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Kyrgyzstan: Rumors and Fears Rule the Region
July 06, 2010 | Dawn Calabia | Tagged as: Kyrgyzstan, Asia
In visits with displaced Kyrgyz and Uzbek families, we were met time and time again with frightened people who were not sure what was happening but who believed that their lives were being threatened by the other ethnic group and that their government was not doing enough to help them. Many Kyrgyz and Uzbek families that lived in mixed neighborhoods fear attacks and want to move to mono-ethnic neighborhoods.
The President of Krygyzstan's special humanitarian aid representative for the South told Refugees International that since the emergency is over, the wide distribution of humanitarian aid is no longer needed, although isolated cases may still need assistance. Kygyzstan is a democracy, she said, and strives to be tolerant of all ethnic groups. Ethnic conflicts do exist in the country, but for now the focus should be on restoring peace and reinstating life as it was before the violence.
The government of Uzbekistan had invited her to visit the refugee camps and encourage people to come home. Officials there told her that Uzbeks from the Kyrgyz Republic were not the same as their people. Some of these officials feared the virus of democracy Uzbeks from Kyrgyzstan carried, while others said they did not need a lot of refugees.
The humanitarian aid representative from Kyrgyzstan told the refugees that it was time to come home. Those without houses would get tents to live in. RI witnessed returnees being told to move their tents out of encampments in open areas and back to their burnt-out property, despite hazardous conditions - broken glass, torn metal, dead animals - and despite fears of being attacked again.
Responding to concerns expressed by Uzbek owners of burnt houses that an urban renewal plan discussed last year in Osh would remove them from sections of the city, the Representative blamed the policies and practices of the previous governments that had permitted mono-ethnic communities to develop and allowed unsafe housing practices. She noted that the destruction of homes and businesses presented a unique opportunity for the government to legalize premises, remove illegal activities and ensure that communities had good access to fire escape routes and police. Rebuilding also presents an oppurtuniy for modern apartments and new facilities, such as sports centers instead of traditional Uzbek single-family walled houses. When asked about the rights of the owners who wanted to stay and rebuild, she said that this was subject to negotiations with legal owners, but there would have to be compromises.
The displaced communities RI visited all expressed a desire for peace, but remained fearful of being attacked or of going out alone. Uzbek males, both adults and boys, fear being kidnapped or arrested and accused of murder or assault. Families claimed that men were lied to about participating in the government's exercise to assess damage to their property and instead were "taken away" and now are missing. Krygyz families have placed ads in the newspaper showing over 40 missing community members, some of whom they claim have been taken as hostages or kidnapped by gangs of Uzbeks. They complained to RI that their government was not doing enough to help them find their loved ones or at least recover their bodies. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is compiling lists of the missing - but few seem aware of this activity, even though representatives of both ethnic groups expressed more confidence in "NGOs" than in their government.
Overall things remain tense in Osh. It is summer and warm and the fields in this agricultural area will soon be ripe, but many farmers don't feel safe leaving their homes. Many businesses have been destroyed or have not yet reopened. Soon it will be fall and winter and people will no longer be able to live in tents.
The President of Krygyzstan's special humanitarian aid representative for the South told Refugees International that since the emergency is over, the wide distribution of humanitarian aid is no longer needed, although isolated cases may still need assistance. Kygyzstan is a democracy, she said, and strives to be tolerant of all ethnic groups. Ethnic conflicts do exist in the country, but for now the focus should be on restoring peace and reinstating life as it was before the violence.
The government of Uzbekistan had invited her to visit the refugee camps and encourage people to come home. Officials there told her that Uzbeks from the Kyrgyz Republic were not the same as their people. Some of these officials feared the virus of democracy Uzbeks from Kyrgyzstan carried, while others said they did not need a lot of refugees.
The humanitarian aid representative from Kyrgyzstan told the refugees that it was time to come home. Those without houses would get tents to live in. RI witnessed returnees being told to move their tents out of encampments in open areas and back to their burnt-out property, despite hazardous conditions - broken glass, torn metal, dead animals - and despite fears of being attacked again.
Responding to concerns expressed by Uzbek owners of burnt houses that an urban renewal plan discussed last year in Osh would remove them from sections of the city, the Representative blamed the policies and practices of the previous governments that had permitted mono-ethnic communities to develop and allowed unsafe housing practices. She noted that the destruction of homes and businesses presented a unique opportunity for the government to legalize premises, remove illegal activities and ensure that communities had good access to fire escape routes and police. Rebuilding also presents an oppurtuniy for modern apartments and new facilities, such as sports centers instead of traditional Uzbek single-family walled houses. When asked about the rights of the owners who wanted to stay and rebuild, she said that this was subject to negotiations with legal owners, but there would have to be compromises.
The displaced communities RI visited all expressed a desire for peace, but remained fearful of being attacked or of going out alone. Uzbek males, both adults and boys, fear being kidnapped or arrested and accused of murder or assault. Families claimed that men were lied to about participating in the government's exercise to assess damage to their property and instead were "taken away" and now are missing. Krygyz families have placed ads in the newspaper showing over 40 missing community members, some of whom they claim have been taken as hostages or kidnapped by gangs of Uzbeks. They complained to RI that their government was not doing enough to help them find their loved ones or at least recover their bodies. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is compiling lists of the missing - but few seem aware of this activity, even though representatives of both ethnic groups expressed more confidence in "NGOs" than in their government.
Overall things remain tense in Osh. It is summer and warm and the fields in this agricultural area will soon be ripe, but many farmers don't feel safe leaving their homes. Many businesses have been destroyed or have not yet reopened. Soon it will be fall and winter and people will no longer be able to live in tents.
