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'Our Hearts Burned for Home': How Uyghur exiles ended up in Syria's civil war

The cover of "Our Hearts Burned for Home" and author Emily Feng. (Courtesy of Columbia Global Reports and An Rong Xu)
Courtesy of Columbia Global Reports and An Rong Xu
The cover of "Our Hearts Burned for Home" and author Emily Feng. (Courtesy of Columbia Global Reports and An Rong Xu)

In her new book “Our Hearts Burned for Home,” Emily Feng tells the story of how thousands of Uyghur exiles who fled China’s repression and surveillance ended up fighting in the Syria civil war. She profiles a number of Uyghurs who became an important fighting force that helped bring down the Assad regime.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks with Feng, who is an NPR White House correspondent and former China correspondent.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR