"As close to hell as I have ever been"

Friday noon, March 25

Bishkek staggers under the cleanup from last night's looting. In ways the city hasn't been before, the difference between the haves and the have-nots in this country is now painfully clear. I spent about 30 minutes walking around my neighborhood, in the heart of the city, and storefront after storefront is now shattered debris. City workers are out trying their best to clean up, but the looting still goes on.

You may have seen the CNN reports of the looting. A common picture is the Turkish Beta Store just a block away: a seven-story mall - food, clothing, housewares, furniture, electronics - completely gutted, every window shattered, smoke curling up from the fires inside. Two antiquated fire trucks are parked in back trying to damp down the flames. A workman tries feverishly to weld a pipe back together. The water sluices down the streets, carrying everything from candy wrappers to orange peels and used condoms.

Looters continue in and out of the store. One man struggles away with two or three heavy wire racks and a barbecue grill ... who knows, maybe for the shashlik [shish kebab] at his daughter's wedding tomorrow. The ethnic Kyrgyz predominate among the looters, and you can seek the fractured expressions of basically honest people denied everything for too long, and now finding it, if not in abundance, at least finding something. Two worn shoes sit neatly against a fire hydrant. Next to them a new Adidas box. Stores selling jeans are gutted. A woman sits in the doorway of her jeans shop, weeping, her little boy next to her, hand on her knee. He stares out, uncomprehending. There is anger among the more educated and literate here. All morning long there has been a heated political debate in the courtyard beneath my window. The women look terrified.

I am in contact with the embassy. There are no flights out, but contingency plans are in the works. Last night the Hyatt was under siege, and guests had to be bused across town to the Pinara, the other major hotel. Tonight will tell the tale, especially if the looting turns to the small shops which sell cigarettes and beer and sweets. I sense that shopkeepers are bracing for it. This is as close to hell as I have ever been, and it's all the more reason that I know I am exactly where I should be and that I must stay.

We have to help. All my values mean everything here, or they mean nothing. I was able to buy water. Little things mean everything.

Bill

This information posted 05 APRIL 2005