In every year since 2003, nearly 67 percent of every graduating class of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang have not been able to find a job. Things were even worse in southern Xinjiang, predominantly inhabited by Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.
There, between 2000 and 2003, over 85 percent of each year’s graduates were unable to find work. There is a saying in southern Xinjiang, that the more college students one village produces, the poorer the village is likely to be, a bizarre concept in a country that values education almost above all else. As a result, every year, Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, receives thousands of young, educated migrants looking for work. Some Uyghurs are forced to leave Xinjiang altogether, and end up in other provinces, where even more uncertainty awaits.
As an undergraduate, Nur could not afford to ignore the potential lack of employment in store for him after graduation. But what he cared most about was escaping the whirlpool of conflict surrounding his ethnic identity.
Drifting in Beijing
Starting in 2001, Nur spent five years as an undergraduate in Beijing. He loved the city and wanted to stay following his graduation. But, he never really got used to the local food.
While he was in Beijing, he became interested in Confucianism and Chinese traditional culture, and he had become very interested in the work of Yu Dan, a professor from Beijing Normal University. Yu wrote easy-to-understand books for mass consumption that promoted the ideas of ancient philosophers Confucius and Zhuangzi. After one of Yu Dan’s lectures, Nur approached her and asked her a question: As an ethnic minority, how could he manage to get a foothold in this bustling metropolis?
Professor Yu wrote Nur a note and gave him an autograph. The note encouraged Nur to do his very best to establish himself in China’s capital. Her remarks and support inspired Nur to make every effort to remain in Beijing after he graduated.
At first, as a newly minted graduate, everything seemed to be going smoothly for Nur. In the summer of 2006, he signed up for a contest sponsored by China Central Television (CCTV) to select television hosts and hostesses. He managed to get through several phases of the contest until there were only 40 candidates left. It appeared that he was only several small steps away from success. This is when the current began to pull him in a different direction. The final stage of the contest required the candidates to live and eat together. As a Muslim, Nur’s diet restricted him from eating the same things as his non-Muslim peers, and he had trouble finding a place that served Islamic food. This proved to be too difficult for Nur to overcome, and his potential future as a television presenter was quickly vanishing. To compound his misfortunes, his cornea became infected, and he had to seek medical attention. He had no choice but to quit.
Once he quit, Nur was left to fend for himself, and he started slipping towards failure. He had to find accomodation, but this is quite difficult for a Uyghur in Beijing. Because Uyghurs have a reputation as being pickpockets and seedy characters in Beijing, hotels and guesthouses tend to refuse to provide a Uyghur with a room. Faced with this stereotype, Nur started to wear a hat and sunglasses each time he went out; he had to make himself look more like a Han Chinese.