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9 October 2001 by Rita Plotnikova in Tozalokai, on the Tajik-Afghan border The village looks as if it might be the temporary settlement of some nomadic tribe, with tents and straw huts, women making bread, men fixing things and children playing, but quietly. Nobody wants to make too much noise here, as the villagers say the Taliban often attack the camp, and recently five people were killed. A small hillock in the middle of the settlement provides some shelter from Taliban gunfire, they say. Tozalokai, as they call it, is actually on an island in the Pyandzh river, which for most of its length forms the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan - possibly the poorest of all the former Soviet republics. Over 10,000 people are living on the Pyandzh islands in a no-man's-land between the two states. They are mainly ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks who say they were expelled from their homes by Taliban fighters last September. Some of their houses are actually only a few kilometres away. It's on places like this that new refugees from Afghanistan might converge. Officially the Tajik government, already grappling with acute economic and humanitarian problems including a devastating drought, says the border will remain closed; but no one in the country is excluding the possibility that Afghans will come anyway. Tajikistan's President Rakhmonov has said refugees will only be allowed to cross the border if humanitarian organisations are able to provide food and minimal living conditions, as Tajikistan is unable to cope with its own food crisis. In the meantime, the Tajik Red Crescent Society (TRCS), supported by the International Federation, is prepared to provide assistance for 3000 new refugees from Afghanistan with existing resources. The TRCS says it could provide tents for a temporary camp and supply vital necessities including bed linen, kitchen sets and hygiene kits, as well as first aid and disease prevention information. In terms of camp management, Tozalokai seems to provide a good model. Despite the danger so near them, the villagers evidently maintain good order; elected community leaders arrange distribution of the humanitarian aid that arrives from the agencies operating in Tajikistan Most of the people on the island I visited were women and children. Kharun Nazri, a 30-year-old teacher from Kabul, who escaped from what he called the "unbearable" Taliban regime, organised a school last March where he teaches children their native language, as well as maths and geography. He is the only one who speaks English. Twelve-year-old Kandaga is one of the best pupils at school. He says he likes to study geography and is proud that he can say his name and count to 20 in English. The boy likes his teacher and wants to be like him. "I want them to be able to read and write in their own language when they return home," says Kharun Nazri. "But we do not have books, paper or pens - sometimes we just write on sand with sticks." Asad-Ola is six. He cannot say anything and only expresses himself by pointing at his bare feet making it clear that he needs a pair of shoes for the winter. The children here are different: quiet, shy and very sad. If they could speak your language, they would probably ask: "What is going on in this life?" And you would not be able to answer. They look at you and do not dare approach, but if you go closer to them they smile. Skin diseases, running noses and constant coughing among children indicate they need better health care or better nutrition - probably both. Doctors from the British medical charity Merlin come to do regular check-ups; the World Food Programme, Action Against Hunger and some other organisations based in Tajikistan help with food. "All the menfolk used to be engaged in various trades," says Osad-Ola, 65. "We never relied on international aid before and do not want to depend on it now. We want to work, but there is nothing we can do here, but eat or sleep." Now that the winter is close the men have begun to make bricks for the huts that will have to replace their straw shelters. However, the only clay available isn't likely to last much beyond the first rains. The villagers have only the vaguest idea of what might happen to them in future. "If the Taliban come too close, we'll have no place to retreat to but Tajikistan," says 70-year-old Makhamtan. "We know that the border is closed, and we do not want to impose ourselves on the Tajik people. But the only alternative for us will be to die here. We are ordinary people, we do not know about politics. All we want is to return to our homes and live in peace." |
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