Subject: Introduction / Changes to the Ferghana-Valley list
From: John Schoeberlein (schoeber@fas.harvard.edu)
Date: Tue Jun 20 2000 - 18:02:48 EDT
Dear Ferghana-Valley List Members:
This message has two purposes: 1) a self-introduction, and 2) notice of
some changes regarding the Ferghana-Valley list. I will follow this with
another message, with a query to those with current experience of the
situation on the ground in the Ferghana Valley.
Self-Introduction
Since I established the Ferghana-Valley list nearly a year and a half ago, I
have encouraged new members to introduce themselves to the list membership
-- and many people have -- however I have not done this myself. Chronic
shortage of time is the problem. Anyway, let me do it now.
I am a social anthropologist and my work has dealt with all aspects of group
identity in Central Asia, including topics related to ethnicity, regional
and local identities, Islam, nationalism, political mobilization,
inter-communal harmony and conflict, and so on. I first did ethnographic
fieldwork in the Ferghana Valley in 1986 -- making me one of just a few
western anthropologists who were able to do fieldwork in the Soviet Union
before things started opening up as a result of perestroika. Since then, I
have been back to the region 2-3 times a year, on average -- for a total of
roughly 5 years.
Since 1993, I have also been Director of the Forum for Central Asian Studies
at Harvard University. In this capacity, I do a variety of things to
support teaching and research on "greater Central Asia" at Harvard, as well
as to build Harvard's ability to support Central Asian studies in general.
Thus, I do program- and resource-building, as well as doing my research and
teaching courses on the region.
I also have a long-standing connection with the matter at the heart of the
Ferghana-Valley list -- that is, the practical work to improve conditions
for people inhabiting the region. I have done consulting work for
international organizations in the region since 1993. I established the
Ferghana-Valley list when I was heading up the United Nations' regional
program called the Ferghana Valley Development Programme. For this, I spent
a year based in the Valley (in Osh). During this time, my main task was to
consult with local actors and develop approaches to addressing the urgent
problems of the region and build harmony and prosperity.
My ties to the region are thus in my work, my intellectual life, and my
heart -- the Ferghana Valley has been a big part of my life and I expect it
will always be.
Some changes regarding the Ferghana-Valley list
The Ferghana-Valley list was originally established as an undertaking of the
UN's Ferghana Valley Development Programme. However, since I finished my
work with that program, we have decided to dissociate the list from its
original sponsor. The reasons for this are several:
First, there has been a substantial reorientation in the UN's approach,
chiefly as a result of Uzbekistan's reluctance to support a regional program
in the Ferghana Valley. Without that government's full support, the UN's
regional activity could proceed only in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which
both supported the program enthusiastically. (One should note, of course,
that the UN is pursuing a variety of programs which pertain to the part of
the Valley in Uzbekistan, but these are being implement on a national, not a
regional basis.) Without Uzbekistan included in a regional program, there
was a mismatch between the Ferghana-Valley list's regional coverage and the
activities which have grown out of what was the FVDP.
Second, as personnel and priorities change in the UN programs, there was a
possibility that the Ferghana-Valley list might fall by the wayside. By
maintaining my connection with it, I hope to ensure that it continues and
prospers.
Third, I believe there is some advantage in having the Ferghana-Valley list
be independent of any formal organization. When it was associated with the
UN, I was worried that the potential for inflammatory discussion on the list
could be at odds with the FVDP's goal of promoting regional cooperation.
Now we don't have to worry about such linkages. Yet of course it remains as
important as ever that discussion on the list be constructive, and the role
of the moderator is still to ensure this as much as possible.
Henceforth, the Ferghana-Valley list will be considered to be sponsored by
the Forum for Central Asian Studies at Harvard University.
By the way, others should feel free to introduce themselves if they have not
done so already.
Sincerely,
John Schoeberlein
(Ferghana-Valley List Moderator
[http://www.friends-partners.org/lists/ferghana-valley/1999/])
(Director, Harvard Forum for Central Asian Studies
[http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~centasia/])
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