Xinjiang locals answer questions from reporters

Question 6: Some foreign media outlet said the labor and employment policy in Xinjiang has not changed or improved the living quality of Uygurs, but have reduced it. Is it true?

Answer: My name is Mahmut Matqasim. I'm 23 years old and live in Hongqipo community, Aksu city. Before 2019, our family income mainly relied on 6 mu of apple land with 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per year, which was barely enough for my family.

In order to help us live a better life, the community taught us professional skills and encouraged us to go out and find jobs. Job fairs were held which provided us with more opportunities to increase our revenue. In July, 2019, I found out that there was a fruit processing enterprise employing workers at the job fair, which provided food and dormitories. I thought that job was good and I wanted to have a try and make more money for my family.

I applied for the job and signed a labor contract with the company. After that, I took part in a 15-day training to learn how to sort out apples and sell them in different levels. When I started to work in the company, there was a colleague teaching me hand in hand with full patience, so I improved my working skills and performance quickly and earned 3,300 yuan per month. I got to know many colleagues here. Our basic salary is 3,000 yuan per month, besides that we also have merit pay, that is to say, more work, more payment. Some colleagues came years earlier before me, and they can get 4,500 yuan per month because they are more efficient at work. The company purchased endowment insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, employment injury insurance, and maternity insurance for women employees and housing provident fund for us. In addition to the medical expenses reimbursed by the state, the company also reimburses 20% of the medical expenses if we were hospitalized. I thought it was good to work in our company, so I also encouraged my wife to apply for a job. After she came here, our company provided us with a well-conditioned temporary house.

I calculated that apart from the income of growing apples, my family can earn 80,000 yuan per year which was unimaginable in the past. In June, 2020, I gave my parents 10,000 yuan and they visited Karamay city, Altay prefecture and some other places for more than ten days. They were very happy to see the Devil City (wind-erosion landform) and enjoyed the view of Kanas Lake by boat for the first time. I used my savings to buy the gold ring which my wife desired for a long time. We plan to buy a new house and live in an apartment and I want to get the driver's license in 2021. When summer comes and melons and fruits are ripe, I will invite my colleagues to my home to see my beautiful house and show them my cooking skills. I often think about it that if there is no national policy to benefit people and without community's help, how can our family have such a good life?