Postcard from Bishkek

Herbert Morrison was a 31 year old reporter in 1937, working for the Chicago based WLS radio station, when he received an assignment to cover the arrival of the Hindenburg Zeppelin airship at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey.  Little did he know how the event, and his report, was to go down in history.

At first it was a routine assignment and the commentary began matter of factly, but then, as the airship attempted to dock at the mooring mast it caught fire and everything changed, dramatically.  Engulfed in flames, the airship was quickly, (in just under 40 seconds), and totally destroyed, killing 35 of the 97 people on board, (13 passengers and 22 of the crew), and one person on the ground, (a member of the ground crew). The cause of the fire was never discovered, although a number of hypotheses have been put forward and conspiracy theories abound.  It became known as the Hindenburg disaster, and received widespread publicity because of the numerous photographs, newsreel films, (there are four surviving newsreels which were shown in cinemas and another film of unknown origin), … and Morrison’s dramatic, poignant and heartfelt commentary.

In fact it was just one of series of accidents involving airships, and the first one involving a Zeppelin which featured the fact that not one passenger had been injured on any flights of their airships in their advertising.  However, the coverage given to the incident in the media gave it an importance far greater than other disasters which were less well reported and documented.  It was to undermine public confidence in the airship and marked the end of the “airship era” and heralded the onset of that of the aircraft.

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For the record, you can find several clips of the disaster and Morrison’s commentary on youtube, for example here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiAT9xvTVKI

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… and here is a transcript of Morrison’s report:

It’s practically standing still now. They’ve dropped ropes out of the nose of the ship; and (uh) they’ve been taken ahold of down on the field by a number of men. It’s starting to rain again; it’s… the rain had (uh) slacked up a little bit. The back motors of the ship are just holding it (uh) just enough to keep it from…It’s burst into flames! Get this, Charlie; get this, Charlie! It’s fire… and it’s crashing! It’s crashing terrible! Oh, my! Get out of the way, please! It’s burning and bursting into flames and the… and it’s falling on the mooring mast. And all the folks agree that this is terrible; this is the one of the worst catastrophes in the world. [indecipherable] its flames… Crashing, oh! Four- or five-hundred feet into the sky and it… it’s a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen. It’s smoke, and it’s in flames now; and the frame is crashing to the ground, not quite to the mooring mast. Oh, the humanity! And all the passengers screaming around here. I told you; it—I can’t even talk to people, their friends are out there! Ah! It’s… it… it’s a… ah! I… I can’t talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest: it’s just laying there, mass of smoking wreckage. Ah! And everybody can hardly breathe and talk and the screaming. Lady, I… I… I’m sorry. Honest: I… I can hardly breathe. I… I’m going to step inside, where I cannot see it. Charlie, that’s terrible. Ah, ah… I can’t. Listen, folks; I… I’m gonna have to stop for a minute because [indecipherable] I’ve lost my voice. This is the worst thing I’ve ever witnessed.

– Herbert Morrison, describing the events, as transcribed for broadcast by WLS radio

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One of the most striking phrases in the commentary is “Oh, the humanity!”  It seems to refer to the numbers of people involved and affected by the horrors unfolding before them.  Ironically, it has come to have significance as an idiom which is used to “ridicule, diminish and trivialize emotional displays which seem to be overly sentimental”.  This seems to me a little harsh …  Morrison may well have been overstating the case when he says it was “one of the worst catastrophes in the world”, but it must have been a terrible experience and, as Morrison says: it was clearly “the worst thing he’d ever witnessed” … and, 36 people did lose their lives.

There are, however, a number of misunderstandings, about the commentary.   Morrison’s report was not broadcast live.  It was recorded on special discs and broadcast the next day.  Later it was to dubbed as soundtrack on some newsreels giving an impression that if was similar to the live TV broadcasts to which we are so used today. His equipment was actually malfunctioning and when the recording was played back, it made his normally deep and sonorous voice sound more high pitched and frantic.  All the same, I don’t know how many times I have watched the newsreel coverage of the event and listened to his commentary, but every time I can’t help feeling a sense of shock and horror anew.

If Morrison’s commentary was broadcast only on the next day, radio and then, later, television and now with the possibilities offered by the internet, reporting such catastrophic events became more immediate – not only in time but also in proximity, they were brought to us in our living rooms.  I remember, for example, watching the Bradford Stadium fire in May, 1985  – a flash fire erupted, similar event to the Hindenburg disaster, claiming some 56 lives.  I was doing some housework at home one Saturday afternoon and the TV was on with the sports programme “Grandstand” providing some background noise, similar to Muzak, when they interrupted the normal programming to bring live coverage of the conflagration.  I stopped what I was doing and sat transfixed and horrified as the scene unfolded before me.

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Other occasions when the instantaneous news reports brought tragedy into homes were the 2005 and 2010 revolutions in Kyrgyzstan, (claiming 4 lives and 87 lives respectively) – and, of course, the events in Osh last June, (claiming 470 lives).  This week we’ve seen the publication of the report of the Independent International Commission of Enquiry into those events in Southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010, (headed by Kimmo Kiljunen of Finland), and the government’s official response to the Commission’s findings.  Many sections of the report had already been leaked.

