But they said there were many people lying out on the streets and the Uighurs were still there. Nobody dared go out to rescue people."