The Great-White-Pure Future Home Wishes

The villages which have sprung up near Dordoi Bazaar have prodigious names. They are as follows: Kelechek – meaning future, Ak-Jar – meaning Great/Pure Home, Ene-Sai – meaning Another Gorge. I visited the home of Urusbek in Ak-Bata (Great/Pure Wish). Ak-Bata is called a village, even though it is pretty much continuous with the rest of Bishkek. Technically it resides on the opposite side of the road which marks the city’s Northern-most boundary but even neighborhoods around the bazaar which lie on the Bishkek side are known as villages.

When I spoke with Urusbek about life in his neighborhood it was clear that indeed the settlements had the feel of a village. Everyone knows everyone in a village and so it is in Ak-Bata. In many other parts of Bishkek it is not a good idea to go out at night. In Ak-Bata and the other neighborhoods around Dordoi it is quite safe to go out at any hour. In fact, the neighborhoods were settled by individuals and families from villages, collective farms (Kolkhoz) and small cities all over Kyrgyzstan. And so the neighborhoods are cohesive and safe with a strong sense of community. “Village Leaders” are elected and the neighborhoods are governed actively. There are areas set aside as parks and football fields for recreation though their condition is universally poor. Dust and scrub brush abound.

The homes are made of mud and straw. Dust hangs in the air making everything dirty and litter is ubiquitous. Even when it is thoughtfully discarded, refuse collects in open holes about 20 feet from nearly every residence. When I asked Urusbek his opinion of the neighborhood he said, “I like it here and I do not want to say bad things about my village… but it is dirty and dusty and full of garbage.” Urusbek hopes someday to move to a more refined and established location. But looking beyond the dirt and the trash, there is much going on to create a pleasant atmosphere. The new residents have planted trees and though now they are barely taller than 2 meters, someday they will effectively shield the homes from erosion during the summer as well as the chilling wind and snowdrifts of the winter. Small gardens, young decorative plants as well as waist-high fruit trees mark the boundary between the well kept yards and the unkempt short grasses, thistles and scrubs which fill in gaps between habitations.

Most of the homes are very modest. One or two rooms compose a house for an entire family. Urusbek’s family of six siblings, plus mother and (occasionally) father lives in two rooms, each about 3.5X3.5 meters. One room is the sleeping/dressing room where as the room with the entrance to the house is the kitchen/living room. The floors are dirt but covered with linoleum. Urusbek’s family has a large TV and DVD player in this room yet experienced a very tough winter last year when temperatures plummeted (and stayed) around -20 to -30 C (about -10 to -25 F). Urusbek shivered dramatically when he told me about it, “I have never been so cold. They were the worst nights of my life and in the morning I could not feel or move my fingers.” This year the family has tried to be better prepared. They have stockpiled wood and a good deal of coal. Its still not enough for Urusbek to be comfortable because the price for a ton of coal went from around $US 70 to $300 in the last year. A wood/coal burning stove located in the wall which separates the room will heat the house in the winter.

While most of the houses are small, a few are rather expansive and bordered by high mud walls. Many are adding a second story. All of the construction I saw underway was slowly coming together because each home was being improved by its residents, sometimes with the help of a neighbor. Urusbek build his own house with the help of his older brother. His cousin who lives next door was mixing dirt and straw and water to make a wall for his neighbor’s home when we stopped by.

Water is free. It comes from a well nearby which supplies much of the neighborhood. Electricity is not free and is metered for each home just as it is in the older parts of the city. Right now there are rolling blackouts throughout Kyrgyzstan because though last winter was cold, it did not produce much snow. As a result, water levels at the dams which generate electricity are too low. The electricity stopped at 15:30, Urusbek said it would come back at 18:30 or 19:30.

Urusbek is observing Ramadan. He began going to the large main mosque located at the bazaar a little over a year ago and since then it has become an important part of his life. There are four mosques currently in the bazaar, the larger main mosque and 3 satellite mosques. The rest of his family did not seem as concerned about Ramadan fasting, and the duties of being a good host by sharing food certainly outweighed any religious qualms. His younger sister, the oldest in the family, was constantly occupied with cleaning, preparing tea, setting out food, making sure everyone ate to their full satisfaction and eventually cleaning up once more.

I had a great time visiting with Urusbek and his wonderful family. Their hospitality and generosity was astounding – as it typically is here in Kyrgyzstan (my host family has been so good to me that I am very sure that I will never be able to return the favor). We did not spend very much time discussing the bazaar but I hope that we will have the opportunity in the future.

It is a little late here now and I am a bit at a loss for analysis. I will just say that the thing which struck me most was the relative spaciousness of the settlement. Considering that it was founded by desperate families during a veritable economic catastrophe, the so-called villages emanate a strong sense of community and exhibit remarkable investment in the future.