This is another cross-post from Registan…

The title of my previous post at Registan.net, Our Other Perennial Theme, has several layers of meaning. In my fatalism, I consider it perennial not just because I also covered it last year, but because we are likely to continue to cover the issue. That’s what “authoritarian government” means. In other words, if Karimov was the type to be swayed by public opinion, he wouldn’t be where he is today. He may be swayed by economic opinions, but that’s a tougher row to hoe. Unlike poverty or blindness, this is not an unstoppable part of the human condition – a person should be able to imagine a future without Uzbek children picking cotton. Then again, that is something much easier for Americans to visualize than for Uzbeks, in my opinion. (more…)

This is cross-posted from Registan.net

Well, it’s that time of year again. Time, of course, for the start of the Uzbek, Turkmen, and soon, Kazakh, cotton harvest. This is an issue that we cover every year at Registan.net, and since we like to consider ourselves somewhat more aware of Central Asia than our immediate compatriots in North America, I thought it might behoove us to attempt to get right to the meaty truth, while avoiding sensationalism from either side of the aisle, though I’m sure we’ll invite plenty of sensationalist comments from both sides of the Ocean.

There are more than two sides to this issue, but two of the loudest on Registan in the past have been the righteous indignation of western human rights activists of various stripes and the small but vocal minority of former cotton pickers that comment on this blog. At the risk of triteness, their arguments could be summed up as the following:

Human Rights Activists: But, this cotton is picked by children! Mere babies, really!

Uzbek Cotton Picker: It beats what we have to do the rest of year!

Now, if I may, I’ll try and flesh this out a bit. There recently appeared in the LA Times a story run by a politician, senator Tom Harkin, which is generally a bad sign. This particularly senator “is chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a longtime leader in the fight to end abusive child labor around the globe.” I generally distrust the adjective “longtime,” as it is generally assumed to be whatever constitutes a “long time” in your imagination. 5 years? 15 years? 45 years? 17 years? 17 years is pretty impressive, but I think he is making the mistake of equating Uzbek cotton picking with far worse situations. From his own website: (more…)

While putting our budget together, Teresa and I had a couple disagreements about how much of our money to report to each other, how much to give to charity, and other sundry items that don’t interest anyone.  It’s good to have disagreements, because it means you’re being honest with each other.

So, here’s one charity to which I’m giving money, and gladly.  Here’s a blurb that should tell what you need to know.  They will be collecting money through December, but don’t be afraid to drop $5 or $10 their way.  I already put my money where my mouth is.  I think this is a very noble pursuit, and one that is integral to building a free and fair society in Afghanistan, as well as providing more information to an English-speaking audience about what’s going on day-to-day in Afghanistan.

With $3000 we should be able to reliably purchase equipment and internet access to publish regular short videos produced by a local, english-speaking Afghan producer over the span of 3 months. If we can only raise $2000 we believe we will still be able to fund the project for 3 months, however the reliability of video updates will be less certain and dispatches may be more infrequent.

Our goal is to provide a window into Kandahar City and the surrounding region over the span of three months. Once we have begun the project and seen its successful progress over the first month we’ll continue fundraising to keep the project going after the initial three month period.

Teresa is joining me in Almaty at the end of the week.  To make our living situation more comfortable, I am renting an apartment for the ten days that we will be together.  This is relatively easy, and much cheaper than the Bed and Breakfast we had in Washington, D.C. (more…)