TAJIKISTAN'S MOST ISLAMIC REGION FEELS MOST NEGLECTED

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000827 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM ECON EAID SOCI TI SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN'S MOST ISLAMIC REGION FEELS MOST NEGLECTED REF: DUSHANBE 0789 DUSHANBE 00000827 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. SUMMARY: Rasht Valley, one of Tajikistan's most isolated and devoutly Islamic districts, feels left behind. The economic boom evident elsewhere in Tajikistan has yet to reach this agricultural area. NGO and civil society leaders observe that while international organizations are active, more donor dollars go to towards Dushanbe, and Sughd and Khatlon provinces. Most farmers grow potatoes. A few organizations are working to diversify the monoculture, but due to poor roads, high transport costs and a lack of food processing facilities, even more diversified crops would have limited economic impact. The center of opposition during the 1992-1997 civil war, Rasht has few powerful patrons in Dushanbe. The residents of Garm, Tojikibod, and Jirgatol districts represent Tajikistan's most observant Muslims, although local authorities and religious leaders are quick to underline that the religious beliefs do not conflict with support for President Rahmonov, and all residents prefer peace over the years of conflict. Due to high unemployment, the majority of men have left, most as migrant workers in Russia, leaving women to struggle with farms and homes. END SUMMARY. ¶2. During an April 24-26 visit to Garm and Tojikibod, PolOff met government officials and NGO leaders, and visited a U.S. food aid distribution program (reftel). A 5 = hour bone-jarring drive on cratered roads leads to the town of Garm, where a single main street shows very little sign of entrepreneurship or economic activity. Abandoned half-finished buildings dotted the route in the Rasht Valley, further evidence that reconstruction funds had not been put into infrastructure. Two mobile phone companies serve Garm, although their signals were only active a few hours in the morning and evening, and never at the same time. None of the imported Mercedes, BMW and Prado Land Cruisers common on the streets of Dushanbe, Khujand and Kulob graced Garm's main drag, where a new branch of Orien Bank stood out as the one new addition. Residents gestured to the prominent Western Union sign and noted the bank mainly transfers money from migrants abroad. (NOTE: With national interest rates at 34%, it was unlikely any of the Rasht valley residents would look to a bank for credit. END NOTE.) ¶3. Even with spectacular mountains and scenery, few tourists make their way to the region; and if they reached Garm, there would be no place to stay aside from two NGO-run guesthouses, and the local government "hotel," which has no indoor toilet. In preparation for President Rahmonov's June 27 visit to commemorate "Unity Day" marking the end of the civil war, the local government had ordered a number of cosmetic improvements, including painting fences, rehabilitating the main tea house, and filling some of the thousands of pot holes. ¶4. Rasht is isolated and could grow even more so. Not only does the road deter all but the most committed travelers, language and economic disparity separate the valley from the more global-looking parts of Tajikistan. Tajiki is the spoken and written language-no signs were visible in Russian, and while most interlocutors responded to PolOff's Russian greetings in proper Russian, they quickly switched into Tajiki, with a nod to the interpreter. AGRICULTURAL POTENTIAL, BUT SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS ¶5. Despite an optimal microclimate to raise fruits and vegetables, Rasht has failed to maximize its agricultural potential, due to the potato monoculture, a lack of food processing facilities, and poor transportation options. Aga Khan Foundation's Mountain Society Development Support Program (MSDSP),German Agro Action and Canada's SIDA have implemented programs for seed improvement and diversification, but effects are limited. MSDPS also has pilot projects for a small oil processing facility that employs two women, and domestic food preservation and canning, but its director noted the valley truly needs food processing facilities, where farmers could bring their fruits and vegetables. Other NGO workers and DUSHANBE 00000827 002.2 OF 002 farmers echoed this wish over two days-food processing facilities would provide much-needed jobs and offer a way to get Rasht's high quality produce to a wider market than simply to the local consumers it currently supplies. MIGRATIONS RATES AMONG THE HIGHEST ¶6. The overall lack of jobs has led almost all men over age 17 to leave the valley, in some communities up to 70% of the male population. Residents admitted that many families use microcredit loans available from various projects to purchase plane tickets for laborers. The director of the Garm technical college expressed concern that many of the young men spoke no Russian and were ill-prepared for the hard-scrabble life as an illegal immigrant. He sought funding for a resource center to better educate workers about their rights before they leave. The newly-arrived OCSE field office director candidly admitted that while OSCE headquarters in Dushanbe was enthusiastic about a "business development center" further down the valley in Obi Garm, he thought the priority should be addressing the needs of thousands of young migrant men, and their families left behind. CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS SOCIETY ACTIVE ¶7. U.S. and other donor funding have helped local NGOs to address some of the problems of poverty, migration, education and agriculture, and taught their leaders how to advocate for their community, but there was a sense of envy at the April 25 roundtable discussion, that other regions of Tajikistan enjoy more benefits from donors and the central government. The NGO representatives, and local government leaders, expressed appreciation for the work being done, but noted ruefully that many needs go unaddressed. ¶8. Rasht's citizens are among Tajikistan's most active Muslims. Since the civil war ended, mosque attendance has steadily grown and now the Friday mosques pull in thousands of worshippers for weekly prayer. Women all wear traditional dresses and head coverings. A local Embassy staffer reported that in his friends' village a few kilometers south of Garm, every family was preparing to give $1000 each to construct a new mosque. "Not a school," he noted. "They are too religious!" American Councils representatives were in Garm at the same time, recruiting for a Community Connections professional exchange program for Tajik religious leaders. They observed that many of the religious leaders they were trying to interest in the exchange programs were reluctant to speak about politics or the civil war and focused instead on peace and stability. PROGESS POSSIBLE, BUT ONLY WITH SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT ¶9. The news in Rasht is not all bad: Should construction on Rogun hydropower station begin, the project would create hundreds of jobs. (Although one local NGO representative skeptically noted, "They've had festivals and feasts twice to herald the construction of Rogun, and still haven't gotten any further.") The Asian Development Bank has committed to rehabilitating the road through the Rasht Valley to the Kyrgyz border. The multi-million dollar project would also create jobs, and make the valley a major transit route between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. NGO leaders thought the economy was better than two years ago and would continue to improve. ¶10. COMMENT: Real economic development depends on investment that is nowhere in sight. No Tajik businesses plan to build any of the much-desired food processing facilities. Corruption and a lack of legal protection make domestic investments unattractive for Tajiks, and foreign investors have yet to show any interest. The labor migration saps Rasht valley of manpower and talent, as young men opt for low-paying jobs in Russia instead of education. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND