TURKMENISTAN: SOCIAL ILLS WORSEN IN DASHOGUZ PROVINCE

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 000558 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL, EEB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SCUL SOCI KPAO TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: SOCIAL ILLS WORSEN IN DASHOGUZ PROVINCE REF: ASHGABAT 550 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Life in Dashoguz, a mid-sized city with 100,000 residents close to the Uzbek border, has always been hard. The city and central governments favor Turkmen and offer limited opportunities for educational advancement and recreation to the sizable Uzbek and Kazakh population of Dashoguz. Coupled with the crush of higher gas and food prices and a weakened dollar (reftel), Dashoguz residents are falling into despair as suicides, substance abuse, and domestic violence rise. END SUMMARY. LIMITED ADVANCEMENT ¶3. (SBU) For the majority of residents in Dashoguz, there are limited opportunities to improve their life. The city's three vocational schools, similar to U.S. community colleges offering two-year courses in accounting, English, and secretarial skills, etc., are woefully short on space and equipment. According to locals, admission is based on bribery. Young people comment that Turkmenistan's 12 institutes and two universities are quietly closed to ethnic Uzbeks and Kazakhs without a substantial bribe. Most young people only have a 9th grade education, which makes them ineligible to apply for higher education in Russia and Ukraine where the 10th grade is required. According to ethnic Uzbek residents, ethnic Uzbeks and Kazakhs cannot find work with the city's single largest employer, the government, because of discrimination. LIMITED ENTERTAINMENT ¶4. (SBU) Most young people have little to do during the day. There are no bookstores, movie theaters, or shopping malls in Dashoguz. The most popular hang-outs are the U.S. Government funded American Corner, USAID Internet Access and Training Program computer center and the USAID Counterpart office, where there is free Internet access for the general public. Young people spend a lot of time on the computers searching the Internet for study abroad opportunities. They search for schools, scholarships, and apartments. They prefer coming to these centers because they have the best Internet connections in town. Young people also enjoy going to the discos. However, as one young person explained to EmbOff, this ends up being a downward slide. He said they often mix with the "wrong" crowd at the discos and get involved in drugs. SOCIAL TENSION ¶5. (SBU) Disenchanted youth coupled with a rising cost of living and devalued savings have produced a number of social tensions in Dashoguz homes. As explained to EmbOff, suicide may be on the rise, especially among "bread winner" older men who have mounting bills and less money to pay them. Families are talking about increased substance abuse at home. Fathers and older men are consuming more alcohol and are drunk during the day. Locals say more and more young people are giving in to cheap narcotics from Afghanistan, especially heroine. One resident talked about an increase in domestic violence as families struggle harder to cope with higher prices for food and gas and less income (reftel). ¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: Social and living conditions in Dashoguz have never been easy. However, because of recent government policy concerning the dollar to manat exchange rate and higher gas and food prices, life is a lot harder. Most residents fear approaching city officials with their problems and concerns out of fear of repercussions, either for themselves, their families, or both. Locals also sense that officials will not listen to their problems and do not care about them. For now, some are coping the best they can. Others, however, are looking for a way out of the country and away from these problems. END COMMENT. CURRAN