it just gets worse

Senator John McCain of Arizona is obviously still a bit upset about being snubbed last time he came to Tashkent. On Wednesday he was one of the leaders in the Senate who pushed for the United States to refuse to pay for the use of the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base in Uzbekistan. To say this further strains US-Uzbek relations would imply that there still were relations between the two. McCain also made an interesting statement, saying that, "Paying our bills is important, but more important is America standing up for itself... avoiding cash transfers to the treasury of a dictator just months after he permanently evicts American soldiers from his country." Let us apply this on a local level. Next time your shady landlord comes by and tries to evict you for any number of reasons from your apartment, tell him or her that, while it is important to pay your bills, America needs to stand up for itself and avoid paying money to those shady people who would evict us. Better yet, send a letter to your credit card company explaining how your non-payment is just America standing up for itself against high interest rate charges. See how far either of these tactics get you.

McCain exclaimed that the Uzbek government "has terminated counterterrorism cooperation with the United States," and has taken "actions so alarming that one would think this body [the Senate] would be considering sanctions." Does this just mean that the US can no longer send its prisoners to be tortured, I mean questioned, in Uzbekistan? Maybe he is really just upset that they can't outsource their dirty work. It is widely known that for some time the United States has been flying its prisoners to places it considers to have poor human rights records to get around those pesky human rights regulations. [more info on US terror flights]

Let's face it, Bush would never allow an independent international investigation of anything to do with the United States. So why exactly does the US government think that Uzbekistan should do the same? How many international monitors do you hear about walking around Camp X-ray? While an international investigation of what happened in Andijan is not officially being allowed, the Uzbek government seems to have been more than tolerant of organizations like OSCE crawling around the country and doing just that, investigating.

The reporting in the West is so one sided that it is just as bad as the Uzbek propaganda. There are some elements of truth coming from both sides. Somewhere in the middle you can discern a blurry picture of what really happened in Andijan. After having talked to people who lived through it, I can tell you for sure that neither side is telling the whole story.

the tulips have wilted

A while ago I wrote about how all of these so-called democratic revolutions that are championed in the West weren't improving the situation in the countries where they take place. I questioned if the Kyrgyz Tulip Revolution in March that drove Akayev from power would really change anything. It unfortunately didn't take long for things to play out. Politicians are being shot dead on the streets and officials investigating corruption are getting sacked. Even their own parliament declared in a resolution that, "the criminal situation in the country has sharply deteriorated over the past several months." In addition, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev stated that, "It is no secret to anyone that law-enforcement agencies and bandits are to a certain extent working together." As EurasiaNet points out, Kyrgyzstan's Revolution is at risk because:

...the political tension in Bishkek could deepen the divide separating residents of northern Kyrgyzstan from southerners. Many northerners associate the rise in crime and corruption with the March revolution, which was led mainly by politicians with southern political roots, including Bakiyev. In a broader sense, the political wrangling is prompting many Kyrgyz to lose faith in the revolution’s potential to bring about a more responsive government. The great popular complaint against Akayev’s regime was that it had grown out of touch with the day-to-day concerns of the population. Now, the perception is growing among Kyrgyz citizens that members of the executive and legislative branches are intent mainly on accumulating personal wealth and gaining control over income-generating state assets, instead of working to improve socio-economic conditions in the country.

At some point the people of Kyrgyzstan are going to have to stop asking for everything while doing nothing. They need to get out of the handout mentality which runs throughout their society.

random things

A few random things:

• Uzbekistan's Independence Day (Mustaqillik) was on September 1. I was out of the country and missed the festivities, but noticed that a few things had changed around Tashkent when I returned. The major roads around the city had been repaved and relined. Not that the roads were bad (especially when I think of all the potholes on La Brea in Los Angeles), but one less bump in the road is always nice. If you've been to Uzbekistan, you know the lengths that people will go to avoiding the most minute imperfection in the road (head on traffic being preferable to running over a pebble). There was also a new monument constructed that is very bright and shiny, but the name of it escapes me at the moment. Also, they decided to repaint the common area (staircase) of the apartment buildings. In my building the paint job was so-so and didn't change the overall appearance much (other than making a huge mess on the stairs from scraping the walls). In some of the other buildings, though, it really made a big difference. Dark and dingy became light and bright.
• Drivers (and passengers) here seemed to be on edge for some reason last week. I saw two instances of road rage that really surprised me. The first happened when the car in front of the taxi I was in was cut off by another taxi. It was very close to being a three car pile up. The car in the middle had a man (the driver), woman and two children in it. The driver didn't take to kindly to the empty taxi endangering his family so at the next stoplight he got out and pulled the taxi driver out of his car and started pushing and hitting him. They were both somewhat round, middle aged Uzbek men, but the taxi driver definitely had the size advantage. The woman also got out of the car and started pummeling the taxi driver. I've seen shouting matches here, but this was the first full on physical altercation and it was taking place in the middle of a busy street. My taxi kept going, so unfortunately I can't tell you how it ended. The second instance of road rage was a bit more mellow, but a bit more involved because it was my taxi chasing someone down. We were making a left turn at the intersection of two major streets and a car runs a very red light and goes flying past us. The driver yells a few choice words in Russian and I figure that's the end. Nope, he slowly speeds up and before I realize it we are alongside the speedy blue Nexia and he is cussing at the woman driving it. His yelling eventually turns to a mumbling and we continue on our way.
• The trials have started here for some of the people accused of inciting the riots in Andijan back in May. You can learn more about it from the Moscow Times, Pravda, BBC News and CNN International. The reports are definitely skewed depending on the writer's bias.

