The grant is being offered to:

* visually document issues of importance in the region; and
* provide training and support to photographers from the region.

Approximately 10 cash stipends in the amount of $3,500 each will be awarded to photographers to produce a photo essay on a current human rights or social issue in the region. Grantees will participate in two master-level workshops on visual storytelling through photography and multimedia. These workshops are led by internationally-recognized photographers and industry professionals who will then provide ongoing mentorship and support throughout the six-month grant term.

The Open Society Foundations will pay travel and hotel expenses and provide a per diem to cover meals and incidentals for the workshops.

The deadline for proposals is May 10, 2012.

For more information on the grant, please visit:

- http://docphoto.soros.org/exhibit/prodgrant2012
-http://www.soros.org/initiatives/photography/focus_areas/production-individual/guidelines

To kick off the celebration, Internews hosted a reception and panel discussion in Washington, DC on May 2 in advance of World Press Freedom Day. The event explored the exciting future of media with young leaders in Central Asia, Afghanistan and the United States who are engaging the next generation using digital media and technology. Internews also introduced its new Internews Center for Innovation & Learning, designed to fuel inquiry, experimentation and learning across the organization’s programs and among its partners.

The event featured the following speakers (who are in the photos below, provided courtesy of Melwood Global):

Vladimir Chsheglov, former producer of M@trix, a youth-oriented TV program focusing on the latest developments in technology and the Internet for 13-25-year-olds across Central Asia.

Dawn Stallard, Senior Program Officer for Internews in Afghanistan, which collaborated with local partners to create the Afghan Youth Voices Festival whose activities included the first-ever Afghan women’s group blog, cartoon and graffiti workshops, a music festival, and photography workshops and exhibitions.

Erica Williams, a civic innovator, social commentator and activist recognized for her passion in engaging the next generation in civic life. Listed by Politico.com as one of “50 Top Politicos,” she is currently a Senior Strategist at Citizen Engagement Lab (CEL).

This tagline has been well linked to the comedic and controversial movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Borat), which enlightens the audience on the culture of Kazakhstan (among other things), for a long time.

But, in terms of tourism in 2012, the tables are beginning to turn – some negative attention is turning positive, in terms of plane tickets and passports.

Borat is the infamous movie/ mocumentary/ satire/ comedy wherein Sacha Baron Cohen plays the character of Borat (BORДT) Sagdiyev, a “sexist, homophobic and anti-semitic“ Kazakh journalist who travels through the United States, with the goal of meeting Pamela Anderson. Check out neweurasia’s views on all topics (positive and negative) Boart.

When Borat was released in 2006, the movie was not at all received well in the region, resulting in it being banned not only in Kazakhstan, but also in Russia. Borat’s character has been described as “…a misogynistic, wife-beating Kazakh journalist with a penchant for moustaches…”. The movie was known to be one that, degradingly, “praises Kazakhstan for its superior potassium exports and comparatively clean prostitutes.” While some found/still find the movie entertaining, others feel just the opposite, and nor the movie or the main character Boart have sat well with them. Thus, in 2006, Romanian villagers used to portray fictional peasants in the movie opened a legal case against the movie’s producers. And, in August 2011, a Polish engineer who was called “Borat” at work won a lawsuit for racial slander.

However, with the bad comes the good, and as mentioned before – the tables are turning in terms of the Kazakh government’s acceptance of the movie. Mr. Sagdiyev has recently been doing more good than bad for the economy of Kazakhstan – even Foreign Minister Erzhan Qazykhanov thinks so! He was quoted saying:

“With the release of this film, the number of visas issued by Kazakhstan grew tenfold.”

“I am grateful to ‘Borat’ for helping attract tourists to Kazakhstan.”

In hopes of keeping this bustling 2012 tourism spike growing, to keep the world interested in the culture and country of Kazakhstan, Kazakh Minister of Industry and New Technologies Aset Isekeshev said the country is planning to abolish visa requirements with 34 most developed countries. On April 24th, Trend News informed on – without mention of Borat – tourism figures:

“In 2011 the number of inbound tourists hit 5.6 million and the number of domestic tourists – over 5.3 million people. The volume of services rendered in tourism industry amounted to 74 billion tenge (over $500 million).”

