Uyghur Abdulhafiz Maimaitimin (27), who lives in Zurich, lost five family members in the fire in Ürümqi in the Xinjiang region. There has been a lockdown there for more than three months. On Friday redeemed one Brand in a residential buildingwith the ten people died, protests from. Many blamed the Corona measures for the fact that the fire could not be extinguished faster. It is also assumed that the people could not escape because the doors were locked from the outside, as in other buildings in the city. Many also believe that the number of victims is incorrect and too low.

Maimaitimin has been living as a refugee in the canton of Zurich for 14 months, as he says “View” told. He was devastated because his aunt and her four children died in the fire. He found out about it from a friend. He told him that the fire broke out on the 15th floor and his family on the 19th floor could not escape. The authorities cordoned off the settlement 100 days ago and had bars installed in the stairwells and entrances.

People cried for help on social media during the fire. “Open the doors, we can’t breathe anymore!” Reads a post from the burning building.

Officials said there were no locked doors: everyone could leave the building. The city’s fire chief, Li Wensheng, said some residents were simply too weak to get to safety. The extinguishing work took longer because the fire brigade did not reach the building quickly enough. Maimaitimin doesn’t believe that: «It’s a lie! At a distance of just a few hundred meters from the settlement there are police, fire brigade, military and a hospital.» He is convinced that the rescue operation was delayed on purpose because only Uyghurs live in the whole building.

Maimaitimin last saw his family in 2016 when he was visiting them. After that, his father urged him and his sister to leave China. The Chinese had started building internment camps. A year later his uncle and one of the sons were taken to one of the camps. Maimaitimin and his sister exist first to Dubai and from there to Egypt and later to Istanbul where his sister is still. He applied for asylum in Switzerland 14 months ago and is now waiting for an answer. He doesn’t know how his parents are doing. “All I know is that my father was sentenced to nine years in prison, I don’t know why.”