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11 March 2002 by Rita Plotnikova, in Khorog Many things are different in the Pamir mountains in eastern Tajikistan, known also as the Roof of the World, as they are the highest in Central Asia. The environment is different, the culture, the traditions, the religion, even the language is not the same as in the rest of the country. But March 8 is a favourite holiday with Pamirian women, who have to bear many family burdens. "It is the first holiday in spring which brings some relief after the severe winter," says Pista Dzhumaeva, head of the maternity department in the local hospital in Khorog, centre of Gorno Badakshan region in eastern Tajikistan. (The Gorno Badakshan region occupies 45 % of the territory of Tajikistan with a population of about 206,000 people). "There are too many problems on women's shoulders these days; so many men perished during the recent civil war, many have left for other countries in search of jobs when our remote and isolated region - that used to be strategically important for the Soviet Union - suddenly lost its support and with it, food, coal, medical and other vital supplies. Malnutrition and anaemia have become a major problem among women and children. In these conditions women not only have to bear children but must also support their families," she explained. Gulnamu Lutvishoev and her nine children live in a stocky mud house in Midenved village ("between two springs") located 40 km from Khorog, on a steep mountain slope at 2,700 meters above sea level. On March 8, Gulnamu joins her sister's family, with her children, to celebrate International Women's Day. Her own house is too small to accommodate them all. "It is easier this way - when we get together we can share the food," she says. "The children always make presents for me on this day," says Gulnamu, and the words bring a to her face. Last year her son Tatish carved a tree branch into a fancy bird, Daler drew her a picture, Zafar made a fancy vase out of a plastic bottle... "The best present for me this year were the shoes that all my children received at school from the Red Crescent," she says, referring to the distribution of shoes organized by the Tajik Red Crescent Society for school children in the remote mountain villages of Gorno Badakhshan. Thanks to a Finnish Red Cross donation, 27,000 pairs of new winter shoes were purchased and distributed by the Red Crescent. Shoes for the children were made a priority this year in order to complement the Red Crescent school feeding programme and because of the desperate situation concerning the availability of shoes.In previous years, the Federation implemented small scale projects in this region, like minor repairs to school buildings. A small shoe-making factory, opened with support from the Federation, is still functioning in Gorno Badakhshan. It is one of the National Society's resource-generating projects. Now, more than half of the 52,000 school children in Pamir will have proper shoes to go to school even in cold weather. The distribution continues as the roads leading to the villages, which are inaccessible during the winter months, open. Eleven-year-old Dilangiz cannot hide her joy: she had never owned new shoes of her own before. She always either inherited old shoes from her brothers or sisters or had to share them. Now she washes them every night and puts them under her mattress in hope that this way they will serve her longer. "I only allow them to wear their new shoes to go to school," says Gulnamu. She does not remember when she was able to buy clothes or footwear for her children with her own money. The shoes they had before were made by her husband out of old car tires and inner tubes. Tatish is 10. He is smart and bright. He is dreaming about becoming a musician after learning how to play the accordion that he borrows from a neighbour. "What would you do to mark March 8 as a special day, if you were a wizard" I asked Tatish. "I would give colourful warm socks to all my sisters," he answers. Like all women in the world Gulnamu dreams that her children will be able to get a good education and be happy. "It does not matter where they will live here or elsewhere, as long as they are satisfied with their lives," she says; and then adds, "Unlike ourselves today". Gulnamu lost her job several years ago when the sewing factory closed down during the civil war. Fortunately the war finished about four years ago but the ruined infrastructure was never rebuilt. Her husband has left home in search of a job abroad and every day she has to rack her brain to find ways of feeding the children and keeping them warm. The family has no coal and the scarce vegetation on this mountainous land does not provide enough firewood. Sometimes they have to walk as far as ten kilometres from their home to find branches. As she stops to think of an answer to the question : what is the biggest problem in life, Tatish instantly prompts his mother : kharch (food) he says, bewildered that she did not know the answer herself. The local population is heavily dependent on food supplies distributed by humanitarian organisations, primarily WFP and the Aga Khan Foundation. The Red Crescent is also involved in distributions of food in all schools in this region, providing flour, oil and salt for the pupils. In most schools the canteens do not work and the children take the flour home to make bread for their classmates. Pamirian houses are traditionally built of mud bricks without any partitions inside - just the supporting pillars around the lower central part where the stove stands, while the upper sides serve as beds at night and as benches around the stove during the day. You will not see windows here either, apart from a small hole in the roof covered with glass - it makes it easier to keep the homes warm. On March 8 some of these houses are filled with people. There will not be much to eat - home made bread and traditional plov, potatoes, green tea, but there will be Pamirian music and songs, and laughter and love, with the hope that the first spring holiday brings to each family. |
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Almost half of
the school children in Gorno Badakhshan received warm shoes
from the Red Crescent. A donation from the Finnish Red Cross
allowed the purchase of 27,000 pairs of new winter shoes. (p7426).
