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The flying minibus revealed
Armed guards wouldn’t let us take photos of the plane from Bishkek to Osh, in part because Manas Airport in Bishkek is also a US airbase. However, a little digging on Wikipedia has revealed it to be an Antonov An-24. If I was only slightly more geeky than I actually am, I’d probably have known…
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Kyrgyz pictures up…
Lots up on my Flickr site. Enjoy.
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A song from Osh
Jamilya started the self help co-operative in Gulbaar village near Osh, not only runs the sewing group which makes school uniforms and local craftwork, but also volunteers for the Red Crescent and helps reach out to abused women in the area. Thanks to her, many women have been able to escape from illegal, forced marriages…
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The Kyrgyz Red Crescent
There’s lots of stories which will be told from the trip to Kyrgyzstan in print, but it’s unlikely that all the people from the Red Crescent will get quite the credit they deserve. So here’s a thank you for their generosity and helpfulness in putting up with a British journalist nagging them all day with…
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So, this is democracy then
You could make an incredible road movie based on the drive from Jalalabat (or Jalalabad, the English spelling seems a little indiscriminate) to Osh. Vim Venders would have an great time lingering over the scenery. In the late Autumn sun, it has the air of an Oriental paradise. Children sit in the fields after school…
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The flying minibus
Just about the only thing I remember reading in a guidebook before coming here was that you shouldn’t, under any circumstances, use the local airlines. They can’t fly to the EU because they don’t have stringent enough safety regulations. Naturally I double checked that the connecting flight from Istanbul was with Turkish Airlines, but completely…
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The ripple effect: Suyorkan’s library
It’s really not often you meet a Red Crescent Secretary General, two senior members of government, the leader of a prominent local NGO and visit two impoverished settlements in one, so it’s going to take a while to process everything we’ve taken in today. The big thing, though, has been the ripple effect of training.…
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Welcome to Bishkek
The thing that’s really striking about Bishkek so far is how clean everything is. From the moment we landed this morning, everything’s sparkled. Except, of course, the bits that don’t. In the centre – all I’ve seen so far – there’s no litter, loads of giant Soviet era parks and statues, and huge imposing buildings.…
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Sex, drugs and Kyrgyzstan
Just doing the final bits of research before I head off today, and a few things struck me about this article, Women Are a Hidden Population of Drug Users. First of all, I was under the impression that drugs were rare in Kyrgyzstan thanks to its strict laws on the subject – which I’d understood…
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This year we’re all going to sunny… Kyrgyzstan
Today I found out where the Guardian will be sending me for the final part of the International Development Competition, and which NGO I’ll be visiting. It’s been quite an interesting day, just to see inside the Guardian’s offices, which the paper has occupied for a year, was intriguing enough. If you’re curious, they’re open…
