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On May 14 & 15, the ORBIS DC-10 flying eye hospital touched down in Seattle to promote their sight saving mission. Guests at the two day event were treated to tours of the plane, its classrooms and surgical suites, and visits with the ORBIS international medical staff. At a well-attended fundraising banquet, Dr. Rick Johnson, chairman of the STSCA Dental exchange, spoke on behalf of the Association. A few weeks later the ORBIS plane headed for Tashkent. This was their second visit to our sister city. The first visit was in November of 1993, made with the help of STSCA vice-president Prof. Ilse Cirtautas. The mission was enthusiastically received in Uzbekistan with over 200 of the country's ophthalmologists and 62 nurses attending the surgery and training sessions. This years program was prepared in direct response to the needs and requests specified by Tashkent doctors. Emphasis was on corneal/cataract surgery, as a lack of a functioning eye banks in Tashkent has made this a particularly critical need. In addition, they focused on strabismus and retinal surgeries, glaucoma treatments, and oculoplastics. The ORBIS plane is a fully equipped eye surgery hospital which flies to developing countries carrying volunteer doctors, and an international medical team. It contains an operating theater, laser surgery suite, recovery room, technical training center and a 50 seat classroom. Patient screening and surgeries are conducted by volunteer specialists from around the world. Although 60-80 patients received surgery during the three week stay in Tashkent, ORBIS's main mission was educational. Each week 100-150 doctors attended live broadcasts of the surgeries, either onboard or in a peripheral classroom at the Tashkent airport. Surgeries were also done in local hospitals, and hands-on training was conducted using the laser equipment. Videotapes of the procedures were left to facilitate future training. In addition ORBIS conducts off-site lectures, training sessions for nurses, and programs on infection control and equipment maintenance. As an adjunct to the ORBIS mission, Le Meridien Hotel (formerly the Tata) sponsored a "Fun Run" in Tashkent, to support the local ophthalmic community. Money raised by the event will be used to buy instruments and supplies. The Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association was happy to be able to assist ORBIS in promoting their visit to Seattle, and we hope their time in Tashkent is more than successful. New hope and a new smile bless Ahkror this September As you remember from the last issue of this newsletter, Dr. Yunusov and his patient, Akhror Rachmedov, were on the eve of their arrival in the US. Akhror had been accepted by Providence Hospital and a number of surgeons to have his face reconstructed after a serious accident with a rocket exploding at a wedding; Dr. Yunusov was accompanying him as his surgeon to participate in team planning and to learn new surgical techniques. They arrived in the company of a few delegation members, Lois Schipper and Bob Ness, on March 15th, tired from the long journey but very excited to be here after a 9-month process of waiting and planning. I took them immediately to Providence Inn where they have been living ever since. It has been a nice arrangement because Akhror can get his food from the cafeteria and take it to his living area, blend it and eat in privacy. He arrived 40 pounds underweight and has gained 35 since arrival! Between eating high calorie meals and working out at the nearby Seattle University gym, he has fantasies of giving ArnoldSchwarzenegger some competition. Finally a date, Thursday, September 25th, was established for Akhror's bone reconstructive procedure to be done at Harborview. Dr. Gruss, who is heading the surgical team, needs to do his part of the 10 to 14-hour procedure there for a variety of reasons. Some funds will need to be raised because Harborview is not giving their care gratis like Providence had offered to do. A lot has happened in the last six months for these two. While Ahkror has been waiting many people have been instrumental in getting him out to the main sights as well as to some of his favorite things like the opera. Along with Dr. Yunusov, he has had a trip to Portland and has sailed around Whidbey Island. Dr. Yunusov has observed surgery frequently and can often be found behind a surgical textbook at Providence Inn. When he was in Portland, he was gifted with some special instruments for cleft lip and palate surgery and many packages of suture--the main need of the plastic surgeon. These have already arrived safely in Tashkent. Murad spoke at Uzbek Circle on the subject of being a surgeon in Tashkent. When he