Thread: Refugees from ex Soviet Countries, to Western Europe

AFAIK

Yes, there is heavy dictatorship in Uzbekistan (second heavy dictatorship in xUSSR after Turkmenistan). It is quite possible to be persecuted there for being too religious Muslim (even far from terrorism) or gay. Uzbekistan is very populated and very poor.

Uzbek authorities chosen Tamerlane as a main national hero.

Uzbeks have reputation of very conservative, patient and hard working people. There is comparably low immigration from Uzbekistan (in proportion to population). Uzbekistan is rather closed country.

There are many ethnic Uzbeks in surrounding countries and they often are victims of local nationalism (namely in Kyrgyzstan). Uzbek refugees from ethnic conflict are not welcome in Uzbekistan and there is no effective support policy from Uzbekistan of Uzbek diaspora.

Yes, there are some gypsies everywhere and they are most mobile.

If a refugee can be accepted in Sweden he will definitely prefer it to Russia for better life conditions. And if a political refugee are provided with better treatment than any immigrant will prefer to be a political refugee. Even for the price of being gay.

Originally Posted by it-ogo

AFAIK

Yes, there is heavy dictatorship in Uzbekistan (second heavy dictatorship in xUSSR after Turkmenistan). It is quite possible to be persecuted there for being too religious Muslim (even far from terrorism) or gay. Uzbekistan is very populated and very poor.

Uzbek authorities chosen Tamerlane as a main national hero.

Uzbeks have reputation of very conservative, patient and hard working people. There is comparably low immigration from Uzbekistan (in proportion to population). Uzbekistan is rather closed country.

There are many ethnic Uzbeks in surrounding countries and they often are victims of local nationalism (namely in Kyrgyzstan). Uzbek refugees from ethnic conflict are not welcome in Uzbekistan and there is no effective support policy from Uzbekistan of Uzbek diaspora.

Yes, there are some gypsies everywhere and they are most mobile.

If a refugee can be accepted in Sweden he will definitely prefer it to Russia for better life conditions. And if a political refugee are provided with better treatment than any immigrant will prefer to be a political refugee. Even for the price of being gay.

Interesting comment, and sorry I edited my comment so that yours did not make full sense.

I simply said that many people from Uzbekistan claim that they are persecuted on the ground of being gay or very deeply religious moslems. On these grounds they receive political asylum status.

Honestly I wonder how much better their life would be in Sweden compared with Russia.
The asylum claim investigation takes years... During this period the person is strictly forbidden from working and has to attend language classes. They get a small stipend to live off. It is very difficult to have an "under the table" type of job in Sweden, almost impossible, so they really don't work. There are practically no single women seeking asylum and the Swedish women for the most part are nbot interested, so they are lonely. They live either on an an institution for other asylum seekers, or with their relatives. In 2 cases out of 3 they get thrown out of the country after a few years when their case has been through all legal instances. I think I'd prefer being a construction worker in Moscow, over that experience!

But reading between the lines of the article, it's become the norm of saying they are gay, an anti-government protester or very religious.

A few of the asylum seekers really were in trouble, because a few have been shot dead in the street.

I agree that most of them are probably only interested in improving their economic situation. As asylum seekers I prefer Uzbeks over Afghans or Somalis because they can probably read and write, and over Iraqis who are super violent.

Is Tamerlane the same hero that is sometimes called Timur that started lots of wars in Central Asia? Sorry I am not really up to date on things like this, I really don't know a lot about Central Asia.