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Waiting to Be Arrested at Night

A Uyghur Poet's Memoir of China's Genocide

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Waiting to Be Arrested at Night

By: Tahir Hamut Izgil, Joshua L. Freeman
Narrated by: Greg Watanabe
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A Uyghur poet's piercing memoir of life under the most coercive surveillance regime in history

*WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE'S JOHN LEONARD PRIZE FOR BEST FIRST BOOK*
*WINNER OF THE CHRISTOPHER G. MOORE PRIZE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WRITING 2024*

As his friends disappeared one by one, it became clear to Tahir Hamut Izgil that fleeing his home in Xinjiang was his family’s only hope.

In this unforgettable story of courage and survival, Tahir charts the Chinese government’s ongoing destruction of the Uyghur community and way of life in spare, gripping, finely tuned prose.

Waiting to Be Arrested at Night is an urgent call for the world to awaken to a humanitarian catastrophe, and a moving tribute to those Uyghurs whose voices have been silenced.

'Essential reading'
AI WEIWEI, author of 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows

'Deserves to be read widely'
FINANCIAL TIMES

©2023 Tahir Hamut Izgil (P)2023 Penguin Audio 21st Century Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Asia Freedom & Security Modern Politics & Government War & Crisis World China Memoir War Government

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Critic reviews

"I was riveted and chastened by Tahir Hamut Izgil's memoir of surveillance, internment, violent persecution and miraculous flight. Izgil's crystalline, courageous prose is a wake-up call for everyone invested in the myth - and also the possibility - of freedom." (Tracy K. Smith)

"Tahir Hamut Izgil's powerful and poignant memoir is an instant classic. He lays bare the vicious genocidal persecution of the precious Uyghur people in a very personal and persuasive way. His grand poetic temperament exemplifies the unstoppable resilience of the rich Uyghur soul." (Cornel West, author of Democracy Matters)
All stars
Most relevant  
People need to read this book. It is both terrifying and tragic. I’m still reeling several months later. The fact that no one is talking about the plight of the Ughurs is shameful. The human rights abuses are eye-watering and it's time that companies assessed their relationship with China.

Deeply shocking, very enlightening, essential reading…

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