Tuerdihan Nuermaimaiti has her blood taken at a roving blood-testing clinic set up in her restaurant in Fenzhongsi village in south Beijing. Photos: Lin Meilian

The six young Uyghur men standing in front of a Xinjiang restaurant seem on edge. They want to go in to have lunch but they've been told some doctors have come to take blood samples and test for HIV. They immediately scatter.

This is the dirty, dusty village of Fenzhongsi, at the junction of Fengtai and Chaoyang districts, one of the many villages in south Beijing that are home to an estimated 20,000 ethnic Uyghurs who moved to the capital from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

In this rough and tumble neighborhood, that is plagued by numerous social outcasts including some living with HIV/AIDS, drug dealers and users, the word "doctor" is synonymous with police or trouble.

Accompanied by a Uyghur social worker, two doctors from Fengtai Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have set up a make-shift blood sampling clinic in the Xinjiang restaurant.

"Have you ever done a blood test before?" asks a doctor to the restaurant owner.

"I never take drugs. I don't sell drugs and I never smoke," replies 57-year-old Tuerdihan Nuermaimaiti, who is dressed in traditional Uyghur clothing and shiny head scarf. Her Mandarin is not great and her answer, which she repeats, seems coached.

Tuerdihan's restaurant, which she and her daughter have run for years, is about to be demolished. They haven't found a new place and she doesn't want to move.

An inappropriate gift

They call her "Uyghur Hillary" after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, because she is a respected and powerful negotiator for other Uyghurs in the neighborhood who get into trouble.

One of her daughters died of a heroin overdose this summer, she said.

A Uyghur woman washes dishes in a restaurant in Beijing.

The roving blood-testing clinic complements the CDC's needle exchange program which hands out 2,000 clean syringes a week to addicts in Fengtai, Daxing and Chaoyang districts.

As doctors draw her blood she checks out the little gifts they've brought; a key ring and a small cloth change purse. She flips it open to find a condom inside; she frowns and throws it on the table turning her head away. It's obviously not an appropriate gift to give an elder Muslim woman.

"We know they don't like condoms, but we are giving them away anyway," the doctor said. "Honestly, we dare not come here alone. We don't understand their language or their culture. We are afraid we'll do something wrong to upset them, like handing out condoms."

Another doctor asks another Uyghur woman for her ID and age, but she doesn't understand the question. Uyghur Hillary, who has been living in Beijing for 30 years, roughly translates.

The doctor asks the woman if she had ever had a blood test before. Uyghur Hillary answers for her: "We never take drugs. We don't sell drugs and we never smoke. We are OK."

Only seven people from the Uyghur community showed up at the restaurant to have their blood tested on a recent Thursday afternoon. Others had promised to come but didn't.

Cultural and language gap

Akbar Wali, 28, a project assistant with the government sponsored Thinktank Research Center for Health Development, tried to help talk some of the neighborhood locals into taking the blood test.

Illegal intravenous drug use is a major cause of the spread of HIV in Beijing's Uyghur community.

"They are afraid the doctors are actually police in doctor's clothing," he told the Global Times, adding that only about 60 Uyghur people live in Fenzhongsi village.

"Don't ask sensitive questions. Don't ask them about drugs," he warned the doctors. "They don't trust anyone, not even other Uyghur people," said Wali, adding that it took him three years to build their trust and now they call him before they call the police.

After the riots in Xinjiang in July 2009 by some separatists, during which nearly 200 people were killed, landlords in Beijing became wary of renting to people from Xinjiang.

Wali says the violence in Xinjiang has affected Uyghur people in Beijing.

"The violence was committed by a very few people in Xinjiang, and not every Uyghur is a drug addict. They have tarnished the reputation of all Uyghur people and made their life in Beijing more difficult," Wali said, adding that no more than 1,000 of the 20,000 Uyghur people living in Beijing are involved with drugs.

The difficulties Uyghur people have integrating into Beijing starts with trying to rent a place to live. Wali said some have been forced to sleep in Internet bars and public bathrooms.

A graduate of Renmin University of China, Wali went door to door talking to Han landlords. He helped 300 Uyghur people find apartments in 2009. "I explained to the landlords that even though they may be less-educated and poor, they are also very nice people," he said.

Despite Wali's best intentions things didn't always work out well and he ended up taking some of the heat. 

Some in the Uyghur community didn't understand the social and cultural mores of living in a rented apartment. One was evicted for chopping wood in the apartment in the middle of the night. Others have been evicted after the landlord found out they are HIV positive.

"I was trying my best to help them, but there was a lot of misunderstanding and hurt feelings," said a despondent Wali.

Cleaning up the neighborhood

Along with the needle exchange program Wali and his co-workers at the health and research center offer counseling to help people get off drugs, deal with life as an HIV carrier and clean up their community.

"I felt so badly when I saw some kids running barefoot where there were needles on the ground," said Wali.

"It sounds like we are helping them to take drugs by giving them needles, but that's not what it's about," Akbar Imin, the center's project manager, told the Global Times.

"It's a harm reduction program. If we don't give them clean needles, they'll share a needle with others who are infected," said Imin.

He said he doesn't much like going to Daxing district as the place is full of sad memories and it disturbs him to see druggies and people living with AIDS in the Uyghur community.

One pitiful Uyghur college student came to Wali's office after being tested positive for HIV. He said the student wanted to commit suicide.

"I told the student I understand the pain and share the desperation, but HIV positive people can live a long life too," Wali said, not wanting to even reveal the student's gender.

A report on Uyghur people in Beijing released by Beiing Aizhixing Institute in April 2010 found that many are having difficulties fitting in to life in the capital.

"There is misunderstanding between Uyghur people and Han people due to a lack of communication," the report said. Many Uyghurs live separately in their own tight knit groups and usually eat in restaurants that serve Xinjiang foods which they are accustomed to eating.

It also points out that like many migrants in Beijing, a lot of Uyghur people in the capital are not well educated and their lack of Mandarin skills create serious challenges to finding employment.

"Some of those who are jobless sell drugs in order to feed their family, causing a huge threat to public safety. They live in the suburbs and often move to stay a step ahead of the police," noted the report.

Uyghur culture ingrained in Beijing

Of course Uyghur culture has been a part of the multicultural fabric of Beijing for many decades, even centuries, and many people from Xinjiang have done very well in the capital. Many Uyghur restaurants in downtown Beijing are popular for their exotic dishes and decor. Hundreds of students from Xinjiang are studying at universities here.

Wali believes the many productive members of the Uyghur community need to do more outreach and help those who are living in crisis in south Beijing.

"We really need more Uyghur college students to help the community, but of course if they get a job with a good income, who can blame for not wanting to get involved?" said Wali.