How long is dances with wolves

Khanum, 27 years old

About a different life

Mostly women over 40 go to Turkey, then they bring their children here. Turkmen women get a work visa or a tourist visa, and the children get a study visa. Although some of the Turkmen who come to Turkey on a study visa do not study here, this is a formality. Women work in the service sector: they clean, look after children, take care of the elderly, and send the money they earn to their families in Turkmenistan.

I came to Istanbul on a study visa when I was 20 years old. Although I was already an adult, my mother accompanied me from Turkmenistan so that there would be no problems at the border control. At our border, the border guards clarified with us the purpose of the departure and asked my mother if she was going to sell me in Turkey. nine0003

Upon arrival, I started working as a cleaning lady in a wealthy family, I was paid $750, I didn't know the language well and was afraid of everything. Taking advantage of the fact that I am so intimidated and do not know the laws, my employers once did not give me a salary and canceled my residence permit.

Turkmens easily adapt to Turkey because the languages ​​are very similar. But when I came here for the first time, I had the feeling that I was in another world, because life was in full swing here at night, people on the streets smoke, walk and dress openly, talk noisily - for me it was all strange. nine0003

Also in Turkey, I was shocked that people can openly criticize the president, divide into some parties. I didn't understand what a party was. There is talk in Turkish families: are you for CHP or MHP ? I sat and did not understand what they were talking about. There could be quarrels between family members due to the support of different parties. I became interested, I began to study what a parliament is. And there was a time when I met new people, I asked: “Which party do you vote for?” nine0003

After the collapse of the USSR, Turkmen citizens began to leave the country en masse in search of work. Ashgabat does not disclose data on the migration of its citizens, claiming that the population has grown to 6.2 million people over the years of independence. According to Radio Azatlyk, only from 2008 to 2018, 1.8 million citizens left Turkmenistan - either for permanent residence or for permanent work, and the total population, on the contrary, decreased to 3.3 million.

Turkey is the most popular migration destination for Turkmen citizens. If in 2010, according to the International Organization for Migration, more than 10,000 Turkmen citizens entered Turkey, by 2012 their number had increased to 137,000. According to the Turkish Migration Service, in 2020 alone, about 180 thousand citizens of Turkmenistan received a residence permit: short-term, long-term and student. nine0003

In addition to Turkey, citizens of Turkmenistan go to work and study in Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Northern Cyprus.

I liked that Turks can just take a ticket, fly to another country and not worry that they will be detained at passport control or they will have to pay a bribe to fly out. I remember that I flew to Turkmenistan after living in Istanbul for almost a year. And when my mother picked me up from the airport, everything seemed so small, scary and ugly to me. People seemed so unhappy, gloomy. And I also noticed disrespect for each other, rudeness in communication. Probably, a difficult life affects: either unemployment, or a person plows and barely makes ends meet. nine0003

Our country has been living under fear for more than 28 years. I am a man who was born inside fear. My generation does not know what freedom is, that life outside the country is completely different. Therefore, we are used to the need to be silent and endure, we are silent all the time, we are silent.

About restrictions and prohibitions in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan does not have such technologies as, for example, in China, but the whole country is a concentration camp: law enforcement agencies constantly control us.

After I moved to Istanbul, every year I went home to visit relatives and friends. In 2016, when I arrived for the summer holidays, I had a valid study visa. I had to leave in August, but at the Ashgabat airport at the passport control they told me that I had no right to leave the country. nine0003

I started asking why they wouldn't let me out because I have a study visa. They answered me: “You have a student visa for the last year, what if you don’t come back.” It almost came to a fight, I started yelling at them, and they at me. I was taken to a separate room, thoroughly examined, my bag was turned inside out, I was taken through x-rays three times. I stayed with the border guards until the moment when the plane was about to take off.

Then I decided that I would not return anymore, because my study visa had also expired. I have not returned to Turkmenistan for four years. nine0003

Article"Don't write to us about such things." How a Turkmen woman who staged a protest in Istanbul is being persecuted

About corruption

Ashgabat is a beautiful city, made of white marble on budgetary funds. Big money was spent, but for what? In order to enter the Guinness Book of Records, otherwise these houses are empty, no one lives there. The president and his associates do not allow people from the provinces to move to the capital, settle there, get a residence permit and look for work. nine0003

To enter a university, you must pay a bribe at the interview. I tried three times to enter the Ashgabat University on my own, passed the entrance exams, but later they asked me up to 25 thousand dollars for enrollment.

