ROMANIA Summer 2006 - Serving Uzbek Refugees in Romania By Florentina Chiu, LIRS Director for Refugee Policy

Twenty years ago, I fled communist persecution. Last summer, with mixed emotions, I returned to my home country to serve with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees as a deployed refugee status determination eligibility officer. From August 1 to October 7, 2005, in a transit camp in Timisoara, Romania, I interviewed people who had fled Uzbekistan, assessing their claims for refugee status. The group of 439 had been among demonstrators who had gathered in the town square in Andijan, Uzbekistan, on May 13, 2005 to protest poor living conditions. The Uzbek military opened fire on the crowd. The official government death toll was 200, but human rights groups say 1,000 people were killed. Those who escaped down a side street walked all night
to the Kyrgyz border. They spent 10 weeks in Kyrgyzstan, but when the Uzbek government issued extradition orders for many of them, UNHCR arranged to fly them to Timisoara on July 19. Following is their story as seen through the eyes of a child-a 10-year-old girl I nicknamed "Gloria": My sister and I had breakfast that day and then went to my grandmother's house. She told us that she was going to the Hokimyat [the city hall] to complain about her hard life. I listened to the people talk about their problems. We played with other children, we walked to the park and then.... The soldiers were shooting at us, and my grandmother fell down. Thank God she fell down, because I saw two bullets fire above her head. We helped her stand up. We walked all night. We rested
for about one hour and the people said let's move and we moved.

My sister fell asleep again. We reached Kyrgyzstan where we were all crowded in one big tent for 22 days. Then we moved in another tent with 10 people for 55 days. In the second place my aunt came to visit us, and she told us that we have a little brother, and that my parents named him Azadbek. It means"freedom." My aunt brought a picture of our family but my grandmother was afraid to take the picture and gave it back to my aunt, but my aunt was afraid to take it back. I saw people crying, and I heard women saying that their husbands were taken away from Kyrgyzstan by the Karimov [the Uzbek president] people. My knees were so weak. Some boys were shaking and one we had to splash his face with water because he was feeling weak. At night we were afraid to sleep thinking that they would take us away. In the evening we were also scared. We were telling each other stories and that is how we fell asleep. When we left for Romania by plane, we told them to not fly over Uzbekistan, because we were afraid. Now I feel safe because Karimov has no money to fly a plane to Romania. I like to play "receive a guest." We have dolls and they are our guests. The guests are my brother, my baby brother and sometimes my parents. We will start school soon. We go to English classes now. I want to be a doctor and I want my parents and my brothers to come and live with us.

All 439 Uzbeks were determined to be refugees, and are now starting a new life in 14 countries in the world. U.S. agencies, including LIRS, will
resettle 205. It was a pleasure to work with the refugees of Uzbekistan, from whom I learned a lot about sacrifice, love and loyalty. I returned to the transit center in Romania in March, 2006. Life for the Uzbek refugees had changed little. The men still cooked the meals and played chess in the courtyard. The women still did the laundry, sewed and took care of their children. I learned that "Gloria" and her sister had been resettled to Australia. I am glad to know that they are safe, and hope the trauma of their ordeal is behind them. A baby boy born was in the camp since I left. Romania does not grant citizenship to those born on its soil, but although he is stateless the new little one is a symbol of new life and new hope for all the refugees. He has brightened their lives while they wait for their future to unfold. The baby was given the name of his grandfather, who was jailed in Uzbekistan by the same people who forced his daughter to flee the country. LIRS helps refugees like Gloria, her sister, the new baby and his mother build a better tomorrow.