KYRGYZ REFUGEE CAMPS IN UZBEKISTAN
As a result of the massive interethnic clashes that started in the south of Kyrgyzstan on June 11, tens of thousands of ethnic Uzbek residents of the Osh and Jalalabad districts of Kyrgyzstan crossed the border to Uzbekistan as refugees. According to UNICEF, about 75 refugee camps were set up near the city of Andijan in Uzbekistan. About 90 percent of these refugees are children, women and elderly people. Some sources report that about 30,000 more are at the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, trying to cross. However, in some border areas, passage is restricted as there is physically no place to house more refugees. Nevertheless, Uzbekistan accepts all the injured and sick without any exceptions. In light of the massive influx of refugees, Uzbek authorities call for humanitarian assistance and support from the international community.
The refugee camps are supplied with all the necessary items. As reported by Izatulla Ibragimov, the deputy head of the Ministry for Emergency Situations in Andijan district, people are housed in special tents and medical care is provided to all in need. The head of the Andijan district administration Shermirza Usmanov stated that refugees are provided with hot meals three times a day and that drinking water, medicine, hygiene and sanitation items are delivered to the camps. About 1,000 patients receive medical care at the healthcare centers of Andijan. Over 100 of these suffer from bullet wounds, while others are pregnant women and people with tuberculosis and oncological diseases, which were evacuated from hospitals in Osh.
According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulaziz Komilov, during the first three days of refugee influx to Uzbekistan, the Uzbek Government rendered assistance amounting to more than 1.5 billion Uzbek Sums (about US$ 1 million). However, much more help is needed.
On June 16, an official telephone conversation took place between the President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, where President Karimov informed the Secretary General on the situation in the south of Kyrgyzstan and in the refugee camps in Uzbekistan. The President emphasized that there is an increased need for humanitarian assistance not only from UN organizations, but also from individual states. The Secretary General stated that he personally coordinates all the work on assistance.
Several international humanitarian and UN organizations are already actively involved in providing humanitarian assistance to the refugees of south Kyrgyzstan. The assistance package provided by UNICEF amounts to several hundred thousand U.S. dollars. In addition, UNHCR will deliver 340 tons of humanitarian assistance; the World Health Organization sent three containers with blankets and will provide medical assistance; while the International Red Cross and the Crescent Committee provided humanitarian assistance to over 20,000 victim families.
The civil society of Uzbekistan is also quite active in mobilizing additional resources. The charity Fund “Mehr Nuri”, the Forum of culture and art of Uzbekistan Fund, the Fund in Support of Social Initiatives, and the Republican public association “Jenskoe Sobranie”, sent more than 130 tons of humanitarian aid. In Tashkent, several aid receiving points were organized to collect humanitarian assistance from the citizens of Uzbekistan. Volunteers from the youth center “Kelejak Ovozi” actively take part in collecting and distributing products and medicine in the refugee camps.
Meanwhile, the general population of Uzbekistan believes that the tragic events in the south of Kyrgyzstan are not an effect of mutual intolerance between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, but of a thoroughly planned provocation.
A local of Andijan district stated that “Uzbek and Kyrgyz people have lived next to each other for centuries and therefore we cannot stay indifferent to the grief of our neighbors. That is why we welcome them at our place; that is why we provide them with everything necessary”. Some local people think that Uzbekistan should have been more active in preventing the bloodshed in the neighboring republic.
The refugee situation in Uzbekistan is relatively under control, with the increased attention and assistance from the government and civil society, and from the international community. However, southern Kyrgyzstan is far from stable and it is unlikely that people who suffered deep psychological and physical shock during the bloody clashes will be ready to return to their homes in the nearest future. Thus, many local and international experts already express concern that a prolonged stay of significant numbers of refugees in the densely populated Andijan district may cause economic difficulties for Uzbekistan.
