|
  |
 The strange thing about name tags in Uzbekistan |
|
|
| ahamill |
 Aug 31 2009, 03:43 AM
|
Wayfarer
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 47
Joined: 5-July 07
From: Central Asia/Middle East
Member No.: 67301
|
Well, you're right! In fact, because I am blonde and light-skinned and speak Russian, and my name is Alexander so I am called by everyone here Sasha (that's the common nickname), then it is assumed I am one of the many ethnic Russians still living in Uz. They are not at all uncommon and, in Tashkent, probably could be around 30 or 40 percent of the faces I see. Maybe more? In the rural areas, it is much much higher percentage of Uzbeks of the more typical darker skin and hair and eyes. You're right: one of my colleagues has what many consider 'typical' Mexican looks, is always assumed to be Uzbek. (one of my Mexican colleagues in grad school, though, was from Merida and was whiter than I am, blue eyed, and black haired - very European looking - which was his particular heritage).
So anyway, as far as one can speak of ethnicity and the 'look' of people, I look like a Russian lving in Uzbekistan.
The incident of the name tags at the new TexMex place is not isolated and in fact at other restaurants where there are name tags it is frequent that the wrong name is used - the wrong Uzbek or Russian name, as though folks had switched their own name tags with each other in back before coming out to serve.
So 'Sancho' may have been making a play on his name that was appropriate for the TexMex restaurant, but it is a far more common practice at any restaurant.
Which was why it was interesting to me - kind of a funny little note about the power of names or the power of knowing something about someone else, something that is generally REALLY different in the Former Soviet Union than it is even in reportedly hyper-private America! One friend of mine told me he'd never own an Apple product (iPhone, MacBook, etc.) because he says they go on line and send little blips of info about the user and he doesn't know how to disable that feature so he won't ever have one on him. I asked why, what was he thinking the Apple products were saying about him, what if it was just his location, and he said that'd be the WORST, being able to be tracked! Who would be doing the tracking, I wondered aloud, and he smiled knowingly.
It's quite amazing that The X-Files or some other series depicting Big Brother and Conspiracy Theory isn't more popular, eh? There's a market for it.
--------------------
Sleepless in Tashkent
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ahamill |
Sep 2 2009, 03:23 AM
|
Wayfarer
Group: Local Expert
Posts: 47
Joined: 5-July 07
From: Central Asia/Middle East
Member No.: 67301
|
Yah in Tashkent many many are here! In my office, it is probably 30% people who are ethnically Russian. One of our drivers, Dima, doesn't even speak Uzbek, though he understands it a little; one of the other drivers, Alexeii, can speak Uzbek a bit only because, as he tells it, he had an Uzbek best friend when he was a little boy so he learned some in his childhood.
There is unfortunately some prejudice on both sides - the self-identified "Russian Uzbeks", many who don't even speak Uzbek but were born and raised in Tashkent, can be heard to sometimes use the Uzbek word for 'apricot' as a nickname for Uzbeks. It's derogatory, though, and I hear folks muttering it to themselves when an old Uzbek drives a car recklessly and the Russian driver has to swerve to avoid an accident. Just an example. The Uzbeks have their own derogatory words for Russian-Uzbeks! But I think it's the case that the Russian-Uzbeks can often look down on the Uzbeks. And another buddy of mine, with the last name Dimyanov, who looks very Caucasian (self-identifies as ethnically Russian) says that he'd never have a career in politics in Uzbekistan because of his last name and because of the way he looks - - like a RUssian. So there is discrimination on both sides.
Interestingly, there was a big movement in the 90s to STOP teaching Russian, and to switch the Uzbek language from Cyrillic characters to Latin characters - - to officially break all ties with the SOviet Union, and as a sort of nationalistic pride thing. But this seemed to have a bad effect, leaving MANY people somewhat illiterate, and those who did rely 100% on Uzbek found themselves without access to any information from the outside world: you won't find much translated into Uzbek out in the world, even textbooks for school, kids books, technical manuals, internet pages...
Now, apparently, things are moving back to accepting Cyrillic alphabet when writing Uzbek language and this might help, some here think. There is also more of an opinion that kids should be learning Russian so that they are not isolated from the world, so people will say things like "well we are so lucky that there was a place for my son in that school it's so good they speak and teach RUSSIAN!" - - so that sort of tells you the reality.
It is explained to me that the Russians who are here are those families that couldn't afford to leave Uzbekistan in the 90s after the Soviet Union ended. So, these are generally not rich folks.
--------------------
Sleepless in Tashkent
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
