On 2 May, 2020 several citizens of Turkmenistan arranged a demonstration in front of Turkmenistan’s Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Young people laid flowers and put up banners mourning victims of the hurricane which hit Lebap and parts of Mary velayats in eastern Turkmenistan.
“Chronicles of Turkmenistan” talked to the participants.
“I don’t consider myself an activist, but I felt offended when my family members told me about the destruction and the large death toll but there were no official reports.
I decided to show my support to those affected because I am a native of Chardjou (the majority of Turkmenabat residents still use the Soviet name of Chardjou when referring to their home town despite the fact that it was renamed over 20 years ago, in 1999 – comment by the editorial board).
I wanted as many people as possible to learn about what had happened”, – one of the young participants of the event said.
The photos feature men in medical masks and scarves but, according to them, they were because of the requirement of the local authorities during the outbreak of coronavirus rather than to hide their faces.
“Had it not been for these requirements, we would not have put on masks and gloves.I do not think we did nothing illegal and we had nothing to hide.
We simply expressed our condolences, one of the interlocutors of “Chronicles of Turkmenistan” emphasized.We laid flowers in front of both Turkmenistan’s and Uzbekistan’s embassies because our neighbours had also been affected by the natural disaster”.
When asked about the Embassy’s response, the young people said that nobody came out of the building to talk to them when they were there. Photos from D.C. disseminated quickly in social networks.
“The campaign sparked a big feedback despite the fact that we did not make special efforts to attract the attention of a large number of people.We sent photos to our acquaintances, who in turn posted them in the Turkmen group in a social network and this is how it spread to other social networks.
Many people said they wanted to organize a similar campaign in other countries but I have no idea if they have managed to do so”, – the campaign organizers said.
At the end of the conversation, one of the young people complained about the Turkmen embassies: “None of Turkmenistan’s Embassies abroad fulfills its direct responsibilities.They do not issue passports, respond to questions or render any support to their citizens.
I believe it is very important to work with Turkmen nationals.All we ask is that they legally do what they are supposed to do”.