President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during his visit to the mausoleum of Khakim Termizi in Surkhandarya province on Friday said that he was deeply saddened by the death of compatriots in the Aktobe province of Kazakhstan and expressed his condolences to their relatives.
"The tragedy that happened speaks of a lot, including of the fact that we still owe a major debt to the people. With high unemployment and our failure to provide decent conditions, people are forced to leave for other countries. Of course, this is the evidence that the country's leadership, the executives at all levels have failed to do their job, eliminate all drawbacks and problems in due time," the head of state acknowledged.
"Uzbek migrants are indeed suffering a lot in foreign countries. They leave for other countries to win bread for their families, to make some money... Many of those who perished were youngsters. Of course, we are all deeply saddened. I offer my sincere condolences to their parents,“ the President said.
The tragedy was the next in a series of road accidents with vehicles carrying migrants from Central Asia to and from Russia. In October last year, Uzbek citizens travelling by bus had an accident in the Vladimir province, when their bus collided with a train on the railway tracks near the Pokrov station. Nearly 20 people died. On June 22 last year, in the same Aktobe province of Kazakhstan, a double-decker bus carrying Uzbek citizens toppled on the Volgograd-Shymkent route, killing 9 people and injuring 18 - all citizens of Uzbekistan.
To get to their destination migrants have to overcome thousands of kilometers of steppes, deserts on packed and old buses on often poor roads, in conditions that are far too uncomfortable. It is obvious that migrants choose bus travels because of their cheapness, with air and rail tickets to Russia still too expensive for the vast majority of people leaving for work. For example, one way travel on taxi from Tashkent to Moscow now costs around US$100. Bus ticket will cost $70 (travel takes 55-60 hours). Air ticket on the same route costs from US$300, and a second-class rail ticket about US$180-200 with travel taking at least three days. Further tragedies could be avoided by cutting the prices for air and rail tickets.
The new leadership in Uzbekistan has undertaken major reforms, with reported 330 thousand jobs created in 2017. However, with over 400 thousand of young people entering the labor market every year, the government has to significantly step up its efforts to ensure enough jobs for citizens.
