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Posts Tagged "uzbekistan"

Nodir: Convenience Store Worker

MOSCOW: ''I want to work in my hometown of Samarkand (Uzbekistan)," said Nodir, 21, when I asked about his dreams. "All my friends are there. I want my own small business." Nodir said he has been living about five years in Moscow with his parents. His grandmother takes care of his younger siblings while he and his parents are in Russia. He previously worked at an outdoor market selling fruit until that market was closed a few months ago by the city. Now he works in a convenience store.

Ismail: Building Home in Village

MOSCOW: Ismail, 26, said he grew up in a village in Uzbekistan, but has been working in Russia for nearly five years. He worked 1.5 years in Khabarovsk in the Far East and the last 3 years in Moscow, where he first looked after courtyards. Now he is looking after a large Moscow park along with other migrants from Central Asia. A husband and father, Ismail said he is saving to build a house in his native village.

Ismail: Uzbek Immigrant Worker

MOSCOW: Ismail, 26, was riding a small bicycle in VDNKh, where he helps clean the park and amusement area clean. As VDNKh is big, the bicycle may be used by workers to get around and communicate with one another. Ismail said he grew up in a village in Uzbekistan about 500 kilometers from the capital of Tashkent. He said he has been working in Russia nearly five years. He worked about 18 months in Khabarovsk in the Far East of Russia. He moved to Moscow about three years ago, first cleaning court years and shoving snow off roofs, before joining the park in the spring. Ismail said he has a wife and child and is saving to build a home in his village.

Uzbek Vegetable Seller

He sells a Russian speciality - pickled vegetables - at an outdoor market near a metro station in Moscow. He said he was one of seven children born in  western Uzbekistan, an arid region with few jobs. ''I am the youngest,'' adding that he was in his early 30s and divorced. He said that one brother died recently in a car accident back at home. Another brother recently returned to Uzbekistan, so he is the only one from his family in Moscow now, perhaps explaining why he works seven days a week. He said he took off on New Year's day - Russia's biggest holiday - only because the market was closed. I asked the last time he had a day off aside from New Year. ''I don't remember. I don't want to take time off. I need the money.''  

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Fedya: Courier, Student from Uzbekistan

Fedya was wearing a 'From Brooklyn' winter hat while walking in a Moscow street underpass. He said he and his sister moved to Moscow from Bukhara, Uzbekistan. His mom passed away and his dad lives in Uzbekistan. Fedya has worked the last four years as a courier, racing around Moscow. He said he just entered university to study ecology, adding it should be a needed profession in resource-rich Uzbekistan. On a side note, NYC (Queens, not Brooklyn) is home to a large diaspora from Bukhara. 

Lesha: Agro-Engineering Student

Fedya was wearing a 'From Brooklyn' winter hat while walking in a Moscow street underpass. He said he and his sister moved to Moscow from Bukhara, Uzbekistan. His mom passed away and his dad lives in Uzbekistan. Fedya has worked the last four years as a courier, racing around Moscow. He said he just entered university to study ecology, adding it should be a needed profession in resource-rich Uzbekistan. On a side note, NYC (Queens, not Brooklyn) is home to a large diaspora from Bukhara.