Central Asian Newswire continues with tourism stats:

“The tourism sector accounts for 4 percent of the tiny country’s gross domestic product (GDP), and Nasirdinov believes that the sector can increase its share of the economy to 12 or 15 percent.”

About the spike in tourism, which has also been credited by the unrest in the Arab World, Chairman of the Association of Recreational Facilities of the Issyk-Kul Region Akzholtoy Nasirdinov, was quoted saying:

“We expect a large influx of tourists from Russia, Kazakhstan, and other countries as well as unrest in the Arab world, Africa, the situation in Greece, forcing tourists to choose a safe holiday, and for that Kyrgyzstan is very well suited.”

But, 2012 isn’t the first time this movie has led to an increase in tourism. At the four-day annual World Travel Market tourism industry fair in London in November 2008, AFP News quoted Deputy Chairman in Kazakhstan’s Tourism and Sports Ministry Kenzhebay Satzhanov, saying:

“It was free of charge advertising and lots of people want to come and see our country.”

“The rise (in tourists was) maybe not so huge like we expected but in any case we saw interest.”

And in 2009, neweurasia’s Vicki wrote about a spike in tourism in Kazakhstan, caused by Borat:

“It would be interesting to compare Kazakh tourism numbers in 2007-2009 to those in 2006, the year before the movie came out. As it was, tourism increased by 13% in the second half of 2008 (Russia Today, ENG.) Unfortunately, hard tourism numbers for Kazakhstan are often hard to come by and if at all, are behind gated industry surveys. Of note is the estimate, “Online transactions for air travel are forecast to record double-digit annual growth to 2013.”

So, since tourism in 2012 is flourishing like never before, then the question we all want to know is – what famous places are tourists visiting in Kazakhstan? Has Borat encouraged you to visit Kazakhstan? If so, what locations are your taking your camera to, what restaurants are you eating at, what events are you attending and what are you learning about the true culture of Kazakhstan?

More people going to Kazakhstan means a better cultural understanding of the country and its people. However, though a boost in tourism shows how the movie Borat has had some positive effects, are the long withstanding negative effects Borat has had on Kazakh culture still too outstanding to be ignored?

It seems that all the negative attention hasn’t completely seized, after all.

Ironically, just one month before the headlines of Borat positively increasing tourism in the country hit the World Wide Web, a cultural mishap regarding Kazakh culture – involving Borat, of course – took place. In March 2012, Kazakhstan’s Maria Dmitrenko won first-place at the Grand Prix Chooting Championship in Kuwait. When she won, rather than playing the country’s anthem “My Kazakhstan”, a mock Kazakh anthem popularized by Borat was played. Rightfully so, the team requested a formal apology.

And about the recent Kuwait musical scandal, many questioned if playing the wrong anthem was done on purpose or on accident. But, it soon came to be known that:

“Kazakhstan’s Shooting Sports Federation said on March 26 that if it found out the Kazakh side was responsible for the mishap, it would “punish” those behind the mistake.”

This isn’t the first time the wrong anthem has be incorrectly played for Kazakh sportsmen and sportswomen. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) informs:

“Foreign Ministry spokesman Ilyas Omarov notes that at the world weightlifting championship in Paris last year, organizers were quick to apologize for playing a former Kazakh anthem by accident. The current affront, he says, is even more serious.”

These most recent cases involving Kazakhstan’s National Anthem are one example that alludes to ‘Yes’ – the long withstanding negative effects Borat has had on the culture of Kazakhstan are still too outstanding to be ignored and overshadowed by a positive spike in tourism.

