Centralasiengrupperna Annual report 2017

Annual Report

2017 1

Annual Report

2017 3

Information about Central Asia Solidarity Groups

Central Asia Solidarity Groups is a politically Office in Sweden and religiously independent non-profit organization.

Our mission is to promote a democratic Central Centralasiengrupperna c/o Tryckeriet, Rolfsgatan 7B Asia, with a strong, active and inclusive civil socie214 34 Malmรถ ty which ensures that human rights are protected, exclusion is minimized, and social justice is achieved.

We do this through long term solidarity work, trainings, exchanges and advocacy in the thematic areas of 1. Democratic Youth Organizing, 2. Gender and LGBTQ, 3. Conflict Transformation, and 4. Culture. Our geographical focus is on Central Asia, meaning the five post-Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In addition to our work in Central Asia, we also run several projects in Sweden and Russia.

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Office in Central Asia Djinna street 59 723500 Osj, Kirgizistan

Bank account: 9670 04 899 05 Swish: 1233698479 Registration number: 802467-0195 Phone: 0732362107 Email: info@centralasien.org Home page: www.centralasien.org

Index

Central Asia Management Partners

6 Interview “LGBT+ people in Kazakhstan are discriminated on many levels 8 in the society” 9

Organization

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Democratic youth organizing

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Interview “They should respect girls like they respect each other”

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Women’s and girls’ rights LGBTQ

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Conflict transformation

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Culture

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Information and advocacy work

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Exchanges and trainings

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Financial report

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Thanks to

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16 20

5

Central Asia

Daşoguz

Samarkan Türkmenabat

Ashgabat

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Astana

Bishkek

Almaty

Shymkent

Tashkent Namangan

nd

Dushanbe

Jalal-Abad Osh

Khujand

Kulob

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Management

The board In 2017, Central Asia Solidarity Groups’ board convened for 9 minuted meetings, at various locations in Sweden. In addition, the board met for a strategy session outside of Stockholm in July, to discuss long term organizational and thematic priorities. Over the year, members of the board also got together in smaller constellations and working groups to work with administrative tasks, manage ongoing projects and to initiate new ones. Several board members visited our projects and partners in Central Asia during the year.

The board decided to prioritize the following areas: deepened contextual analysis, strengthened security routines, documentation, democratic forms of organizing, long term vision, and methodology development within our thematic areas of operation. In practice this meant starting new working groups, updating policies and guidelines, improving our working environment and home page, as well as increased interaction with decision and policy makers.

Gustaf Sörnmo and Martin Holm have been authorized signatories.

Katja Dirsell has been the auditor.

The nominating committee has consisted of Viktor Romanov and Al Berg

Annual meeting The annual meeting took place on March 26th at Västanforsgatan 21 in Malmö.

Members On December 31st, 2017, Central Asia Solidarity Groups had 84 members.

In the past fiscal year, the board has consisted of the following members: Gustaf Sörnmo, chairperson Josefin Åström, vice chairperson Alexandra Cruz, secretary Martin Holm, treasurer Filippa Almlund, board member Johan Blomqvist, board member Amanda Sonesson, board member Aydin Mammadov, board member (resigned in October) Members of the board take an outdoor break after an intensive working session during the past summer's multiday board meeting

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Partners Central Asia Solidarity Groups currently works with dozens of organizations in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia.

Our primary partners are:

Novi Ritm

Bishkek Feminist Initiatives (BFI)

Children of St Petersburg (CSP)

Novi Ritm

Children of St Petersburg (CSP)

Novi Ritm, an organization by and for youth founded in 2013. The group’s foremost area of activity is the city of Osh, in southern Kyrgyzstan, where they run a combined office and activity center. The center functions as a platform for youth of various backgrounds to explore and discuss social issues, to develop ideas and implement their own projects. The organization’s vision is a society in which young people work together to create a just, equal and sustainable world.

They pursue this goal by organizing different working groups, events, campaigns, workshops and lectures on various themes. So far, the ­organization has mainly been focused on social justice and equality issues as well as conflict trans­formation.

Non-governmental volunteer organisation, created in 2012 with the aim to provide children of working migrants from Central Asia with free Russian language courses, integration assistance and a pre-school help. Language lessons are mainly held in city libraries and sometimes museums. Besides the educational program, cultural events are also organised: museum or theater visiting, sightseeing. Moreover, in 2016 CSP initiated a free-distributed informational magazine “Gul” for migrants written by a migrant youth. In 2017 lessons were held on 14 spots, led by 60 volunteers and participated by more than 150 kids, were organised 2 short termed day-camps during spring and summer.

Bishkek Feminist Initiatives (BFI)

Girl Activists of Kyrgyzstan (GAK)

Based in the country’s capital, Bishkek Feminist Initiatives (BFI) is Kyrgyzstan’s first feminist activist platform. BFI wants to promote feminist values and actively challenge all forms of oppression and discrimination through campaigns, activism, cultural production, peaceful civil disobedience and cross-movement solidarity. BFI is part of a large regional network of feminist groups, organizations and initiatives, and currently functions as a hub for the Central Asian feminist movement. BFI is behind key initiatives to spread knowledge on feminist practices and issues and supports local justice causes.

Girl Activists of Kyrgyzstan (GAK) was founded with support from BFI in 2013. The group is run entirely by girls aged 13 to 17, and has organized, among other things, camps for young activists to discuss questions around sexual health, reproductive rights, normativity, non-violence and education. GAK also participates in different national and international forums to highlight issues surrounding girls’ rights in Kyrgyzstan and actively engages in social media to promote awareness of the situation of young women and girls. Their long-term vision is to grow and build a national, and eventually Central-Asiawide network.

Girl Activists of Kyrgyzstan (GAK)

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Organization

Organization and offices In 2017, Central Asia Solidarity Groups continued to develop a democratic organizational structure sufficiently robust to carry out large scale projects, while at the same time being receptive to new initiatives, collaborations and endeavors.

Aside from the board and the Malmö office team, Central Asia Solidarity Groups presently has several committees as well as several thematically oriented working and project groups. Our main geographic areas of operation are Malmö/Lund, Stockholm and Gothenburg, but in 2017 we were also active elsewhere, starting, for example, local chapters in Växjö, Orsa and Uppsala.

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Late last year we moved from our main office at Kontrapunkt to Tryckeriet. Over the past year, a total of seven staff worked at the main office: Gustaf Sörnmo, Viktor Romanov, Frida Ekerlund, Jens Molander, Annika Skogar, Linnea Kristiansson and Kseniia Grishnyakova. The work being done at the office has varied and included grant writing, project management, evaluation, administration, budgeting, and the organization of lectures, study circles, and other local events.

In addition to the staff at the main office in Malmö, Central Asia Solidarity Groups has employed Anna Dahl Johansson in Uppsala, Tessan Nordeman in Växjö, Sara Rajabi in Göteborg, and interns Amanda Sonesson and Emma Lygnerud Boberg at our regional office in southern Kyrgyzstan. At the end of the year we had what corresponded to five full time positions and several part-time project positions.

2 1 Digital security workshop with the office team and interns, in fall 2017 2 Annika and Victor, planning office activities in 2017

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Workplace safety and human resources

Internal trainings

2017 saw a number of minor changes to the delegation of responsibilities and roles with regard to workplace and operational matters.