needs exercise, Murad finds a tennis partner at every opportunity, and Akhror has become a formidable tennis opponenet too. Murad has mastered the shuttle system among hospitals and finds extra mobility on a borrowed bike which he rides complete with helmet. Akhror has been mastering the computer that was presented to him by some friends on his 24th birthday and so has e-mail capacity again. Both Akhror and Murad can receive messages at their e-mail address: Akhrormurat@msn.com. Meanwhile Mikaron has been offering English lessons to both Akhror and Murad on a regular basis. These lessons are really paying off for Murad, as is all his hard work observing surgeries (25 in one month) and reading textbooks. Dr. Engrav, Chief of Plastic Surgery at Harborview, has offered him a two-year position as a visiting scientist. Dr. Yunusov will not only participate in some surgeries but also do research in wound healing. He could go home equipped to teach and share Western standards of scientific inquiry. The STSCA Board voted to provide material support to Dr. Yunusov and help bring his family over to join him for at least part of this two-year period. Murad has shown a deep desire to carry as much knowledge as possible home and the board believes he is a worthy courier who will share everything to the best of his ability when he returns to Uzbekistan. There have been several opportunities for newspaper coverage and a short piece was done on Northwest Afternoon on May 14. Funds are still needed on a regular basis in order for the STSCA to help Providence support Akhror and Murad. A large sum is needed for Akhror's surgery and Murad's support, so all help and ideas for fund-raising are welcome. There is an active committee for this project which would welcome your input. If you would like to support, please call Joyce Doan at 525-0175. Any monetary help you can give to this project can be mailed to: Joyce Doan, 4112 NE 103rd Pl, Seattle, WA 98125. Make checks out to the STSCA/Akhror Fund and they will be tax deductible. Individuals have been wonderful about taking both of them places and this is another way to give. Any ideas or questions, call Joyce. Quite suddenly, before this newsletter went to press, Dr. Yunusov had to return to Uzbekistan. He received a call last week that his mother is ill, and he immediately returned to help her. Now, more than ever, Ahkror needs our support as he prepares for his reconstructive surgery in a couple of weeks. Unfortuantely Dr. Yunusov will not be able to be back in time to attend. Our thoughts and prayers are with both of our good friends. Internationally reknowned, Laurel Gray shares her talent with President Karimov Former STSCA board member Laurel Gray may have moved from Seattle, but she has kept her ties with Tashkent. Her efforts to promote Uzbek culture have expanded to a global scale. In the spring of 1996, she completed her sixth teaching and performance tour of Europe where she works with dedicated dancers to perfect their Uzbek styling. The efforts of one German dance group has already been aired on Uzbek TV. In 1992 and 1993, Gray lived in Tashkent at the invitation of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Opera and Ballet named for Alisher Navoi. She continued her study of Uzbek dance and culture, working with professional ensembles and teaching at the Choreographic Institute. She also added to her unique collection of Central Asian costumes and jewelry. During the summer of 1996, the Middle East Institute invited her to give a lecture presentation of her collection. Dance students modeled twenty costumes, complete with appropriate accessories while Gray described the cultural context of each item. The lecture which wove together such diverse threads as history, folklore and metaphysics, proved such a success that Gray was invited to repeat the presentation for the annual convention of the Assembly of Turkish-American Associations. When the huge celebrations commemorating the first and second anniversaries of Uzbekistan's independence were held in Tashkent, Gray was invited to perform with members of local professional folk ensembles. In 1995 and 1996, she celebrated the event by performing at the ambassador's request at festivities held in Washington DC. Gray notes that DC Washingtonians are much less informed about Uzbekistan then those out West. "It's been a bit of a shock to find residents of our nation's capital so uninformed about Central Asia," she mused. "Seattleites can take pride in their pioneering efforts to bring Uzbek culture to America." In 1995, Laurel taught and performed Uzbek dance in Australia and Tasmania. Later that year she toured Germany with Yalla's drummer Alisher Tulyaganov, who accompanied her Bukharan and