For starters, some information

We hope to tell you many stories of real people in he weeks ahead. But because Central Asia has been visited by few and lived in by even fewer, it seems important to give some history and background so you can better understand the impact of the current crisis. If this bores you, skip ahead to our first regular blog posting.

Remembering the dead; a teacher points out former students.

We will use these aliases instead of our real names: ‘Jeff,’ ‘Sue’ and ‘Elaine’ (we are husband, wife and adult daughter)

For your reference, we will also post the information below in a handy glossary on the left-hand side of this blog so that you can refer to it as you read our entries and 'translate' whatever you do not understand.


Vocabulary:

Uzbek – an ethic group comprised of people mainly from Uzbekistan, but many are also found in surrounding regions, such as here in Osh, carved up by the Soviet knife of ‘divide and conquer’ to prevent regions from becoming too powerful during the Soviet era.

Fergana Valley – Osh, the city we are reporting from, is located at the end of this valley, a fertile region settled by Uzbeks centuries ago. Stalin divided the valley into three uneven areas, thus delegating some of the Uzbeks to Uzbekistan, some to Tajikistan and some to Kyrgyzstan. This blog concerns the Uzbeks living inside the Kyrgyz border.

Mahalla – a locally-governed neighborhood region. Instead of asking, ‘What street do you live on,’ we might ask, ‘What mahalla do you live in?’

Hovli - walled courtyard. Usually the various rooms of the house, along with outhouses, baths, and so forth, are wrapped around the inside walls. Generally, extended family live together; particularly parents, their sons, wives and children.

Tushak – cotton-filled rectangular mats, used for both sitting on and sleeping on. .

Ramazan – Islamic month of fasting, this year starting around August 10th. During this month, the first meal of the day is partaken of before the first light of the sun (about 5 am) and the fast will be broken after the sun goes down, when ‘a white thread and a black thread can not be distinguished from one another,’ probably around 8:30 pm. During the course of the day no food, water, or cigarettes can be used. This will be a significant difficulty this year, for those who wait in burned out hovlis, their trees burned and with nothing to do but wait and wait for the hours to pass.

Sart - a derogatory term used for Uzbeks. During the four days of violence in June 2010, the walls of houses were labeled with ‘sart’ or ‘Kyrgyz.’ The ones labeled ‘Kyrgyz’ were spared.

Choy in a piyola

Choy – green tea, served in ‘tea bowls’ called

Piyola – small handle-less tea cups

Nan – round flats of bread, eaten at every meal, or every time people sit together.

Mehmon – a guest. Uzbeks have a saying, ‘a guest is more honored than a father.’ (and fathers/elders are very honored!)

Mehmondo’stlik – hospitality. Daily, we are humbled by the generous hospitality of people who have lost everything.