Alexandra Cruz was the board’s human resource manager, while Gustaf Sörnmo was operations manager. Furthermore, Frida Ekerlund was assigned the newly added position of safety ombudsman, representing the employees in workplace safety matters. Both Alexandra and Frida completed trainings to expand their capacities in those areas. These trainings included time for internal meetings to facilitate skill sharing and dialogue between parties in order to optimize and strengthen Central Asia Soli­ darity Groups’ role as employee.

Over the past year, the board and office team partook in several trainings aimed at strength­ ening our organizational capacity, improving specific skills and developing new methods for training, quality control and evaluation. This included participation in Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) courses and various security workshops. We also organized our own training days and courses for staff and members, covering topics such as digital security, anti-corruption, psychosocial health and burnout prevention in the civil society sector.

Website update In 2016 Central Asia Solidarity Groups launched a new website. In collaboration with programmer Jonas Sandstedt, the office has updated and ´developed the site throughout the year.

The home page functions as a hub for analysis, advocacy, and information about Central Asia and our work.

3 Central Asia Solidarity Groups as a formal organization turned five on March 17th!

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Democratic youth organizing What we did during the year

Development project with Novi Ritm

Opening of the Naryn Culture Cafe

In 2017 we wrapped up our second Forum Syd-funded development project with Novi Ritm.

For two years, we worked to improve Novi Ritm’s organizational, methodological and administrative capacity to function as an autonomous platform where young people’s own ideas and initiatives are the starting point for all activity.

Within the framework of the project, Novi Ritm ran several working groups on the project’s different themes. There were five active groups in 2017: The Girls’ Group, the Eco-Group, the Debate Club, the Movie Club, and the Cartoon Artists’ Club. Each group is led by young volunteers supported by Novi Ritm staff and Central Asia Solidarity Groups’ on-site interns. In 2017 a total of 34 youth between the ages of 16 and 24 participated in these groups’ ongoing activities, outreach, trainings, events and campaigns. An additional 600 young people participated in different conferences and events held by Novi Ritm as part of the project.

Together with Novi Ritm staff and volunteers, Central Asia Solidarity Groups’ interns participated in the May opening ceremony of a culture café in the town of Naryn. Naryn is located in central Kyrgyzstan, and the initiative to start a culture café came from a group of local university students. The idea behind the café is to create a venue for young people to meet outside of the family environment, beyond cultural boundaries, and to get more young people to want to stay in the town. The café is also intended to function as a safe public space for young women facing the threat of bride kidnapping, which is common in the region. The opening of the café was accompanied by concerts, exhibits and seminars, at which Novi Ritm and Central Asia Solidarity Groups talked about projects they run in southern Kyrgyzstan that share a vision similar to that of the culture cafe.

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Context The countries of Central Asia are generally ­top-down societies in which citizens and civil society have little influence on the political system. Marked by age-based hierarchies, the societies of the region grant little voice to the young, and decisions that affect young people and their futures rarely embrace youth perspectives. Moreover, Central Asia’s societies are marked by other structural obstacles, with ethnic belonging, class and social status ­determining people’s ability to decide over their own lives.

Youth forum in southern Kyrgyzstan

In Kyrgyzstan — a country generally depicted as a democratic oasis in comparison to its neighbors – several factors severely limit young people’s ability to actively and meaningfully participate in civil society. Due to a lack in knowledge and advocacy channels, and because of state corruption, youth experience difficulties in affecting their situation and claiming their human and democratic rights. Although plenty of youth organizations do exist in the country, they are often marred by the same hierarchical, discriminatory and exclusionary structures that predominate in the rest of society. Volunteering and activism in these contexts are often reduced to passive participation in activities, whereas meaningful involvement and organizing, grounded in the needs and realities of youth, are rare.

Over the past year, Novi Ritm also organized two “best practice” forums, giving youth organizations from across southern Kyrgyzstan an opportunity to exchange experiences and discuss how they could cooperate to ensure that youth has greater influence in Kyrgyzstan’s society. These were attended by 30 representatives of smaller grassroots organizations, aged 15 to 29.

Novi Ritm’s idea behind the forum was to create an alternative to the large-scale conferences traditionally held in Kyrgyzstan, where participation often is passive and youth organizations have a hard time making themselves heard. Novi Ritm has previously noticed that the harsh competition existing over funding weakens mutual trust among different youth organizations. Evaluation showed that all participants appreciated the opportunity to meet in an informal context, in which a climate where everyone felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings is fostered.

This enabled a “best practice” forum where representatives were willing to openly share stories of failure and success experienced by their respective organizations.

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“They should respect girls like they respect each other” — International Women’s Day in Osh

by Amanda Sonesson

Today is International Women’s Day which is a public holiday in Kyrgyzstan. Banners are put up all over the city, wishing women happiness and prosperous lives with many children. For two days, the streets in the city center have been filled with flower stands and everywhere you see men carrying bouquets and gifts for their wives, mothers and sisters.

Even I have gotten my fair share of well wishes (for instance, a lady I met at the banya (russian sauna) two weeks ago, sent me a text with roses and hearts).

To tell you the truth, I have been kind of anxious about this day for the above-mentioned reasons — the cultural context that I myself grew up in has never felt further away. Do I need to state the obvious? That for me and most of the women that I grew up with, women’s day is not about celebration, it is a day to come together and demand your rights!

Sure it is also a day to commemorate the important historical steps that generations before my own fought hard to achieve — but above all it is a day to highlight that there is still a lot of work to be done.

Little did I know that I would actually sit at my desk, 12 hours later feeling blessed and thankful for getting the chance to experience International Women’s Day in Osh — and it is all thanks to some of the coolest, bravest and most dedicated young women I have ever met!

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From left to right: Nursuluu, Nargiza and Amanda

As some of you may know, part of Novi Ritm’s activities are dedicated to different groups that are lead by young volunteer’s. To illustrate this, we have Young Debaters’ Club and Environmental Group that organize sessions for their members every week, usually working towards a specific goal. For instance, Environmental Group is going to organize an Academy of Ecology at the end of March this year in order to highlight environmental problems in the region.

One of Novi Ritm’s oldest and most popular groups is Girls Group, which includes about 20 young women and girls who meet on a regular basis; not only to discuss topics connected to feminism and women’s right, but also to meditate over yoga and discuss emotional matters with a psychotherapist. For the moment, this group is lead by two young ladies — Nargiza Isakova and Nursuluu Suleikeeva — who played key roles in arranging Novi Ritm’s activities during International Women’s Day, which (drum-roll) included Osh’s first ever Women’s Day march through the city!

For this reason I decided to interview them about Women’s Day and their thoughts on gender equality.

How did you come up with the idea of arranging a march?

Nargiza: It was actually my idea. I have seen movies about women and how they are arranging marches and I also wanted to do it, so I asked Saltanat (employee at Novi Ritm) and she said yes — so we did it! She also told me that in Bishkek they arrange this kind of march every year.

Nursuluu: Yes, Nargiza told me that we should be arranging a celebration for the 8th of March since our group is working with gender equality. So we started to think about different ideas and we decided that we wanted to do not only a march, but also tell the history of the 8th of March to the participants and the citizens of Osh. Then Lila, who is from America and a Peace Corps volunteer, said that she could do a “fitness festival” for the 8th of March. I think fitness is very useful because girls are strong and taking power.