Khorezm solos on the Uzbek drum, or doire. "If Yalla is Uzbekistan's equivalent of the Beatles, then Alisher is Ringo Starr. It was out of character to see a rock star performing Uzbek folklore", says Gray, "but the audience loved him". In June of last year, Uzbek Ambassador Fatikh Teshabayev requested that Laurel perform at a state dinner for President Karimov, inaugurating Uzbekistan's beautiful new embassy in Washington DC. The Yalla Ensemble was flown in from Tashkent for the occasion and played for her performance. President Karimov gave Laurel a standing ovation and kissed her hand. Later, at private reception with the Uzbek president, she was presented with a gold embroidered robe of honor--an ancient Central Asian tradition practiced in the time of Tamerlane. Laurel first discovered Uzbek dance while enrolled in the Ph.D. program at the University of Washington. She has continued to use her training as an historian to research and write about dances of the Silk Road culture and recently authored several articles for the International Encyclopedia of Dance. Her articles have appeared in Dance Magazine, the world's largest publication devoted to dance, as well as articles in the United States, Europe, and Australia. The Uzbek Dance Society which Gray founded in Seattle in 1984, has been renamed the Uzbek Dance and Culture Society, and relocated to Washington, D.C.. In August of 1996, the Society presented the first ever Central Asian Dance Camp. Held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, sister city to Bukhara; the camp drew dancers from all around the US and Canada. Slated to become an annual event, the Society eventually hopes to bring guest teachers from Uzbekistan. Gray continues to work as a choreographer, receiving commissions from soloists and ensembles on four continents. This past November, her "Egypta" Suite, a reconstruction of ancient pharonic dance, premiered in Berlin. Uzbek dance remains her primary focus and she is presently exploring the spiritual and ritual facets of the art. "It is more than appropriate that the Uzbek dance that first attracted me was Munadzhat." Gray reflects, "this is a classical piece, rarely performed today, but at is core, it is really a prayer. The deeper I investigate this art, the more I realize that at one level the dance is a spiritual discipline. There is an inextricable link between certain movements and the performers emotional and mental state. Some motions are repeated to achieve a trance state. Only now are we beginning to rediscover the mind-body link embedded in these ancient dances. I remain eternally grateful to the Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association for giving me the opportunity to first investigate the rich legacy which has become so central to my life." Delegation’97 On the morning of March 8, 1997 a delegation of business and community leaders boarded the second Boeing airplane purchased by Uzbekistan Airways on a flight from Seattle to Tashkent via Amsterdam. The delegation had been invited by the Government of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Airways and the Mayor of Tashkent. On the airplane were representatives of the Boeing Co., and among them were Mr. Ronald B. Woodard, President, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, Mr. Craig Jones, Regional Director, International Sales and Dr. Sergey Kravchenko, Manager, International Cooperation Programs, Engineering Division. The pilot of the new airplane was the President of Uzbekistan Airways himself, Arslan Ruzmetov, an energetic and always smiling Uzbek. In the dark morning hours of March 9, a pleasant surprise awaited the group in Amsterdam. Representatives of KLM welcomed us with bouquets of colorful tulips and refreshments. It was noticeable that the Dutch airline had developed a specially close relationship with Uzbekistan Airways. The Dutch genuinely applauded the Uzbek airline's financial success which had enabled them to buy three Boeing airplanes in just a few years of operation. With a change of pilots, we departed to Tashkent, where we arrived in the late afternoon of March 9. The welcome at Tashkent's Airport-2, reserved only for official or state visitors, was overwhelming. Uzbek girls dressed in their national dresses presented us with flowers, while invigorating sounds of karnays (bass trumpets of enormous length) greeted us in the background. (The karnay is traditionally played to signal the start of a celebration, such as weddings and other gatherings). Uzbek dignitaries approached us with outstretched hands. Among them was the Mayor of Tashkent, Kazim Tulganov; First Deputy Minister of Culture, T. Kuziyev; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sh. Xamrakulov and many