Content may change, as well as values, but form persists. In Turkmenistan today, gone is the dream of the “Soviet New Man” (новый советский человек), replaced now with the “Golden Age” (altyn asyr). Here’s a particularly disturbing info-anthropological tidbit: according to Annasoltan and other Turkmen I’ve talked with, TurkmenTV was showing singers performing songs while panic and chaos rained down in Abadan. It seems media forms and informational habits morph, mutate, adapt, in ways those of us who believe in the freedom of the press and information wish they wouldn’t…

Editor’s note: The Turkmen-language Facebook page “JaPBaKLaR”, originally intended as a forum to share popular Turkmen cartoons, has emerged as the biggest Turkmen Facebook community. More importantly, it’s exhibiting some behaviors that seem surprisingly civic. NewEurasia’s Annasoltan reports.

So, first the naysayers: yes, Turkmenistan has got the slowest Internet in Central Asia. The speed for landline Internet a mere 72 KBps, and to get anything faster can cost as much as 7,000 USD (= for “unlimited” access). It also looks like that within my nation, the number of my fellow Turkmenetizens ranges between 80,400 to 127,000, which is roughly 1.5 to 2% of the population.

But for that tiny percentage, the Internet, especially social media, has been a world-transforming experience. Take for example the Facebook page “JaPBaKLaR” (https://www.facebook.com/japbaklar), named after the fictional youngsters of the serial novel by the famous Turkmen writer Berdi Kerbabayew. Would you imagine that here, in such an innocuous place (and remember: Facebook is blocked via landline access) we could expect to see an exhibition of a civic sensibility?

Digital colonists

With nearly a thousand likes (as of this writing), and according to one of its moderators with as many as 30,000 unique visits per week, JaPBaKlaR is currently the most active Turkmen community page on Facebook, outstripping many other pages. I contacted “Instant”, on one of the moderators of JaPBaKLaR; this is what he had to say about the page:

“We have built a really strong community at JaPBaKLaR. Currently we have 950 users; 1,187 people are talking about our page on their profiles; over 30,000 unique visits our page per week. We have more than 2300 Turkmen photos, and its growing daily; we post 15-20 pics per day. The highest number of comments received for a single post were +400. Over 95% of our visitors are Turkmen speakers. People rejoice when we post their photos or they ask to share them…”

That’s amazing for a webpage that was originally intended just for sharing cartoons and jokes! Indeed, to reach such impressive targets are the dream of some of well-established Turkmen language news sites.

Although I cannot independently confirm this data from the Facebook corporation, frankly, I see no reason to doubt it. Here’s why: my experience with the still-young Turkmenet is that my countrymen will practically colonize any uncensored digital space available to them. A certain momentum builds, not unlike an Internet meme, until a critical mass is reached, typically provoking a response from the Turkmen authorities or a cooling-off period.

There are two sides to this dynamic. On the one hand, there’s the old story of censorship. Turkmenistan’s problems with this are notorious, but what’s not often realized is that as a result the Turkmen media environment has become strictly divided into a false dichotomy of “news” versus “online social media” The latter has to market itself as a “neutral” and “non-controversial” space for file-sharing and gossip so as to not attract the negative attention of censors. On the other hand, there’s something legitimate to the need for precisely such a “neutral” space, since even that is missing for my countrymen, since even pop songs must sing the praises of the president! (I’ll just dangle the Zuckerman “Cute Cats” connotations of this situation and say nothing more…)

But there’s more going on with JapBaKLaR’s rise than just this dynamic I’ve noticed with other Turkemenet sites.

Taking responsibility

JaPBaKLaR is experience the development of what looks like some kind of civic sensibility. Instant recounts to me an incident in which the JapBaKLaR team had to take action to protect the rights of their female users:

“Recently, a person has opened a fake profile page by copying the photos of some girls without seeking their permission. [The girls] turned to us; we called upon the members [of our page] to report this page and within 15 minutes the page was closed.”

Check that out: collective action to protect members of the group! Maybe some of my readers think I’m making a big deal out of nothing, but I ask them to think about this a bit. That one little incident was encoded with feelings of solidarity and the right to privacy.

The JapBaKLar team is getting its users involved in other, very simple ways:

“Every week we are conducting a contest of Turkmen singers by voting and this week we are conducting the ‘Mr. and Ms. Turkmen’ photo competition.” [Ed. note: This can be confirmed by checking out the page right now, but out of respect for privacy we are not publishing a screen-capture here.]

