Report from Chechnya
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Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 19:06:45 +0300 (EET DST)
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Subject: Report from Chechnya
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Report from Chechnya
REPORT FROM CHECHNYA
By Fatima Yandieva for SAKHAROV FOUNDATION, May 03, 1999
People are doing their best to survive. They lost any hopes for
anybody's help. A year or two ago they hoped that legally elected
Maskhadov and his Government or legendary Basayev, Chechen Robin Hood,
will improve their life, or Russia will pay compensation for
destruction. But nothing happened. The industrial sphere has never
started to function again.
The only place, where life is still going on is the most crowded
central market with big variety of agricultural products. People
continue to develop agriculture. They have to feed themselves. The
borders with the neighboring Stavropol, traditionally region where the
dairy and cattle products were brought from, were closed by the order
of Chernogorov, the governor, and later by Stepashin, the interior
minister of Russia.
But such state of affairs did not influence much the situation in
Grozny. The people of Dagestan and Azerbaidzhan stopped to bring
vegetables and fruits for sale. Even those who used to trade under the
bombing now fear the Russian propaganda.
Food sold in the city is mainly of local production. Driving along
the Rostov-Baku highway, having been of great strategic meaning in the
former Soviet Union and connecting the European part of the USSR with
Transcaucasus, you can see a long row of women selling gifts of
nature, brought from the surrounding forests, such as lilies-of-the
valley, wild garlic, nettle, etc. People remembered food of the
ancestors, which used to save the mountainous people from famine many
years ago. It was unknown or forgotten by people, residing in the
cities, for many decades. It has become popular again.
Women are mainly feeding the families. Men have nothing to apply their
abilities to. They take the guns and do banditry. The repetition of
the history.
Ecology is having disastrous effect on health. There are no experts
who can estimate the real detriment. When I walked along the bank of
Sunzha river crossing the city I could distinctly smell the gasoline.
People explain that this is the oil condensate. Spontaneous oil cracks
emerge here and there. The Voikovo town and the territory around the
railway station of Grozny is considered being the potential oil
places. The uncovered holes dangerous for life is left everywhere by
illegal businessmen. I heard they should be filled with water. Oil is
purified by self-made equipment and sold to the neighboring regions.
Gasoline of bad quality is being willingly procured by majority of the
North Caucasus republics. Local press wrote a lot on that issue.
In the conditions of unemployment it had been always a problem for
authorities to stop people from stealing.
It is an enormous damage for the environment as well. The situation
affected number of people with cancer, TB, etc. The dumps of rubbish
everywhere in the city increases the infection diseases. Infant
mortality is very high.
Criminal reports in "Groznensky Rabochi" illustrate the picture of the
situation. Somebody is kidnapped on a daily business. Last evening on
TV the Chechen businessmen of high rank addressed the request to the
kidnappers to release the Russian woman who was brought to the
republic under his responsibility to help in restoring oil refining
system of Chechnya.
A single male, young or old is armed to teeth. There is a place where
arms of all types are sold. It is on the same spot as three-five years
ago. The bargain between the client and the seller is completed by
testing shots right in the middle of the city. Sometimes you can wake
up late at night from shooting. It reminds the nights during the war.
Shooting during the daytime is usually explained by people as wedding
procession. People are tired to think about the war or new incidents
destabilizing life so much. That is why they hurry to quiet themselves
and people around. Every day I meet the same old man somewhere around
the market who is equipped with all kinds of guns from Kalashnikov to
grenade launcher. A pair of traditional male boots thrown over his
shoulders is contrasting the assortment.
Railway station is the only place connecting Chechnya with the outside
world. The hours of arrival and departure of Moscow-Grozny train takes
place once in two days. It makes a visuality of a busy life for a
short time. The train is usually half empty. The conductors accustomed
to get extra money from the passengers without tickets (called
"zaitsi"- hares) cannot do that any more.
All of us had to be in the role of "zaitsi" during the Soviet times.
Today the conductors are happy to find anybody to sell their sleeping
place for cheap price. They travel in a "sitting" position themselves.
The North Caucasus railway administration in Rostov regularly pays
salaries to Grozny railway department. People are envious towards
those who manage to get a job at railway station. The colleagues of
the current head of the station who replaced the smart and experienced
woman do not conceal that he is a former herdsman and strict follower
of Wahhabis. He forced all female staff to cover their heads the
Iranian way of Khomeini epoch. Women joke that this is their price for
salaries.