Why do you think there hasn’t been a march in Osh before?

Nargiza: Because I think that people don’t have enough information about feminism and gender equality and they are also afraid of the government.

Nursuluu: Yes, I also think it is because Kyrgyz girls are a little bit afraid of the community, and in Osh they don’t want listen to words such as gender equality. Here men think that they are above girls — and before, women couldn’t do marches because they were afraid.

Do you know how Novi Ritm has been celebrating Women’s Day before?

Nursuluu: Yes, I know that last year they just made an exhibition about human rights and gender stereotypes. Actually a few girls walked in the city last year as well but they were attacked by men who said they should not be doing what they were doing. That is why this year we were a little bit afraid — but this year we are also powerful and we have gathered all girls and we got permission from our government to march and to be escorted by police officers — and it was really amazing this time!

What does Women’s Day mean to you?

Nargiza: It is a time for women to fight for their rights and to say that we want to be equal to men — and we will be! Our generation continues the ideas from previous ones and we are getting more professional.

Have you always had this feeling about women or is it something that your involvement in Novi Ritm has helped you understand?

Nursuluu: No, I had this feeling when I was in school too. I felt equal with the boys and my behaviour was like the boys. I was a powerful girl but it was when I came to Novi Ritm that I realized that I am a feminist. You know, I had a boyfriend. He said that women are below men and that women should listen to men, he said that this was according to Islam. But I have never read about this and I didn’t agree with him so after that we broke up. I don’t like when men say that they are above me.

What kind of problems do you see in Kyrgyzstani society today that might affect young women?

Nursuluu: I don’t know about the rest of Kyrgyzstan but I know Osh city because I live here and I was born here and I know our society. My classmates think that men should rule everything in the household and that men should become leaders and presidents. Even my ex-boyfriend and his friends thought that women are below men. I don’t like this but I think it is a problem in Osh. Nargiza: Domestic violence and that men are calling women bad things. Men here say things like “you are a woman, you should stay at home”.

You mean that they are suppressing women?

Nargiza: Yes. And I hear it in my classroom, from my classmates. When I state my rights and say that I am a girl and I have rights, they tell me to shut up because I am a girl and they say “You are not a good girl — you are a feminist”.

Would you like to see more men participate in Women’s Day? Nargiza: Yes, because if we get more boys who are feminists, they can show other boys what it means and they can be supportive and we can join with them. It would be interesting.

Nursuluu: Yes, it should be equal. Men too should participate in this day and they should know the history. They shouldn’t give presents only one day and then beat women every other day. They should know all the things that we know and that women are equal to men.

They should respect girls like they respect each other!

What does it mean to be a woman?

Nursuluu: A woman is a human. She is powerful and she can do anything in this life. She can be president and she can be a leader. Just like men, she can do anything and everything.

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Women’s and girls’ rights What we did during the year

Novi Ritm’s Girls’ Group As part of our solidarity work with Novi Ritm, their Girls’ Group, consisting of women aged 15-22, convened weekly to learn more and teach others about girls’ rights and how they can be strengthened in Kyrgyzstan. The group is very popular and has created a platform for young girls to discuss topics such as gender norms to sexual harassment and relationships in a safe environment. The group has also organized a range of outreach events and activities.

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Young women’s movement building and empowerment in post-conflict southern Kyrgyzstan In the spring of 2017, Central Asia Solidarity Groups and Novi Ritm carried out the other half of our joint Forum Syd-funded project around UN-resolution 1325. The resolution was ratified by the UN in 2000 and seeks to elevate women’s roles as actors in peace processes and highlight the importance of gender equality for conflict prevention.

The project ran for a period of one year, during the second half of which the focus was on spreading and establishing the project in Kyrgyzstan’s three southern regions (Osh, Batken, and Jalal-Abad), with youth carrying out “peace initiatives”. The youth who were behind the peace initiatives became involved in the project in the fall of 2016, when Novi Ritm visited more than 15 schools and met with hundreds of students. Students who showed a strong interest in the project were invited to Osh in early 2017 to participate in a “train the trainer” weekend. Over the course of the weekend, interactive workshops on women’s, peace and security issues were combined with practical exercises in everything from project planning, rhetoric, to budgeting. Thereafter the young participants got to plan and carry out their own peace initiatives at home in their own local contexts. These roughly 30 young people organized a total of nine peace initiatives, including festivals on women’s rights, football tournaments, and legal consultations between young women and lawyers, altogether reaching over 500 people.

The project came to a close in May, with all involved partners invited to a best practice forum in Osh, to showcase the project’s results, and discuss how the processes and networks borne out of it could be maintained going forward. In total the project reached over 1000 youth in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Context Women and girls’ rights are restricted in all Central Asian countries. Neither equal treatment nor control over their own lives are a given. Instead, families and society are based on gender hierarchies. This is manifested in widespread violence against women and the harsh gender norms saturating and structuring daily life. Even though several of the region’s countries have ratified CEDAW and the Beijing Declaration, women continue to be discriminated against in both the public and private spheres. It is not uncommon for young girls to be pressured into marrying a stranger, or worse yet, to be kidnapped and forced to marry their abductor. For many, marriage at a young age forecloses educational and professional opportunities later in life.

In Kyrgyzstan, where Central Asia Solidarity Groups has several years’ experience of working with local women’s rights activists, violence against women has not only increased but also become normalized, and more widely accepted. Domestic violence is often considered a family affair and only a fraction of cases reported to police result in convictions. There is significant inequality in the political sphere as well. Kyrgyzstan has a quota mandating that 30% of MPs must be women, but if a woman drops out, her spot goes to the next person on the list, which is usually a man. In 2016 a law was introduced banning those in top government jobs, but also including schools and daycares, from running for office. The idea behind this legislation was to prevent people in leadership positions from making decisions which would benefit themselves. However, the law has devastating consequences for women’s participation in politics, since women with the confidence and capacity to run for office tend to be those who have attained leadership positions like school principal.

In 2013, the parliament of Kyrgyzstan adopted a national action plan for the implementation of UN security council resolution 1325. The resolution seeks to strengthen and elevate women’s roles as actors in peace processes and highlight the importance of gender equality for conflict prevention. The action plan has not been put into effect in any way, mostly due to a lack of interest and capacity on the side of the state.

1 On March 8th, Kyrgyzstan's capital city Bishkek saw a Women's Day march, which ended in a manifestation in front of the Urkuya Saliyeva monument 2 In 2017, the Central Asia Solidarity Groups project 40 Women of Kyrgyzstan evolved further, and has now been published both online and in print

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March for women’s rights On March 8th, International Women’s Day, Novi Ritm organized Osh’s first ever women’s day parade. With banners and chants, about 50 women marched through the city to demand that girls’ rights in Kyrgyzstan be strengthened. International Women’s Day is a national holiday in Kyrgyzstan, but rather than highlighting women’s rights, the day is conventionally about giving flowers and gifts to mothers and wives. Novi Ritm’s march caused both interest and wonder, and was concluded in the city center, where the marchers informed passers-by about gender equality and feminism.

