2010.06.11: Peace Corps Volunteer Raul Moreno writes: It's been nearly a day since predawn text messages brought news that renewed fighting had broken out on Osh streets and in surrounding villages
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Kyrgyzstan:
Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan :
Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan: Newest Stories:
2010.06.15: Peace Corps Volunteer Raul Moreno sent a dispatch from Kyrgyzstan to several of his friends and former colleagues, recounting what he witnessed there, and how he made it to Bishkek, the country's capital :
2010.06.11: Peace Corps Volunteer Raul Moreno writes: It's been nearly a day since predawn text messages brought news that renewed fighting had broken out on Osh streets and in surrounding villages
Peace Corps Volunteer Raul Moreno writes: It's been nearly a day since predawn text messages brought news that renewed fighting had broken out on Osh streets and in surrounding villages
As I write this post the popping and booming of gunfire and cannons can be heard through an open window, along with the rattle of Chinese firecrackers lit by teenagers looking to add to the mayhem. Few cars have taken to the streets today; those that do motor past at high speeds. Gas lines have been cut. Along one avenue a steady stream of pedestrians, mostly young men, could be seen moving downtown. Columns of smoke later rose from that direction, then dissipated. Shouts from mobs occasionally waft skyward. Still, for some Osh residents, including the neighbor pictured above, life carries on.
Peace Corps Volunteer Raul Moreno writes: It's been nearly a day since predawn text messages brought news that renewed fighting had broken out on Osh streets and in surrounding villages
Friday, June 11, 2010
The View from Osh
Out my window, a farmer pauses to listen to a firefight
Caption: June 15, 2010: Peace Corps Volunteers reach the safety of a helicopter in Osh. All of the Peace Corps volunteers in the southern region have been evacuated safely. Most of the violence has been restricted to the south, and the north remains peaceful. It is anticipated that volunteers will remain in the north. Photo: R Moreno
By R.B. Moreno
It's been nearly a day since predawn text messages brought news that renewed fighting had broken out on Osh streets and in surrounding villages. The unrest quickly spread to neighborhoods including mine, whose location can't be named here for security reasons. Wire services report as many as 37 people killed and over 500 wounded, many from bullet wounds; already this is half the number who died in Bishkek in April. Local TV channels have aired pictures of students being evacuated from dormitories on buses, as well as interviews with officials from Kyrgyzstan's Health and Interior ministries, some of whom stated that the city is now back under control. That does not appear to be the case, at least locally.
As I write this post the popping and booming of gunfire and cannons can be heard through an open window, along with the rattle of Chinese firecrackers lit by teenagers looking to add to the mayhem. Few cars have taken to the streets today; those that do motor past at high speeds. Gas lines have been cut. Along one avenue a steady stream of pedestrians, mostly young men, could be seen moving downtown. Columns of smoke later rose from that direction, then dissipated. Shouts from mobs occasionally waft skyward. Still, for some Osh residents, including the neighbor pictured above, life carries on.
For another man close to the family I am staying with, life has ended. The jangle of a telephone, just minutes ago, brought word that a 27-year-old nephew of my host, whom I'll call Ms. Jova, has died in the fighting. This news shook a woman whose stately features and ebony hair rarely lose composure. "I told my sister, keep your children at home!" she protested, raising her hands toward our dining room ceiling. I met this nephew's mother recently at a reunion that had both sisters chatting in whispers for hours on end. The victim's father passed away years ago, just before his birth, and so the son's Kyrgz name carried that fact. As the youngest child, he would have been expected to care for his mother, who now must lean on aging Ms. Jova and other siblings. (At one time they numbered 15.)
As tonight's curfew descends and combat helicopters orbit the city, the reasons for this family's loss remain obscured. Wire reports mention a brawl breaking out Thursday evening on Osh's main thoroughfare and a number of damaged properties owned by ethnic Uzbeks. (Other property owners have also suffered losses.) But Ms. Jova prefers to think today's events were coordinated by Uzbek enclaves themselves. Then again, maybe it was a reminder from God. Kyrgyzstan's people, she points out, were also rocked by an earthquake Thursday.
"Why did they go out?" she demands of the rioters, and again of the ceiling. "Teachers, farmers: we just want to work. Who suffers? Ordinary people!"
Postscript (July 1, 2010) -- After being removed temporarily at the request of the U.S. Peace Corps, this post has been republished.
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: June, 2010; Peace Corps Kyrgyzstan; Directory of Kyrgyzstan RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Kyrgyzstan RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers; Evacuation
When this story was posted in July 2010, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Memo to Incoming Director Williams PCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Personal Web Site
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Kyrgyzstan; Safety; Evacuation
PCOL45692
30