Tajikistan: Uzbekistan proves unlikely friend in time of need

To the surprise of some Tajiks suffering from recent mudslides and floods, an unlikely friend has extended a helping hand. Uzbekistan, which for much of the post-Soviet era has had bitter relations with Tajikistan, recently delivered emergency food and reconstruction aid to help its blighted neighbor.

Heavy April and May rains have caused deadly mudslides and ruined crops across vast areas of Tajikistan. At least 28 people have been killed since late April and up to 15,000 displaced by the weather-related catastrophe, according to UN and government estimates. Responding to a May 20 plea for help, Tashkent promised 1,400 tons of emergency food and building materials. A train carrying the aid arrived on May 23, the Avesta news agency reported.

Some 22,000 hectares of the country's premiere cash-generating cotton crop have been destroyed, according to the Tajik Agriculture Ministry. Overall, 40,000 hectares of crops, worth at least $20 million, have been ruined. The affected areas represent roughly 5 percent of all land under cultivation in Tajikistan. Forty of the country's 58 districts have reported suffering damage from natural disasters. The devastation could lead to dire shortages of essential foodstuffs in the coming months.

Azizbek Sharipov, Chairman of Tajikistan's National Association of Farmers said it is too late in the season to replant cotton, as the soil is oversaturated with water. Adding to their burden, "most, if not all farmers are looking for loans to buy seeds and other necessities for [replanting]," he told EurasiaNet. Even if some farmers can procure seeds, the Agriculture Ministry has admitted that a fuel shortage poses an additional obstacle to replanting. As a result, some farmers may lose up to half their future cotton harvest.

For the past two years, Tajikistan has been reeling from a combination of drastic shortages of heating, electricity and food, as well as natural disasters. In a letter sent to the United Nations on May 18, the Tajik government expressed concern that the weather was projected to remain rainy in the weeks to come, leaving the country vulnerable to more mudslides.

"Although the government has the relevant infrastructure and disaster response plans in place, it is still missing the capacity to cope with these challenges alone," says Goulsara Pulatova, Regional Director for the UN's International Strategy of Disaster Reduction (ISDR). Pulatova suggests international assistance should be primarily focused on communities' capacity building, since many villages are located in isolated mountainous areas.

A variety of international aid organizations have issued emergency appeals for disaster relief in Tajikistan. On May 23, the International Federation of the Red Cross called for over $800,000 in donations, either in cash or in durable items such as tents, to assist 726 recently displaced families.

In its appeal for 2009, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggested that, even before the recent rains, Tajikistan stood on the precipice of a humanitarian emergency. Harsh weather during the 2008-09 winter season was projected to put a large percentage of Tajik households in danger of hunger, according to the FAO appeal, which was issued in late 2008.

"One-third of severely food-insecure households reported to have consumed their seed stock, while 15 percent sold much-needed livestock for cash in order to meet basic needs. Inadequate storage facilities caused preventable losses to key productive assets, including over 50 percent of potato seeds. Without assistance, farmers will be unable to purchase the basic inputs they need to ensure an adequate harvest, and increased food security, by spring 2009," the appeal stated."

"Tajikistan is prone to frequent natural disasters -- such as earthquakes, floods, avalanches, and drought -- which increasingly erode the food production capacity, purchasing power and food security of the country's most vulnerable and resource-poor communities," the FAO appeal continued. "Thousands of households risk long-term destitution and heightened vulnerability to future shocks if assistance is not provided to restore food production and livelihoods in a way that is conducive to lasting recovery."