Eventually， he was able to find a place to stay in the far west of the city， near the Third Ring Road， and he spent his days searching for a job. He must have sent his résumé to dozens of potential employers， but over and over， he was turned down. Nur had not given up his dream of becoming a television host， and had learned to imitate the style of He Jiong， a famous host on Hunan TV， who is considered “effeminate.” But this did not get Nur a job either. Instead it further alienated him from his Uyghur friends， including his girlfriend， who dumped him.
Nur was still trying to find work when his mother called him one day in 2007， saying she missed him terribly. He bought a plane ticket and flew back to Urumqi.
Forever Frustrated
Nur’s prospects in his hometown were worse than ever. Urumqi had changed since he left， and there was little he could do but join the throngs of other jobless ethnic minorities with degrees who were roaming the streets aimlessly， their educations seemingly worthless. Many， like Nur， had come back from the east where they too had no luck finding employment and a better life.
The situation in Kashgar in southern Xinjiang was no better. Between 2000 and 2003， the number of unemployed college graduates reached 12，000 in the area.
The number of potential employers in Xinjiang， as compared with the rest of China， was low. The region was not on par with eastern provinces in terms of economy， and its relatively vast size and remoteness made it a less than ideal place for businesses to operate. Worse still， the companies that were hiring harbored doubts about Uyghur graduates’ proficiency in Chinese and English. Yet even when these students had the same abilities as their Han Chinese peers， the companies， the majority of whose staff and workforce were Han Chinese， often turned down the ethnic minorities who applied for jobs. Employers， it seems， wanted to avoid the trouble and inconvenience likely to be caused by having an ethnic minority whose customs， habits and diet were different from their Han coworkers.’
In order to address this situation， the Xinjiang regional government issued a directive in 2003 that granted preferential treatment， including tax breaks， to enterprises that recruited more ethnic minority staff members. But the effects of the policy were far from satisfactory. Many companies continued to prefer Han Chinese rather than people from an ethnic minority.
In the face of mounting unemployment， the Xinjiang regional government started transporting much of its redundant labor force to more economically developed provinces. About 540，000 people were sent to work in the east in 2003 and that figure reached one million in 2004.
But this was targeted at rural youth. The government seemed to have limited tools in addressing the unemployment situation faced by college graduates. And， it seems that the ongoing global financial meltdown has worsened the situation.
For a while， Nur entertained the idea of going abroad to further his education. With international experience and another language， he thought， he could beat the unemployment problem. The destination he had in mind was the United States.
Many other young people had the same dream to go to the States for the same reasons. In the end， though， Nur’s visa application was rejected.
Boiling Over
At the end of June， a video clip on the Internet that showed Uyghurs working in Shaoguan， Guangdong Province being chased and beaten by Han Chinese coworkers was being circulated among young Uyghurs. The video conjured up Nur’s unhappy experience in the east， where he felt he was not accepted.
Besides the video clip， rumors abounded that “more than 300 Uyghur young women were raped.” But it later turned out there were only 200 Uyghur women working in Shaoguan， and there were no official reports of rape. It seemed to be sheer fabrication， just like the rumor that “Han women were raped by Uyghur men.” But， angered by the video clip and worked up by various rumors， Uyghur young people in Urumqi planned to protest.
On July 5， Nur encountered the protesting Uyghurs near the People’s Square and joined them. But before the protests turned violent， Nur chose to go home.
Maybe it was his other half subconsciously telling him to avoid potential trouble.
August 2009