Problems of Tajik Migrants at the Border with Russia

Several Tajik citizens have sent Radio Ozodi videos complaining that they have been at the “Ozinki” vehicle checkpoint on the border of Kazakhstan and Russia for five days.

According to them, their goal is to enter the territory of the Russian Federation, but “Russian border guards, despite the fact that the migrants have all their documents in order, check their passports and phones for hours.” While this material was being prepared, on June 26, reports came in that the inspection and passage of Tajik citizens had also tightened in Kazakhstan. The reason for this attitude towards Tajik citizens is unknown. The authorities have not provided any explanations.

“Others pass through, Tajiks are held back”

Tajik citizens began to be held at the Kazakhstan border since June 19. On that day, occasionally, Tajiks were allowed to pass, all were in the same queue. But by June 20, the queues were separated for Tajiks and separately for Kyrgyz and Uzbeks,” said one Tajik migrant to the “Migrants Media” project. For security reasons, we do not disclose the identity of our interlocutor.

According to our interlocutor, from June 20 to the evening of June 25, hundreds of Tajik citizens were at the “Ozinki” checkpoint, waiting for permission to enter the Saratov region at the Kazakhstan-Russia border. “They say that the computer has difficulty recognizing Tajik passports. And therefore they say we should wait. Right now, there are about 500-600 people gathered here. They let through four to five cars with Tajiks a day, and that’s it,” the interlocutor said.

This migrant and other Tajik citizens say that according to Russian border guards, their computer system has problems only with reading Tajik passports, while citizens with other passports are allowed into Russia without any issues. “There is a long queue only for Tajik citizens. Uzbeks and Kyrgyz pass the checks calmly and drive through. But Tajik cars wait for four to five days for inspection,” said one of the Tajik migrants.

According to Tajik migrants, the inspection of their passports differs from the checks of citizens from other countries and takes a lot of time. The checkpoint also checks the contents of the phones of Tajik citizens.

“They call us over, say come in, and take the passport and phone. If there are 6 people in the car, then the inspection takes more than 5-6 hours,” said one of our interlocutors. This regime and the almost round-the-clock waiting for permission to enter is very hard on children, women, and elderly people. Those waiting in line have no conditions for sleeping, and food and water have run out.

“Authorities are not in a hurry to help”

However, there are kind and responsive people who help migrants in these difficult conditions by giving them money for food and water. But, according to the migrants, none of the Tajik officials pay attention to their problems, although the authorities are likely aware of the situation.

“Many people are making videos and posting them on YouTube. But no representatives of the authorities have come to help. Some kind-hearted people are sending us money, others are shopping, preparing food in the mosque near the Ozinki checkpoint, and distributing it among those waiting in line,” one of the Tajik passengers told us on June 25.

Meanwhile, migrants reported that a similar situation has developed at two other border crossings on the Russian side – Sagarchin and Mashtakova. At these checkpoints, dozens of trucks and cars with Tajiks are waiting in line. According to the migrants, Kazakhstan has also stopped letting them through.

The Ozinki automobile checkpoint between Kazakhstan and Russia is one of the main routes for migrants heading to Russia. According to the migrants, there were no problems with crossing the border here before. In April, hundreds of citizens of Tajikistan were stuck in a similar situation at the Sagarchin checkpoint on the border of the South Ural region of Kazakhstan and the Orenburg region of Russia. At that time, the Russian ambassador to Tajikistan, Semen Grigoryev, was even summoned to the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but the issue was not resolved, and the entry of Tajiks into Russia remains problematic.

The problems with crossing the border at the Ozinki checkpoint, according to the migrants, clearly demonstrate how much the already biased attitude towards Tajik migrants from the Russian side has worsened after the attack on the Crocus City Hall concert hall in Moscow.