A fragmented land

When my colleagues from IFES asked me whether I was interested to visit a summer camp in the remote Kyrgyz South-West, it didn't take me long to agree. The area had gained a dangerous reputation for various reasons. It was here where Japanese geologists were held hostage in 1999 and where insurgents from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) tried to access Uzbekistan (see map) - and faced stiff resistance by Kyrgyz security forces.

Since then, all embassies in Kyrgyzstan warn tourists not to visit the Batken oblast, which comprises Kyrgyzstan's South-East and is squeezed in between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Having a concrete aim and Kyrgyz accompaniment, I thought it can only be safe travelling there. I was right. However, the problem did not lie in a threat from hostile insurgents but in the nature of this stretch of land. The cars whose drivers try to cope with a Soviet infrastructure grid and a territorial hodgepodge of enclaves lead to a style of travelling where time does not play an important role anymore. It is the getting there, which turns to be the most important thing.

Having arrived in Osh with an old Antonow Turboprop machine, it took me comparatively long to find a taxi which would take me on the 6-hour drive to Batken. Simply put, my problem was that I am a foreigner. All foreigners in Kyrgyzstan have to have an Uzbek Visa to cross the Sokh enclave (see the enclave to the right of Batken on the map) - whereas Kyrgyz citizens can momentarily do so without any regulations. This obstacle prove to be the main headache, as the alternative route was only partly paved and the taxi driver, whom I eventually found with the help of IFES staff from Osh, did not seem to own a 4WD... Instead, his car was a wreck that would scarcely have made the normal tour, either. A 20-year-old Lada Nova, which we had to push-start everytime the motor went off, should be my mean of transportation for the next 17 hours.

(I covered the endless journey in a seperate entry here, so I won't have to reformulate the strain all over again. If you have problems reading the German, let me say just that: It was exciting and the most exhausting road-trip I've ever made.)

Talking to friends in Bishkek, they found that this sort of travel experience was just another proof of the weird border setup prevalent in Central Asia, mainly in the highly heterogenic Ferghana Valley. I was not getting tired to defend my point of view, a rather more differentiated approach to understand the underlying reasons for the non-functioning structures between the Central Asian countries. Many of my friends and colleagues were quick to blame it all on Joseph Stalin, who supposedly sat down in Moscow in 1924 thinking about the best way to suppress dissent. He hence drew the borders in the most arbitrary manner. Even though this might reflect a fraction of today's reality, it is by far not the entire story to be told. Suffice it to say that by then, in the 1920s and 30s, the SSRs in the Union's South were not 'designed' to exist independently, thus the infrastructure planning was of a holistic design. This is all too visible today, with my circumvention-mission only being one of the problems. In press coverage terms, the most appalling and potentially crisis-prone shortcoming is the lack of a cross-border water-management between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which has already led to frosty bilaterial relationships between the two countries.

Having arrived in Batken, I was warmly welcomed by German aid-worker Torsten. With him, I was able to explore the oblast from a development perspective. Our journey the next day took us as far as to the Tajik border in the far West of the country, some hundred kilometers behind Isfana. Some interesting facts:

-> The GTZ funds many small-scale projects in the oblast. Activities include the (re)building of elementary schools in various villages. The level of commitment of villagers varies. While in bigger villages (places with 5,000 inhabitants are still called villages very often), projects could often seem to have diluted, smaller communities with around 50 families showed incredible results with little means.

-> Many families in the Batken oblast have at least one family member seasonally working in Russia. Many bring home around 40,000 Soms for a six-months stay (~ $1,000). This money though is not used for investment purposes, but for long and pompous family celebrations. A wedding, funeral or circumcision festivity can easily soak up all available funds. As in India, this addictedness towards festivals is considered to be one of the major hindrances towards capital accumulation and the promotion of a small- and medium-sized enterprise sector.

-> The technical infrastructure in the region is in a terrible condition. Telephone lines to Isfana, a town of 10,000 inhabitants in the West, cumulate in a place remiscent of TV-images from the 50s. Sadly, this still is reality in Kyrgyzstan. Road conditions are dependant on the mood of the weather. Severe landslides, earthquakes and other natural desasters take their toll every year and make maintenance of the roads a Sisyphotian work.

My actual aim in Batken was to visit the IFES summer camp, where a group of around 60 children come together for ten days. The kids - all from Batken oblast - were selected on the grounds of their application forms, which were given out to them through the German-funded GTZ. The agenda was full with workshops, trainings, games, etc. related to civic education. Topics included a wide variety of society-related themes like elections, human rights, conflict, etc. What I saw in the three days I was there was impressive. I have never seen such a level of participation and commitment of youths in any social project. Even though there were difficulties like a distempering language barrier (some kids spoke only Kyrgyz, some only Russian, some even only Tajik), the camp was a good example of rather well-spent Western money.

The way back to Batken from the camp prove to be quite weary, as almost no car took the road that particular day. Finally having arrived there by one at night, Torsten had incredible news for me: I could fly directly to Bishkek from Batken airport, not having to take the windy road around the enclaves again.