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Kyrgyzstan & Kazakhstan

Advocates of the poor in former Soviet Republic

Poverty has many faces. In the Central Asian Republic Kyrgyzstan, which gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, poverty has a grey, cold and disillusioned face. The free market forces have officially taken over after the collapse of the Communist planned economy. This has given many advantages to a privileged upper class, but also created huge unemployment, poverty and destitution for many people. In the cities large state-owned industrial buildings are left completely empty, and in the country collective farms have been deserted. Outside the capital Bishkek there are large illegal settlements where people have taken refuge in the hope of a better future. Others have moved into industrial buildings which are ready for demolition without windows, electricity or heating. The people living in these slum areas are very vulnerable, especially in winter when temperatures may go as low as 35 degrees Celsius below zero.

Remnants of the Soviet system

An essential problem in the slum areas is that many do not have a formal housing permit, a so-called ‘propiska’. Such a permit is crucial as it also gives them with the right to medical assistance, to education and to vote.

The ’propiska’ system is a legacy from the former planned economy and was introduced into the old Soviet Union so that the state could control and manage the mobility of the population. The ‘propiska’ system was officially abolished after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But in Kyrgyzstan and in other of the Central Asian Republics the system still exists. This means for instance that newcomers to urban areas are illegal citizens in their own country.

Civil society on the rise

Active advocacy from among others the DCA partner ARYSH has led to the introduction of electricity, gas and water to some of the illegal settlements as part of a recognition of the areas as housing areas. Since 1997, DanChurchAid has collaborated with ARYSH, which among others works with organisation of self-help groups.

Some of the biggest challenges to the partner organisations are the advocacy activities. The conditions for practising advocacy are not good in Central Asia, as the Soviet past has taught people that is may be dangerous to question the state or the system. During the Soviet regime you could end up imprisoned or be deprived of your rights. Thus the thought of an active civil society playing antipole and partner to the state is hardly present in people’s mind. But in spite of all obstacles the advocacy activities are slowly beginning. Organisations working with senior citizens, children and self-help groups in the illegal settlements have increasingly started to approach the Kirghizian authorities.

At the same time the organisations cooperate in order to learn from one another. Center for Protection of Children, CPC, another of DanChurchAid’s partners, has also strengthened its advocacy activities. In the beginning CPC was first and foremost a drop-in centre and a place providing food to vulnerable children and youth. But now the organisation works with local and national authorities to strengthen children’s rights to education and other fundamental rights.

Poverty has caused a radical change in the traditional family structure. Parents are increasingly depending on the income a child can earn for the family. Thus child labour is quite common and even though there officially is free education for everyone, many children are not attending school.

Member of the DCA Board Susanne Adelhardt Jensen