Nomanzhan Samatov, who had been a slave in Kazakhstan for 32 years, returned to his hometown of Jalal-Abad. This is reported by the publication Turmush.
According to them, Samatov went to Kazakhstan to look for work back in 1990, but his passport was burned in front of him, which prevented him from returning home.
“At that time, more than 60 people left Kyrgyzstan with me. We all went to the village between the cities of Astana and the cities of Kokshetau. […] As soon as we arrived, they took away all our documents and burned them in front of our eyes. I worked in the kitchen, the rest of the Kyrgyz worked as tailors,” Samatov said.
According to him, he tried to escape several times, but during one of the attempts, the guard shot him in the leg. Only in 2022, Samatov managed to return to his homeland thanks to the help of the Embassy of Kyrgyzstan.
“When I came here, my brothers and sisters lived in Russia, and my parents died. I applied to the CSC for a passport, but there was no answer. In the meantime, with the help of friendly people, I live in one of the city’s guest houses. I applied to the mayor’s office for housing, but they can’t give it to me, because I don’t have citizenship,” he says.
In the mayor’s office of Jalal-Abad, Kloop was informed that a document was being prepared for Samatov to become a citizen.
This is not the only case when Kyrgyzstanis find themselves in labor slavery in a neighboring country. In August 2020, Elmira Korchieva returned to her homeland after spending 25 years in labor slavery in Kazakhstan.