Will Pamir Kyrgyz Leave The Roof Of The World ?
RFE
02 May 2021, 04:15 GMT+10
Resettling an entire ethnic group in another country is a monumental task fraught with legal, political, and logistical complications.
But that s what Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov wants to do with 1,500 nomadic Pamir Kyrgyz who eke out a pastoral existence in the most remote corner of northeast Afghanistan.
A century of isolation in the panhandle of Badakhshan Province has insulated the Pamir Kyrgyz from the decades of war that have ravaged Afghanistan.
But life there can be as harsh as the winter winds. Photo Gallery: Pamir Kyrgyz Nomads On The Roof Of The World RFE/RL Anthropologist Tobias Marschall spent 11 months living among nomadic Pamir Kyrgyz herders in the isolated mountain valleys of northeastern Afghanistan between 2015 and 2019. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on В Контакте Email to a Friend Share on LinkedIn
“The hardships of the Pamir Kyrgyz have been constantly disturbing my thoughts for a long time,” Japarov
said on April 4. I have had the desire for them to be resettled in their historical homeland for a long time and now I mean to realize these intentions.”
“I will do this as soon as possible,” Japarov said. “This issue will be under my control. We do have financial resources and a plan about how and where they will be relocated. We will create good conditions for them.”
Implementing the plan will require at least tacit approval and cooperation from Afghanistan’s government.
Last winter was particularly brutal.
Even with helicopters airlifting emergency medical and food supplies, scores of Pamir Kyrgyz nomads died from illness and malnutrition.
Japarov is vowing to build new houses for all of them within the mountainous Chong-Alay district of Kyrgyzstan’s southwestern Osh region.
“The hardships of the Pamir Kyrgyz have been constantly disturbing my thoughts for a long time,” Japarov said on April 4. I have had the desire for them to be resettled in their historical homeland for a long time and now I mean to realize these intentions.”
“I will do this as soon as possible,” Japarov said. “This issue will be under my control. We do have financial resources and a plan about how and where they will be relocated. We will create good conditions for them.”