CAI HEROES : Kona Kurgan
CAI HEROES : Kona Kurgan
Kyrgyz heroes on eastern Tajikistan ’ s high Pamir
KONA KURGAN , Tajikistan – When it comes to getting dressed for school here , color is not an option . Black-and-white is the student dress code at the new Central Asia Institutesupported high school in eastern Tajikistan ’ s Pamir Mountains .
Much about life here in this century-old , high-altitude village seems to be in shades of grey .
Far from the nation ’ s capital , Kona Kurgan , which translates to “ old yard ,” was for many years just a place to stop for tea and sleep on this stretch of the old Silk Road .
“ Travellers stopped to rest in this area ,” Abibullo Isaullu , chairman of the Kona Kurgan Jamiat ( council ), said . “ For many years there were no houses here , just yurts ,” referring to the felt-sided tents favored by the Kyrgyz people who live in the area .
These days most traffic on the Pamir Highway — a narrow , crumbling-blacktop road that spans eastern Tajikistan and is the second highest-altitude international highway in the world — is the trucks going to and from China , although there is a small but growing ecotourism industry .
The yurts are gone , replaced with mudbrick houses . Electrical wires have been extended into the village , but “ electric capacity is very low ,” Isaullu said . Most people make a marginal living as semi-nomadic herders .
At about 12,500 feet altitude , nothing much grows in the area . “ We don ’ t get lots of snow , just much cold ,” Isaullu said . Winter temperatures at times drop as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit below zero .
Many Tajiks leave the country to find work , despite the difficulties for those left behind . Tajikistan is the poorest of the former Soviet-bloc countries and people can make more money elsewhere .
“ The people are poor here ,” Isaullu said of Kona Kurgan ’ s 1,300 residents . “ Since collapse of the Soviet Union , 80 percent of people are unemployed . The only places for jobs are schools , hospital and government office . Some do shepherding to get some income . Many are living somewhere else to make money [ and send in back ] so their children are not hungry .”
By Karin Ronnow
The school , which Central Asia Institute ( CAI ) helped to build , is the bright spot . And the students bring it alive .
The top students in class 11 , three 18-yearold girls , are in their last year of school , which runs from first to 11th grade in Tajikistan . They dream of continuing their educations , getting degrees , and having professions .
Urmisa ’ s father is a government accountant in nearby Murghab ; her mother is a housewife . Both of Nur Jamal ’ s parents are pensioners and no longer work .
After graduating next spring , these two both want to study medicine in Dushanbe , Tajikistan ’ s capital , and then come back to their village for work .
“ We were born here ,” Urmisa said . “ We love this place .”
Their classmate , Rahila chimed in : “ This is our motherland .”
“ I want to be a translator ,” Rahila said . “ I am interested in English , Russian , and Chinese . I would study in Bishkek ,” the Kyrgyzstan capital , nearly 700 miles north of Kona Kurgan by road .
Rahila ’ s parents actually live in Bishkek now . “ My dad is a taxi driver . My mother is not working .” She lives with her grandmother while her parents are away .
A few minutes after praising her country , she indicated that she might be happier living somewhere else .
If Rahila is able to study in Bishkek , she ’ d like to stay with her parents after graduation . Maybe she could find a job there , she said .
“ I ’ m not sure if I would come back to here after that ,” she said .
With the advent of television and Internet access , albeit limited , students are beginning to suspect that their lives on this high frontier may be harder than the lives of their peers elsewhere
C E N T R A L A S I A I N S T I T U T E
HEROES in the world , or even in Tajikistan . It creates a certain amount of inner conflict .
But the new school gives them a sense that people believe in them , care about them , and that gives them hope for a better future , School Director Najmidinov Abdulobek said .
“ We give great thanks to donors and Central Asia Institute for new building ,” Abdulobek said . “ The new school is bright , the classrooms are bigger and it is comfortable for students and teachers . It was warm enough in winter . The new furnaces use less coal and that was very helpful because we didn ’ t have to ask government for coal all the time .”
The school has 234 students , including 118 girls and “ the amount of pupils is increasing ,” Abdulobek said .
Most of the students live in Kona Kurgan , however the school operates a hostel “ for those children whose parents are going to the
“ The new school is bright , the classrooms are bigger and it is comfortable for students and teachers . It was warm enough in winter . — Najmidinov Abdulobek
pastures ,” Abdulobek said .
The hostel was housing 21 students of all ages in May . “ They are staying for free ,” Abdulobek said . “ School budget from government pays for their food ,” plus the United Nations World Food Program provides flour and vegetable oil .
The new school even has a computer room , complete with desktop computers provided by the government .
“ When president was in GBAO he had meeting with all districts and gave gifts to the school ,” Abdulobek said . “ They were delivered through Department of Education . We have problems with electricity so mostly we are working with generator .”
Rahila , Urmisa , and Nur Jamal said the new school has made all the difference to them , they only wished it had been built earlier so they could have enjoyed it longer . They will graduate from high school in the spring of 2015 and , they hope , go on to higher education .
But they had one more request for the children coming up behind them : an indoor sports hall or gymnasium .
“ The weather is very cold here and the children need a place inside to play volleyball and other sports ,” Nur Jamal said . “ This would make all Kona Kurgan very happy .” y
42 | Journey of Hope C E N T R A L A S I A I N S T I T U T E