"Yes Kazakhstan does currently rank number 1 among all Peace Corps countries for incidents of rape or sexual assault. Again, the extent to which this affected the decision to remove volunteers is unknown. I do not believe that Kazakhstan is an overly dangerous country. I have never truly felt threatened or unsafe. 90% percent of my experience has been positive, and the people here have ultimately expressed nothing but warmness, kindness, and hospitality. That being said, we did unfortunately have 4 (that I know of) incidents of rape/sexual assault within a 1-year period. While incidents do happen in every PC country, I think it is very rare to have this many incidents occur in such close proximity. PC handled these situations swiftly and alerted volunteers of any safety concerns and provided support for the volunteers affected. I want to reiterate that I do not think Kazakhstan is more dangerous than other countries. That has not been my experience, and I do not believe the majority of the population condones these actions. Unfortunately it is the reality of the world we live in. These things do happen, even in America. "
Kazakhstan Peace Corps Volunteer "Adventures in Kazakhstan" writes: Sudden Departure....
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Sudden Departure....
Caption: The US's Peace Corps is pulling out of Kazakhstan days after a gunman killed seven people in the southern city of Taras. A police investigator examines a Kalashnikov machine gun at the site of an attack in Taraz on Nov 12. Photo: REUTERS
I posted this on Facebook yesterday. It was written by a 21 who finished her service this past August. She gave a very eloquent, insightful, and pretty accurate picture of the situation(s) that led to the suspension of Peace Corps Kazakhstan.
<The Peace Corps will be leaving Kazakhstan next week -- all volunteers evacuated and staff disbanded. This serious decision was made largely to growing safety issues, including terrorism and what has apparently become the highest sexual assault/rape level among PC countries worldwide.
KZ is an amazing country with powerful resources and an expressed desire for increased access to global exchange... in skills, knowledge and culture. I know that for the 19 years it existed, PC contributed greatly to these goals, however imperfectly, through the individual relationships built between volunteers and their communities. I am confident that without us, the amazing local people we have worked with will continue to instigate change where it is needed in their country. I'm not a PCV anymore, so I can say this unabashed to everyone I know in KZ: stand up for your voice, for gender equality, for fairness and rule of law, for freedom against bigotry, nationalism, discrimination, xenophobia, sexism, violence and corruption. Do not believe that the injustices you see are perpetually beyond your control. All around the world, including in the U.S. today, normal citizens are refusing the status quo and voicing the need for change, contributing to it in ways that seem small but are ultimately large. Become a peer educator, a tutor, a mentor, an advocate...become your own volunteer in your own community. I always believed that на самом деле change in Kazakhstan is coming from within, in a gradual and peaceful manner.
Thank you to every PCV who sought to share their curiosity, open-mindedness, democratic values and professional skills, and for every person in Kazakhstan who welcomed us and taught us so many things we would never have learned at home. >
I want to clarify this a little more and also tell you how I feel about all of this.
I'll address this point by point.
1. Yes there have been several attacks or bombings in the country over the last 6 months. The government is reluctant to label these incidents as terrorism. They do not want to instill fear in the country that there is danger from an organized terrorist group. From the best of my understanding, it is not organized or even a group. All the incidents have been led by individuals, and I don't believe there is a clear and cohesive reason connecting all the incidents. The extent to which this affected the decision to remove all volunteers from Kazakhstan is unknown. We were made aware of all incidents immediately upon PC being notified of such incidents. They gave us as many details as possible and were always clear about the safety situation in the country. None of these incidents were directed at Peace Corps.
2. Yes Kazakhstan does currently rank number 1 among all Peace Corps countries for incidents of rape or sexual assault. Again, the extent to which this affected the decision to remove volunteers is unknown. I do not believe that Kazakhstan is an overly dangerous country. I have never truly felt threatened or unsafe. 90% percent of my experience has been positive, and the people here have ultimately expressed nothing but warmness, kindness, and hospitality. That being said, we did unfortunately have 4 (that I know of) incidents of rape/sexual assault within a 1-year period. While incidents do happen in every PC country, I think it is very rare to have this many incidents occur in such close proximity. PC handled these situations swiftly and alerted volunteers of any safety concerns and provided support for the volunteers affected. I want to reiterate that I do not think Kazakhstan is more dangerous than other countries. That has not been my experience, and I do not believe the majority of the population condones these actions. Unfortunately it is the reality of the world we live in. These things do happen, even in America.
