Life goes on in southern Kyrgyzstan, but the walls tell a different story
Culture and History, Kyrgyzstan, Photoblog16 Comments
Editor’s note: In the ruins of Osh, the meaning of June’s terrible events are contested not only at the level of voting and rhetoric, but on the very walls. Guest blogger Mary Pole reports on the battle being fought through graffiti for the heart and soul of a torn city. “A glaring reminder of the violence is painted on walls in and around Osh, despite recent attempts to paint over the markings,” she writes.
As reconstruction picks up pace, winter approaches and June’s conflict is described publicly as ‘war’ or more commonly ‘unrest’, collective remembrance of the events takes on a different tone.
A glaring reminder of the violence is painted on walls in and around Osh, despite recent attempts to paint over the markings. An examination of this and writing and drawings painted in the months following the events in which as many as 4000 people may have died reveal the contested narratives of conflict.
A climate of fear permeates many Uzbek narratives of the violence in June and oppression faced since, with few public spaces in which to voice concerns and frustrations. Some perceive the markings of ‘Kyrgyz’ and ‘Sart’, dominating some areas of Osh such as the streets of Kurmanjan Datka and Lenin, to be direct threats against their ability to live in Kyrgyzstan and a reminder of the ethnic nature of the conflict. Others have used writings and drawings as a way of expressing their grievances.
The rise of nationalism in the aftermath of the conflict can also be seen on the walls of the city. As Kyrgyz narratives increasingly blamed Uzbek communities for the outbreak of violence in the weeks and months following the conflict, the ethnic dimension solidified, resulting in several political campaigns during the Parliamentary Elections that focused heavily on ethnicity.
Contested narratives of the conflict, its causes, and the history of ethnicities in Southern Kyrgyzstan have deepened divides between the two groups since violence broke out for the second time in twenty years. The walls tell this story.
‘Here, even the sun is unhappy’ — written in the Shark area of Osh near a tent village where those internally displaced from the conflict have been living since June.
Many of the signs in Osh itself have been painted over, but outside this carwash on the main road from Osh to Kara Soo, ‘Kyrgyz’ has been written in white paint, bearing testimony to the events of only a few months ago.
‘SOS’ — a sign of contested narratives. One Uzbek narrative suggests Kyrgyz militants commanded neighbourhoods to write the sign so that snipers could aim more accurately. Kyrgyz narratives claim Uzbeks had been storing paint for months prior to the conflict, proof of their initiation of the violence.
At the crossroads near Osh Bazaar (this photo and the one immediately above it), almost completely destroyed during the violence, is the writing ‘Jasha Kyrgyz’ (Live Kyrgyz). As nationalism is on the rise in Kyrgyzstan, demonstrated by the victory of Ata Jurt in the recent parliamentary elections, so phrases such as this are increasing in common parlance and on the walls of the city.
The word ‘sart’ is still visible on a container door in Osh Bazaar, a stark reminder of the ethnic nature of the conflict in which Uzbeks were referred to as ‘sarts’, a derogatory term for Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan.
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Violence, war, unjust treatment, “evil-majority” against “all-the-good-minorities” and all the BAD in humanity…
Yes, I have heard a lot about this. I had grandmas talking about WW2, how they did in the home front, how received letters acknowledging the dead of their husbands…
I have friends here in Bishkek whose families came from Osh in the beginnings of 1990s after the first Osh unrest. They told me what they remembered then.
The second unrest in Osh in June 2010.
Newspapers and news on TV after all.
We ALL know that the BAD is BAD. Wars, confrontations, unrest conditions are not necessary no anyone (except, maybe, politicians and big bosses of the world). I am sure majority of people in my age or older in Kyrgyzstan has such an experience and such convictions.
So, what are the reasons that make two ethnic groups apply violence to each other. Why they make the sun unhappy there?
IMHO, it is all about people who did not thought thoroughly before doing an action. Why did all-the-good-minority group acted as evil-majority in the very first days!!! Didn’t they though about tomorrows, future of their children, sun of their city? I wonder why? Was it an attempt to become a real evil-majority or an attempt to show the world Kyrgyz as evil-majority. In any case, they made sun become unhappy there and I would write a reply to a message in a wall: “Сарт атана айт!” – “Say to your sart father!”
Thought I am not sure if my writing could be understood as I would write it in Kyrgyz. And that is also another topic of nations integrity problem, which, IMHO, is an other foundation for such confrontations.
Jasha Kyrgyzstan!!!
Alga Kyrgyzstan!!!
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Jalol Reply:
October 25th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
You are a sad little nationalist.
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[...] поста Mary Beth Pole (ENG) От редакции: Среди ошских развалин, значение [...]
These walls are emotions. People should come together, and make this
Sun smile once again. And I agree with Azilet as well, think about the consequences of such actions.
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Azilet,
You know, I don’t quite understand the “titular” nation’s attitude towards us – sarts – and the reasons behind such an attitude. But I do understand that those women who were gang raped, those old men and women who were burned alive, those little children who are now orphans did not have to pay for the “mistakes of separatists”. Don’t YOU think so?
If these kyrgyz are such patriots, how come they could do NOTHING when Akayev gave away hundreds of acres of land to China, could do NOTHING when Bakiyev gave away lands to Kazakhstan, and still can do NOTHING to return our citizens from slavish conditions they are living in in Russia?
