Violence in Kyrgyzstan...but I am safe

Hey everyone,

Well the little country that I moved to has made the news again. I just wanted to write a quick note saying that I am indeed safe and am not near any of the fighting. The Peace Corps did have volunteers who were living in the cities and villages involved with these conflicts and evacuations are either completed or in progress. Some of these PC volunteers have already posted blogs about their experiences and I believe if you Google effectively you would be able to read about their stories.

Although the fighting in the South is bad, please believe that I am nowhere near any of it. I live in the North East corner of the country, nowhere near the Uzbek boarder. I am not currently in my village because I was visiting other PC volunteers when the fighting broke out and have been asked to stay put for the time being. The city I am has seen no incidents at all related to these event and does not have the tension that exists in the Southern portion of the country. If not for access to internet and updates from other PC volunteers and staff I would have no idea this was happening (just like the revolution a couple months ago, which I slept through).

According to the news I am seeing now (you all probably have access to much more up to date news) over a 100 Kyrgyzstan citizens have already been killed and the numbers seem to only be increasing. The numbers are even more horrendous in the light that Kyrgyzstan is a small country of just 5 million people. Although I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and well wishes during this time, know that I will be safe along with the rest of the PC volunteers. Please also keep your thoughts with the Kyrgyzstan people -which includes people who are both ethnically Kygryz and Uzbek. The Kyrgyzstan people are affected by this situation much more than any of the PC volunteers are and will be affected long after our PC service is over. So please keep them in your thoughts.

I’m not sure when I be going back to my village or if I will be moved again to an ‘undisclosed’ location. I’ll try to keep you updated whenever I get internet access…but I am safe.