Like the Hindenburg Disaster and Morrison’s commentary, the events in Southern Kyrgyzstan and the commission’s report is likely to go down in history leaving a host of questions unanswered, hypotheses and conspiracy theories, a variety of misunderstandings and emotional outbursts, not to mention the potential of undermining public confidence and far reaching implications.

The commission noted an unprecedented, (for the post-Soviet region), openness and cooperation from the Government of Kyrgyzstan, which created the “conditions necessary for the work of the commission and provided the broadest possible access to all sources of information”.  In its turn, the Government appreciated the important work done by the commission and the major contribution they have made, thanking its renowned members for their time and efforts.

However, there were numerous points of dispute between the documents.  The commission seems to have come to the conclusion that there were some 470 deaths which, whilst a lot, is considerably less than the 600, 700, 2000 and even figures that were being bandied around last year.  Some 74% of the victims were Uzbek by nationality, and 24% Kyrgyz, with the remaining 2% coming from different nationalities caught up in the foray.  I haven’t seen these figures disputed.  What I have seen disputed are the details of the narrative; the selection of incidents described; interpretation placed on the course of events and the conclusions drawn from the evidence.

Amongst the points raised by the commission are questions about the role of the military; the lack of coherent policy and actions on the part of the new government in order to minimize and neutralize tensions; the treatment of individuals arrested and detained following the outburst of hostilities; and they assert that although “genocide” was not evident, although there were what amounts to “crimes against humanity”.  The government in reply questions the methodology used; claim that evidence was accepted without supporting corroboration; casts doubt on the conclusion that there were no outside influences orchestrating the events; and contends that unfair analysis has been accorded to events where the “victims” of incidents were Kyrgyz compared to where they were Uzbek.

International reaction seems to favour the Commission’s report and not the protests of the Kyrgyz government, with calls from various agencies to the Kyrgyz authorities to follow the recommendations in it.

Both documents, (the 89 page report and the 29 page response), appear to be well written and considered, but they come to diametrically opposed positions and are riddled with controversial conclusions.  No-one seems to come out of them well.  One news report is even headlined “Kyrgyz Officials Blamed for Ethnic Unrest in Osh”.  Will it be possible to come to a synthesis?, to decipher between the hype and emotion that surrounds them? – let’s hope so.

(For those who read Russian, there is an interesting summary of some of the press coverage given to the report and the government’s response can be found at: http://kloop.kg/blog/2011/05/05/obzor-pressy-kyrgyzskie-siloviki-prichastny-k-iyunskim-besporyadkam/.)

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Another occasion when the instantaneous news reports brought tragedy into our homes was, of course, the events of September 11th, 2001, when hijacked airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon building in Washington and a field in New England, (claiming 2996 lives).

This week, of course, another event has taken precedence in the news: the raid by US Navy Seals on a compound in Pakistan where Osama Bin Laden was in hiding, and in which he was killed, (along with four others).  The event attracted some publicity here, unlike in neighbouring Uzbekistan which seems to have had a news blackout on the story – at least for the first day.  One Uzbek reporter when asked why the local media hadn’t reported anything about it, apparently said he “hadn’t heard the news”, (apparently he didn’t even have an internet connection), adding that “he didn’t think the story was important for their audience.” It’s hard to say what the general feeling in Kyrgyzstan is about the story.  Tweets were posted almost as soon as the news broke, but simply reporting the fact.  The news agencies also broke from the tradition which seems to date from the Soviet period, of concentrating on local stories and reported details of the event.  The Americans have refused to release photographs of the body but one loc al news agency actually posted a photograph, a portrait of Bin Laden, in one of its early reports with what appeared to be a gunshot wound in the head.  It turns out that this was an old photograph which had been shown to be a fake.   The general reaction seems to be one of apathy and cynicism.  Who was Osama?, he was not important to daily life in Kyrgyzstan … which seems to dominate thinking and attitudes here.  One politician seems to consider that all smacks of a conspiracy.  Bloggers have commented how the whole “war on terror” is simply been used as a justification for “abuses” and one prominent blogger, (normally a libertarian and liberal voice), posted a photograph from outside the White House, (in Washington, that is), where the crowds were celebrating the “murder” of Bin Laden.

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It seems as if the events in Pakistan and elsewhere are treated with some disdain whilst politicians and news reports concentrate on “contemplating our own navel”.  This might, of course, simply reflect that we have had a “two day week”, (Tuesday and Wednesday), as a result of the May Day holiday, Constitution Day and Victory Day public holidays and the two long weekends in the period spanned between them.  Work resumes to normal only on Tuesday, after the Victory Day celebrations.

An example of the introspection of news coverage here is the number of reports about the proposed change of the flag.  Last week I told you about various suggestions for a new design.  At the beginning of the week there was another report which featured the “winning” design, which was nowhere in the previous reports and is based heavily on the current one, but features three stars and the sun of 40 rays is at an oblique angle rather than seen square on.  If, however, the 1993 situation is any guide, when, apparently, the final design emerged only on the last day before the Jogorku Kenesh approved it, we could yet see new designs.  In my opinion, the new design looks quite nice and modern, but I still don’t understand why some people want to change this national symbol and there is resistance to the change emerging, including a comment by the Prime Minister distancing himself from the move.