fleecing the american tax payer while stroking their ego

A former colleague forwarded me an article that was written about the people I used to work for by someone I used to work with. A portion of what is written I would have to say is unfortunately true. If you want any clarifications or more details, you all know how to reach me.

The article is below (and is in Russian):
ПРАГМАтичный шулер и доверчивый узбекский игрок. ЮСАИД оскандалился

To read a rough English translation, go to Babelfish and enter http://centrasia.org/newsA.php4?st=1125345600 as the site to be translated and select "Russian to English". This should give you a good idea about what the article says and what type of expats I used to work with. Believe it or not, this is a mild commentary on the type of people they are. Don't misunderstand me, there are some great, hardworking people on the project; just not the people running it (mentioned in the article).

piece of meat

As of late, I have been a master of slack... but this is too, how shall I say, interesting to not post.

The story goes a little like this:
I was standing on the street getting a taxi like I do every day to go to lunch. Only on this day the car that stopped was different. It was driven by an Uzbek woman. First, let me explain, there aren't a lot of women driving here. For a traditionally dressed Uzbek woman to stop and offer me a ride was a bit out of the ordinary to say the least, especially with another woman in the front passenger seat already.

I say hello and tell her where I want to go. She says ok and then I ask the price. She wants 1,000 soum, but eventually agrees to 800.

I get in and off we go. The woman in the passenger seat turns and asks if I am British. I say no, I am American. She then asks if Americans are black or white. I say we are both. It took a little while for my answer to sink in, but it was finally accepted by both of them. Then the passenger tells me she studied German in school and doesn't speak English (but still tried a few phrases). They introduce themselves.

We stop at a stop light. The driver turns to look at me, then gives me the once over... twice. She smiles and turns back around as the light turns green. I start to get this creepy feeling. It is not everyday that I am objectified.

As we continue on our way, the conversation returns to the typical taxi conversations I have. Questions like, what are you doing here, how long are you here for, etc. They conversation pauses every once in a while for the two of them to discuss something (presumably me) in Uzbek.

We come to another red light. Again, the driver turns and looks me over like a slab of meat hanging in the bazaar. Her smile really makes me wonder what in the world she is thinking. As we start to go again, something is said that could have been interpreted as an invitation to join the two of them for something more. Not wanting to join them (and not fully understanding what the really want) I decide it is time to forget all the Russian I know.

Unfortunately, she doesn't really know where she is going so my cover is blown when I have to speak up and explain it to her. At this point we are only a block away from my destination so I start to get my money ready so I can make a quick exit.

I hand over the money and hop out. They both smile, look me over one last time and wish me well in Uzbek and Italian?!

For some reason when I hear women talking about being on equal footing with men, I don't really think this is what they mean. Or maybe they do?

travel warning

So today I was told I may want to pack my bags in preparation for evacuation from the country. I'm not sure if this is just a precautionary measure or preparation for imposing sanctions or who knows what. Peace Corps people are not even being allowed back to site to collect their belongings. Others are being told random travel restrictions.

For the most up to date info, go to http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_uzbekistan.html

where have all the soums gone?

There are still no soums to be had in exchange offices. The only option for people to exchange dollars into soums is on the black market. The easiest place to do this is usually at a bazaar. Normally, you would get the official exchange rate or maybe even one slightly better if you were lucky. This is not the case now. The traders are taking advantage of situation and using it to make a bit of extra money. Some of them are even buying up the few soums that may be left at exchange offices and then offering them at sub-standard rates.

So where did all the soums go?

They went to pacify the people of Uzbekistan. The government knows that the country is crawling with foreign 'investigators' who are roaming around interviewing the 'common' folk. They know that the people are in an agitated state. They know they are hungry and poor. So how can you keep people calm and save face while you are in the international spotlight? You start giving out money. You pay people the wages you have withheld for months or even years. You pay back the small companies for all the work they've done for you. You even (apparently) give money to some people for no reason at all. Not only that, but you stop sending out the loathsome bill collectors. No more Mr. Taxman coming around to remind the people why they were so upset. Then you hope that with money in hand and food on the table the people will think nothing but happy thoughts and praise your virtues when talking to the international press.


Other things of note:

• Peace Corps are pulling out. I hear they will all be gone within two weeks.
• I am finally back home in Ferghana (but only for 3 days).