Power Spoof

What can I say…power has been a serious issue throughout Tajikistan this winter. We are going through the third round of serious power cuts this week. What is disturbing is there seems to be a direct correlation between the temperature and power. When it gets increasingly colder, power is increasingly lessened. No rhyme nor reason…It’s Tajikistan. The problem is the temperature has dropped drastically so I literally went from wearing my spring jacket one day to 4 layers the next. And so is adjusting to having get used to 4-5 hours of power to only 2 hours at night with minimal running water (hint: live on the ground floor…). Whoever is charged with turning the power off must have much joy in doing so because one night after 8pm, the power cut. However, it came back on 15 mins afterwards so I blew out the candle only to find myself sitting in pitch darkness seconds after!


Night view of Lenina St. taken from my apt.


Perhaps one positive out of this dire situation is one night, I was sitting with a friend looking across the river. At 9pm, we caught sight of the power cuts take place before our eyes. It was pretty amazing how all the lights just turned off all at once, leaving us to feel at ease knowing we were watching the lights go out from the outside instead of experiencing it from within.

You might be thinking how bad the locals have it here but I’ve learned that not only do most locals have their coping mechanisms either through getting a ‘red line’ emergency line only for hospitals, police etc. or use wood/coal stoves to get them through. The strong family/clan based culture ensures that if you are a part of a family, you will have the connection to survive these circumstances. I heard recently that 80% of Tajiks have ‘red line’ power. The result is that since most are on the red line, the power through these lines has also weakened and in some cases also cut. This is very serious as these red lines are supposed to be for important life-saving institutions and I’m hearing that hospitals are also without power and water at times. Can you imagine not being able to wash your hand in the hospital? Or performing surgery using a generator?!? This is definitely a motivation to stay far away from having to go to the hospital.

Read the article below to see how Tajiks are dealing with it in their own hands.
http://www.iwpr.net/?p=rca&s=f&o=333463&apc_state=henh

Have you heard enough? Well I think everyone here is sick of me talking about it. I’m sick of talking about it =P