There are no scenes of torture, no violence and few sweeping proclamations about genocide. Izgil writes with calculated restraint. As his title suggests, the terror is in the anticipation.

One of the best available histories of the genocidal policies in Xinjiang since 2015, and is especially valuable as an on-the-ground, first-person account.

Lucid and quietly terrifying.

It is suffused... by a deep sense of sadness, and of despondency even amid hope.

So much more than a thrilling account of a great escape. It is nothing less than a call to the West not to look away from one of the most terrible genocides of our times..

He deserves to be read and listened to widely .. Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/82a0ff46-2514-408e-9810-de0175e7853d The most fascinating parts of the book deal with the lesser-known periods of Xinjiang’s history, the decade that led up to the mass detention campaigns, when religious freedoms were gradually being eroded. It provides a lesson in how crackdowns gather momentum and, in particular, how omnipresent surveillance speeds up minoritised groups’ internalization of their oppression.

Beautifully written.

...urgent and haunting.

... provides a compelling account of life in Urumqi, the regional capital, during the years in which this vast, repressive system built towards its apotheosis. The book offers a vital portrait of Uyghur cultural and social life in Urumqi – the friendships, the artistic alliances, the conversations in bookshops and restaurants – and in doing so makes clear what has been destroyed.

In Waiting to Be Arrested at Night, his heart-wrenching but beautifully written memoir – translated by Joshua L Freeman – Izgil, a leading Uyghur poet, recounts how the environment for Uyghurs in China deteriorated rapidly as they fell victim to one of the world’s most harrowing mass atrocities, aided by cutting-edge surveillance technology. Even for those who saw the writing on the wall, few could have predicted how brutal China’s political, social, cultural and religious persecution would become. More than a million people have been held in internment camps, prompting international criticism and sanctions – but doing little to change the situation on the ground..

...conjure[s] a tragic and unforgettable picture of the destruction of a once vibrant culture, and the brutal persecution of its practitioners.

Astonishing.

The author shines a much-needed light on the complex, contradictory emotions of trading a homeland for a lifetime of both safety and survivor’s guilt. A profoundly moving memoir about China’s oppression of the Uyghurs..