In the recent episode of the "Menimcha" TV show, the impact and consequences of the long-term cotton policy for the Uzbek nation were covered.
"For many years, we couldn't give up the "cotton shackle", we couldn't wash off the curse of being a "cotton slave" from our foreheads. Young children who poured into the cotton fields, instead of studying at school. None of us will ever forget the students who were bleeding and the sick children who were burnt in the field sun. This was our reality in the recent past," - noted Khairulla Nuriddinov, the author of the show.
"What can we call this situation where the youth of Uzbekistan into these conditions? The answer is politics of betrayal of the future of the nation. A generation that grows up knowing nothing but cotton will definitely be subject to the psychology of slavery. And the generation that considers itself a slave can be put under any conditions.
If that policy had not been stopped, if the leader of Uzbekistan had not freed Uzbekistan from the cotton scourge, it was clear that the youth of our country would have grown up as a new generation of cotton slaves," - added the author of the show.
"We were sleeping on the floor, mice and rats were running around us."
Also, during the show, a number of pedagogues and teachers recalled their student memories related to the "cotton scourge".
"I remember, until the end of November, we used to walk in cotton fields. It was painful to stay out of this, the daily limit was set. There were no humane conditions, we slept on the floor, and mice and rats were running around. Our student days were spent like that.
The knowledge we lost at that time was considered the loss of the country's future. Because instead of learning, we spent our lives in the field. Professors and assistant professors also picked cotton in the fields on an equal footing with the students," - says the head of the Tashkent Institute of Finance, Professor Shamsuddin Allayorov.
"My classmates and I used to spend 1.5-2 months in the cotton field. This has definitely had a negative impact on the quality of education. Because after we returned from cotton, the educational program was passed in an accelerated form" - Gulasal Madrahimova, associate professor of Tashkent State University of Economics.
"There were times when during the cotton picking season we got professors of a completely different background to teach the students and this would affect the quality of education immensely."
"Since 2011, a process has started where students in the city of Tashkent do not pick cotton, but teaching staff started picking cotton. And then, the students were staying at the institute, but the team of pedagogues - 40-50% of the institute's male teachers - are working in the cotton field. Students were left without instructors. We got professors of a completely different background to teach the students and this would affect the quality of education immensely." - associate professor of Tashkent Financial Institute Uchkun Orokov.
"Students had to pick cotton even when they were sick..."
"The consequence of preferring one's field to one's child is becoming more and more known today. Now there is a shortage of qualified personnel wherever you go. This is a bitter result of the years lost in those cotton fields during higher education," - said journalist Navbahor Karimova during the program.
"Students caught colds and were sick in the cotton field due to the harsh conditions. But despite that, they had to go to the field and pick cotton. There was no cotton left in the field, but the students kept bringing out cotton because they needed to complete the plan" - Ma'mura Abdumavlonova, professor of the Tashkent Institute of Chemical Technology.
"There were times when we ate pasta with worms during the cotton picking season"
"When September came, our hearts used to start to hurt. The school was closed with the onset of cotton season. Or there were only one or two teachers left, and everyone else would be driven to cotton fields. We had to replace the teachers who left for cotton. It wasn't a lesson, just watching the kids. How can children learn under such conditions?" - Teacher Shirin Sarimsokova from Jizzakh.
"I went to cotton from the 6th grade. When we were in the 9th-10th grade, we went out to pick cotton and stayed in the fields even at night. We would spread a black cloth over the reeds in the shed and sleep there. Then we would catch flu and other diseases in the cold" - teacher Uchkun Shodmongulov from Jizzakh.
"There was no water when we stayed in the cotton fields. We drank water from ditches. Those places did not meet hygienic requirements. In the last days of the cotton season, finding food was very difficult. There were times when we ate wormy pasta. We have been through that. No one would like to see their children in these conditions" - teacher Khursanoy Sotvoldiyeva from Syrdarya.
"When students come to the exam, we used to say that first, you come in two rows, then you draw a ticket..."
"Because of the cotton, there was a gap in education. Speeding up topics hindered children's literacy and hindered their free thinking. I didn't even have the right to say what I was feeling. I used to think about the personnel who are lacking in literacy and knowledge taking their place in the society of tomorrow. I also feel guilty about it in some sense," - said Feruza Pardayeva, a teacher from Syrdarya, in the "Menimcha" show.
"We worked hard, we were through all the stages of growing cotton, then picked the last bunch of cotton, and after three months we returned to school. When students came to the exam, we used to say that first you come in two lines and then you draw a ticket. Fortunately, such times have passed," - added Saodat Dushayeva, another teacher from Syrdarya.
"During the period of forced labor, everybody lost, the teacher, the student, and the state. Our students became uneducated, and the state now has uneducated personnel. This was a big obstacle to the development of the state" - Shirin Sarimsokova, a teacher from Jizzakh.
"We would return from cotton in December and welcome the New Year a week later"
"During the cotton season, we were holding our hearts out. The children were hit by a tractor, the children fell into the canal... There were always such incidents. Bringing the children safely home from the cotton field was a big problem," - said Botabek Tursunmurodov, a teacher from Jizzakh.
"Our people endured such suffering. Students would get really dirty, they would even get infected with lice. In December, we would return from cotton fields and welcome the new year a week later" - Tora Muslimonov, a teacher from Syrdarya.
"Our people will never forget the great decision of our president..."
"By 2016, the long-awaited decision was made. State order in cotton cultivation, child labor, and forced labor in our country have been put to an end. Such political will ended many years of suffering.
Our people will never forget this great decision of the president. This is because he was one of the first to implement the issue of not involving students in fieldwork in Uzbekistan. Our people are extremely happy about this," - said Tora Muslimonov, a teacher from Syrdarya.
Cotton Campaign
In 2018, Uzbekistan signed a commitment with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to eliminate forced labor in its cotton industry. The country has since made significant efforts to reform its cotton production system, including reducing the use of forced labor and increasing wages for cotton pickers.
As a result of these efforts, the Cotton Campaign has lifted its ban on Uzbek cotton and has encouraged companies to source cotton from Uzbekistan under certain conditions, such as independent monitoring of labor practices and fair wages for cotton pickers. Some clothing retailers and brands, such as H&M, have resumed sourcing cotton from Uzbekistan under these conditions.
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