"GOLDEN CENTURY OF THE TURKMENS:" A BLEAK PICTURE OF VILLAGE LIFE IN THE DESERT
A EurasiaNet Photo Essay by Filip Noubel: 10/25/02

Turkmenistan regularly makes headlines as its leader, Saparmurat Niyazov – who has dubbed himself Turkmenbashi, or Leader of all Turkmens – expands his personality cult. The most recent example came in August when Niyazov renamed the days of the week and the months of the year. Predictably, January became "Turkmenbashi" and September became "Rukhnama" – named after the inspirational book allegedly authored by Niyazov. The book elaborates a code for living under Niyazov’s authoritarian system.

Despite attempts to develop the nation in what he has proclaimed the "Golden Century of the Turkmens," Niyazov has achieved little, especially in developing rural areas – still home to the majority of Turkmenistan’s 4 million citizens. In fact, living conditions in the Karakum Desert, which covers 80 percent of the country’s territory, have worsened since the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Today, village life in the desert reflects a bleak reality. Child mortality is rising, and is the highest in Central Asia. Rural doctors have disappeared, and the average income of 10 dollars per month makes medicine – no longer subsidized by the state – beyond the reach of most people. In schools, reading and learning the Rukhnama has become the priority and is often the only education for children, who, unlike children from the cities, don’t speak Russian or English. Television – widespread throughout the country – broadcasts little more than lengthy speeches by Niyazov offering commentary on the Rukhnama, or action movies for those who can afford a satellite dish.

The diets of many families rely heavily on black tea, chal – camel’s fermented milk – and nan, a kind of flat bread. Soup, noodles and camel meat are the only variations to the menu. Water is pumped and carried from far-away wells that often lack basic sanitation.

Families living close to the desert road make extra money by selling gas, chal or bread. But control is strict: every 50 kilometers or so, the Road Police registers every citizen and car, taking down names and passport numbers. Phone calls abroad need to be registered 24 hours in advance with State Telephone Company.

As for daily living, most desert inhabitants start working in the early morning, when the sun’s heat is still bearable. Children attend to goats and camels and later go to school, women work at home and most men sit idle as salaried jobs have become rare, except for truck drivers. Large desert oil fields have closed, and the new ones demand less labor, providing fewer jobs.

Asked what they think about the "Golden Century of the Turkmens," most desert villagers respond that they see it on television, in the white-marbled capital Ashgabat, but not in their villages – where camels represent the only security they can rely on, as they have for centuries.

Editor’s Note: Filip Noubel is a freelance photographer and journalist focusing on Central and South Asia. He is the founder of Pomegranate Review and currently works as Senior Central Asia Analyst for ICG, the International Crisis Group in Osh, Kyrgyzstan.

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Posted October 25, 2002 © Eurasianet
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