A Little information about Turkmenistan
An Essay By
Mekan Melyayev
English Composition 121
January 30, 2002
What is the first thought that comes to your mind whenyou hear the word Turkmenistan? Is it «Gee, I don't even know where itis»? Or if you know the location doyou have questions? «Does yourcountry harbor terrorists? Does youcountry have roads? Are all women coveredin your country? Does your country chopoff peoples' hands for robbery?»
The history ofTurkmenistan indicates that the Turkmens were nomadic people who lived on theirown, never trying to conquer any land. In the 8th century Turkmens were forcedto accept Islam by the Arabs. The Muslim influence lasted till the late 18thcentury. In the early 19th centuryRussians invaded the Turkmen lands, and Turkmens were forced to join the Unionof Soviet Socialistic Republics. Then in 1925 Turkmens formed the Republic ofTurkmenistan.
It is bordered on the south by Afghanistan and Iran,on the north by Kazakhstan, on the northeast by Uzbekistan, and on the West bythe Caspian Sea. At present it is anindependent and neutral country. It has a population of less than 5 million,and a land size slightly large than California. It is oil rich country withabout 100 trillion cubic meters of oil reserves, and it's a 10th largest cottonproducer in the world.
During my stay inColorado, I've noticed that very few people know about my country. I've witnessed quite often that about peopleI talk to have misconceptions about Turkmenistan. Probably about 80% of the people I've talkedto have some kind of misconception. Themost common misconception they have is viewing Turkmenistan as a Muslim state. Whenever I tell them about the location ofTurkmenistan, they start thinking of a Muslim ruled state; a state that doesn'tallow women to dress openly, that chops off peoples' hands for robbery. There are many questions they might want toask of a person representing an uncivilized Muslim state.
But Turkmenistan iscompletely different from what most people think. Even though Turkmens were forced to receiveIslam as their primary religion, they didn't fight for Islam. The respected elders of the Turkmen communitytried to inspire people to defend their country, rather than defend their religion. In their poems they talked about Heaven assomething that no one has seen, or been inside, and that they would rather stayon earth instead of going to Heaven.
Another example of this could be a Turkmen mythicalstory, almost like of venerable Bede's «Beowulf». But unlike Bede's writing in which hedescribes monster Grendel as something God has sent, the Turkmen story called«Gorogly (son of the grave)» has no mention of a God who is in chargeof everything that is happening on earth. It does have some creatures like dragons and monsters with one eye. The main point of the story is not to inspirepeople to believe in God, but to awaken their patriotic feelings.
On the other hand I would be wrong to say Turkmenistandoesn't interact with its neighbors. We have 125 diplomatic missions abroadincluding 2 consulates in Afghanistan. We import gas and electricity to Iranand Afghanistan. All these relationshipsare based on mutual economic benefits only. Turkmenistan receives some help intraining of its military personnel from Pakistan. The United Nations allowsthis type of basic training for a neutral country. The training is meant onlyfor defense of a country, not an attack or spying on any country.
Another misconception,mainly held by people with a higher level of awareness about current events inthe area, is that Turkmenistan doesn't allow the U.S. military to use its airspace or territory for retaliation against Afghanistan, even thoughTurkmenistan would be the second best place to carry out U.S. attacks, afterPakistan. The rules set by United Nations on neutrality status don't allowTurkmenistan's territory to be used for military actions. It can only be used for humanitarian aid. Turkmenistan is allowing humanitarian aid topass through its territory, it is allowing airplanes of humanitarian aid toland and take off from its airport.
Another misconceptionthat I have a hard time explaining is that Turkmenistan is not Russia, eventhough it used to be part of the Soviet Union for 70 years. When I tell peoplethat Turkmenistan was part of the Soviet Union, they still think ofTurkmenistan as Russia, and therefore I am usually asked a questions that theywould ask a native Russian. «Doesyour country have nuclear bombs? Why were you guys making nuclear weaponsagainst the United States? Were your parents Communists?»
I have to explain that Turkmenistan doesn't have anynuclear weapons because Russia reclaimed all of its nuclear weapons after thecollapse of the Soviet Union. In answerto the question of whether my parents were communists or not, I just say thatthe all people in the Soviet Union were communist, and citizens of that countryhad no other choice but to be one. People were prosecuted for having differentideas or beliefs about the government during the Soviet era. Of course theSoviet Union made nuclear weapons against United States, because the UnitedStates built the same weapons against the Soviet Union. Was the United States the biggest enemy ofthe Soviet Union, or was it the other way around? Or was it both ways at once?
In the Cold War, the KGB of the Soviet Union and theCIA of the United States both spied on each other, and unfortunately thepractice is still continuing. But thistime the practice is just between Russia and the United States. As a neutral country Turkmenistan is notinvolved in it. The United Nations knowsall the military power Turkmenistan has. It would be naive to believe that neither the United States nor Russiahave spies in Turkmenistan, but it seems to me very unlikely that Turkmenistanhas spies in the United States. Ofcourse that is only my own opinion, based largely on the fact that I'm not aspy myself. (Only a few people haveasked me whether I am, but sometimes I think more people wonder about it.)
Turkmenistan is acountry with an annual growth of 9% in the Gross Domestic Product over the past10 years. Economically Turkmenistan still relies heavily on Russia because ofthe industry of gas exportation. The only gas pipelines that were built duringthe Soviet era passed through Russia, and Turkmenistan has to rely only onthose pipelines now. But if the war finishes in Afghanistan, a new pipelinewill be built through Afghanistan to Europe. This pipeline would be the most beneficial for Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan is still not fully awakened from theSoviet Laws and regulations. The country doesn't have a complete democracy, butTurkmenistan has just starting growing, and democracy comes with time.
With the ongoing war in that region now, I hope thispiece of information helps to better understand the stance ofTurkmenistan. As for explaining what itis like to be a member of the tiny subculture of Turkmen students in the UnitedStates, the best explanation I can give is that it would be handy for me tocarry a copy of this essay with me daily.