Refugee Watch-31-Film Review

Central Asia is no stranger to shifts in population. Mobility, which was essentially due to mobile livestock husbandry practiced in the region, traditionally defined this shift in the Central Asian nomadic context. It was seasonal and varied with spatial fluctuations in forage quality, accessibility and output which in their turn provided strong incentives for migratory movements. The region has, of course, seen other kinds of movements including the mass scale deportation of ‘nationalities’ to the region in the more recent past. In the present context mobility is differently defined. As a human migratory movement mobility now denotes the movement of people from one locality to another sometimes over long distances principally in search of improved quality of life. The documentary The Other Silk Road traces one such migrant movement form Ylaitalaa, a rural settlement in the southern Osh province of Kyrgyzstan to the markets of Bishkek and Almaty and then on to Moscow. The narrative is that of the people involved in this movement and of the effect of this movement on their lives and the lives of those left behind.

The context of this migration is defined within the general problems of the post Soviet space that was suddenly placed within a ‘globalized’ world where the collapse of a socialist state and collective farming transformed individuals into entrepreneurs. This in combination with the fact that southern and western Kyrgyzstan shares a long border with China meant that trading in manufactured goods brought from across porous borders became a lucrative possibility. This resulted in the migration of younger people from the heavily populated and resource poor southern Kyrgyz regions to the north and the capital Bishkek. The Osh and Dordoy markets in Bishkek therefore became host to a large number of migrant traders from the southern regions who live in the outskirts of Bishkek and trade in a wide range of mass consumer products, home electronics and luxury commodities. The movement did not stop here. A significant number of them also moved further north to Almaty and even Moscow.

The film evokes the metaphor of the Silk Road to define this contemporary movement and the trade that is so intrinsic to the definition of the route. Ylaitalaa becomes the point of reference from where this movement begins and where, it is hoped, it will end one day as the migrants return. The narrative is of the period in between. It is a narrative of individuals and families who find new ‘homes’ in distant places and then grapple with the problems that this new beginning poses. But it is also a narrative of the older and the younger population who shares the benefits of this movement in terms of remittances but also lives in the hope that traditional and familial ties will ensure the return of the migrant population. Here there is portrayal of the social consequences of migration, including changes in life styles that living in an urban settlement entails, and what this would imply in terms of consideration of a return back home.

Set in the background of the pristine natural beauty of Ylaitalaa and the busy markets of Bishkek the film records the transformation of the region in terms of people displaced by economic constrains. As a micro study it is based on the experiences of a family who exemplify the situation but it also addresses the larger questions that migration poses. This is particularly significant in the Kyrgyz context since the migratory groups within the state are not restricted to the Kyrgyz. As a state sharing a long border with China it involves the question of a very large number of Chinese migrant workers and traders mainly Uighurs from western China, who are often the cause of xenophobic reactions from the local population. It also includes the question of the out migration of Russians from the region, though this is only addressed in passing. The film touches on a number of problems that migrant populations face globally among them the question of protection of rights of migrant workers. All over the world migrant workers constitute a vulnerable social group and the film addresses the issues through interviews where for instance the lack of housing with proper heating and its effect on young children is highlighted. The film reflects conventional debates that are often coloured by the negative image of migrants and generally overlook the fact that migrants make significant contributions to the host state. However, this situation is changing as states realize that migrant workers are beneficial for the state and are therefore seeking labour migration agreements that would benefit both the state from where the migrant originates as well as the host state. Kyrgyzstan for instance has a surplus of people who could work and they send back remittances and Russia needs the workers. Managing migration is therefore the key phrase though the film does not touch on the issue.

While internal Kyrgyz migration poses one set of questions, the external migration of the Kyrgyz poses a different set of questions. These are encountered as the film moves on to Almaty to identify migrants from Ylaitalaa in the city. Though the differences in the issues posed by internal migration and inter-state migration is not highlighted the references to the ubiquitous ‘propiska’ or registration papers and the harassment that the migrants face in the course of periodic registration dominates the narratives in case of movements outside the state. Therefore questions need to be raised not just about national legislation and the rights of internal migrants but about a regional recognition of the phenomenon. The film hints at a movement further north to Moscow through footage of crowded trains and buses to Moscow. It can only be assumed that the problems encountered by the Kyrgyz migrants in Moscow are similar to the ones that the Chinese encounter in the Karasuu market on the Kyrgyz border with Uzbekistan.
The narrative would have benefited from a broader understanding of why this movement of people out of Ylaitalaa is significant not just as an illustrative example of rural/urban population movement or even of a sociological transformation where traditional family structures are affected but also in terms of a concern that this depopulation creates for the state in terms of national security. The Osh province of Kyrgyzstan is situated in the part of the Ferghana Valley that Kyrgyzstan shares with neighbouring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Part of the poly ethnic Kokand Khanate Ferghana was home to both nomadic and sedentary populations. The population of Ferghana Valley is also marked by extreme ethnic diversity. Southern Kyrgyzstan, for instance, is home to large numbers of ethnic Uzbeks and the region is yet to find a solution to the problem of distribution of scarce land and water resources between the two communities. In the immediate aftermath of the breakup of the Soviet Union Osh had been witness to clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz over land and water rights. Even today, about forty sectors of the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border have not been delineated. This often leads to clashes between groups. There are altogether three Uzbek enclaves lying within Kyrgyzstan and seven Kyrgyz enclaves surrounded by Uzbek territory. While claims and counter claims will continue to be made it is clear why even small changes of ethnic composition along the borders is discouraged by the Kyrgyz government. There have been apprehensions that the depopulation of the rural settlements in southern Kyrgyzstan could result in changes in ethnic composition in the southern Kyrgyz provinces. It is this apprehension as also the fact that part of the Kyrgyz migration is due to the pressure of Uzbek population in the region that the film does not address.

While continuous mobility of human resources becomes problematic in terms of loss of human capital, sustainable development and quality of life of the people it also remains true that movement is as intrinsic to modern life as it was among the nomads. The film evokes this sense of continuity through the image of a mountain goat that stands atop a hill in southern Kyrgyzstan looking down to a road which moves beyond its immediate neighborhood. It is such evocative images along with the fact that it addresses the question of migration in a region that is little known that makes the film worth viewing.