Amazing how nowadays we get instant primary sources in historical events, narrating as they unfold. I hope and pray that your family and friends stay safe, and that the border crossing goes smoothly.
we are safely in almaty. crashing on a friends couch. never thought i would be a refugee! although i guess i shouldn't joke about it because today as refugees we went to the mall and ate at the kfc (yes... they have one kfc in central asia and it is in almaty). so we don't have it so bad. we are aching to return home. not to houston home... but back to bishkek. it is such a good, good place. some friends stayed behind and say that things have started to return to normal. other friends say that they aren't going out at night as it isn't safe. a friend posted on facebook a rumor that land mines were being placed around town by the disposed president's men. i scoffed at that and got my family ready to return to bishkek this afternoon when an embassy friend confirmed that 3 land mines had been found. so we stuck around almaty for another day. it is such mess. the selfish side of me is really upset that the balance of my good life in central asia has been disrupted. my wife is now super worried about safety. i find myself second guessing our decision to live overseas. those thought run through my head for about 30 seconds and then i am mature enough to realize that 80 plus people ran head first into machine gun fire, while unarmed, in an attempt to overthrow a corrupt president (who had been propped up by the us government) who was stealing money that should be going to the poor, old and hungry of the country (and their are many, many people who are poor, old and hungry). they ran unarmed directly into machine gun fire. how horrible must your life be in order to make that kind of sacrifice? i can't imagine. i don't know if any of us can. so i should be less worried about my good little overseas life being disrupted and more concerned about the people who are still in bishkek who still don't have enough to eat or a warm enough place to stay. like i said we are eating at kfc. i know this post is prob a downer. folks want to hear about my being practically strip searched during the border crossing by seven heavily armed militia. or my being flagged over by a couple of borat look alike police officers who tried to shake me down but let me go after i refused to speak russian to them and after i refused to get out of my car or open my trunk. they just gave me back my papers and let me drive on. or folks want to hear about the smoking hot russian girl that wanted to make out with my wife last night at the bar we went to when she learned we were americans (all true stories). i will provide more of those stories next time. the kfc gave me stomach rot.
Wow that's too much filter. Your priorities are all over the place. I don't understand why returning to the US isn't your number one priority. Take care of your wife.
"cool story, bro," hehe. I was at the rockets v Utah game- the first victory game I was present for in a long, long time. It was incredible. The rockets played very well and I hope this is a sign of things to come.
I know it ain't one of your priorities right now with all that's happening over there but you gotta post some pictures of this craziness. it would give us a better mental picture of all that that's going on over there.
David, there is nothing boring with the stories. I'm sure I can speak for most and say we are just happy you and the family are safe. I'm not sure I would be handling it as well as you seem to be. Take care, look forward to hearing more updates.
look forward to your updates, david. i respect your decisions and have lived overseas myself. it's not a normal path but safe wishes for you and your family.
You sir, are a true rockets fan.. Btw, I blame all of this chaos on the jazz. Stay safe and good luck. P.s.. after all this crap is over, move to Houston and get fox sports!! EffTheJazz!!!
Surprised that no one else has requested this, but I must confess this part caught my attention...more details pls, when it's convenient
Glad you are in a safe place... sorry you felt the need to eat KFC (heck I'm in Kentucky and I don't eat it! LOL) Even I find the smoking hot chick hitting on your wife interesting! LOL Did she want to be paid? Would you watching have cost extra??
Wow you truly are a rockets fan since you laugh in the face of danger so you can watch the Rockets kick the Jazz's as$
Wow, one of the best (as in informative) threads ever. Unfortunate that people got killed or hurt but I'm glad you were able to tell us in first person what was going on. I honestly would have read this on CNN and wouldn't have given it much thought and attention as I am doing now. Stay safe!
Thanks to the mods for leaving this one in the GARM. Some of us stay away from the non-BB areas of Clutchfans because we want to keep SOME of our free time.
David, first, glad that you were able to evacuate safely. That's probably a good move since it is often difficult for rioters to distinguish between targets in these contexts. I know some of the posters don't understand why you're so tuned into the Rockets when revolution was blowing up all around. I actually completely get it. My line of work has taken me to a range of post-conflict contexts and I always stay atuned to the Rockets' games. The first thing I do when I get back on the internet is check my email and the box score of the most recent games. There's something about following the Rox that is soothing, especially in times of chaos. Probably makes me feel more connected to home. And all of the "cool story bro" type of posts actually remind me of American humor. An interesting point about Central Asia is that a lot of the former Soviet republics' governments (like Georgia and Tajikistan) were formed in a similar process that's going on in Kyrgyzstan: warlords and their thugs filled the vacuum after the Soviets pulled out and warring factions either got defeated or co-opted into the government. A lot of the militias and their members became the police or military. The losing warlords' members didn't get jobs--and many of them ended up w/o a job in the defense ministry or the police--these formed the opposition in many of these former Soviet republics. The winners simply called themselves the State because having the wrapping of the state allowed them to have the legitimacy needed to get foreign aid (usually from the US) which they used to pay off their supporters to stay in power. So the government that just fell were themselves just the fortunate ex-warlords that made it into the government. Not surprisingly they didn't have much capacity to face down a committed opposition mob. In any case, this is probably more commentary than you care to read, but thought I'd put in my two cents. Stay safe and keep us updated...
This is the most amazing thread I've ever read on CF. David, I spent 8 years as an American expat in the Middle East, and I never experienced anything as hellish as what you've just been through. (In fact, I pretty much NEVER came across anti-American sentiment in any way.) It's too bad that our own U.S. government propped up the corrupt president - though no one here wants to believe that or hear that, and CNN/Fox will eventually find a way, with some gentle nudging from the White House, to elide over this fact, or even to deny it outright - but your main concern was on safety, and thank God, you made it out alive. There is something tremendously alluring and romantic about the ex-pat life (not what just happened to you, obviously), and I have a feeling from reading your posts that you will not hesitate to return to Kyrgyzstan or some other such locale in the future. Stay safe, bro. Your story has totally blown me away.