others. After the welcoming ceremonies a motorcade, escorted by brand new Mercedes Benz police cars brought us to Tashkent's Intercontinental Hotel. Driving up to the building, we were greeted by banners with the words "Welcome, dear guests from Seattle" in Uzbek and in English. The hotel, built in a short time by the Turkish company Ay-Sel, had officially been opened just one week before our arrival. Currently the Turkish company has several government as well as private buildings under construction in Tashkent. The hotel exceeds world-standards and exemplifies a marvelous taste in its exterior as well as interior designs. It already functions as Tashkent's major meeting place for international conferences. The hotel's location will certainly enhance its reputation. It is surrounded by parks which once had been part of Soviet Uzbekistan's Economic-Industrial Exhibition Complex. The next day, March 10, our delegation participated in a high-level workshop on "Development of Economic and Cutlural Relations Between the Sister Cities of Tashkent and Seattle". The meeting was chaired by the Mayor of Tashkent and Ms. Jan Drago, President, Seattle City Council. Among the participants on the Uzbek side were representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture, and the National Association for Foreign Relations (formerly Uzbek Friendship Society). In the afternoon we visited the Chkalov Tashkent Aircraft Manufacturing Company with which the Boeing Co. had signed an agreement of cooperation. The buildings of the huge plant showed many signs of neglect, along with a Lenin monument standing on its grounds, probably the only one left in Uzbekistan. We were invited into the office of Mr. Vadim P. Kucherov, General Director of the plant, who gave us a rather glowing report of his company's performance. As so often in the former Soviet Union, words never matched the facts which usually were hidden. This time we were actually invited to see the production areas. What struck me personally was the huge empty halls with only a handful of employees engaged in some kind of work. When I asked one of them "where are the other workers?" he told me that they were absent because today is a holiday. But he was unable to tell me what holiday it was. From the airplane factory we headed straight to the Historical Museum of the Timurids. The contrast between the two sites was profound. We had been abruptly transferred from the crude Soviet type of gigantism to a world of exquisite refinement cultivated through centuries. The building of the museum as well as its interior is a showcase of contemporary Uzbek architecture and craftsmanship which artistically blends traditional style and artforms with modern elements. The building's dome is fashioned after the famous dome of Timur's mausoleum in Samarkand (Gur-i Emir). The three wall panels with scenes of Timur's life reflect the style of Central Asian miniature paintings. What strikes the visitor immediately is the sheer beauty of the delicate harmony of colors used throughout the interior of the round-shaped building. I could go on and on describing the marvels of the building's design, but I would like to add here a few words about the displayed artifacts. Nazim Habibullayev, Director of the Historical Museum of the Timurids, explained that these are not original pieces of the Timurid period. As a matter of fact, Uzbekistan does not possess any significant artwork of the era. Since the 1860's, when the first Russian army detachments entered the region of present-day Uzbekistan, valuable artwork of any period was systematically taken out of the country. Countless, precious manuscripts, coins and other priceless artifacts are now to be found at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and in museums and private collections in Great Britain, France and the United States. In the evening of March 10, Uzbekistan Airways gave a banquet at the Intercontinental Hotel for the representatives of Boeing Co. and the Seattle delegation. During the day, Mr Woodard, together with Craig Jones and Sergey Kravchenko, were received by President Karimov. Uzbek newspapers showed, the following day, pictures of their audience with the president and commented most favorably on Boeing's cooperation with Uzbekistan Airways. Eloise Clarkson extended her stay by two weeks in order to visit her son and daughter-in-law who work with the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent. Three memorable experiences come instantly to mind... The expressions on the faces of the Tashkent people who welcomed us to the concert at the Turkestan Palace... the warmth of an extended family of our driver and guide in Bukhara who invited us to their home and the graciousness from