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How Much for a Migrant Worker?
Translation of publicist’s post (RUS)
According to UN forecasts, the flow of migrant workers into Kazakhstan will grow steadily until 2050. But even today, migrant workers form a relatively large niche among Kazakhstan’s working population.
Migrant worker. The term is not clean-shaven. It doesn’t gleam with the whiteness of a starched collar. It doesn’t smell of expensive perfume. A migrant worker is a shabbily dressed individual with frightened eyes. He fears the cold, the police and dark streets patrolled by thugs with brass knuckles. He fears aggressive women at the bazaar, who suspect anyone of different ethnicity to be a thief or a terrorist. He is vulnerable from all sides because he has no rights; he is away form his native land; and he doesn’t know the laws of his new country.
What Are “Women’s” Professions?
Translation of publicist’s post (RUS)
Women have always sought, and continue to seek, equality with men. This applies to the job market as well. Statistics show that there are very few professions without at least a minimal female presence, whereas there are certain professions where it is practically impossible to find men. Of course, Kazakh laws prevent women from working certain jobs involving heavy manual labor or personal risk.
A Bit of History
Borat’s show will go on
Kazakhstan became familiar to the world in 2006 as a result of the scandalous fictional character “Borat.” The government of Kazakhstan has tried hard to discredit him but, in fact, it’s just promoting him. (Literally, in some cases! Check out neweurasia’s coverage of this ridiculous story.)
Kazakhstani movie director Erkin Rakishev will produce “a worthy response” to Borat, Lenta.ru reports. The story is about “John,” an American who watched the “Borat” film and decided to check out Kazakhstan himself. While in Kazakhstan he realizes that “everything is not as [bad] as described in the movie.”
“We want to use Borat’s success. By using its popularity in the West, we want to show westerners a real Kazakhstan and not the one created by Sasha Cohen,” Rakishev explained.
According to him a Hollywood company is already interested in it. Work on the movie will start this autumn and it’s slated for screening in Spring 2011.
The show must go on!
Nazarbaev’s “Akmetal” — is it alchemy or worth its weight in gold?
Image by neweurasia's Schwartz (CC-usage)
A global currency for a globalized world — that’s the proposal of Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbaev, which he made during an informal meeting of OSCE foreign ministers in Almaty earlier this month. He suggested calling it the “akmetal”, a word coined from the Greek “acme” (”supreme”) and “capital.” Yeah, I know, it sounds suspiciously like “alchemy”, causing one to wonder if Nazarbaev is engaging in any private John Lennon-style chemical concoctions. Anyway, he also said that once implemented, the phrase “akmetalism” could actually replace “capitalism” as the description of the world’s dominant economic system. I’m not sure how a currency can qualify as an ideology, but Nazarbaev ain’t nothing if not a dreamer.
Discussion: The Dreams of Kazakh Youth
Translation of mursya’s post (RUS)
Kamila Zhusupova’s post about the dreams of Kazakhstan’s youth caused a storm in the comments section of her blog. Below are some of the more interesting responses:
Adil:
Everything written here concerns Kazakhstan’s youth as much as anyone else. The number of people who changed the world has always been small compared to the masses you describe.
Alikhan:
1% make life better. The other 99% use this and live on it. They don’t have the time to sit down and think about what they really want from life…
What does Kazakhstan’s youth dream about?
Translation of zhusupova’s post (RUS)
What is youth today? What do young people dream about? What do they want? Are they apathetic?
This was the subject of my recent conversation with Aizhamal Duishebaieva, a Soros Fund representative. She asked me, what does “your youth” live for? By “my” youth, she meant the young people of Kazakhstan.
I was stumped, and while I was thinking of a good answer, Aizhamal continued talking: Take Kyrgyzstan, for example. The youth there is very active. You can feel how interested they are in the fate of their country. It’s moving. What can you say?
On Nauryzbai-batyr
Translation of Adam’s post (RUS)
There is a joke about a schoolboy who doesn’t know who Nauryzbai-batyr is. His father explains that it’s KGB chief Dzerzhinsky. To fill the gap in our memories:
Little is known about the life of Nauryzbai-batyr, but legends remain of his heroic deeds. His father Kuttymbet had five sons and they were a family of brave warriors. Three of Nauryzbai-batyr’s brothers were killed while fighting foreign invaders. At the age of 24, he was elected bas batyr and took command of an army of many thousand. After crushing the Dzhungars, he turned to diplomatic work. He was highly esteemed and respected by the great Abylai-khan.
When, in 1742, a Russian officer named Karl Miller passed through Semirechie on a diplomatic mission to Dzhungaria, he met with Nauryzbai several times. Luckily, we still have the diplomat’s travel notes, in which he describes his impressions from these meetings, painting Batyr as an intelligent, perspicacious and amiable person.
Choosing our Priorities
Translation of megakhuimyak’s post (RUS)
In its 20 years of independence, Kazakh society has still not been able to define what it considers most important:
- preserving Kazakhstan as a sovereign state
- preserving Kazakhs as an ethnic group
- preserving and developing the Kazakh language
- preserving and developing Kazakh culture
Moreover, no one in our society has pointed out that these priorities are basically mutually exclusive. But I have the feeling that if we keep dragging on with this search for priorities, they will eventually tell us that there are no choices and decide everything for us.
Made in Kyrgyzstan
Translation of thousand-pa’s post (RUS)
I like the fact that the Customs Union will help industrial growth in Kyrgyzstan. It means the country is not being left on its own, but given a chance to profit (if they hustle, of course).
At least our neighbor’s textile sector won’t perish. Now, instead of endowing production made outside Bishkek with “Made in China” or “Made in Turkey” tags, they can confidently claim what’s theirs: “Made in Kyrgyzstan.” Because now, Kyrgyz goods have the green light, and the rest can bite it.
According to the deputy chair of the prime minister’s secretariat, Mukhtar Dzhumaliev, with Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus entering the Customs Union, Kyrgyzstan’s ability to re-export becomes limited. However, as M. Dzhumaliev reassures the public, “we are only talking about good not produced within Kyrgyzstan’s borders. They must conform to the standards set by the customs union.”
Life Sketches: The Absurd, Kazakh-Style
Translation of megakhuimyak’s post (RUS)
We have a little park in our neighborhood. It’s green, has a playground and a sports turf.
Next to the park, we used to have prostitutes, so every evening police cars would patrol the area and maintain order. People felt safe relaxing or taking their kids out to play.
Then the prostitutes left, and with them the police.
Now the park is full of bums, drunk teenagers and stray dogs. There is trash everywhere. The kids have nowhere to play. Now we have to write a complaint to the akimate. As long as there were prostitutes, there was order.
