Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Memories of the 'Land of Water and Sun:' Leaving Tajikistan for a More Stable Life in the Ozarks

Anastasia Gantyuk, second from left, with her family after a wedding at the Russian Church just north of West Plains, Missouri.
Anastasia Gantyuk, second from left, with her family after a wedding at the Russian Church just north of West Plains, Missouri.

http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/memories-039land-water-and-sun039-leaving-tajikistan-more-stable-life-ozarks_47065.mp3

Welcome to "Around the World, Here at Home." I'm Jennifer Davidson.  Today, we’re looking at a country that has received thousands of refugees from Afghanistan, and whose five year civil war ended in 1997, leaving it the poorest country in the former Soviet sphere.  And yet, if you’re a guest in a home there, you’ll be treated like royalty, with the best seat on a korpacha mattress, and tasty food around a dastarkhan, or large tablecloth.  It's the central Asian country of Tajikistan. A native of Tajikistan, Anastasia Gantyuk, is now part of the significant Russian-speaking community just north of West Plains, Missouri. She joins us in the studio to talk about her childhood in Tajikistan, and why her family left. (Click on the MP3 player above to hear the audio from this interview).