The city of Osh in flames following riots in June 2010. Photo:Henrik Keith Hansen/IMS

“Until June 10, 2010 the multi-nationality and ethnic diversity of my family did not prevent us from living in Kyrgyzstan.” Read the personal account of a Kyrgyz journalist who was forced to flee his hometown of Osh with his family following the violent ethnic riots in 2010

By Turatbek Sultan

Before the violence erupted in September 2010, there had, of course, been unpleasant moments with reproaches or comments by others about us being the "wrong nationality." Or people trying to use their association with my family or me for their own gain, to show others how tolerant and internationally-minded they were, working with people like us. I cannot speak for others, but for me the realisation of why exactly I was included in various social gatherings, has been very unpleasant.

Especially such "invitations" have increased since the tragic events in Kyrgyzstan in the fall of 2010. Everyone is curious about how I live with my wife, who is of another nationality and the “wrong” ethnicity, in light of recent events. I hated these people, trying not to show their hidden agendas.

One day, someone noticed that my children had "non-Kyrgyz eyes." It was after the war...

I told them, now the eyes will determine your nationality.

As a child, I did not think much about nationality or gave much value to language or the manner with which some of my relatives dressed. As an adult, I noticed that my mother's aunt has the interesting mix of three languages, that  they have different names than we do, and they have another way of furnishing their homes , and that another uncle was  dressed completely differently and spoke a different language. So I learned that I was born in a multicultural family, where everything is mixed, both languages, food, clothing, and and the celebration of different traditions.

Now this background has become our burden, because I think that these tragic events in June 2010 primarily hit those families of mixed ethnic origin the hardest. We were asked to clear out of our house. Before our eyes, one of the neighbours tried to incite a crowd of armed men against us because he knew that my wife was of another nationality. As I write, I see his eyes before me and hear his calls...

I still have not written a single note or article about these events. It is hard to think about it and too difficult to analyse what we experienced. It is difficult to analyse from an abstract point of view, because it directly affected my family. 

We do not know how to our lives will be in future, how we will live. I've been thinking about the future of my children, what awaits them. Every ten to twenty years, are we to expect such conflicts as that which transpired in Kyrgyzstan?

I stopped to talk with some of my colleagues, friends and acquaintances. These tragic events have become a categorising litmus test for them. It became obvious what their views are and it is hard to understand/accept  that the people with whom you talked to as friends for years, hold radical views. 

Earlier, I used to carefully read everything written about the events which took place in Osh. But no longer as I cannot read the lies and fantasies of those who have never been in Osh, who do not know what Osh is like and what kind of people live there.

The name of the author has been changed for safety purposes.