the grandmother to the three girls and the two boys who entertained us and served us a delicious meal... the beauty of the snow-capped mountains which surrounded us as we had a picnic in an orchard which sloped down to a jewewel of a green lake in the Fergana Valley. Because of somewhat relaxed weight restrictions on the flight, the delegates were able to take along numerous extra pieces of baggage crammed with things for the children and their caregivers. One lady, an RN, brought two large suitcases full of baby clothes. Another gave a quantity of clothing accumulated through three children of her own. I was deeply touched by the outpouring of generosity by the delegates. By the end of Thursday, the 13th, our last full day there, the foreign lady who was helping us, had filled her van twice with the things that had been donated. And this was in addition to what the visitors had hand-carried to the orphanages on our visits. -Bill Ebright During the trip, the delegates discovered that Uzbekistan has the resources, people, history and location to become the economic powerhouse of Central Asia. Uzbekistan is rich in mineral resources. It is already the second largest exporter of cotton in the world and has significant oil and gas reserves. Uzbekistan also has one of the world's largest supplies of gold, as well as major reserves of zinc, copper and other minerals. Revenues from these natural resources are being used to develop a more diverse economy. It is a task made easier by the concentration of scientific minds and activities located in the country. This fortunate economic happenstance evolved during World War II, when scientific and engineering activities were shifted from the European part of the Soviet Union to the less vulnerable Tashkent area. This, along with a highly educated populace, provides Uzbekistan with a significant advantage as it develops its economy. - Bill Stafford Quarterly Meetings It has been a while since the last newsletter, so we need to go all of the way back to April to update you on the meetings up to this point. A follow-up of the March delegation was the focus of the second quarterly meeting of 1997. Gary Furlong opened by explaining the preparations for the delegation. The origins of the delegation were fast and furious, as over 40 people were interested in going over on the Boeing plane delivery. Jan Drago, Seattle City Council President, who served as the city's representative and delegation leader, made her first-ever visit to a STSCA meeting. It was a real treat to hear her proclaim Seattle City Council's interest in more exchanges and celebrating Seattle and Tashkent's 25th anniversary as sister cities next year. Bob Ness, another delegate and STSCA board member, shared his current slides from the trip. The slide presentation had some extremely beautiful and touching images. Following the slide show a panel of delegates gave brief descriptions of their work in Tashkent and their expectations for future dealings with Uzbekistan. Don Lorentz, Director of Economic Trade & Development with the Port of Seattle, explained that the Port may not have any immediate dealings with Tashkent, but that some of the other businesses that were represented on the delegation (Boeing, Seafirst and US Banks, Morrison-Knudsen and Sam Dick Industries) are interested in developing stronger business relationships with the Uzbeks. The only problem that Mr. Lorentz foresaw was that outside investment in Uzbekistan will not flourish until there is stabilization of government and convertibility. Dane Spencer, with AquaeTerrae Landscape Architects, gave a diagnosis of the Seattle Peace Park. Dane was one of the original designers and volunteers who created the Peace Park in Tashkent. He made several visits while he was there and is investigating improvements in the park's irrigation system. He also announced that the Peace Parks' 10 year anniversary is coming up next year, and plans are in the works for a celebration. That is pretty much it for the April meeting! In July, a Summer Board Retreat was held at the Doan's residence. The Board had a big agenda for the day. In attendance were Bruce Haley, Bob Ness, John Epler, Doris Robertson, Paula Quigley, Jim Quigley, Gene Chellis, Alla Chellis, Maxine Van Nostrand, Gertude Camp, Pamela Miller, Rosh Doan, Joyce Doan, Joanne Young, Kurt Engelmann, Mikaron Fortier, and Lynne Cleland. Subcommittees were formed to tackle some issues such as membership, structure, finance and fund-raising, humanitarian projects, and informational resources. Hopefully STSCA members will be hearing from the Board members soon about new projects.
Last Update: 2 November 2005 Logo courtesy Mamoun Sakkal |
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