In general, our universities are free by law. A few years ago, paid departments were opened for those who could not enter the budget. At the time when I entered, this was not the case, but after passing the entrance exams, they still extorted money from you. nine0003

Corruption in Turkmenistan at all levels. Before leaving, I thought that all over the world life is arranged in such a way that you pay to get a job or go to university. If the traffic police inspectors stopped you, then you must insert a bill between the documents, even if you did not violate anything.

Even if you are standing in line for bread and want to get it out of line, you get to know a store employee or give you some money. Now the queues at grocery stores are huge because of the coronavirus. The country has a card system for the sale of products, before gas and electricity were free, but about six years ago they introduced a fee. nine0003

We have a proverb “Tashlysan, yashysan”, that is, “If you throw money, then you live”. If you don’t have that kind of money, then you are nobody and there is no way to call you.

About money in Turkmenistan

Bank cards were introduced several years ago. Before that, we didn't know what it was. Forcibly, all employees of state institutions were forced to switch to cards where wages were calculated. Because of this, huge queues formed at ATMs. But even there money was constantly running out, people could not cash out their own salaries. nine0003

Due to low wages, Turkmen citizens are often unable to buy in private stores, so queues constantly accumulate in front of retail outlets where essential products are sold at fixed prices.

In the spring of 2020, cards were introduced in several regions of the country, according to which food products are dispensed in state stores at the rate of each family member. For example, for a family of up to four people, 500 grams of rice, 500 grams of flour, 500 grams of cottonseed oil and 500 grams of chicken legs are given out for a month. nine0003

In addition, the country periodically experiences shortages of one or another product. At the beginning of this year, in connection with the closure of borders with Iran, prices for basic foodstuffs increased in Ashgabat, and potatoes completely disappeared from the shelves. Since spring, the country has also faced a shortage of vegetable oil: the residents of Ashgabat had to queue at state-owned stores for imported Oleina vegetable oil from 5 o'clock in the morning.

You can put savings on the card, but not more than you earn. If the official salary is $300, then no more than this amount can be put on the card. Mom saved her money there for several years in order to cash it out in Turkey. nine0003

Then they introduced a rule that only 160 dollars can be cashed out from this card per month. In Turkey, it is also difficult to cash out money from a Turkmen card, it is all done underground - as if you are buying something, they take some percentage for it and they give you the rest.

Aman, 32

About childhood and the periphery

I was born in Ashgabat, but at the age of six my family moved to Lebap velayat. My parents are not from the capital, and my dad had problems finding a job after finishing his studies in Ashgabat. So we moved to my parents' hometown. nine0003

At that time there were 650 thousand inhabitants in Ashgabat, and 20 thousand in our city. This is an old Soviet city that stands in the middle of the desert. No matter how we closed the windows, there was always dust and sand at home.

At first, the people in the new place seemed wild to me. I was constantly asked where and why I came. It happened that they fought with me, found fault and asked: “What language do you speak?”. This city had its own dialect, which was different from Ashgabat.

There were often fights among teenagers. Somehow, we, 15-year-olds, were taken to court to show how the trials of teenagers go. The ninth graders were judged, whose fight turned into a stabbing. The trial took place in the assembly hall of the House of Culture. The guys were given 4 years in prison, and one who used a knife was given 15 years. Then the term was reduced to 13 years, later he was completely amnestied. nine0003

In our city, the boys used to say that if you don't have a walker, then you're not a man. There were a lot of people who did time for fighting. This began to embarrass me, and in high school I asked my parents to transfer me to a school in Chardzhou, a larger city with a population of over 500,000 people.

Our relatives lived in Chardzhou, they helped to negotiate with the director of the school about my transfer, because without registration new students were not accepted in the city. The principal agreed on the condition that we buy paint to renovate the school. In Turkmenistan, you can solve any problem if you have money. nine0003

About work

I earned my first money as a schoolboy. I saved up the money my mom used to give me for dinner and bought myself a Kodak film camera. First I photographed classmates, peers, then neighbors and relatives. I spent the money I earned on photographs on new clothes and shoes. The fact was that from home to school I had to stomp three and a half kilometers, my shoes were torn all the time. With the money I saved up, I started taking English courses, because they didn't teach English well at school. nine0003

After graduating from school, I got a job at the House of Culture as a dancer of national dances. When the president or other officials came, we danced in front of them. I danced in front of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov several times.

Sometimes we were taken to perform on holidays in Ashgabat. Those were great years for us, because we walked around the capital.

About military service

When we were just taken to the unit, there were demobilizations on the train. I had long hair then, and people came up to me and asked why my hair was like that. I said, "What's the difference, it doesn't matter." And they answered me: “What are you, blue?”. There were many of them, they surrounded me in army clothes, and I was in ordinary clothes. One of the demobilized took my belt, the second took my shoes. nine0003

Military service lasts two years. At first we were brought to some hole in the periphery. There we spent six months of quarantine, during which we were taught to walk, clean up and go to the canteen to dress up.

