Poet and filmmaker Tahir Hamut Izgil reflects on the Chinese government’s persecution of the Uyghur people in Waiting to Be Arrested at Night (7.5 hours). This personal and harrowing audiobook brings together history, memoir and poetry.
Greg Watanabe’s straightforward narration puts the emotion of Izgil’s story into sharp relief, confronting readers with a reality that Izgil powerfully exposes. Both in the prose chapters as well as in Izgil’s poems that are scattered throughout the book, Watanabe’s simple approach underscores Izgil’s dread over mounting persecution and his hope for a better future.
Waiting to Be Arrested at Night uncovers a difficult and necessary story. Izgil and Watanabe give a voice to a silenced community and, together, call for listeners to bear witness to the experience of the Uyghur people.
