Buy Nothing Day
Buy Nothing Day, (BND), is supposed to be an international day of protest against consumerism observed by social activists. However, in America it is usually commemorated on Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving, which is ironically one of the busiest shopping days of the year, but in the rest of the world it falls on the following day.
The idea originated in Canada, but the first “event” was organized in Mexico as long ago as 1992 and nowadays there are activities organized in something like 65 different countries. Those activities include things like: cutting up credit cards; street parties; “sit ins” – gosh, how 1960’s that seems; public protests; walking around supermarkets pushing trolleys but not putting anything in them; “Buy Nothing Hikes” or bike rides “Swap Shops” where goods are exchanged, donated and distributed, but money doesn’t change hands. There is even a parade in San Francisco.
Although I quite like the idea of Buy Nothing Day, it’s not really because I am one of those “social activists”, but because it is far too easy to spend money, often without really thinking about it – considering whether you really want or need whatever it is you are buying. Sometimes people tell me that they “need” some money, say 500 som, and when I ask what for the answer is not exactly satisfactory. So, I respond with something like, “you don’t mean ‘need’, you mean ‘want’.”
In fact, I’m not sure how well the campaign would do here in Kyrgyzstan. People’s shopping habits are different to those we have at home. Back in the UK I used to go shopping once a week, on Saturday morning, and buy for the whole week. It’s a habit I got from my mother who used to do a “weekly shop” and often took me with her to help carry the bags Here, although I try to persuade the kids that this is a better way of doing things, I am used to the fact that most people go to the shop every day and buy just a little.
One reason for that might be that some people don’t have enough money to buy anything much anyway, and when they do have money, then they like to spend it; it doesn’t stay in their pockets, wallet or purse, for very long. I often say to people that they are very good at spending money but need to give more thought to the question of where it comes from. It’s very easy to spend money – it’s not so easy to get it. I am also constantly referring to what I consider a basic rule of economics, The Micawber Principle as outlined by Charles Dickens in David Copperfield:
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”
(To be honest, I have to adapt it to som – no-one here really understands Pounds, Shillings and Pence.)
I remember, back when I was a student, being somewhat shocked when one of my Philosophy lecturers passed a comment about how everything boiled down to money. It didn’t seem to be the sort of comment you would expect from a philosopher, but more like something an economist might say. These days, however, I can see the point he was making.
Certainly money seems to be an important issue here – perhaps because most people have so little of it. That can seem distinctly odd when you see the number of large, modern, expensive foreign cars that seem to clog Bishkek’s streets, or the newly built apartment blocks and houses, or the expensive fashionable clothes that people wear, or the number of people carrying mobile phones … but that’s mainly here in Bishkek. Elsewhere in the country, many people are still relatively poor and struggling to make ends meet.
That’s one of the reasons, of course, why so many have gone abroad to work as “migrant workers” in places like Russia and Kazakhstan. In some respects, it’s a good job that they have because there is precious little work here … about 2000 people have taken to hiring themselves out as porters, crossing the border with Kazakhstan four or times a day, carrying bags of goods for a couple of hundred som or so a trip, (about USD4). Apparently, if they carry a bag, then there are no customs duties on the goods, but if someone tries to drive a lorry across, then they are stopped and have to pay the higher duties imposed since Kazakhstan joined the Customs Union. So, some Chinese goods still seem to be making the transit through Kyrgyzstan, but far less than there used to be.
This tendency for Kyrgyzstan to be a transit point for cheap Chinese Goods into other markets has been blamed for the collapse and virtual disappearance of manufacturing from Kyrgyzstan. It may have helped keep the country afloat since the demise of the Soviet Union, but, (so the argument goes), Kyrgyzstan would have been better off if it had been able to keep its manufacturing industry intact.
In an interview with a Russian News Service, which hasn’t been particularly widely covered here, President elect Atambaev suggested that Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the new body would mean that Kyrgyzstan’s borders would become Russia’s external border, and Russia will want to protect it. The Tajiks have been resisting Russian pressure for Russian troops on their borders, but the implication seems to be that Atambaev will welcome them. This is despite the concern from some “international experts” that joining the Union will result in a loss of sovereignty for Kyrgyzstan.
Apparently, he went further … saying that the Russians and the citizens of Kyrgyzstan had a common heritage in the Soviet Union; well, that’s probably true but then he went on to say that “even the mentality of the people is similar”. It’s no secret that everyone considers he sees Russia as an important ally, but all this strikes me as a little worrying when you consider how proud and passionate the Kyrgyz are of their nationality,
The issue certainly seems to arousing passions – on both sides of the debate. Why are “businessmen” and “shopkeepers” trying to scare us about the effects of joining the Customs Union?, one article asked, “why are we frightened of the Customs Union?”. One answer to that which I have heard several times is that it means, despite what Vladimir Putin and Nursultan Nazarbaev, a return to the Soviet Union.
Add to that the fact that the Vice Prime Minister voiced concern at a conference called to discuss the issue, that entry into the Union will lead to a “social explosion”. To avoid this, he said, we will have to hold talks and only “enter on our agreed terms”. Discussions certainly seem to be taking place and there is some talk about concessions, and “transitional periods” … but what seems clear to me is that no-one really knows what to expect. I suspect that things will be difficult in the immediate future whether we enter the body or not.
Well, that’s probably more than enough about the Customs Union for now – but I am sure that we will hear a lot more about it in the weeks ahead.