These kind of involvement from the administration and user levels is probably even more key to JapBaKLaR’s success than just the “digital colonization” effect. It makes me think there’s a valuable lesson in here in terms of promoting civil society via the Internet…

Future plans

Instant reports:

“This month, we received an offer from a person who wanted to buy the page, and an offer from a large traditional media organization which has a Turkmen division to replace the banner of JaPBaKLaR with the logo of a company, and other offers for for photo and content sharing. But we have turned down all of them. We have some great plans for the future. We want to maintain our unique brand.

“Perhaps our activity exceeds the limits of what Facebook can do. For example, we can’t change the structure of the page, and the posting quality is rather low, you can’t post photo-voting. Following abilities are limited, as I don’t receive notifications about the posts. Archiving and statistics are not developed. If I’m offline I miss what has been posted. Most of what we share goes unnoticed and [trouble-making] users cannot be blocked.”

Why, then, did the JapBaKLar team choose a Facebook page?

“Facebook is the most active social site in the world. We feared that if we set up a separate website, we could be subject to hack attacks, because we have a lot debate going on.”

Oh boy, is he ever right! I’ve been following the ongoing troubles with hackers ever since the appearance of “Mr. Empire”/”unknownturkmen” in the Autumn (see my post: “Hack the Turkemenet!”) and I’ve been meaning to write a huge update on everything that’s happened with this story.

More to the point, Japbaklar’s success suggests that another key to getting Turkmenetizens to really embrace a webpage and make it their own isn’t just the culture, but also infrastructure. Media that vests power within the hands of administrators who are able communicators and networkers, combined with an interact visual environment, seems to be the leg up. Indeed, to paraphrase the old saying about photographs, a few visuals appear to be worth a thousands of words…

In terms of free expression and artistic development, the 2011 Prince Claus Fund was awarded to Ilkhom Theatre for:

“the high quality of its dramatic productions, for creating a space of freedom in a zone of silence, for nurturing and inspiring the younger generations in Uzbekistan, and for upholding the role of theatre as a means of opening minds and stimulating development.”

Tashkent’s winning Ilkhom Theatre was founded in 1976, during the Perestroika period, by the late Mark Weil (also the art director) and graduates from Tashkent’s Theatre Arts Institute. The Theatre began as a rebel theatre against the USSR when it was founded, without state sponsorship or funding. Ilkhom Theatre has hosted everything from traditional work and local street theatre to improvisation and clowning traditions. The Theatre challenged traditional Central Asian values in the 1990s, via the sexuality and nudity features in the production of Oscar Wilde’s tragic play Salome. Today the theatre produces “adaptations of Western classics, modern classics and even traditional Uzbek comedy.”

In 2008, about the Theatre, BBC News said: “For more than 30 years, Ilkhom, which was the Soviet Union’s first independent theatre, produced a countless number of thought-provoking and controversial plays which forced people to question the reality that reigned beyond the theatre’s door.”

In April 2012, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) said the award presenters “heralded the theater’s success in pushing accepted political and social boundaries in the face of censorship.” Moreover – in regards to Weil’s vision and practice of art freedom, in 2007, The Guardian said:

“To this day, the Ilkhom remains the only venue for original, uncensored drama in a country where freedom of expression is severely limited. An extraordinary man, he created an artistic space in which people could ask questions and explore their experience.”

It seems that Weil did everything he could to keep artistic freedom flowing in this art space. In 2008, BBC News quoted Maxim Tumenev, one of Ilkhom’s actors, humorously saying:

“Several years ago, for some reason, police banned Christmas trees from all theatres and everyone obeyed. But here we just hung it upside down from the ceiling.”

In continuing with the theme of anti-censorship, in 2008, about the Theatre, Repeat Performances said:

“Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the establishment of Uzbekistan as an independent nation, the theater group has continued with its radical agenda, producing plays that layer various theatrical disciplines into complex works that question cultural behavior in complicated and provocative ways.”

Culture, culture and more culture – various websites describe the wondrously, culturally free Ilkhom Theatre.

