“I can talk to anybody I want, I can see anyone I want, I can walk on the
street with bigger steps. I can hug my relatives. I can kiss my children.
I can smile at my people. I can work for my people, and I can work for the
entire Uyghur nation. I can shout out ´Greetings´ to my people. For the
rest of my life, I will create my own history.” Rebiya Kadeer, Washington, 17 March 2005 (21-MAR-2005)


Excerpts from interview with RFA, Washington 17 March 2005

Freed Uyghur Woman Rejoices in U.S., Bids Emotional Goodbye to Children,
Friends in the People´s Republic of China

CHICAGO, March 17, 2005-Uyghur businesswoman Rebiya Kadeer, freed from a
Chinese jail in an apparent deal with Washington, arrived here from
Beijing late Thursday, rejoicing at her unexpected release and vowing “to
create my own history” from now on.

“From this time on, I am free,” Kadeer, looking healthy but tired, told
Radio Free Asia (RFA).

“I can talk to anybody I want, I can see anyone I want, I can walk on the
street with bigger steps. I can hug my relatives. I can kiss my children.
I can smile at my people. I can work for my people, and I can work for the
entire Uyghur nation. I can shout out ´Greetings´ to my people. For the
rest of my life, I will create my own history.”

“Thanks to the American government, American people, they freed me, and I
landed back on Earth,” she told RFA´s Uyghur-language service.

“Two days ago, the Chinese government allowed my children in Urumqi to
visit me for about 10 minutes but didn´t tell them I would be released.
They didn´t tell them or me I was going to America. And then the Chinese
Foreign Ministry handed me over to the U.S. State Department in Beijing.”

“Nobody in the Uyghur region knew I was free and leaving. I want RFA´s
Uyghur service to say goodbye to my people and my homeland for me,” she
said.

“I got on the plane and asked myself, ´am I free?´ and then I shouted out
´I am free!… I was very surprised when I heard I was being released.
When they told me I was free I couldn´t believe my ears-right now I am
overwhelmed and excited, and I cannot express myself.”

Read the rest of the story at www.rfa.org