An Uzbek's View on Kyrgyz Violence

I emailed my Uzbek friend Rustam, who is living in Lanzhou, to check up on my Kyrgyz friends in light of the violence in the south of their country. I have many Kyrgyz friends who I met through Lanzhou University, some of whom are still in Lanzhou and some who have gone home. One Kyrgyz couple who I was especially good friends with is in a unique situation: the husband is still in Lanzhou while his wife went back home to her family to give birth to their child. Naturally, I have been worried about these friends and their families. And, thankfully, I heard back that everyone is safe and well.

While my main purpose was to ask about the well-being of my friends, I also asked Rustam about his take on the violence and about why he thinks the attacks are occurring. I told him some reasons I have heard in the international media, including economic problems being blamed on the Uzbeks, the corrupt government egging on the violence, the fear of Uzbekistan encroaching on Kyrgyzstan, and gang violence based on ethnic hatred. Here is part of his email (awkwardly translated from Chinese):

"Caitlin, I think that all the reasons you listed are in fact causes of the conflict [economy, corrupt government, fear of Uzbekistan encroaching on Kyrgyzstan, and gangs] except for the one about Uzbekistan wanting Kyrgyzstan's land. Over there in Kyrgyzstan, I think there is one significant force between the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz that is provoking the violence: From what the Kyrgyz are saying, the Uzbeks are being beaten to death and a ton of women are being raped. The Uzbeks are verifying all of this. There is also another large factor, and that is that the people who are dying are innocent. It's just like a huge, awful game, and in this game the ones who suffer are the pawns, just like in chess."

The image of a game of chess is powerful. The pawns, the little innocent guys, are being slaughtered for the sake of the major players like the knights, rooks, kings, and queens, who perhaps represent the government, and are just out to win their battles at others' expense. We can only hope for a quick checkmate.