The Afghan war lasted from 1979 to 1989, and 35 years later, veterans continue to remember their comrades who fell in battle. More than 7,000 soldiers from Kyrgyzstan participated in the conflict, of which 300 died, about 1,500 were wounded, and 4 went missing.
Turmush correspondent in the Issyk-Kul region met with veterans to learn their stories.
Batyrbek Elebesov, born in 1961 in the village of Ken-Suu in the Tyup district, served in Afghanistan for 1 year and 9 months, starting in 1980. He recalls: “We were called to service by order. After receiving the summons, I underwent two months of training and soon found myself in Afghanistan at the very beginning of the war. We lived in tents without electricity, using oil lamps. Many of my comrades were wounded, some died. I hope that there will be no more such wars on our native land, and that the youth will not witness the horrors that we experienced,” the veteran shares.
Cholpon Ismailov was born in the village of Boz-Beshik in the Jeti-Oguz district and was drafted into the army in 1980. He participated in transporting important cargoes in Afghanistan and raised four children. “I served for about a year, delivering ammunition and food for the soldiers. We moved in a column, with tanks and armored personnel carriers ahead of us. I was in three traffic accidents during these transports, but thank God, I survived. May there always be peace,” he said.
Joldoshbek Kaliev, born in 1959 in the village of Ak-Olon in the Ton district, also served in the very early years of the war. He was drafted in May 1978 and served in the Turkestan Military District. He was in Afghanistan from December 25, 1979. “The war started off difficult. We were young, and although we thought we were serving the Motherland, we actually experienced a lot of fear and stress. I went to serve at 18 and returned at 20. These memories now seem like a fairy tale,” he recounts.
Stalbek Kaziev was a peacekeeper during the civil war in Tajikistan. “In 1992, we went to Tajikistan to establish peace. We were only 18 years old. More than 100,000 people died in that war, which lasted 8 years. We lost our health and endured many hardships. The president restored our status, and now February 25 is celebrated as the Day of Remembrance for participants of the Tajik-Afghan war,” he adds.
