Abdullah Rasul has so little contact with his family in
China that it took three months for him to find out that his father was dead.
Like other Uighur refugees from northwest China, Rasul, 35, who now lives in Istanbul, knows that making contact with relatives back home risks them coming under greater scrutiny from the authorities, or worse.
Facebook is blocked in China, and relatives fear repercussions if caught using other apps such as WhatsApp.