"Send Us Back": Uzbeks Who Arrived In Belarus Have Rioted

They denounced the lies told by Lukashenko and his officials.

The story of the organized dispatch of migrant workers from Uzbekistan to Belarus, which just a few days ago by Lukashenko and the authorities in Tashkent as an example of successful international cooperation, has unexpectedly turned into an unpleasant surprise.

As a reminder, on July 13, the Andijan Regional Administration announced that 255 residents of the region had been sent to work in Belarus. The authorities also stated that they plan to employ approximately 5,000 Uzbeks in this manner in the future, according to vaib.uz.

The send-off was accompanied by festive ceremonies, flags, and grand statements. Officials from Uzbekistan assured that the citizens would be provided with decent working conditions, high wages, and social guarantees.

However, just a few days after their arrival in Belarus, videos recorded by the migrant workers themselves began appearing on social media.

In the published footage, workers from Uzbekistan show their living conditions, which, according to them, are far from what was promised. Instead of comfortable housing, they show quarters that more closely resemble an old dormitory in dire need of renovation.

Equally as many questions have arisen regarding their pay conditions.

According to the migrants, their salary is $500 a month. However, they have to pay for their own food. By their estimates, about $200 goes toward food, and another roughly $100 toward living expenses. As a result, they’ll have about $200 left.

As the workers themselves say, it doesn’t make sense to be abroad for that kind of money.
“You’d better send us back to Uzbekistan. We’d earn more even in Uzbekistan,” the migrants say in the published videos.

The workers are awaiting a response from the Uzbekistan Migration Agency and other relevant authorities.

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