The Prime Minister has also said that Kyrgyzstan needs to enter the Customs Union with the Russian Federation, Belarus and Kazakhstan.  A survey conducted by one of the news agencies suggests that almost 60% of the respondents were opposed to the move.

The Mayor of Bishkek is still in trouble over measures to develop the area around the main Osh Bazaar.  The stall holders have given notice that they want his to go, or they will start an ongoing protest.  They seem to acknowledge that they are on shaky legal ground but are adamant as they see the development as removing their livelihoods.  An earlier appeal to parliament resulted in them being told that it was a question for the city authorities.  The mayor has said that he will only resign if it can be shown that he has broken the law.  So, it looks as if we might be in for some more on-going, rolling protests.

Another on-going, apparently “Never ending story”, concerns the fuel supply for the Manas Transit Center.  The Pentagon seems to have taken a pragmatic approach and issued a “pre-solicitation” notice, which introduces major changes to the arrangements, which seems to give the bulk of the contract to the newly established Kyrgyz-Russian joint venture set up to channel fuel to base, thus taking it away from the controversial Gibraltar based Mina Corporation.  What is bad news for Mina may, however, ease the situation and relationships between the three countries: Kyrgyzstan, Russia and the US.

Another death that occurred during the week was that of Mukhtar Omurakunov, leader of the Zamandash political party.  The Zamandash, which is strong amongst Kyrgyz migrant workers in Russia and their families, party didn’t receive any seats in the parliamentary elections last year, and he was appointed Speaker of the “alternative parliament” set up to monitor the work those who were elected as representatives by the various unsuccessful parties.  Apparently, he was on holiday in Cuba, about 150 kilometers from Havana, when a huge three meter wave hit the coastline taking about ten lives of people from different countries.  His body was being returned to Kyrgyzstan and he was buried in his Native At Bashy region in the Naryn province.  He was 46 and left a wife and seven children.

One interesting piece of news which may bring cheer to some families is that the President has finally signed the amendments to Family Code which should ease the situation of the many foreign families seeking to adopt Kyrgyz children.  Several applications were being processed when a series of scandals erupted and they were all put on hold whilst investigations were undertaken and the legislation was changed in order to protect the children.  Unfortunately, little things like a revolution got in the way and delayed the process, (which is still not over because the Code simply sets the framework and some other implementing legislation still need revision), but at least now the basis is set for a resolution of this unhappy situation.

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Finally, I can’t let this news report go without comment:

Kyrgyzstan has 4.9 million cellular communication users and 1.1 million active Internet users

The number of cellular communication users grew by 10% compared to the previous year and reached 4.949 million, according to the State Communications Agency.

The number of active Internet users reached 1.142 million. There are 65 Internet providers in the country.

The size of investments into telecommunications sector increased by 183% compared to 2009.

Telecommunications market holds over 8% in GDP of the country.

For a country with a population of just over five million, there’s apparently 4.9 million … no, 4,949,000 … mobile telephone subscribers! … How’s that for market saturation?

… not to mention 65 internet providers! …

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On a more personal note, despite the extended holidays, this week has been quite busy with a variety of meetings and lunches.

For example, I had dinner on Wednesday with Hugh Coulter and his wife Jean, who are back in Kyrgyzstan after Hugh’s treatment for cancer over the winter.  You may remember from previous postcards that they organize fundraising events for an orphanage and a couple of micro-financing projects in Karakol, (see http://ianbek.kg/?p=898 and http://ianbek.kg/?p=2447).  I’m pleased to say that Hugh is looking well, (much better than I had expected), and is back in work, (much earlier than I had expected), with his usual gusto.  They have just got back from a fact finding trip to Karakol and promised to send the regular quarterly update in the nearest future, and I will post a copy on ianbek.kg when I get it.  (Incidentally, thanks to all my readers who have already supported their projects – Hugh and Jean never miss an opportunity to praise and express their gratitude for your contributions for these worthy causes.)

Thanks also to everyone who visited the site www.see,kg last week and reported back on the loading times.  I am extremely confused because everyone seems to report a fairly quick loading time, ranging from 15 seconds, (which seems to be a record) to a minute.  Although the respondents were all from Europe, no-one seems to have experienced the four minute of seven minute loading times that we have previously had reported from the US, Canada and Russia.  So, it looks as if we have some further investigative work to do.

We hope to post a couple more panoramas to the site in the next week.  Although we’ve had some good weather, it’s taken a turn and the last few days have been distinctly cool.  Before it changed, however, Victor decided to take advantage of the clear skies and went out into the hills to the South of the city, visiting Dove Waterfall in a small secluded valley.  The waterfall itself is quite small, and the narrow stream of water drops about 50 meters into a small pool in the gorge below.

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Tags: Expat, Life_in_Kyrgyzstan, Weekly_Postcards