Academy of Gender Norms In November, volunteers at Novi Ritm organized a “Gender Academy”, attended by 33 young participants. This was the second annual event of its type, with the idea to create a platform where youth aged 14–28 can expand their knowledge of gender, gender norms and gender-based violence. The Academy also sought to provide participants with concrete tools with which oppressive structures in society can be confronted, including debate and cartoon workshops.

Collaborations in northern Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Central Asia Solidarity Groups continued to deepen and develop its collaboration with the organizations Bishkek Feminist Initiatives, Girl Activists of Kyrgyzstan, Nazik kyz, and Feminita, by supporting their long-term activities, training camps, workshops, specific campaigns and exchange programs.

Gul Magazine Gul Magazine was launched as an informational newsletter for women-migrants in St Petersburg written in Uzbek, Tajik and Kyrgyz languages by young women with migrational experience. The magazine mainly consists of practical advice and information regarding women’s health and pregnancy, how to organise and apply for a school, where to ask for help in case of domestic violence, how not to be cheated by the employer and not to become a victim of human trafficking etc. Each edition provides contacts of the organisations where migrants could receive legal, psychological or language help for free. Since December 2016 7 editions of the magazine were released and distributed for free. During 2017 CAG and Gul collaborated on how to strengthen the competence and skills of the youth migrants involved in the creation of the magazine. In 2018 CAG expects to provide core support for longterm publication and development of Gul.

Central Asia Solidarity Groups’ gender group In early 2017, Central Asia Solidarity Groups initiated a gender group in Sweden, focused on deepening and concretizing the organization’s work on matters related to gender and girls’/ women’s rights in Central Asia. During the spring term, the group convened twice a month in a study-circle format, to deepen its understanding of the situation for women’s and girl’s rights in Central Asia. In early summer the group travelled to Kyrgyzstan to conduct several visits and exchanges of experience. In the fall, the group’s five participants worked with independent projects within its thematic field.

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1 ГУЛ / Информационный листок для женщин из Центральной азии и членов их семей / апрель, 2017

By-NC-SA

*Цветок. ИнформаЦИонный лИсток для женщИн Из Центральной азИИ И членов Их семей. распространяется бесплатно айым бакы / Ajym Baki

Азыркы кылымдАгы кулчулук

Zamonaviy qullik

Ғуломӣ ҳозирАзАмон

Современное рабСтво

быстрое трудоустройство может обернуться рабством в подвале. Корреспондентка «Гул» побеседовала с юристом петербургского отделения «Красного Креста» Дианой мубаракшиной о торговле людьми в 21 веке. КЫРГ

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Зачем в 21 веке торгуют людьми?

орговля людьми возможна в самых разных формах. Две самые распространённые — трудовое или сексуальное рабство. Цель торговли — это всегда эксплуатация, получение с человека прибыли.

айым Baki «Гүл» гезитинин журналисти Диана мубараксина менен сүйлөштү — орусиядагы Кызыл чырым коомунун СанктПетербург өкүлчүлүгүнүн юристи.

Какую роль сыграла миграция в этой проблеме?

Азыр чындап эле, 21-кылымда, адам сатуусу болуп жатабы?

расскажу про недавние случаи с девушками. одна — гражданка Узбекистана, вторая из таджикистана. Первая попала в сексуальную эксплуатацию, вторая в трудовую. После того, как сбежали, они жили в приюте «Красного Креста», мы помогали им в восстановлении документов, прошли с ними все необходимые процедуры, чтобы они законно могли выехать из страны.

тилекке каршы, ооба. ошондой эле ар кандай жолдор менен болушу мүмкүн. Эң кеңири таралган-эмгек жана сексуалдык кулчулук. Сооданын максаты — бул, ар дайым иштеп, кабыл алып жаткан адам жакка киреше болуп саналат. Петербургта Борбор Азиядан чыккан мигранттар арасында эксплуатацияда жүргөндөр көп экендиги чынбы?

Как люди попадают в рабство? По-разному. бывает так: на вокзале к ним подошли, предложили попить чаю, что-то подсыпали. И человек уже просыпается без документов на каком-нибудь заводе или в борделе. а бывает, что свои же соотечественники или даже знакомые в это втягивают. были случаи в едином миграционном центре. обычно там всегда огромные очереди, и пока люди стоят, кто-нибудь подойдет и скажет, мол, не стой в очереди, мы тебе поможем, оформим документы быстрее, только нужна доплата. И человек отдает и деньги, и документы, а в итоге остается без всего. бывает, люди хватаются за любую работу, они видят объявление о работе в Петербурге и едут. а на деле оказывается совсем другое занятие. всегда надо быть начеку, узнавать о работодателе. очень важно знать, куда вы едете. Кроме того, человек может приехать в Петербург добровольно, но попасть в ситуацию эксплуатации. например, девушка из Узбекистана, о которой мы говорили, добровольно приехала в россию и знала, что будет заниматься проституцией. она знала, что это незаконно, но у нее на родине остался маленький ребенок. мало альтернатив. но когда она приехала, её стали заставлять работать за бесплатно. Какие ещё случаи с женщинами происходили в вашей практике? мы как-то помогали гражданке нигерии. очень много приезжает девушек в россию из нигерии, в основном из небольших городов, там сложная социально-экономическая ситуация. Девушкам предлагают работу в россии, и, конечно, они соглашаются. они приезжают в россию, а уже здесь у них отбирают документы, говорят, мол, ты нам должна 40 тысяч долларов, и заставляют отрабатывать. «не знаешь, как отрабатывать, тогда вот наш бордель. твоя работа. не хочешь, заставим». И это такая дол-

Иллюстрация Дарьи Козловой говая яма. Потом начинается система штрафов, вычет за жильё, и девушкам очень сложно вырваться из такой ситуации. Что чувствуют жертвы, когда попадают в рабство? Иногда люди не понимают, что с ними происходит. Да, отобрали документы, да, задерживают зарплату. Люди думают «значит, такие тяжелые условия труда», и не сразу понимают, что надо бить тревогу и обращаться за помощью. Расскажите про самые крупные случаи торговли людьми. Самое крупное дело у нас случилось с гражданами вьетнама, которые приехали в россию на работу. там, во вьетнаме, они даже заключили трудовой договор, оформили рабочие визы, разрешения на работу. Сделано всё в соответствии с миграционными правилами. но когда они приехали в россию, их развезли по разным точкам страны, когото на завод по производству автомобильных шин, кого-то — делать трубочки, и т.д. У них изъяли документы, якобы на хранение. Их запугивали. Их держали в подвале недостроенного коттеджа. многие не знали даже, что они в Петербурге, не знали языка, не понимали, куда обратиться. но они всё равно пытались бороться — им удалось связаться со своим

соотечественником, который уже является гражданином россии и здесь живет. тот привлек миграционную службу, которая приехала проверить документы. С документами у граждан вьетнама всё в порядке, однако сотрудники миграционной службы, увидев ситуацию, обратились к «Красному Кресту» и к омбудсмену. мы предоставили гуманитарную помощь, обеспечили пострадавших средствами гигиены, так как условия в подвале оказались совершенно антисанитарные. в итоге, 13 человек мы за свой счет отправили домой. остальных 70 человек «рабовладельцы» очень быстро перевезли из этого подвала. Что делает для борьбы с торговлей людьми «Красный Крест»? «Красный Крест» информирует, консультирует и помогает пострадавшим. в едином миграционном центре на ул. Красного текстильщика, 15 у нас работает общественная приёмная (окно 104). обращайтесь по любому вопросу про документы, нарушение прав и так далее. Или звоните на горячую линию — 8 800 333 00 16. если у вас забрали документы, или вам угрожают, или не дают уйти, или не выплачивают зарплату — обратитесь в «Красный Крест»! наша помощь бесплатна. также обращайтесь, если вам кажется, что кто-то из ваших знакомых попал в трудовое или сексуальное рабство.