If these kyrgyz are such patriots, why did they not fight for allegedly belonging to kyrgyzstan Sovetabad in Eastern Uzbekistan? If they are such patriots, why do not they have the guts to stand up to Tashkent when it comes to our oil reserves in Batken?
Is it because they can take it on only on unarmed men, women and children?
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Azilet Reply:
October 26th, 2010 at 6:39 am
@Oshlik Sart,
That’s is exactly what I am emphasizing: why should mothers and children of a nation have to pay for separatists’ actions. Where those bastard separatists came from?
And nobody said all kyrgyz are patriots. Our nation lacks patriots. We need patriots! BRING UP YOUR CHILDREN TO BE PATRIOTS!
Nobody wants separatists in their country. Peace abandons those places where separatist trends exist!
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Turgai Reply:
October 26th, 2010 at 11:19 am
@Oshlik Sart, Batyrov’s call for an autonomous province was a blunder adn part of a nationalist auction. But the lynch mobs that fell on the Uzbek mahallas in June were jackals and cowards at the service of opportunistic nationalists and criminal interests. Many Kyrgyz privately admit that.
Nationalism in Kyrgyzstan is both a reaction among people against the humiliating neoliberal ‘development concepts’ that were shoveled down society’s throat by international strcutures and opportunistic local ‘elites’ in the ’90s, and something encouraged by the rotten ‘elites’ to limit the influence of Islam.
“МК-Кыргызстан”: Многие поняли, что мы были правы – член партии “Хизб ут-Тахрир”
http://www.halifat.info/analysis/umma/647-mk-kg-hizb-ut-tahrir.html
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Zuhra Reply:
October 27th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
@Turgai, can’t but agree more!
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It is silly to blame ethnic Kyrgyzs or ethnic Uzbeks on provoking the June pogroms. Simple questions are:
1. What the State (Kyrgyz Republic) did to prevent pogroms?
2. What it did to protect its citizens when the pogroms started?
3. What it did to establish real peace after, and to bring the people together?
IMHO, answers are:
1. The State Officials (it doesn’t matter if they were central or local) provoked themselves the pogroms;
2. The State Officials (it doesn’t matter if they were police, military, or national security officers) directly participated in pogroms instead of protecting their fellow citizens.
3. The State Officials started blaming and accusing only ethnic Uzbeks, arbitrarily arresting, intimidating and torturing them, often just because they were Uzbeks.
As a result, both Kyrgyzs and Uzbeks don’t feel justice, and there is a high risk for further conflicts in Kyrgyzstan.
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Turgai Reply:
October 27th, 2010 at 9:48 am
@Oshanin, I completely agree with you that it is silly to blame ‘the Kyrgyz’ or ‘the Uzbeks’ for something that was clearly manipulated by organized crime structures (btw, Ata Jurt had some ethnic Uzbek candidates too). One the other hand, sooner or later, if the Kyrgyz do no want to go into history as ethnic cleansers like the Bosnian Serbs did, there must be a clear anti-nationalist signal and gesture from within Kyrgyz society rather than sticking to embarassed silence or trying to twist things as such that ‘the others’ started it and what else.
And I tell you: some Kyrgyz intelligenstia (including certain people who work on international ‘conflict prevention and peace-building programmes’ hahaha) are the worst in trying to justify what happened.
New violence: I don’t think it will erupt that soon. People are traumatized and going through a hangover for the moment.
Finally, let me tell you: I fully understand the hatred and feeling of humiliation among the Kyrgyz. But unfortunately, it was channeled against the wrong target for the sake of the wrong interests.
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Zuhra Reply:
October 27th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
@Turgai, i believe there won’t be any violence any more. main initiators of the bloodshed are gone and now everything depends on present government of Kyrgyzstan. We hope and count on their wisdom in ruling their country and consider over and over again all those fatal mistakes they have done so far in order to prevent them from happening and eradicate them which is way important if they want stability of their country. too many factors were present throughout the country and still some are there. Hope present president will do her best to reconcile people and support all suffered ones. Be Peace And May Allah bless everyone!!!:)
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Oshanin Reply:
October 29th, 2010 at 10:44 am
The main enemy for every Kyrgyzstany for today shall be organized crime that doesn’t have any ethnicity, race, religion and etc. It is a pain to see that drug dealers and mafia leaders are reserving seats in the Kyrgyz Parliament. The organized crime having close ties with corrupted officials will continue doing its best for further destabilization – ideal atmosphere to earn more money by racketeering, trading with drugs and weaponry.
Regarding the nationalist intelligentsia in KG, they shall think twice, if they are real patriots of KG they should rather call for integration, tolerance, non-discrimination and equality in order to save our country. Kyrgyzstan is not strong like fascist Germany before the WW2, that was lost by even Germany – the strongest state in Europe at that time. There are many examples in the history, Nazism didn’t let to anything positive, instead many quite strong states collapsed because of nazism (Yugoslavia, many African states, Iraq – are fresh examples).
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I happened to see a good quote on the subject, which states, “I am ready to twist my veins into a rope in order to hang that person [regardless of his ethnic background] who contrived war”. And I am fully supportive of this…
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You know, often, when you see how braggy nationalists live, for example, Albanians and Serbians, it is according to everything but to their ‘traditions’ and ‘culture’ but rather a parody of Western lifestyle.
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so bad. it is hard to believe that Kyrgyz and Uzbek people will live peacefully together after that. violence goes on. so bad.
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