Catalog

Villages without Men
ADB Review [ October 2005 ]

Poverty is so dire in many Tajik villages that most young men leave each year to work abroad. This relieves rampant unemployment at home, but can endanger family life

By Ian Gill, (igill@adb.org)
Principal External Relations Specialist

TOJICON, TAJIKISTAN

It is late afternoon, yet the main street of this village is eerily quiet. It takes a while to realize what is missing: groups of men standing or sitting around, smoking, and gossiping.

LONELY LIFE Dilafruz (left) with her sister: she sees her husband for only a few weeks a year

“On this street, we have 22 families, yet only three male heads of family, including myself, are here,” says Dr. Zabiyuvlo Teshaev, the village doctor. “The other men are away most of the time.”

Dilafruz, the doctor’s 22-year-old daughter, has been married to Khayol, 24, for 5 years. They have one child. But she sees her husband for only a few months each year. Around February, he makes the long journey to Russia to work on construction sites and does not return till around October. Most migrant men like Khayol work in the building industry but others find employment in factories and plants.

Tojicon is hardly alone in losing 80% of its men under 50 to the annual migration to Russia and Kazakhstan. Countless other villages in this poor, mountainous country—as well as in neighboring Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan—experience a similar exodus.

COPING WITH ABSENCE Tajik women help a neighbor build a home by making mud bricks (above); Tojicon children grow up without dad (below)

The money the migrants send home keeps their families alive—and contributes heftily to their economies. The Russian Government estimates that Tajiks send home $280 million a year, or 25% of Tajikistan’s gross domestic product.

Unquestionably, by filling gaps in the labor force, the migrants also benefit the countries where they work. Yet, over the past 15 years, they have faced mounting restrictions on cross-border movements.

As a result, many have to work without proper papers and are exposed to abuse by employers and border officials. Illegal workers often have to put up with low wages and poor conditions. They can be fired or deported anytime. They are vulnerable to extortion and violence from racketeers.

In a report to be released next month, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) urges better treatment for migrants, noting that it is in the interest of Central Asian countries to cooperate more in facilitating the flow of migrant workers as this helps stabilize employment, encourages trade, and brings economic benefits to border areas.

THESE MEN left behind are among a handful involved in administrative work

One positive move is that Russia signed an agreement with Tajikistan last year to allow several hundred thousand Tajik migrants to become legally registered workers with health insurance. When ratified by the Russian Parliament, this will provide them with significant benefits.

Despite risks, migrants leave their homes and families because they have little choice. Some lost their jobs when factories closed or slowed production after independence. The nearby town of Shurab is a case in point: once a thriving coal producer under the Soviets, it is now a shadow of its former self.

There are few options for the men who stay behind. In the Vorukh area, which includes Tojicon, a UNDP official says some 7,000–8,000 men leave to work abroad; of those who remain, 3,800 work on collective farms, 600 are employed inschools, 40 in the hospital, and 20 in administration.

The wages for those who stay are very low. For example, Dr. Teshaev, a graduate of Dushanbe Medical Institute and one of the most educated villagers, treats patients for free at his home and receives the standard government salary of $7 a month. He survives by supplementing his income from selling apricots grown in his garden.

The migrants’ absence also has an impact on those they leave behind. Women lead a conservative life in these rural areas. Girls are expected to marry at 14, and their lives revolve around the home.

Dilafruz has her own house, but is lonely without her husband and spends a lot of time in the home of her father and sisters.

“Of course, it is hard bringing up my baby alone, and I miss my husband,” she says.

Children have to grow up without fathers. The lack of a male role model and paternal discipline can have a negative impact upon youth in villages where dropout rate from schools is already high and social centers and jobs are lacking. A UNDP official says frustration and boredom create conditions for disorderly behavior, such as fighting, drunkenness, and petty crime.

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