Afghan Traders' Growing Presence in Southeast Tajikistan
Some local retailers resent incomers.
Afghan Traders' Growing Presence in Southeast Tajikistan
Some local retailers resent incomers.
Residents of Khorog in southeastern Tajikistan are complaining about enterprising Afghans who come across the border to trade.
Khorog is the centre of Badakhshan, a vast highland region so remote from the rest of the country that it is easier to trade across the border with Afghanistan.
Jobs are scarce, though, and some local shopkeepers and market traders are resentful of the Afghan incomers, saying they sell shoddy goods and are rude to their customers.
Police recently arrested two Afghan nationals latter for entering Tajikistan illegally.
Afghan trader Muhammadrasul Muhammad Ayub says there are all sorts of people at the market, good and bad, and his compatriots are no worse than anyone else.
Nasima Muborakqadamova is an IWPR contributor in Tajikistan.
This audio programme went out in Russian and Tajik on national radio stations in Tajikistan. It was produced under two IWPR projects: Empowering Media and Civil Society Activists to Support Democratic Reforms in Tajikistan, funded by the European Union, and Strengthening Capacities, Bridging Divides in Central Asia, funded by the Foreign Ministry of Norway. The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of IWPR and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of either the European Union or the Norwegian foreign ministry.
