Kazakhstan Trying to Solve Financial Problems By Chauvinism

With Ill-based Ambitions at Stake, Kazakhstan is Trying to Solve Its Mounting
Financial and Economic Problems by Triggering Chauvinism

Recently Tajik president E.Rahmon held his traditional meeting with representatives of intelligentsia of our country. He called upon the youth “to study more actively the world languages, especially Russian and English”. As for religious issues, he expressed concern with signs of Nazi movements appearing in some countries.

The head of state confidently stated that Tajikistan condemns “any manifestations of nazism and neonazism, chauvinism and xenophobia”, and expressed as well a sharp disagreement with the activities of foreign mass media, which, according to him, spread unreal information about Tajikistan.

We have to express our respect to the government of Tajikistan which is concerned not only with some separate manifestations of xenophobia towards representatives of Tajik nation in the territories of some European states of the former USSR. Such manifestations of nationalism and chauvinism more often take place in our Central Asian region as well.

Today the political reality is that some neighboring countries, which found themselves as some parvenus, which were unexpectedly donned oil and some other “treasures”, more often look haughtily at their less lucky, as they deem, neighbors. Moreover, directly supported by the authorities of these republics, some mass media, including Internet sites, started to publish articles to discredit not exactly the government of Tajikistan, but the Tajik people.

Last winder some Kazakh internet sites published an article “Tajikistan wipes with the tears of Omar Khayam. Abnormal frosts and energy crisis put the country on the verge of catastrophe”. The article is full of lies about the life in Tajikistan. If the author has never been in our country, from his point of view one can think that the article is about some distant African state, where people have nothing to eat and to do.

The author, a quasi-journalist, highlights Tajik life in such dark colors that we ourselves will be afraid of visiting our native land. While talking to one of Kazakh diplomats working in Kazakh embassy in Dushanbe, I said: “Go down to Earth, brothers. You must not so haughtily estimate your neighbor, which was a fraternal republic in the past".

There is an impression, as if a year ago in Dushanbe there was no "round table " named "Situation in the Central Asia: role and place of Kazakhstan in the region", organized by the Center of Strategic Researches (under the president of Republic Tajikistan) and the Embassy of Republic Kazakhstan in Tajikistan. And in fact what appeals and promises were sounded by Kazakh guests, who, feeling behind themselves the mythical Kazakh financial opportunities, behaved as illiterate merchants at Sunday fair: boastfully, with aplomb, but with elementary provincial illiteracy. You could see this in all their actions: in official speeches of the ambassador, and in private conversations with the Kazakh experts.

The main issue in a complex of the Tajik-Kazakh relations, discussed by the participants of the above “round table" were economic and cultural links of two countries in conditions of geopolitical leadership of Kazakhstan in the region ". That’s it and in no way less! A year has passed but as there were no declared Kazakh integration offers, so we don’t see them now. It turned out another Kazakh “dusting” or “sneezing” the main purpose of which was to throw dust in their own Kazakh eyes.

Last winter was a severe test for people of our region. But it also became a specific examination of relations between the neighbors. So the "rich" and patronizing Kazakhstan, which promised to participate in every possible project in Tajikistan, has shown its true face and the price of its friendship with our country. In times hard for us the government of N.Nazarbaev gave us goods the cost of which hardly exceed $ 1,5 million instead of promised allocation of $3 million. It was a long-stored, not needed and obviously outdated foodstuff.

In late winter, at press conference in Dushanbe the ambassador of Kazakhstan in Tajikistan E.Abildaev informed journalists, that
"Kazakhstan would render the neighboring republic the humanitarian aid by sending combustive-lubricating materials for Dushanbe Thermal Power Station, and also wheat and flour". As they say "a cart until now there ". Empty promises - and only!

I remember how arrogantly these words sounded in official language of this alleged regional hegemon: "this (Kazakhstan) country is going to participate in large economic projects of the Republic Tajikistan, that by virtue of successful political and economic reforms in Kazakhstan, making it a leader in the region, promises success to Tajikistan as well". And where are these economic projects? And what real successes do we see in political or economic spheres in Kazakhstan itself?

