It was a surreal moment that makes living in
Uzbekistan such a stimulating experience for the foreigners living there. In Mustaqalik
(Independence) Square, the "public square" of Tashkent, towering lighting
galleries and impressive seating stands were being erected for the nation’s most
important nationalistic celebration. The stage was being set for the 1st September
Independence Day celebrations in which Uzbekistan would once again indulge in a huge
nationalistic revelry. Technicians were making a sound check and booming out of the
speakers was the Pink Floyd classic, "The Wall." The children chorus, "We
don't need no education, we don't need no thought control" in defiance of the
prospect of being "just another brick in the wall."

There are those who are understandably nervous about some aspects of the emerging Uzbek
nationalism. Not the least are those from ethnic minorities and Uzbekistan's smaller
neighboring countries. Others note that it seems too harsh and hypocritical for western
critics to deny the Uzbeks an opportunity to celebrate their long sidelined ethnic
traditions and still novel experience of statehood. What all can agree on is the need for
a national identity to develop that is both confident and also understanding and
appreciative of other national identities. Easier said than done, but C.A.F.E., an NGO
that accepts foreigner volunteers, plays a strategic role in encouraging that process.

Central Asian Free Exchange (CAFE) is, along with Peace Corps, one of the two highly
human capital intensive NGOs operating in Uzbekistan. This means that it offers people
rather than dollars. CAFE's foreign volunteers and local staff are involved in a wide
variety of projects, and yet in one sense it is not so much the doing as the being that
makes CAFE's role so distinctive. CAFE, which only operates in Uzbekistan, attracts
volunteers who, for the most part, have a highly developed interest in Uzbek culture. Many
work outside of the Tashkent area, serve for long periods of time, and, in many cases,
become not only highly proficient in the language, but also in the culture. When an
American leaves paradise to learn, live (and like!) Uzbek culture, what does that
communicate to an Uzbek? Such an affirmation encourages the development of confident
national identity.

The foreign volunteer living and working "shoulder to shoulder" with Uzbeks
also contributes to the vitally important counterweight, an understanding and respect for
other cultures. Other cultures does not just mean American, as there are approximately
twenty-three nationalities represented within CAFÉ that in itself is a potentially
instructive model of how different nationalities can work together. As Independence Day
was recently celebrated in Uzbekistan, it is worth remembering that the youth of
Uzbekistan, while they can happily do without thought control, they do need education and
a modelling of respect for other cultures so that a healthy national identity is built.
The alternative, mutually suspicious and defensive "walls" of nationalism, would
obstruct the development of the Central Asian region and its integration into the world
community.

Daniel Stevens, doctoral candidate at the School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London, served two years with CAFE in Uzbekistan.