At last month's CASG meeting, held on 13 May, members shared their initial encounters in Central Asia, with the view to opening up a discussion on the lived realities and everyday politics in Central Asia. Dr Aptin Khanbaghi , Senior Researcher at AKU-ISMC shared his experiences of a recent visit to Tajikistan, discussing his observations of the local people, foreigners, landscape, food, built environment and gender relations. In particular he noted the degree to which shared language – as a social code – transforms experiences of visiting Central Asia, allowing higher levels of interaction and greater access to informal and unofficial presentations of the reality of daily life.
Others also contributed their perceptions daily life in Central Asia, including for example, the centrality and density of kin networks, high levels of hospitality and openness, experiences of hostility, suspicion or exploitation of foreigners/tourists, perceptions of certain cultural qualities (gentleness) and attitudes, the sense of pride in local heritage, different perceptions of gender relations, and identity markers that characterise inter-ethnic relations. Discussions included the relative lack of infrastructure and resources as well as the issue of scale for ‘outsiders’ visiting Central Asia – particularly in relation to socio-economic scales and relative wealth. It seemed in many of the initial impressions there was an ongoing tension between tendencies to reify Central Asian cultures and attempts to more deeply understand their socio-cultural realities.
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