About the Theatre, the Prince Claus Fund says:

“A multi-ethnic company mixing languages, integrating Russian, oriental and western cultures, and giving voice to the experiences of ordinary people, Ilkhom exemplifies diversity and tolerance, and offers a counter-discourse to sanctioned narratives.”

Samarkand Bukhara Travel shares cultural insights about the Theatre:

“This is a genuine urban theatre, keenly preserving the rhythm of modern Tashkent, in the streets of which you can hear different languages, and where the talkers can understand each other easily. For example, the play “Happy beggars” is performed simultaneously in Russian, Uzbek, Italian and Yiddish. And – such an amazing thing! – it does not require the translation..!
Concerts and creative meetings take place in the theatre, songs are sung. This is a true place of genuine creativity and creative enthusiasm.”

In terms of museums, entertainment and tourism, here’s how Lonely Planet advertises the Theatre:

“Tashkent’s other main cultural highlight is the progressive Ilkhom Theatre, which stages productions in Russian but occasionally has English subtitles. Known for bucking trends, its productions often touch on gay themes and racial subjects, putting off some locals but thrilling Tashkent’s expat community, many of whom are big supporters of the theatre. You’ll see such oddities as Shakespeare plays entwined with Beatles music.”

The wildly famous performances stemming from the Ilkhom Theatre have been presented at 34 international theatre festivals, over the past 17 years, in 22 countries.

Ecstasy with a Pomegranate is a renowned piece born from the Ilkhom Theatre, created by Weil and Dmitry Tikhomirov and choreographed by David Rousseve. The play tackles themes of nationality, identity, homosexuality, religion, Central Asian history, Russian turmoil, transitions from Imperial to Soviet Russia, fantasy, reality and love.

In a nutshell, Miami University explains what Ecstasy with a Pomegranate is all about:

“It takes place in 1916-1917 Tashkent and deals with cultural interactions between Sufi Islam, Uzbek culture and the Russian (and then later, Soviet) military stationed in Tashkent. It focuses on the painter Alexander Nikolaev (who became a Muslim and took the name Usto Mumin, painting under that name) and his assimilation into the Muslim religion and culture, especially his involvement with male Bacha dancers who portrayed women.”

The Greek tragedy The Oresteia was founder Mark Weil’s last production. At age 55, Weil – born in Tashkent and from Russian Jewish heritage – was brutally and suspiciously stabbed to death on his way home from a rehearsal of the play on the night of September 6-7, 2007.

From politics to religion, neweurasia’s CXW wrote about the various motivations behind Weil’s death in 2007: “Speculation fails to drown official silence over Mark Weil’s death”. Moreover, neweurasia’s Turnvater also wrote about Weil’s story in 2007, mentioning the role the Internet played in disseminating this horrible information, five years ago: “Uzbekistan: A Great Loss for a Nation”.

Despite Weil’s awful and untimely passing, The Oresteia went on the next day, and a new season on performance was born at “Inspiration” Theatre. Before his attack, Weil said: “I open a new season tomorrow — and everything must happen.”

Mark Weil’s spirit has been long-lived, still very much influencing those of his Theatre today. On April 7th, 2012 Veronika Zuryeva, head of public relations at Ilkhom Theatre, shared her heartfelt respect and memory of Weil with RFE/RL:

“It’s hard without him, because he was the one who founded the theater and was an inspiration to us. But his disciples remain with the theater and retain all the performances as they were originally created.”

It is with absolute honor that this Theatre received the 2011 Prince Claus Award. With such a profound legacy of culture and expression, in a country so void of emotionally and politically motivated art freedoms, the Theatre’s achievements and recognition indicate that culture is of necessity in Uzbekistan.

In terms of cultural importance, in 2012, Christa Meindersma, Director of the Prince Claus Fund, said:

“Culture is a basic need. The Prince Claus Awards acknowledge the exceptional work of organizations like Ilkhom Theatre that really make a difference and inspire others.“

It goes without question, that Ilkhom Theatre will produce nothing short of rich shows smouldering with tradition, custom, civilization, ethnicity and society for it’s audiences to come! Long live the art scene in Uzbekistan, Weil’s legacy and his awarded, legendary Ilkhom Theatre!