ооба. мен кыздардын ортосунда акыркы учурларда болгон окуясы жөнүндө силерге айтып берейин. биринчи кыз Өзбекстандын жаран, экинчиси тажикстандан болгон. биринчиси сексуалдык эксплуатацияга, экинчиси мансапчылыкка түшкөн. бир жолу качып кетишкенден кийин, «Кызыл Чырым» жайында баш калкалап жашашкан, алар өлкөдөн мыйзамдуу түрдө чыгып алгыдай болуш үчүн, биз документтерди калыбына келтирүү боюнча жардам бердик, алар менен бирге бардык зарыл болгон жол-жоболорду өттүк. Адамдар кантип кулчулукка түшүп калышат? ар кандай болушу мүмкүн. ал мындай болот: вокзалда алардын жанына келип, бир чыны чай сунуш кылган,ал чайга уктаткыч заттарды кошуп, учуратышат. адам кандайдыр бир ишканада же бордельде документтери жок ойгонууда. ал эми бул нерсени өз мекендештери, ал тургай, досу да кылган болот. бир орун борборунда мындай учурлар да болгон. адатта ар дайым зор кезек бар, жана ошондой эле көп адамдар кезекте турушат, кимдир бирөө келип кезекте турба, баардык иш кагаздарыңды эртерээк бүтүргөнгө биз сага жардам беребиз, бир гана кошумча төлөө керек деп айтышат. анан адам акчаларын да документтерин да берет, ошондой эле убакыттын өтүшү менен эч нерсе жок кала берет. Кээде адамдар ар кандай жумушка жабышып, алар Санкт-Петербург шаарында иш үчүн жарнамаларды көрүп, жолго барышат. Чындыгында, ал таптакыр башка иш экен. Сиз ар дайым жумуш тууралуу көбүрөөк билип, дайыма сергек болушуңуз керек. Сиз кайда бара жатканынызды билүү, өтө маанилүү. мындан тышкары, адам өз ыктыяры менен Санкт-Петербургка келип, бирок эксплуатация учуруна түшүп калышы мүмкүн. мисалы, Өзбекстандык бир кыз, өйдөдө биз

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4 1 Some examples of how our partners in Kyrgyzstan have used cartoons to raise public awareness around women's oppression 2 The magazine Gul is published once a month; it's target audience are female migrants in Saint Petersburg 3 Our friends at Girl Activists of Kyrgyzstan prepare for campaigning during the International Day of the Girl Child 4 One of many 1325-workshops in southern Kyrgyzstan. Here together with interns Emma and Amanda in the remote Batken region

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LGBTQ What we did during the year

Improved security within the regional LGBTQ movement Against the backdrop of a quickly deteriorating situation for LGBTQ persons in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia since 2014, we have invested significant efforts in this area. With support from the Folke Bernadotte Academy, Central Asia Solidarity Groups ran a unique LGBTQ project in 2015 and 2016, which aimed at improving the security of Central Asia’s LGBTQ movement and individual LGBTQ activists/persons. The project functioned as strategic investment in the movement, facilitating its continuing struggle for a just society in Central Asia, free from sexuality- and gender-based discrimination. A total of 300 L ­ GBTQ activists and 3000 members of the general public took part in the nearly 40 different training sessions that were conducted. Though the project has ended, we continued to conduct trainings with focus on security for LGBTQ ­activists in the region in 2017.

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LGBTQ networks in Central Asia Central Asia Solidarity Groups has a wide-­ ranging network that includes around 20 LGBTQ-­ organizations and allies in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In the summer, we arranged a trip to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan which made staff and interns meet with several local LGBTQ groups, and expand the network.

We have also widened our international LGBTQ network to include actors such as Freedom ­House, Civil Rights Defenders, Front Line­ ­Defenders, ILGA Europe, and Prague Civil Society Center.

Workshops with Alok Vaid-Menon In the summer, Central Asia Solidarity Groups contributed economically to a series of work­ shops lead by the American trans-activist Alok Vaid-Menon in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

In cooperation with local partners including Bishkek Feminist Initiatives and Feminita, Alok conducted seminars on trans-activism, slam poetry and performance.

Context

Performance workshop during the trans-activist Alok Vaid-Menon's visit to Bishkek

LGBTQ activist sanctuaries We have been running a donation fund to finance the evacuation of persecuted Central Asian activists to Sweden since 2015. The idea is to provide sanctuary and give respite from extreme vulnerability. Additionally, this provides an opportunity for engagement with Central Asia Solidarity Groups’ various projects. In the past year, we had the funds to welcome one activist from Kyrgyzstan to Sweden. The entire project has been financed through private donations from individuals active in our Swedish support network Solidarity with LGBTQ Persons from Central Asia.

During the year, we also co-organized and co-financed residences for LGBTQ persons in Central Asia, both in situations when evacuations were necessary, but also simply when there was a need for exchange/cooperation between different LGBTQ groups in the region. This has included some individual support for vulnerable activists. We have also been in touch with ProtectDefenders.eu to discuss more long-term forms of sanctuary.

The LGBTQ community represent a highly vulnerable group in all of Central Asia, and face discrimination, stigma and violence. To avoid threats, harassment and violence, the overwhelming majority of them choose to hide their sexuality and/or gender identity, including family and closest friends. Legal protection for LGBTQ persons is minimal throughout the region. In Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, same-sex relationships are criminalized and carry lengthy prison terms. However, rather than leading to sentences, this legislation is more frequently used to blackmail and harass LGBTQ persons.

There is no corresponding legislation in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan, but homo- and transphobia are equally widespread among the population, politicians, and authorities there.

Police brutality is endemic and manifests itself in arbitrary detentions, sexual assault and physical/psychological violence by officers.

Kyrgyzstan has long been considered the most LGBTQ tolerant of the Central Asian countries. This is where the region’s most active and visible LGBTQ movement has emerged since the early 2000s. However, there are indications that this is changing, and the parliament has since 2013 been discussing an “anti-gay-propaganda”-bill, which in practice would criminalize LGBTQ organizations. Even though the bill has not been passed, the very possibility contributed to a serious deterioration of the living conditions of LGBTQ persons, by increasing homo- and transphobia among the population and decision makers. In addition, recent amendments to the country’s constitution directly discriminate against the LGBTQ community. While the text previously stated that persons who have reached the age of consent have the right to marry and start a family, it has now been changed to limit that definition to a union between a man and a woman.

Asylum issues Central Asia Solidarity Groups cooperates with RFSL Newcomers, an organization that supports LGBTQ asylum seekers in Sweden.

As part of our role in this collaboration we provide complementary information on LGBTQ rights in Central Asia for cases where applicants are from that region. This is necessary because the Swedish Migration Agency’s database for legal and country of origin information (Lifos) is deficient and frequently out of date when it comes to the situation of LGBTQ persons in Central Asia.