Somehow we were selected to participate in the parade in Ashgabat to walk in front of the president. We prepared for three months. We got up for breakfast at six in the morning, then we walked until lunchtime, then lunch, after which we walked again until ten in the evening. Two thousand people were marching at the same time and preparing for the parade so that everything was in sync. nine0003

If he made a mistake, he was forced to do squats with a machine gun. People fainted, they were brought to their senses and set to walk again.

On the day of the parade, we were brought to the square at three o'clock in the morning, we were given machine guns, everyone was checked that there were no bullets in the shutters. It was the middle of autumn, and at three in the morning it was very cold, some were trembling, some were falling - they were removed and another one was placed from the reserve. We were not allowed to go to the toilet, neither small nor large, they said: “Do your business on the spot.” And many did, so that the smell was dizzy. And behind us stood students with flowers, who were brought in at six in the morning. nine0003

At ten in the morning the President came and we walked in front of him for 15 minutes, shouting something like “Thank you President! Motherland is such and such!” . And for the sake of these 15 minutes, we prepared for three months and walked every day.

After the parade, I was taken to the unit where I served. It was on the border with Afghanistan, 100 km around there is nothing, only desert. There was no gas or running water in the unit - water was brought to us. We cooked on a fire and heated water on a fire to bathe.

At six in the morning there was a rise, then exercises, then breakfast, after which the territory was cleaned. During the cotton season, we went to the fields to harvest. Every month something happened in the unit: someone wanted to hang himself or shoot himself, or some soldier ran away, they caught him and put him on the lip for ten days - an army prison. It has already become a habit: to go to the desert to look for an escaped soldier. nine0003

I had some money to get rid of the outfits - five manats at a time - but it was not easy for me either. For several months I was sent to a dining outfit - this is to wash dishes for 200 people, to clean up.

We were badly fed: in the morning we were given a slice of bread and butter, tea and boiled rice, for lunch - pasta, for dinner - soup or rice. I separately bought food for myself: once a month a car arrived with a store in it. It was possible to buy cigarettes, sausage, cheese or gingerbread. nine0003

After the army, I got a job teaching English at courses, but I had already decided to leave the country. Later, I sent an application for the position of a translator to a Chinese company, where I had to pay a bribe of $650 to a Turkmen accountant to get a job.

I worked for more than a year and saved up for my studies in Ukraine. I studied there and got my bachelor's degree. During the holidays, I came to work in Turkey, and I liked it here: the mentality and culture of the Turks, and the language is similar to Turkmen. After graduation, I finally moved to Istanbul. Some of my compatriots returned to Turkmenistan after their studies and now tell me that they regret the choice they made. A friend asked me to send him $20 to buy food for his newborn baby. nine0003

Life in Istanbul

At first I worked as a loader. I did not like it - I worked an average of 15 hours, it was hard and badly fed. I lived then in the area of ​​Istanbul, where mostly Syrians live. If I wore shorts outside, people would come up to me and ask me to wear longer clothes so as not to "embarrass their daughters."

In the first year I changed three or four jobs, now I got a job as an administrator in a restaurant. Until recently, I had problems with documents, and for almost a year I lived without a visa, as an illegal immigrant. I was often caught by the police, but released. They understood that I was here to earn a living. In general, it is not easy for foreigners to open a work visa in Turkey - the employers themselves are not interested in this, because you need to pay more taxes for a visitor than for a Turk. Also, to hire one foreigner, you must have five Turkish employees on your staff. Therefore, for example, in a cafe, Turkmen are often hired to work illegally, then they can be paid a lower salary and evade taxes. nine0003

Maksat, 36 years old

About the police state

Life in Turkmenistan is now unbearable, a state project has been launched to control the population and instill fear of the government. The president gave enormous powers to officials and the police. Why the police? Because the police are mainly involved in control: they go, check, rewrite.

The pressure on the regions is stronger, but the life of Ashgabat is tightly controlled. People are being tapped with the help of cellular operators. I personally saw the route sheets and data on my movements, that is, evidence that I am being followed. I cannot reveal the reasons for surveillance, but there is a layer of people in Ashgabat who are constantly being monitored. These are those who have even the slightest weight in society, government or in certain circles. nine0003

I was always waiting for someone to come and take me away. I personally knew many people from the Mejlis, the presidential apparatus and some ministers, and therefore I expected some kind of catch. There was no compromising evidence against me, but even without this, something can be adjusted.