“People would prefer to have gold or silver or platinum, some tangible asset that can preserve their wealth. So, while we’re sitting out in this isolated part of Central Asia and it seems unconnected to much of the rest of the world, this is obviously very central issue to what’s going on economically and financially right now in Europe and North America.” — Dr. Robert Moran, hydrologist/geologist

This past September, Bankwatch and I made a documentary about the Kumtor mine. You can view the video via YouTube. Some weeks later I was invited to join a State Commission which was visiting the Kumtor goldmine to do an environmental monitoring and take water samples. While we were out there, though, I also took a long series of photographs, originally posted by Bankwatch on Flickr but which I’m now re-posting with permission here to help spread the word about what’s happening in Kyrgyzstan’s mountains.

View of the Davidov Glacier with waste rock on it at the Kumtor goldmine.

Although the State Commission was visiting the mine with an official decree of then-Prime Minister Almazbek Atambajev we were  first denied acces to the mine. During the five hours we were waiting up there at the entrance I took this shot of the Davidov Glacier with mining waste sitting on top. The disposal of mining waste on top of the Davidov glacier as well as on the adjacent Lysie glacier increases the fast melting down of the glaciers and contributes to its destruction. In other parts of the world like in Latin America, the mining of glaciers would be considered as an extremely volatile environmental issue.

Lake Petrov from above with Petrov glacier

The next day, September 20th 2011 the commission was eventually granted access to the mine and was taking a series of water samples from different locations at the mine. We started at Lake Petrov, which sits above the mine at around 4000 meters above sea-level. Due to climate change the Petrov glaciers has been melting dramatically. This has increased the size of the Petrov lake enormously. International scientists like Dr. Robert Moran as well as Kyrgyz scientists like Dr. Isabek Torgojev fear that the  natural glacial moraine dam will become more and more unstable and could break if an earth quake occurs.

The report of Dr. Moran states:

“These conditions are extremely risky and could result in a catastrophic collapse of the Petrov Lake dam, which might also damage the Kumtor tailings impoundment. This might cause a rapid release of masses of contaminated water and sediments (the tailings) into the Kumtor River, endangering downstream people, facilities, downstream rivers, and would likely kill much of the mountain trout population and other aquatic organisms. Such a collapse could negatively-impact waters throughout much of the Naryn River basin, which flows into Uzbekistan.”

The Kumtor Operating company extracts 4.38 Billions litres from Petrov Lake a year. The report by Dr. Robert Moran states:

“Extraction of such vast quantities of water by Kumtor inevitably reduces the supplies available to downstream users for all their daily activities (agriculture, livestock, drinking, domestic, etc.), impacts fish populations–and increases the overall competition for water downstream. [...] The volume of water needed for Kumtor operations will likely increase as production increases. The Water Usage Permit allows KOC to draw 6.3 million cubic meters per year (about 6.3 billion liters per year) from Petrov Lake (p. 133). One assumes that KOC pays no price for the water itself.”

View on the pumping station at Lake Petrov

View on Lake Petrov from above and its fragile natural dam

State Commission taking water samples at Lake Petrov

Watersupply coming from Lake Petrov

View from Lake Petrov down to the Tailings pond in the background, which contains toxic solutions of the goldmining processing

Measuring PH-level, conductivity and temperature at Lake Petrov

View on one part of the tailings pond containing toxic residues. In the far background Petrov glacier and Lake Petrov

The new affixed tailings dam of the tailings pond at the Kumtor Goldmine

State Commission inspecting the tailings dam

Tailings dam and tailings pond showing the plastic layer at the bottom

The gold mining at the Kumtor site produces massive quantities of waste. About 89 million tons of toxic tailings till the end of 2010 are stored in this tailings pond. One of the main problems with this dam is that it has become unstable  and is slowly moving downhill with its shape deforming. The report of Dr. Robert Moran gives the following explanation for it`s instability:

“This instability is due partly to the factors discussed above, but is likely enhanced by the relatively high temperatures of the tailings when they come from the process plant (a highly contaminated mix of about 50% solids, 50% liquids) which would increase permafrost melting. Such deformation and movement of the tailings structure, combined with the partial melting of the permafrost raises concerns about a catastrophic failure of the tailings impoundment — especially if a severe earthquake were to occur.”

