Link to this page: http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/735/15313
From The Socialist newspaper, 26 September 2012
Cellist Alfia Nakipbekova speaks out:
"The real wealth of a country is its people, not the minerals beneath the ground"
Alfia, from Kazakhstan, has become widely known as a cellist who plays both classical and innovative new music.
On Tuesday, 2 October, she is performing with her group, Cellorhythmics, to help raise funds for the families and colleagues of the oil workers killed last December in Zhanaozen, Western Kazakhstan.
Earlier this year Alfia was interviewed by Esenbek Ukteshbayev, president of the independent trade union federation in Kazakhstan - Zhanartu. We carry some of her comments:
I left Kazakhstan in 1981. By 1995, after the Soviet Union had collapsed, it was possible to return home.
It seemed that at last there was hope of a great future for Kazakhstan. The window was wide open to life, to achieve things in all spheres - social, cultural, economic.
Unfortunately, later visits showed that Kazakhstan was becoming a Third World country, with slums, prisons, endless court cases and trials - a Kafkaesque nightmare.
The barbarous slaughter in Zhanaozen of 16 December, 2011, when unarmed striking workers and local residents were shot, represented the apogee of this nightmare.
A very meaningful quote, from a reader of the journal "Azattyk", expresses my deepest wishes for Kazakhstan: "Return to the country the stolen billions and build factories and workshops, give financial support to every newborn child, give decent pensions and medical care to the population, feed school children free of charge, give land to farmers and interest-free loans, give support to the expats who return to their home land - and then everyone will begin writing odes and be proud of their country, and not be ashamed of being 'Borats'!"
To this I would add: "Free our noble heroes - the poet, national hero and martyr, Atabek Aron, the great heroine, Rosa Tuletaeva (one of the Zhanaozen leaders), and many courageous people, who are fighting against injustice and corruption, the true citizens of Kazakhstan - a country that can be an example to the whole world!".
For the full interview, see: campaignkazakhstan.org
Cellorhythmics
Tuesday 2 October 7pm,
Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, 235 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8EP
Solidarity concert tickets £10/£6
cellorhythmics4kaz.eventbrite.co.uk
Cellorhythmics brings together the rhythmic elements of jazz, blues, world and funk, combined with exuberant virtuosity
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In The Socialist 26 September 2012:
Fightback against austerity
Teachers: march together, then strike together against austerity
Reasons to join the 20 October demo, reasons to build for a 24-hour strike
General strike, the biggest weapon
Model resolution for a 24-hour general strike
Socialist Party feature
Labour Party conference: Can Labour give a lead in the fight against austerity?
International socialist news and analysis
Afghanistan war: end this 'pointless waste of life'
Spain: March on Madrid kicks off a hot autumn of struggle
South Africa: 'Lonmin settlement a victory - struggle pays!'
Socialist Party news and analysis
TUSC conference: A step forward for working class political representation
Murdoch empire: a whole barrel of bad apples
Action needed to save NHS from privatisation
Socialist Party workplace news
Workers strike as Argos tightens the screws
Knowsley council fears anti-privatisation campaign
Solidarity with workers sacked from Crossrail
Socialist Party reports and campaigns
No excuse! Thousands protest against victim blaming on London Slutwalk
Enthusiastic start to the year for Socialist Students
Why Hull council should defy the government's cuts to services
Tameside library closures - "Get used to it" says councillor
Opportunistic speeches at Hull march against NHS cuts
Cellist Alfia Nakipbekova speaks out about Kazakhstan
Opencast mining: "Protect us from Provectus"
Socialist history
Belfast Outdoor Relief Strike 1932
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