About degradation and emigration

I left because I was tired of total control and constant surveillance, I was tired of the insanity of the president, thoughtless praise of him, all these dances and false speeches. Tired of the degradation of the population - education is rolling into the abyss. If the president has to arrive somewhere at seven o'clock [in the morning], then children from three or four in the morning go out into the cold in thin dresses and shirts to meet him and dance around him at the opening of another stupid object. nine0003

ArticleTransit Hulk. Why did the brightest dictator of Central Asia divide the parliament of Turkmenistan, declare an amnesty and arrange a holiday? Now people cannot afford to buy meat and other expensive products, because salaries are low. But in order to get such a job, you have to pay a bribe from a thousand to 5 thousand dollars. Where do people get that kind of money from? And in private companies do not take without education. The people are begging, but silent. Self-censorship began with the advent of the first president, with the advent of the second president it increased a hundredfold. Nothing more can be said. nine0003

Turkmenistan ranks third in the top 10 countries with the most severe Internet censorship - North Korea leads the anti-rating. Social networks are blocked in Turkmenistan: Facebook, Twitter, VKontakte, instant messengers such as WhatsApp and Telegram do not work. The only messenger that is still not blocked is IMO . In addition, according to SpeedTest data, Turkmenistan ranks last in terms of Internet speed in the list of 175 countries. nine0003

Many people from my circle, the cultural intelligentsia, have left. They are also tired of the insanity of the president, the planting of ignorance among people. I'm tired of schoolchildren getting receipts that they will not visit certain sites on the Internet, otherwise they will be punished and called to the police. How is it possible in the modern world to prohibit the use of the Internet, which we already do not have.

When I arrived in Turkey, my feelings were humiliation and shame. From the fact that we, the Turkmen people, even people with higher education, are doing the most menial work here. I also had to work as an ordinary merchant. nine0003

But still, the very first thing I experienced when my plane landed in Istanbul was a feeling of freedom, an understanding that you had escaped from prison.

Ece, 46 years old

About Berdymukhammedov's agents

Since 2008-2009, people have been intensively leaving for work. And to this day, if the road had not been closed, they would have left. Each family has two or three migrants. And they don't want to come back - there is corruption in schools, corruption in hospitals, corruption in shops. Our people suffer, work, send money. nine0003

When I arrived in Istanbul, I was 32 years old. And now I am 46 years old. I've been here for so many years. I have not been to children's birthdays, I have not been to weddings. There is no normal life, just work, work, work.

And our president sent his agents to Istanbul and Ankara. He sent them to catch those who say something about their homeland, who oppose it. They are called "sibyls" in Turkey. They walk around in normal clothes, in civilian clothes. Kaenbeshniki it. He can stand, sell water, but in fact he is a policeman and eavesdrops. nine0003

About children

I do not regret anything for children. I send money every month. If they get sick, I say: "Don't stand in line, don't." According to the cards, how many will give - so much will be given. The daughter will make something out of flour. She tries to take food in the market so that she always has something to eat, so that her immunity does not go down. I followed my son's health - he was taken into the army in the summer. I couldn't see him because of our president. We have had an army for two years, and such an army ... There is hazing. And whoever gives money, he ends up in a good place. Whoever does not give money will be sent to the border with Iran, Afghanistan. Every mother is afraid. nine0003

My son was very ill that summer, he was dying. He was in the hospital for four months, he scared us a lot. We've spent so much money. When you come to the hospital, the doctors look at your hands. If you don't give money, they don't even look. They are sent to one hospital, to another. In Ashgabat, he was only diagnosed. And I couldn't come.

ArticleCamps, silence and hope for the burial ground. What is happening in Turkmenistan during the pandemic

We talked to him every day, he says to me: “Mom, maybe this is the last time we talk.” Do you know how hard it is for a mother? And I couldn’t go — our roads have been closed since last year. You go and you won't come back. They didn’t let us out, although I work on a work visa and pay taxes every month. I wanted to go back in May when my son finished school. But there was a coronavirus. nine0003

About patience

Turkmens are a patient people. There is bread at home - thank God, if only there was no war. This is what we were hiding behind: “Hey, don't talk too much about the president. Do not speak". We have such a Stalinist dictatorship, any person can be taken for interrogation and beaten, fined. The next time this person is already silent. We are already tired. We already have two or three in each family who have served time for nothing, for nothing.

Turkmens might have come out to protest, but our police are scary. They began to say that if you go on strike here or abroad, then you will not see your relatives, they are traitors to the motherland. We are now traitors to our homeland, because we left our country to work. nine0003

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• Nomenclature candidate.

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