With virtually no freedom of speech and harsh limitations on foreign press, Uzbekistan is a difficult country to remained informed on. Having never heard of any news coming from Uzbekistan, this documentary and article deeply troubled me. With comparisons to North Korea, this harshly governed country is facing a plethora of problems. Along with human rights violations and a false sense of democracy, the people are completely unable to express their opinions or instill any change regarding the government. The successor of Islam Karimov has already been chosen, so why have an election? It doesn’t seem as though the majority of people are aware the extent of their situation. Afterall, Karimov was immensely powerful and respected by the public. His supporters are still deeply troubled by his death and continue to mourn their lost “father of the nation”. Despite his ruling with an iron fist, the Uzbeks still adore him and their country, wanting to contribute as much as they can. Some of these contributions include forced labor in the cotton fields that allow Uzbekistan to be the number two exporter of cotton in the world (a piece of information I was completely oblivious to). However, those who are working tirelessly in the fields to produce at least 70 kilos of cotton a day refuse to speak negatively about their work experience despite of only earning cents a day for their efforts. This situation seems rather strange to me as teachers and students are missing school to work in the fields which isn’t a regular happening. Without the ability of foreign reporters to fully expose the occurences in Uzbekistan, I am sure there are many more human rights violations and internal issues that haven’t seen the light yet. I think it is important that more people become aware of the issues in Uzbekistan as they aren’t publicized frequently and the people who made this documentary put themselves in danger in order to get this information to the media. The fact that Uzbekistan security is well known for utilizing torture and imprisoning those who defend human rights is completely unacceptable. Denunciation is even encouraged in state propaganda and citizens are scared into informing on anyone who appears to be going against the word of the state. I hope that more news regarding this election and the current state of Uzbekistan get more media attention in the future, as I would like to follow this story and see what happens.