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“LGBT+ people in Kazakhstan are discriminated on many levels in the society” av Annika Skogar

It has been a hectic year for Zhanar Sekerbayeva. Recently, Zhanar and her colleagues at Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative "Feminita" finalized 228 surveys and 43 ­interviews with lesbians, bisexuals and queer persons in Kazakhstan.

— People sometimes say that we don’t have any lesbians in Kazakhstan. Here’s the proof that they are wrong and also a needs assessment of this group.

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Zhanar Sekerbayeva was one of the participants at the Central Asia Days that were held in Stockholm on November 26-27, 2017. She was invited as one of the representatives from the feminist activist group Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative "Feminita".

— But there is a problem with the definition.

Most people refer to physical violence, but forget about other kinds of violence, like economic, social, psychological. To not be able to walk on the street and hold hands with your partner is also a kind of violence.

During the conference, Zhanar gave a talk about the study/needs assessment that she and her colleagues have been working on the past two years.

Moreover, the study shows that access to internet and contact with international human rights defenders are important to many people in this group.

— There are for the time being no research made on the situation for LGBT+ women in Kazakstan. We wanted to change that and present a sociological portrait of women specifying their needs and agenda, that’s why we did this study, Zhanar says.

— LGBT+ people in Kazakhstan are discriminated on many levels in the society, Zhanar says. In the constitution of Kazakhstan, it is stated that all people are held equal towards the law. It is also stated that no one should be subjected to discrimination due to race, nationality, religious beliefs or any other circumstances.

Thanks to the internet and different informal channels, the group managed to get in touch with 228 Kazakh people who identified themselves as either lesbian, bisexual or queer.

— We wanted to map out the legal, judicial and economic situation for these groups in Kazakhstan. It’s not about separation and categorization of people, but about highlighting that people have different needs, Zhanar says.

The study shows that about half of all the interviewed people have been exposed to violence due to their sexual orientation.

— Homosexuality is included in ”any other circumstances”, but it’s very vague and no one really gets what it is, Zhanar says.

Before Zhanar got involved in Kazakhstan Feminist Initiative «Feminita», she worked as a journalist for many years. She used to write stories about the most vulnerable groups in society, but every time she suggested that they should write about gays and lesbians and their situation, her colleagues and superiors would tell her that it was uninteresting.

— If media writes anything about homosexuality it’s usually done in direct connection to pedophilia. There’s a constant misinterpretation of the terminology, she says.

On a demonstration 2015, protesting against the constant devaluation of the Kazakh currency, Zhanar got arrested by the police, even though her protest had been peaceful.

— On that day I decided that it was enough and that I wanted to do something about the injustices in life and which are related to the group of people with whom I identify myself.

If we’re just sitting at home, staring out of the window — nothing will ever change, she says.

Zhanar, talking about LGBTQ-persons' rights in Kazakhstan, at Central Asia Days

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Conflict transformation What we did during the year

Vardagens Civilkurage Central Asia Solidarity Groups’ project Vardagens Civilkurage entered its third and final project year in 2017. The project saw 161 “civil courage” training sessions, attended by a total of 1041 youth and young adults during the year. One focus in 2017 was to train future civil courage trainers in three longer intensive courses in Malmö, Gothenburg and Uppsala. Altogether we trained 18 new trainers. The project has had a special focus on reaching newcomers to Sweden, which it did in 144 cases. Beside these trainings, the project also included a fall forum, study circles, panel discussions, and other events, as well as appearances at fairs, festivals and in print media and podcasts.

Since the project is coming to a close in 2018, we have been focusing on creating preconditions for the work it started to continue in the future.

Vardagens civilkurage is now an independent youth organization which is set to partly run operations in the future. In 2017, five local training groups tied to the organization were established in Dalarna, Gothenburg, Malmö, Uppsala and Växjö. The organization’s vision is to seek financial support from MUCF in 2018, and thus begin to build a long term organizational budget and structure of its own.

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Vardagens civilkurage’s methodological material In 2017, the project team worked on methodological material, which is to be published by the Trinambai Publishing House in the beginning of 2018. The result, titled “Intervene! A handbook in everyday civil courage”, weaves together theory on power and societal change, with tips and instructions for those who want to exercise and practice civil courage. The book is a toolbox for those wanting to start civil courage trainings and immerse themselves in our methodology.

Discussion on the topic "From vision to action, from action to vision", with Stellan Vinthagen, Visit a Bank, Kontrapunkt, and Save a Pig Skåne

Context Central Asia Solidarity Groups has been ­working with this thematic area in a wider ­sense, including interpersonal conflicts as well as structural oppression, since 2010.

Our efforts have been primarily focused on southern Kyrgyzstan, a region marked by ­several lines of conflict. In June of 2010, the city of Osh was the epicenter for a large-scale political and ethnic conflict that saw clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks and left hundreds of dead. These events are still very present among locals, as many lost family members, friends, or their h ­ omes. Osh has since become a more segregated city, where groups avoid each other and stereotypes ­f lourish, and there are neighborhoods which have still not been rebuilt.

Saltanat and Frida, discussing various techniques of intervention for situations marked by sexism

Retreat and lecture with Stellan Vinthagen In May 2017, we organized a seminar in cooperation with Malmö’s municipal library. The seminar, titled From Vision to Action, From Action ot Vision opened with a lecture by Stellan Vinthagen, professor in sociology and activist, in which he shared his analysis of what is missing and needed in today’s resistance movements. Vinthagen’s lecture was followed by a panel discussion with Skåne Pig Save, Kontrapunkt, and Visit a Bank, organizations which, in their own way, work to inject change in society. The discussion focused on which methods these organizations and movements utilize and how these methods relate to their respective visions.

Trainings in proactive conflict intervention with Novi Ritm and Children of St Petersburg

Other examples of conflicts are the marginal­ ization of other minority groups, structural discrimination in the labor market, religious ­extremism, nationalist hate groups, and segregated media spreading xenophobic propaganda. Central Asia Solidarity Groups has chosen to work in close proximity to local organizations in Osh. This has included providing financial support to their outreach-oriented work which aims at preventing such issues, but also providing trainings in non-violence, and supporting project and organizational development aimed at creating more inclusive and democratic organ­izations while reducing conflict and frag­ mentation. This is something that sets us apart from the majority of international aid organizations that poured into southern Kyrgyzstan in the wake of the 2010 events, only to leave as soon as their funds had run out and the conflict’s most tangible manifestations had disappeared. In contrast to other international actors, which tend to work more with information, advocacy and awareness raising, we have also chosen to focus on performative and non-violent methodologies.

In 2017 two partner organizations visited us: Novi Ritm in May, and Children of St Petersburg in December. Together with representatives of both organizations, we conducted trainings in democratic and equal meeting facilitation. Our guests also participated in civil courage trainings on topics with particular relevance for their work.

In 2017, one focus in the area of conflict transformation was on attending festivals and running pop-up workshops in civil courage training! Here at Öland Roots

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Culture What we did during the year

Collaboration with Dotterbolaget In May and December, Central Asia Solidarity Groups and the feminist cartoon collective Dotterbolaget jointly organized workshops for visiting activists from Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

Thanks to our cooperation with Dotterbolaget, cartoon art as a tool for social criticism has been integrated into the methodologies of several of our partner organizations. There are plans for a deepened cooperation with Dotterbolaget, and hopefully a longer artist residency in Central Asia in 2018.