3. A final point not mentioned specifically in the excerpt deals with the current political situation. Over the last several months, it became increasingly more difficult for volunteers to conduct their work. This did not directly affect me at my site. Again, I'm in the south and have experienced nothing but openness and encouragement from my community. However, several volunteers were directly affected. Many were prohibited from working for months at a time and ultimately they were moved earlier in the fall to new sites. A few months ago, we were also informed that the Youth Development program (me) was being discontinued because of concerns about volunteers working with youth who were not teachers. This was not a huge surprise for me, but sad nonetheless. The EDU volunteers who were scheduled to arrive in February were also postponed until our staff could reach an agreement with the ministry. I assume no such agreement was reached since the entire PC program is being disbanded.
With that being said, I cannot definitively say why we are leaving. I believe it's a combination of all of these factors, and right now, Kazakhstan cannot meet the goals and expectations of Peace Corps. I do hope we will return in the future. I know many, many people who were touched by Peace Corps volunteers in a positive way. As with all relationships in life, there are ups and downs. Sometimes space is the best thing. Perhaps some time apart will be a blessing for both Peace Corps and Kazakhstan. This country is full of resources and people who are actively working towards the future of a better Kazakhstan. It really is an amazing country with an incredibly rich history and culture.
Now on to my feelings about all of this.
It's been 24 hours since I got a phone call alerting me that I needed to pack my belongings and prepare to depart site for the last time. I was initially in shock and paced my apartment for half an hour after I got off the phone. My mind was scrambling with all these thoughts, and my heart ran the gambit of emotions. I was sad, angry, excited, scared, nervous, and a million other things. I cried, freaked-out, cried some more for the next couple hours. Then I had to pull it together, put on a smile, and walk into English club like I'd done a hundred times before and pretend like nothing had changed. I was surprisingly composed, but in my mind, all I could think was "I won't see these people everyday after next week". Of course, I knew this day would come, but it was supposed to be 10 months from now, not a week. Honestly, I think sadness is the emotion that is the greatest right now. I'm sad to leave, sad to say good-bye, and sad to have it all taken away so abruptly. I wasn't done with my work, and I'm not ready to leave. I'm leaving a place that made a HUGE impact on my life and am going back to an America that is honestly pretty depressing. The economy and rampant joblessness is daunting. Through the roller coaster ride that is Peace Corps and my life over the last year, I found a home here and found my footing. Unfortunately, that is my reality and I can't do anything to change it. This is not the outcome I expected when I joined the Peace Corps. I fought for 2 years through the application process before I was finally accepted. It seems ridiculous that I spent more time in the process to get here than I actually spent as a Peace Corps volunteer. I made a commitment to 2 years, and I feel I honored my end of the bargain. I had a really rough time in the beginning and thought about leaving so many times. Ultimately, I chose to stick it out, believing that it would get better (it did). I made a commitment to Peace Corps, Kazakhstan, and myself that I decided I couldn't break. I kept my promise, but others didn't. It's more than a little disappointing that this is the way it is ending, but that is life. There are disappointments in life, and sometimes things don't work out the way you anticipated. I probably won't fully be able to articulate everything until I'm back in the States with time and distance between PC and myself. But for now, I'm just sad. The next week is going to be rough for us all as we say our good-bye prematurely and prepare to leave for the last time.
I will say that I have no regrets. I'll find my way with time and move on to the next phase of my life. PC seems like an eternity when you're in it, but really it's just a small blip over the course of your life. Mine is an even smaller blip. But it will forever hold a huge place in my heart. The impact of this past year is greater than so many years combined. Its an experience I will take me with for the rest of my life, and despite the ending being sad, I will choose to look back on this experience with nothing but joy. 10 years from now, I won't remember my experience being cut short. I'll remember all those smiling faces in English club, all the scary dogs I ran from, avoiding the infamous manhole, seeing how excited people are to meet an American and hear you speak Kazakh (and getting free taxi rides for it), the countless gostis and endless cups of chai.
With that I bid Kazakhstan farewell and hope we meet again somewhere down the road.
--
Lisa Murray
PeaceCorps Kazakhstan (2010-2012)
Youth Development Volunteer