Let's clarify the essence of Kazakh claims and ambitions one by one and call things by their proper names. Until 18 century of concept "Kazakh" as people did not exist. Moreover, separate representatives of the nomadic tribal union conditionally called today "Kazakhs", recognized the right to be referred to only by their tribal belonging to one or another tribe. By this time the Tadjik ethnos had existed already more than thousand years and given the world of such pillars of a world thought, as: Rudaki, Khayam, Khafiz, Firdausi, Saadi, Bedil and many hundreds of great names.

In what area Kazakhstan, persistently chasing a role of "the leader and hegemon of the region ", has achieved noticeable successes? Is there any such sphere in which there is a similar leadership? There is! The country ranks first in terms of squandering its own natural resources and mineral riches. As it’s known, Kazakhstan today means only seven large cities and suburbs adjoining to them. All rest both de facto and de jure, for more than ten years now belong to large foreign transnational companies which dig out remorselessly all natural recourses, or to the local corrupted officials surrounding the Kazakh president. Is there something similar in Tajikistan? No, here both the land, the soil and even water belongs to Tadjik people.

There is one more sphere, where Kazakhs are precisely "ahead of all planet" – banking and financial. I remember how five years ago the then chairman of the Central Bank of RK Mr. Tereshenko was awarded high international awards and ranks for modernization of this sphere. The "modernization" has gone right - the richest country of the world turned out to be indebted 105 billion dollars to everybody around.

How can we call this “reform” if the reformers handed over all the property to others to find themselves naked, moreover, to become debtors of enormous money. And only next year the banks should return 14 billion dollars!!!!

Do we see similar things in Tajikistan? No. Although our country has no such huge natural resources, it slowly, but confidently builds its future due to its diligent work. The fact that hundreds thousands of Tadjiks living and working abroad is another proof that our people are in demand, its diligence and professional qualities are recognized. Wasn’t it the way that millions Englishmen, Italians, Spaniards, other European people created during centuries their well-being. Isn’t it the way that Spanish-speaking people in USA and Southeast Asia are building their future?

Do Kazakh people have something to be proud of in scientific sphere? So what is the reason of the Kazakh pride? The pride of today's Kazakh is a pride of a corrupted, whimsical child, wasting granddad’s inheritance, whose parents did not give him a good education, did not teach good manners and how to behave around the table. And our general table, as it’s known, is our region. We have to live a decent life, consulting with neighbors, and conceit is not honored here, and arrogance is considered a huge drawback.

Yes, Tadjik people is facing hard times now, but each nation has its downs and rises in history. Today Kazakhstan makes profit out of oil given by God and which we are lacking in Tajikistan. But all Tadjiks believe in abilities of our people which is very hardworking. And consequently we shall necessarily go uphill, on rise.

Did Kazakh people become more competent, diligent and cleverer since obtaining their independence and owing to the president? Do Kazakh people have any outstanding representative of a planetary scale, whose genius would allow today's Kazakhs to be proud of his heritage? No! Maybe because of this that the Russian-American-Mongolian film was produced at the account of Kazakh budgetary money, which praises Chengizkhan, whose ethnic origin does not cause any disputes, but whose name the Kazakhs are ready to join with pleasure?

As in case with the film, in all other spheres Kazakhstan holds the first place as concerns the number of foreign workers, scientists, managers and intellectual workers. It is worth for Kazakh chauvinists to be proud of this? If there are no brains and there is nothing more to be proud of, probably, let them do what they are doing now, but one cannot run away from reality: what is at the very least created today in Kazakhstan is not a fruit of Kazakh "economic miracle", but the result of foreign investments, foreign capital, foreign brains, foreign hands and legs, and ultimately all this belongs to FOREIGNERS.

And Kazakhs have become long time ago those "mankurts" (Mankurts - the people, deprived of their will, historical memory and understanding of their own identity, who also lost their moral and cultural values, links with their nation and who became an embodiment of evil) which great late Kirghiz writer C.Aytmatov wrote about and whom the Kazakh chauvinists wished to privatize as well.

But the time will put everything in its right place, and no doubt that the end of the Kazakh conceit will come. I am simply convinced of it!