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Collaboration with Kazakhstani theater group Centralasiengrupperna and Olga Malysheva, the author of the play “Community”, who attended Central Asia Days 2017, have started the conversation on guest performance of “Community” play in Sweden in 2018. “Community” is a documentary play that tells the story about a gay couple from Kazakhstan, who left for Sweden in 2013, and who were imprisoned in Stockholm for six weeks. The play focuses on these six weeks spent in jail and it was performed six times in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Forma

Context The lack of cultural exchange between post­­ soviet Central Asia and Sweden/Europe is something we have been working to change for some time. We have been working actively and broadly with this topic since we created a Central Asian cultural platform in 2014, including through collaborations with actors and musicians as well as movie makers, cartoon artists and wood workers. We are especially interested in cultural projects and artistic collaborations which tie into our other thematic fields, where culture can be utilized to advance the struggle for democratic rights and liberties. Central Asia is also where many cultural forms and expressions are disappearing or even forgotten; this is something we would like to counter.

Between the years 2014 and 2016 we ran a project and handicraft group called Forma, a project that focused on collective creative processes for newcomers to Sweden. In 2017, this project became an independent association. We have continued to cooperate with Forma, and there are plans to incorporate crafts and design related activities within our projects and collaborations in Central Asia.

Other cultural projects Central Asia Solidarity Groups is regularly approached by different actors regarding cultural projects and collaborations in Central Asia and other post-soviet regions. We have, for example, helped Swedish musicians book shows in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. We have also been in touch with artists from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Armenia, Chechnya and elsewhere about future joint projects. Over the year, Central Asia Solidarity Groups staff participated in festivals and cultural events in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Russia, Ukraine and Spain.

A short musical film based on material from the Malmö-based band Ved’s 2014 tour of Central Asia was completed in 2017. The film was shot in an abandoned Soviet factory in Tajikistan’s Fan mountains. We also organized movie screenings and Central Asia theme days in various Swedish locations. For example, in the fall we screened the documentary Grab and Run at the independent theatres Zita in Stockholm and Panora in Malmö.

Footage from Ved's music video, recorded in northern Tajikistan

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Information and advocacy work

Over the past four years, Central Asia Solidarity Groups has increasingly focused on information and advocacy work. We strive to represent and amplify Central Asian grassroots, civil society and marginalized voices towards Swedish and European decision makers, and to raise ­perspectives that are rarely included at higher levels of the political process. In the wake of the anti-democratic and homophobic legislative proposal in Kyrgyzstan, we coordinated meetings between the Swedish ambassador in Central Asia and local democracy and equality advocates. Through lectures, study circles and movie screenings, we work to educate the Swedish and European public on these issues and perspectives.

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1 In 2017, our exhibition about Central Asia's civil society toured southern Sweden, reaching a broad public. Here at Helsingborg's and at Malmö's municipal libraries, respectively 2 For the fourth year in a row we organized the conference Central Asia Days in Stockholm, featuring an array of panel discussions, lectures, mingling, and a film screening 3 Board member Amanda Sonesson's wrote a letter to the editor in Sydsvenskan, about stereotypical representations of Central Asia

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Central Asia Days 2017 On November 26th and 27th Central Asia Solidarity Groups organized the fourth annual conference Central Asia Days. This two-day event was held in Stockholm and consisted of panel discussions, lectures, and a movie screening, with activists and civil society representatives from Central Asia and Russia. Day one featured a panel discussion at Solidaritetshuset, supported by our partner Östgruppen and a movie screening at Zita Folkets Bio. The panel discussion named “Queer feminism and activism in C ­ entral Asia and expression of feminism in art and culture” was led by two Zhanar Sekerbayeva and Ruth Jenrbekova, who talked about first-hand experiences and practices of feminist movement activists in Central Asia. “Grab and Run” movie was screened shortly after the panel discussion at Zita Folkets Bio. The second day of the conference was held in the historic Grillska Huset building at Stortorget. It started off with a lecture about practices of torture in Tajikistan by Favziya Nazarova from Nota Bene, a think tank organization based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Later, the panel discussion led by Olga Malysheva, who is an editor, journalist and theater critic, Oleg Ivanov, LGBT activists from Kazakhstan in Sweden, and Alex Khalykbergen, LGBT activist from Kazakhstan, who co-founded “Kaleidoskop”, LGBT-friendly community that aims to reach out to LGBT and LGBT allies in Kazakhstan focused on LGBT community in Central Asia and their experiences and practices.

After a short break for lunch, the second day of the conference continued with a lecture by Diana Mubarakshina and her work at the Center of International Cooperation of the Red Cross in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with working migrants from Central Asia, who became victims of forced labor in Russia. The Central Asia Days 2017 ended with a lecture by the religious studies scholar from Kyrgyzstan, Indira Aslanova, who talked about radicalization processes in Central Asia.

Exhibition about civil society in Central Asia Our exhibition on activism, civil society and rights-based work in Kyrgyzstan and included eight civil society organizations has been extensively expanded over the course of 2017. “Activism, Civil Society and Rights Based Work in Central Asia” exhibition highlights 18 organizations from four Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The organizations represented in the exhibition work, among other things, with women’s rights, youth, LGBTQ community, freedom of expression, art, and migration. The portraits of organizations are based on interviews conducted in Central Asia in May. The exhibition started its 2017 tour at the end of August at Lund’s City Library, later for several weeks in October and November at Helsingborg’s City Library and finally at Palladium Kulturhuset in Växjö in December. The exhibition will continue to tour Sweden in 2018.

We held a much appreciated workshop and a lecture on civil courage at The Swedish Forum for Human Rights

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Lectures and seminars

Advocacy work

In 2017, Central Asia Solidarity Groups have organized several lectures and seminars on topics such as women’s rights in Kyrgyzstan and Sweden, LGBTQ community in Kyrgyzstan, situation of working migrants from Central Asia in Russia, LBT community in Kazakhstan and others.

Lectures and seminars were held in Lund, Malmö, Landskrona, and Stockholm and were attended by school and university students, as well as general public. We also held a lecture during IDAHOT in collaboration with Lund University.

We have organized a number of meetings and hearings bringing together activists, researchers, and civil society representatives from Central Asia with decision makers in Sweden.

For example, activists from our partner organization Children of St. Petersburg, met with staff at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the situation of Central Asian labor migrants in Russia.

Strategic networks Central Asia Solidarity Groups is a member of several different advocacy networks, including Forum Syd’s Eastern Network. We are member of Globalportalen which has allowed us to make our core issues visible for national and international audiences. Our Swedish organizational network has over the past years been extended to include new partners. By participating in the Swedish Forum for Human Rights in Jönköping, as well as music festivals, and various fairs, we have become visible to a much greater extent and have formed new relationships.

On the home front we participated in the campaign #jagsolidaritetsstrejkar, which was a one-hour strike calling for a humane refugee policy. The campaign’s demands include family unification, an end to Swedish financial support for war, and a stop of arbitrary age assessment of refugee children.

Visibility in media Central Asia Solidarity Groups made several media appearances in 2016, both in connection to events we organized in Sweden and to provide expertise on current developments in Central Asia. We have been featured in media including ETC, Sydsvenskan, Amnesty Press, Grus och Guld, FUF, and Swedish Public Radio.

