‘SO HEARTBREAKING’

U.S. Seizes Tons of Human Hair Products Made in China’s Muslim Labor Camps

It’s not clear if the hair came from detainees or if they were just forced to make the weaves.

The United States has seized tons of human hair products allegedly made by Muslims detained in China’s forced-labor camps. The products came from Xinjiang where it’s thought a million Uighur Muslims have been locked up in what China has euphemistically referred to as “re-education” camps. The Guardian reports that Customs and Border Protection officials intercepted 13 tons of weaves and other hair products at the Port of New York and New Jersey. “The production of these goods constitutes a very serious human rights violation,” said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP’s office of trade. The CBP didn’t say whether the hair itself came from prisoners—only saying that the products were made by them. Rushan Abbas, a Uighur American activist whose sister went missing in China two years ago, said: “This is so heartbreaking for us... My sister is sitting somewhere being forced to make what, hair pieces?”