Majority of people forgot when they were paid for their work last
time. They continue to work with hopes for better or just because they
need to socialize with each other.
Many are enthusiastic to improve the current situation. I met
enthusiasts in the Ministry of Education and Science. The educators
and scientists discuss the problems of education in the republic.
Khasan Mazhiev, the deputy director of the Technical University
(former Oil Institute), is complaining that the computers gifted to
them were stolen. Everybody understands that it is hard to work in the
country where the man with the gun is governing. He is optimistic
saying that the former prestige of the institute is preserved thanks
to the core staff of professors of various nationalities who did not
leave their places dislike many other people. His words arise hope.
Currently they are busy organizing international scientific
conference. At one of the meetings with them I spoke about the
Sakharov Museum conference in November. The scientists discussed the
possibility of addressing to various countries the appeal to help the
government, technical universities and other institutions with
equipment, literature.
The Chechen Parliament was provided with essential help thanks to the
Parliament of Lithuania. The people of education are dreaming of
working in the same conditions as before. Many criticize Basaev,
Raduev or Udugov whose mansions could allocate the entire university.
Young people and their parents are striving to restore the studies in
Russian educational schools. Very few are happy to get the diploma
with the image of wolf, the symbol of unrecognized country. Those who
graduate the local schools pay bribes for certificates issued by
federal authorities.
Despite the ruins and devastating consequences of the war there is
some cultural life which goes on in the city. The national theater is
one of those few places which is renovated. The theater staff tries
not to stay behind and stages the plays and comedies. It is very
popular among people.
National museum has organized exhibitions of leftovers of the two rich
museums, destroyed in the war. Another exhibition demonstrates the
works of modern painters and craftsmen. The main subject of their
works is war. Both places are rarely visited and the guides were happy
to answer my questions. The rise of the art, painting and poetry can
be seen everywhere. Dozens of books have been written. People are
returning to traditional handicrafts producing goods from clay and
wood. The Ceramics factory in Duba-Yurt restarted their work and gave
jobs to dozens of village residents.
One of the school principals in Grozny told his 12 year female
students to carry scarves in their bags to be ready to cover their
heads in case people from Sharia law committee appear. Parents pay 30
roubles a month per child to compensate the work of teachers anyhow.
Otherwise the latter would run from schools long ago.
I met an amazing woman Khadizhat, 33, who adopted 28 orphans, 21 boys
and 7 girls. She has created the orphanage at her own apartment. Since
August '96 the doors of her house are open to children whom the fate
was not merciful to. These children are traumatized by recent war.
They lost their parents and became street children. Many of them were
addicted to drugs. The eldest boy is 18 and the youngest - 13 months.
This woman with open and sympathetic face told me her own story which
was similar to the fate of her children. Her dream was to create
conditions where children would feel at home. Together with her
husband she is doing her best to make them happy. OSCE, Red Cross,
Basaev are assisting these children as well. During the Soviet time
the bronze monument was established in honor of a woman who brought up
13 children in Tashkent. What kind of a monument does this heroic
Chechen woman deserve?
The check-points at the borders with Dagestan and Ingushetia are
reinforced. Stavropol authorities blocked the entire border. Moreover,
Stepashin ordered to patrol the border and to destroy any suspect
moving from Chechen side towards Stavropol. He gifted them 4
helicopters for that. The border is impossible not only to be crossed
but to be approached too. Additional Cossack division is formed, which
is sanctioned the plenipotentiary power. Chechen Diaspora in
Stavropolsky region is under permanent pressure. Connections with the
rest of the families are torn. They stopped to pay pensions on their
territory even to non-Chechens from Chechnya.
Recently the wide scale military training of North Ossetian,
Ingushetian and Kabardino-Balkarian divisions of quick reaction took
place in the suburb of Vladikavkaz. This was the first military
training of the kind for the last decade. Chechen authorities express
negative reaction to the increasing allocation of Russian troops in
the neighboring republics.
Georgia has suspended the construction of last 9 kilometers of the
highway connecting Chechnya with Georgia at Russian pressure. The
blockade of Chechnya is continued.
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