شایعات و پاسخ

People in Tajikistan are concerned. You hear this concern from students, from families, from professors and shop owners. And I’m concerned too.

American Councils’ programs for Americans could be leaving Tajikistan.

Now, at first, I thought it was likely a joke, and, after all, why would the only Persian language immersion program available for students from America (a country known for needing people who speak Persian because, let’s face it, we’re over there all the time) be closed down? Isn't there a demand for Persian, students who want to take the language, and who don’t have qualms about going outside their comfort zone?

Oh no, there is. They’re just all in Armenia or Turkey.

As some of you may be aware, the US government has a scholarship/fellowship program known as the Boren, which offers students enough money to make something, like a yearlong study program in Tajikistan significantly more financially feasible. However, this year, following “security concerns”, the program relocated all of its participants to Yerevan, Armenia. If you’re wondering why I’m in Tajikistan, and not Armenia studying Persian, it’s because (SURPRISE!) Armenia is not a Persian-speaking country.

But Greg, you might be saying, Tajikistan is in Central Asia, and Central Asia is SCARY! Yes, yes it is, if, by “SCARY”, you mean “The safest place I think I have ever lived.” Oh no, Tajikistan borders Afghanistan. And yes, this summer did see some pretty nasty violence in the eastern half of the country. But both of those places are, in relation to where I live about 6 and 11 hours away respectively. At the same time, ask any students studying in Israel how safe things have been lately, because let’s be serious, the number of missiles that have fallen in Tajikistan in the last three months is a resounding…Zero.

So yeah, not going to dance around the issue: US government, get your act together.  I hope, of course, that this is all only hearsay, but with only two students here for the spring semester…things are indeed looking grim.

As always: Ташаккуру худо ҳафез.