UZBEKISTAN TWO WOMEN ARE FIGHTING LONELY BATTLE FOR THE RIGHTS OF 3 TO 5 MILLIONS UZBEK MIGRANTS WORKERS RIGHTS IN RUSSIA AS WOMEN ALLEGED UZBEK GOVT IS SILENT OPPOSITION IS SILENT EMBASSY NOT DOING ANYTHING THAT MEANS SOMEONE HAS TO ACT ON BEHALF OF THE CITIZENS Women fighting for the rights of Uzbek migrant workers Two Uzbek women are attempting to stand up for the rights of millions of migrant workers, while Islam Karimov continues to express only disdain for this group of Uzbek citizens, and his male opponents simply ignore the problem. Well-known activists from Uzbekistan – Matabar Tajibaeva and Shakhida Yakub – have founded a coalition to protect the rights of Central Asian migrant workers in Russia. The supporters of the newly formed coalition are also women, Tajibaeva’s and Yakub’s friends and colleagues in Central Asia and Russia. Easy to smile and quick to joke, Tajibaeva and Yakub – one a mother and the other a grandmother of three – are part of the rare breed of people who stand up for the rights of the Uzbek people. The leader of human rights organization “Fiery hearts club” Mutabar Tajibaeva, who lives in France, says that recent actions by the Russian authorities to throw illegal migrants in detention centers sparked a desire in her to organize such a coalition. On July 27 in Matveevskiy market in Moscow, Mohammed Rasulov, a Russian citizen, assaulted a police officer. The incident caused Russian authorities retaliate by punishing migrant workers in Russia. It is being reported in the media that 83 detention centers will be created for thousands of illegal migrant workers in Russia, including women, children, the elderly and the sick. Parents and children will be separated from each other. Tajibaeva is not able to idly stand by and let this basic violation of migrant workers rights take place. There are from three to five million Uzbek citizens working in Russia, and their mistreatment by the Russian authorities is made worse by indifference from the Uzbek government. President Islam Karimov recently called the Uzbek migrant workers “loafers” who deserve nothing but disdain. He said that death would be better than sweeping Russian streets. “Uzbekistan is the only country that does nothing to protect its migrant workers in Russia,” says Tajibaeva. According to her, migrant workers from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China and Vietnam will also end up at the newly built detention centers, but their respective consulates will try to help them. The Uzbek consulate, in its eagerness to follow Karimov’s line, does nothing to protect its citizens. When asked why she got involved, Tajibaeva says: “The Uzbek government is silent, The Uzbek opposition is silent. That means someone has to act on the behalf of our citizens.” The coalition is in its early stages of development, and Tajibaeva does not yet know how precisely it will act to protect Uzbek migrant workers and how it will exert pressure on the Russian authorities. They have not yet established any ties with detained migrants. However, step-by-step the coalition hopes to accomplish significant changes in the treatment of the migrant workers in Russia.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 01:34:23 +0000
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