Tailings dam in the righthand background the leftovers of Davidov glacier with waste rock on top

Water pipe at the edge of the tailings pond with toxic residues

The highly contaminated mix of solids and liquids coming from the process plant of the mine is stored in the tailings pond and then treated at the treatment plant. After the treatment the water is released into the Kumtor river.

Treatment plant at the edge of the tailings pond where the toxic residues are treated

Pond with treated water

Water release from the tailings dam into the Kumtor river after the treatment

The Head of the State commission and member of the Kyrgyz parliament Erkingul Imankodjoeva (left side) with Dr. Kalia Moldogazieva and Security from Kumtor at the water release

Water release into the Kumtor River after treatment

Waste rock on Davidov Glacier

Waste rock on Davidov Glacier

Three rivers below Davidov glacier with waste rock on top, in the righthand side background the open pit

Samples from the open pit water

Water coming from the open pit

Waste Tires

Waste disposal at the Kumtor Goldmine

The analysis of the water samples indicate that there is water contamination of the rivers coming from the Kumtor goldmine flowing down the valley into the Naryn river basin. For further detailed information please review the report of Bankwatch and the NGO “Tree of life” .

I would like to close this report with some interesting questions Moran is posing in his report:

“There is a common myth that we can develop natural resources on a large scale without any significant impacts. This is untrue, and this myth continues in the daily information average Kyrgyz hear and read with respect to the Kumtor Mine. There is no ‘free lunch’. All such projects involve trade-offs: some economic benefits for significant long-term impacts and costs—often environmental and social. Several additional questions arise: Are these impacts acceptable to those impacted? Who will pay the long-term costs? Who decides?”

Photograph by Flickr user Qardash (CC-usage).

Everyone here at NewEurasia would like to wish our readers a Happy Naw-Rúz (or, if you prefer, Nouruz, Norouz, Norooz, Narooz, Newroz, Newruz, Nauruz, Nawroz, Noruz, Nohrooz, Novruz, Nauroz, Navroz)! We know it’s been a slow few months, but we’ve got really good news on the horizon. It’s looking to be a fertile spring indeed!

Also, since this is also a religious holiday in my faith community, the Bahá’ís, I personally would like to share some words from our Master, `Abdu’l-Bahá,written on the occasion of Naw-Rúz in 1906 wherein he talks about the spirit of newness:

O ye children of the Kingdom! It is New Year; that is to say, the rounding of the cycle of the year. A year is the expression of a cycle (of the sun); but now is the beginning of a cycle of Realty, a New Cycle, a New Age, a New Century, a New Time and a New Year. Therefore it is very blessed.

I wish this blessing to appear and become manifest in the faces and characteristics of the believers, so that they, too, may become a new people, and having found new life and been baptized with fire and spirit, may make the world a new world, to the end that the old earth may disappear and the new earth appear; old ideas depart and new thoughts come; old garments be cast aside and new garments put on; ancient politics whose foundation is war be discarded and modern politics founded on peace raise the standard of victory; the new star shine and gleam and the new sun illumine and radiate; new flowers bloom; the new spring become known; the new breeze blow; the new bounty descend; the new tree give forth new fruit; the new voice become raised and this new sound reach the ears, that the new will follow the new, and all the old furnishings and adornments be cast aside and new decorations put in their places.

I desire for you all that you will have this great assistance and partake of this great bounty, and that in spirit and heart you will strive and endeavor until the world of war become the world of peace; the world of darkness the world of light; satanic conduct be turned into heavenly behavior; the ruined places become built up; the sword be turned into the olive branch; the flash of hatred become the flame of the love of God and the noise of the gun the voice of the Kingdom; the soldiers of death the soldiers of life; all the nations of the world one nation; all races as one race; and all national anthems harmonized into one melody.