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Exchanges and trainings

Novi Ritm's Girl Group had a busy schedule during their visit to Sweden in the spring.

Here outside of ABF's Malmรถ offices

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There are currently few opportunities for European and Central Asian activists and civil society representatives, especially young ones, to meet, exchange ideas and build alliances.

Central Asia is not prioritized by the majority of international donors, which means that financing is incredibly scarce. We are more or less the only organization coordinating exchanges, volunteer placements, internships and artist residencies between the regions. Despite the shortage in financing we are planning on further expanding this aspect of our work, in order to provide young people with the opportunities to meet and learn from one another, take advantage of educational opportunities, and work transnationally with issues of social justice.

European Voluntary Service (EVS)

Youth activist exchange

In 2017, Central Asia Solidarity Groups received an EVS volunteer via the EU’s youth program Erasmus+. Ksenia Grishnyakova, from Russia, volunteered at our main office in Malmö. Her responsibilities included organizing study circles, holding lectures and workshops, heading smaller projects and working with organizational development, evaluation, and administration.

In early May, Central Asia Solidarity Groups welcomed six activists to Malmö from partner organizations in Central Asia. The exchange included workshops, study visits, and meetings with organizations which work with women’s and girls’ rights, gender equality and masculinity norms.

Some of the groups visited were Tjejjouren, Dotterbolaget, RFSL, and the gender studies department at Lund University. The exchange provided us with an opportunity to discuss joint projects and future collaborations.

Interns in Osh In 2016, Central Asia Solidarity Groups became one of ten Swedish civil society groups to be granted funds to participate in the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency’s (SIDA) internship program. The program gives young Swedes aged 20 to 30 the opportunity to increase their international development competency in the field. In the long term, the internship program wants to broaden the Swedish resource base by bringing the interns’ experiences back to Swedish actors. In 2017, Central Asia Solidarity Groups dispatched a second cohort of interns to our partner organization Novi Ritm through this program. The two interns, Amanda Sonesson and Emma Lygnerud Boberg, worked at Novi Ritm for four months, focusing primarily on organizational development and capacity building within the organization. The interns were a great resource for Central Asia Solidarity Groups’ daily operations, facilitating our work through their presence and attention to the local context and conditions.

Partnership meeting with Children of St. Petersburg In 2017, Central Asia Solidarity Groups initiated a collaboration with the Russian organization Children of St. Petersburg (CSP). The collaboration was concretized and structured during a fall visit to St Petersburg by members of the board.

In December, a group of six women from CSP came to Malmö and Stockholm. During their nearly weeklong visit to Sweden, we discussed our partnership and collaborations, and they visited a range of organizations to exchange experiences within their thematic field. Among others, CSP visited Dotterbolaget, Lund University, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Central Asia and Russia department.

Activist residencies in Osh During the year, Central Asia Solidarity Groups coordinated and financed two residencies at our partner organization in Osh. Over the course of two months, the Russian activist Tania Egorova lived and worked with Novi Ritm, helping them strengthen their organizational capacity by focusing, together with staff, on stress management and security protocols. Just like last year, the Russian activist and artist Viktoria Lomasko spent several weeks in Osh in August. She worked with Novi Ritm’s Ecology and Cartoon groups, together developing various methods of consciousness raising around environmental issues through art and cartoons.

This year we initiated a close cooperation with the Russian organization Children of Saint Petersburg. Here we met with the magazine Gul's editorial staff in their Saint Petersburg offices

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Financial report Income statement

2017-01-01 2017-12-31

2016-01-01 2016-12-31

4 842 753

3 886 223

–

16 740

4 842 753

3 902 963

-3 827 966

-3 040 811

Exchanges and trainings

-159 276

-276 039

Volunteering and activist residences

-235 922

-97 756

Information and advocacy

-424 723

-387 277

-45 134

-322 884

Other external costs

-148 039

-71 322

Sum operating costs

-4 841 060

-4 196 089

1 693

-293 126

-1 216

130

–

-83

-1 216

47

477

-293 079

Operating incomes, changes in inventories etc.

Grants Other operating incomes Sum operating incomes, changes in inventories etc.

Operating costs Development projects

Cultural projects

Operating profit

Financial posts Other incomes from interests and similar posts Interest expenses and similar posts Sum financial posts

Results after financial posts

Results before tax

477

-293 079

Results of the year

477

-293 079

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Balance sheet

2017-12-31

2016-12-31

93 274

8 857

427

10 500

93 701

19 357

Cash and bank balance

1 559 495

1 399 137

Sum Cash and bank balance

1 559 495

1 399 137

Sum current assets

1 653 196

1 418 494

1 653 196

1 418 494

619 386

912 465

477

-293 079

619 863

619 386

Tax liabilities

37 964

–

Other liabilities

94 263

90 534

901 106

708 574

1 033 333

799 108

1 653 196

1 418 494

Assets Current assets Current assets Other receivables Deferred expenses and accrued incomes Sum current receivables

Cash and bank balance

Sum assets

Equity and liabilities Equity Balanced profit or loss Result of the year Sum equity

Current liabilities

Accrued expenses and deferred income Sum current liabilities

Sum equity and liabilities

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Thanks to: Individuals Liana Abdibalieva, Salima Abdumomunova, Ekaterina Alimova, Julia Alimova, Ainagul Amatbekova, Baktygul Babakulova, Aida Bektasheva, Linnéa Blomgren, Saltanat Boronbaeva, Emma Boberg Lygnerud, Jessica Bragd, Karolina Bång, Karin Casimir Lindholm, Katja Dirsell, Tania Egorova, My Eklund, Hanna Fischer, Sara Granér, Maria Hamberg, Per Herngren, Sigríður Hulda Sigurðardóttir, Oleg Ivanov, Maria Kangas, Alexander Karlsson, Elin Larsson, Viktoria Lomasko, Adrian Malmgren, Aydin Mammadov, Hanna Norelius, Viktor Novodonov, Isabelle Persson, Åsa Randén, Emma Rönngren, Jonas Sandstedt, Zhanar Sekerbayeva, Aizat Shakieva, Rakel Stammer, Leif Sörnmo, Charlotte Tapani, Petter Thörne, Volodya Vagner, Alok Vaid-Menon, Stellan Vinthagen, Elias Westerberg.

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Organizations ABF Malmรถ, Bio Zita, Dotterbolaget, Forma, Frilagret, Glokala folkhรถgskolan, Helsingborgs Stadsbibliotek, Kontrapunkt, Lunds Stadsbibliotek, Mats Wahlberg & co, Malmรถ stadsbibliotek, Kulturhuset Palladium, Biograf Panora, RFSL Newcomers, Solidaritetshuset, Trinambai, Tryckeriet, Underverket och ร stgruppen.

Donors

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Coordination

Gustaf Sörnmo

Texts

Frida Ekerlund, Kseniia Grishnyakova, Viktor Romanov, Annika Skogar, Amanda Sonesson and Gustaf Sörnmo

Photography

Jens Molander, Aizat Shakieva, Annika Skogar, Amanda Sonesson, Gustaf Sörnmo and others

Design

Sigríður Hulda Sigurðardóttir

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