"What do we live on?"

Novyevropa talked with Tajik citizens who intend to return to Moscow, despite the fact that the country's Foreign Ministry called for canceling trips to Russia

Hundreds of Tajik citizens were stuck at the airports of Russia and on ground boundaries, because border guards refuse to let them go. All these are the consequences of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall in Moscow, after which cases of attack on citizens of Tajikistan also became more frequent. Moreover, xenophobia is also manifested from the Russian state.

The Foreign Ministry of Tajikistan handed over to the Russian Assembly a note of protest in connection with violations of the rights of its citizens in the Russian Federation and called on Tajiks not to go to Russia. But for many, this is the only place where they can earn money to provide their families.

The Foreign Ministry of Tajikistan handed the Russian ambassador Semen Grigoryev a note of protest due to violations of the rights of his citizens. “It stated a serious concern in mass cases of manifestation of emphasizing the negative attitude towards citizens of the Republic of Tajikistan in the Russian Federation, as well as a widespread violation of their rights and freedoms,” said Shokhin Samadi, head of the information department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic.

To date, at the Moscow Airport, Vnukovo “without ensuring proper sanitary conditions” there are 954 citizens of Tajikistan. 322 people are missed to Russia, another 306 are prepared for deportation.

“The situation with citizens of Tajikistan, stuck at the airports of Moscow, remains difficult. <...> Among the stuck citizens there are Tajik students undergoing training in Russia at the expense of educational quotas of the Government of the Russian Federation. <...> The difficult situation is also observed at the airports of Zhukovsky, Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo of the Russian capital, where dozens of Tajikistians are in the zones of citizens without proper conditions, ”the Tajik Foreign Ministry said .

This happens not only at airports.

Hundreds of Tajiks remain on the ground border because they are not allowed by Russian border guards. For example, thousands of people stuck between Russia and Kazakhstan at the Sagagarchin checkpoint between Russia and Kazakhstan.

“Other citizens are allowed, only Tajiks are not allowed. About 180 cars, most with Tajik numbers. Each car has from five to 10-12 passengers, most of whom are women and children, ”Asia-Plus told the Asia-Plus.

Since the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall, a month has passed in Moscow. During this time, the Russian special services arrested more than ten people, including four alleged terrorists. Almost all of them are citizens of Tajikistan. The security forces tortured several suspects, one of them cut off the ear and forced him to eat.

After this behavior of the security forces, a wave of attacks on migrants followed. Human rights activist Valentina Chupik told Mediazone. Central Asia ”, that over a few days, more than 2.5 thousand people turned to its organization, who stated that they were faced with aggression, police inspections and illegal detentions.

On April 27, the Foreign Ministry of Tajikistan recommended citizens of the republic "temporarily refrain from traveling to Russia on all modes of transport without urgent need." At the same time, as Tajiks and human rights activists themselves note, people do not often have a choice of “not riding”.

Tajichka Shahlokhon is a mother with many children, she lived and worked in Moscow for 18 years, provided her family. “We lived [in Russia] normal, there were never any quarrels. We respect the Russians very much, they also respect us, ”said Shahlokhon. However, then he adds that the restaurant in which she worked in Moscow did not pay her a salary for six months. It was necessary to knock it out with the help of human rights activists.

In May last year, the woman returned to her homeland in order to arrange a wedding of her daughter, and now plans to come to Moscow again. When asked about whether it is scary to return to Russia, where nationalist and xenophobic sentiments intensified, the woman replies that the “family is not without a freak” in the “family”, and she learned not to pay attention to the poor attitude.

“We are already used to [to bad attitude]. We were always humiliated. And what are we going to do? We do black work. We are forced to work, ”says Shahlokhon, contradicting what she said at the beginning of the conversation.

If earlier, Shahlokhon brought the children with her to Russia, now the woman will come to the question of whether she will come with them, the woman answers sharply: “No, no! This year I do not want to take children. I will come with my husband myself. "

According to her, she does not have the opportunity to go to Russia, because there is work, and it is almost impossible to make money for the maintenance of a family in Tajikistan.

“We can live here. But there is little money here. For example, my eldest daughter has already married. And behind her I have two more children, I have to feed them, I need to arrange [the second daughter] at the institute, so I still need to earn money, ”SHCLOKHON complains.

Ali’s young guy also worked in Moscow for several years. According to him, he had all the documents in order. However, a month before the end of the patent to work, he left for Tajikistan, and he was no longer allowed to go back to Russia and forbade entry for a year. Now Ali, along with lawyers, is trying to achieve the abolition of this decision.

As well as Shakhlokhon, Ali replies that it is important for him to return to Russia for the sake of work: “We have no work here. I can't find anything for six months. Honestly, I don't know what to do. I recently had a child. I need to keep my family. ”

57-year-old Batyr is the father of seven children. All of them are dependent. For the past ten years he lived in Russia with his family, but after the unknown people in Gorky Park attacked him, Batyr sent his family back, and he remained in Moscow. The man works as a builder.

“There is no such thing that we are some kind of lazy people, we do not work in our homeland. Do you think [we do not want] to live at home? Everyone wants. I just tried to do there, who and wherever I tried to get a job. The factories are quickly closed, the work ends, no money pays. [Stability] no. Therefore, we have to go to Russia.

We also do all the dirty work for a penny. They also treat us badly. But we have no choice. What should we do? " - Batyr complains.

The man is unhappy that the Tajik government calls for his citizens not to travel to the Russian Federation, but at the same time does not create jobs at home and does not help those Tajiks whose rights are infringed in Russia.

"They [easy] say" do not ride, do not live. " And then what to live on? I have a brother’s family now on [Sagarkchin’s checkpoint on the border of the South Ural region of Kazakhstan and the Orenburg region of Russia]. He has small children, they live there for several days in the car. They like it, or what? No, there is simply no choice. Children and themselves need to be kept, ”says the man.

The Tajik human rights activist living in Moscow told Novy-Europe that, even despite the pressure on foreign citizens in Russia, there will be no serious outflow of migrants, because they, and so in a powerless position, are ready to continue to put up with it for the sake of work.

“We are all the time, in what powerless position Tajiks. On the one hand, Russia, which oppresses them all the time, on the other, is Tajikistan, who did not hit a finger on a finger to help his citizens. But a person gets used to everything, so the Tajiks are used to and are ready to endure such an attitude for the sake of work. But Russia is making himself so another enemy. Tajikistan at this pace will become another enemy for Russia, which she created herself, ”the human rights activist said.