By the way, in that interview, Atambaev also seems to have implied that the Manas Transit Base might remain the lease runs out after the American drawdown of forces from Afghanistan in 2014, as he stated it would in the run up to the elections, (albeit in the guise of a “civilian” transit base – not under the military)
Of course, if everything does really boil down to money in the end … than what about the money Kyrgyzstan receives from the Americans for the Transit Base? … if the base does close then Kyrgyzstan will stand to lose substantial sums in terms of rent and the local purchase of goods and services, (although some people that the Americans purchase far too little locally preferring to fly things in from home). To complicate matters even further, apparently there is some doubt if the Americans will be able to withdraw from Central Asia, as, so it seems, some Afghans have been asking the American government to reconsider its position. Maybe this will give a further impetus to a campaign to preserve the base in one form or another.
It’s not clear what Moscow will make of this apparent backdown … especially given their reaction to the ”betrayal” on this issue by former President Bakiev.
There is talk of creating new military camps in both Southern and Northern Kyrgyzstan – perhaps in cooperation with either, or both, Russia and America. Moscow might be happy to increase its presence in the country, but it’s not clear what they will think about a possible further American presence.
According to one press report, however, perhaps Kyrgyzstan needs to pay a bit attention to neighbours closer to home. It seems that Uzbekistan has moved a border post on the one of the enclaves some three kilometers into Kyrgyz territory. There has been some dispute over this border for some years and the Uzbek officials relied on certain documents which placed the border in a different place to that contained in Kyrgyz documents. Let’s hope and trust that the special commission on the demarcation of the border can sort this one out.
Meanwhile the GKNB, (the national security service, the successor of the KGB), has apparently backed down in its court case against the Ministry of Finance which it accused of revealing “secret” information by releasing budget data about the funds allocated to the service.
Another court case which has come to an abrupt end, amidst much controversy, is that against the son of Bishkek’s Mayor, who was accused of having caused the deaths of three people when the car he was driving was involved in a road accident.
One of the points of controversy seems to have been that the official record of the accident was altered to change the number plate of the vehicle involved in the accident – suggesting an attempt at a cover-up. Here, the vehicle registration number plates are tied to both the vehicle and the owner – when the vehicle is sold then the new owner is given a new number. According to the press, in the original accident record, it seems that the investigating police officers had recorded a number which tied the vehicle to the Bishkek Municipal authorities – but a later record indicated the registration number of a private vehicle.
Some other people have been experiencing problems with registration numbers during the week. The registration details for “official” cars, (which are easily recognizable by the designation KG), were released and it became apparent that the Speaker of the Parliament had some 33 assistants (including 14 advisers) all of whom had been assigned one of the distinctive numbers. It led to one deputy calling for his resignation.
We are getting ready for the inauguration of the new President, on Thursday … President elect Atambaev has just returned to his post as Prime Minister and then proceeded to take a week’s holiday.
There has been seemingly endless discussions seem to be going on about the constitution of the new government; and continuous speculation about the possibility of a new coalition and the identity of the new Prime Minister. Some deputies have banded together to create a new “coalition” or movement for reforms, but it’s not clear what effect this will have on the final outcome, if any.
We’ve had more snow and it’s caused havoc in the mountains with, apparently, hundreds of villages being cut off. Even the strategically important trunk routes from Bishkek to Osh and Torugart (and hence to China) were blocked. When I saw the news I was glad that we had decided to postpone our monthly trip to the guesthouse up in Naryn for a week … not because of the weather, but because we have a tax inspection going on at the moment and that is keeping us busy. It’s due to finish during next week, so I hope that we’ll be able to finally get up to Naryn next weekend.
We’ve been kept pretty busy with other things as well during the week – a host of meetings and I feel as if I have been doing nothing but running from meeting to meeting for most of the week. Who said that this is supposed to be a quiet time? … Although it is our “off-season”, as it happens, we have had some tourists this month. Even though the weather hasn’t been ideal, I think they have had an interesting time and been able to see quite a bit of the country.
Next week also looks like being quite busy – I am not looking forward to the build up to Christmas and New Year which will probably be quite a frenetic period.
One thing I’ll have to do is start worrying about is the shopping … not the normal weekly shopping, but Christmas Shopping. To be honest, I don’t normally worry too much about Christmas shopping – or New Year shopping as that is the big holiday here, but this year there are a number of reasons why I am going to have to pay a bit more attention to it.
For the record: you can find out more about Buy Nothing Day here.
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Postcard from Bishkek: the weekly postcard that I send out as an email also gets posted on the website ianbek.kg each week – and there are other postcards which don’t get sent out. This week, for example, there were posts about: One of my heroes – Alistair Cooke, it would have been his birthday last Sunday; A homily “From the mountain goat” (the Principal of the newly established European School here in Bishkek, on bringing up children; another of my “heroes”, this time Dr. Who, (it was the anniversary of the first ever broadcast back in 1963); Pssst … Wanna buy a shyrdak, about a sale of traditional crafts which has been staged this week in Bishkek; Thanksgiving – for our American cousins, as Thursday was the Thanksgiving holiday and about a presentation I gave so students in a local University about Working in Tourism. Also, having found an English translation of the eigth century Kyrgyz Koshok, (a dirge or lament), I have updated the postcard on the eighth century ruler of the Kyrgyz, Barsbek and also added some photographs to the postcard about the archetypical Kyrgyz dish, Beshbarmak.
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Bishkek