Travellers report border corruption

“Frontier guards and customs officials consider people like us as sub-humans. They have just pushed and insulted me. They openly rob us,” Guli Opa, a 45-year- old Uzbek crossing the border for a funeral, told IRIN in Chernyaevka, on the northern Uzbek-Kazakh frontier, about 50 km from the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.

“Do you have time for me to check your luggage? If not, then you must pay me,” Timur, an aggressive young man in civilian clothes, describing himself as an “intern” told IRIN at the custom house on the Kazakh side.

During the Soviet period, the borders delineating the various republics were merely administrative. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, all five Central Asian republics introduced immigration and customs regulations on their newly-declared frontiers. In the early years of independence, people living in the five republics could freely cross the borders with few problems.

But in the summer of 2000, deteriorating relations between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan led to the implementation of visa regulations between the two countries. Since then, border officials have exploited the new regulations and the necessity for local communities to cross frontiers dividing a region that has for centuries enjoyed freedom of movement.

Although Kazakhstan has no visa regime for those from other Central Asian countries, in 2003 Astana introduced migration cards for visitors in order to monitor entries.

The new controls and bureaucratic procedures at border crossing points have created job opportunities for some enterprising locals who offer a variety of services to frustrated travellers willing to pay the price. Those without proper identification can be smuggled across for a few US dollars.

“If you want to cross the border, I can help you to take a detour for 1,000 Kazakh tenge or 7,500 Uzbek sums [US $7],” said Marat, a young man equally happy to smuggle either people or goods across the bleak frontier.

The introduction of the cards has also allowed border officials to make money by levying illegal charges against those wishing to cross without the correct documentation.

“If you pay the frontier guards directly, you can cross the border for about 2000 Uzbek sums [US $2],” said Berik, another local “travel agent” hovering near the Chernyaevka border looking for a customer.

A common scam is for customs officials to confiscate a traveller’s passport. A “civilian” will then offer to help get the passport back in return for a large sum of money.

Corruption amongst border officials between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is fuelling local discontent on both sides of the 2,200 km shared frontier. The issue of border delineation, a legacy of the Soviet Union, remains problematic throughout much of the region.

“The Kazakh frontier-guards took from us 2000 Uzbek sums [US $2] for me and my daughter just to cross the border. It is so insulting, because they do not have right to do it but I was afraid of consequences. They have the power to stop me crossing the border. What can I do? I have to go to the funeral,” Guli Opa added.