Nerves, revisited.
I’m in Kyrgyzstan and things have sort of hit the fan. Sort of because news isn’t easily accessible here so I won’t really know of anything until it’s at the front gate. Well, at least there is a gate, with a guard and 2 dogs. People are on alert now as there has been a violent conflict in the south between 2 ethnic groups. It’s spreading rather quickly and the death toll is climbing as well. Officially at 77, but out here, there aren’t people going around counting. 77 is just a poor estimation which is probably quite dated by now and was probably quite off in the first place. Russia won’t help, they don’t want to get their hands dirty, but perhaps are willing to clean-up. I bet they’ll come in if some of their people start getting killed though, since there are a lot of people of Russian descent here, and it’s the common language. The Kyrgyz interim government has mobilized its army with shoot-to-kill orders on looters. The city where all this is going down is called Osh, south of where I am, but locals say the ethnic unrest has been high for a number of years now and they worry it has now reached its breaking point. Locals are not as scared now as they were when the former President was ousted 2 months ago. So the severity of the situation is not to be underestimated. There is a lot going on in this country and I’m struggling to keep up, especially now, with all this going on. It is exciting though, despite the potential of danger and my self-preservation. I can only hope that out of this brokenness, healing would take place. I just hope that the country will not bleed too much. It is poor and it will not take much for it to be broken. I just wonder to what extent it will be broken, shattered. Let us pray not too badly.
Also I am slightly concerned about my dad. He is in Kazakhstan right now, a neighboring country. With this going on in Kyrgyzstan, borders maybe sealed off. Kyrgyz had already sealed off all but 3 entry/exit points due to the instability of the country, but now the possibility of a complete seal is much higher. He does has his passport so if all else fails he should be able to fly out of Kazak, but it’ll be a costly detour, sure to cost him a few thousand usd. And of course, I’d be stuck with all the stuff he left behind :T
Anyway, if all goes well, as in, things don’t go buckwild, I am scheduled to visit a few places that this foundation I am staying at operates. More on the foundation some other day. But I basically have 3 fulldays remaining, and I will be traveling to 3 separate locations. All pretty far from Osh, but given the situation, I do not know how sensitive other areas will be. Americans are not well-liked here. So, hopefully things go well and I am able to follow through as planned. Otherwise you may see me on CNN running away from gunfire haha. Not funny. Me running away from gunfire with some shaslik in my mouth would be.
But let us not make light of the situation. As it is sure to escalate if things are not done swiftly and well. Who knows how well led and trained this army is. And how well the interim gov’t handles all this. And how the Uzbeks and Kyrgrz people interact, as well as all other ethnicities in the mix. And then there’s the big boys like Russia and America who seem to be watching from the sidelines. There’s also rumors that the former President has been sponsoring gangs to stimulate the riots in Osh so that he and his party could start things up again. Who knows how much is true, and how much is mere speculation. Let us simply pray and hope that the dust settles and quickly.
Crazy times we be living in people, crazy times. Funny thing is, if I was in America right now, I’d probably be arguing with friends over some World Cup games and getting all my panties in a bunch if my team lost. American seriously has everyone doped up on complacency and numbness to the world of hurt surrounding them. Damn our society. I am ashamed that I take part in it, participate and do nothing to fix it.
I have met some amazing people out here. I have heard great testimonies. I see God moving through this organization. I have been so immensely blessed I feel guilty because I’m the visitor, so I should bring something to bless them with whether it be something physical or a skill set, but no, its been the opposite. I have been learning so much and getting so much affirmation, its been a ridiculous encouragement. Not sure if it is simply God using this trip to bless me or if He is blessing me specifically in Kyrgyzstan. This is something unknown to me, and I am not sure how important it is to find out. Worth a bit more contemplation and prayer.
Anyway, this has rambled on long enough, but it has been good and it’s helped me process some things. Lastly, I leave you 2 articles covering the situation out here. All prayers are appreciated. Thank you in advance, I sincerely mean it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/world/asia/13kyrgyz.html?ref=asia
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/06/13/kyrgyz.violence/index.html?hpt=T1