Then this material realm will be Paradise, the earth Heaven, and the world of Satan become the world of Angels.

The training is organized with an aim to encourage open discussions on peacemaking-related matters, teaching local journalists the tools of building ‘bridges’ between conflicting parties and important techniques of identifying activists that are ready for dialogue.
The five-day training is a unique initiative. We plan to invite international trainers from South Caucasus and Former Yugoslavia, who have solid experience in professional journalism in conflict societies and in conducting trainings on related topics.
One of the main prerequisites for the selection is readiness of the candidates to work in multi-ethnic groups and their motivation for team reporting.

Synchronized translation into a state-language will be organized during the event. The venue: Bishkek. Time: April, August and November of 2012. More details will be announced on the website: www.ca-mediators.net.

To participate, candidates need to send their resume or CV to peacemakingschool@gmail.com. Please enclose motivation letter with details on past work and training experience, as well as your motivation to work in a multi-ethnic team. We also need a writing sample (published or unpublished) in any of four languages (English, Kyrgyz, Uzbek or Russian).

Alternatively, you can submit an online application form on our website www.ca-mediators.net.

The School of Peacemaking and Media Technology is funded by Soros Foundation – Kyrgyzstan and the National Endowment for Democracy NED.

The singers website says:

“Уважаемые поклонники и почитатели творчества Юлдуз Усмановой .Рады ,вам сообщить , что 6 марта 2012 года в г. Самарканд , в ресторане “Дилафруз ” пройдет концерт Народной артистки РУз Юлдуз Усмановой.”

“Dear fans and admirers Yulduz Usmanova. Glad to inform you that the March 6, 2012 in the city of Samarkand, in the restaurant “Dilafruz” will be a concert of the People’s Artist of the RU Yulduz Usmanova.” (Google Translation)

In regards to her performance in Uzbekistan, the Facebook page titled “yıldız usmanova” – which has almost 45,400 “Likes” – shares the same information as above about Usmonova’s March 6th performance.

Before this star’s turn of musical events, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) says the singer:

“…formerly a frequent sight on government-run media, has essentially been banned from performing over alleged antigovernment remarks.”

As a result, RFE/RL continues to explain why the musical sensation withdrew from the public scene:

“The 48-year-old singer disappeared from state television some five years ago following several interviews with Western media and amid rumors that she had fallen out of favor with Gulnara Karimova, the influential daughter of longstanding President Islam Karimov.”

After her fallout with Uzbek authorities, “Usmonova emigrated to Turkey citing dissatisfaction with political involvement, the problems with the control of state in Uzbekistan over where a singer is allowed to sing.”

Even though singer Yulduz Usmonova left her homeland and has been ‘banned’ from performing in Uzbekistan for quite some years now, she was kindly welcomed and allowed to perform at the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent in October 2010, at the 9^th annual Daniel Pearl Music Day concert. Check out the exclusive photos neweurasia took of her show!

Despite being absent from the live performing music scene in Uzbekistan, for the most part – aside from her U.S. Embassy performance and maybe some other similar ones too, the singer continued to make a wonderful, famous and inspiring career for herself. And despite being absent from Uzbek state media, singer Usmonova has found face in the international media and also in social media. In addition to her personal website, there is a Facebook page made in Usmonova’s name. The page has almost 5,500 “Likes” and shares an abundance of the singer’s videos, including many that are uploaded – and viewed by thousands – to YouTube. The musical sensation is also on MySpace… and I’m sure it doesn’t stop there!

Usmonova is said to have studied music at the pedagogical institute in Margilan. Usmonova became famous in Uzbekistan and throughout Central Asia after the fall of the Soviet Union and Independence for Uzbekistan, in 1991. Her various songs have been recorded in various languages, in addition to her native Uzbek; Uyghur, Turkish, Russian, Persian, Tajik, Arab, Kazakh and Tatar.

neweurasia wishes respected Uzbek singer Yulduz Usmonova and her fans warm wishes and joyous celebrations for today’s upcoming performance in the respected Uzbek city of Samarkand!