I hate the hymn of Tajikistan

Every morning, Tajik citizens serving their sentences in prison traditionally begin with the country’s hymn. They sing it, lining up on the parade ground during the morning check. Not everyone likes these rules, which often leads to conflict, beating and other types of punishment.

In Kazakhstan, this tradition has recently been banned. Why it is necessary to abolish this rule in Tajikistan, one of the former prisoners said in an interview with ACCA on the condition of anonymity.

 – Why did you end up in prison?

– I am an entrepreneur, and my friend and I have been setting up our production for a long time. However, people from highest quarters decided to take our business. This is called a raider capture. At first they offered to buy our company at a very low price, and having received a refusal, they began to send us various checks. Almost all the inspecting structures of the country attacked us to exert pressure. As a result, a criminal case was opened on completely false charges. In court, we fully proved our innocence, but the judge took into account only the arguments of the prosecution.

– Were you morally ready to be condemned?

– I think few people can be ready for this. When I was in the investigatory isolation ward, I saw different people. Some stayed normal, others lost their nerves. The help of a psychologist or even a psychiatrist was definitely needed. Especially when you are bullied almost every day.

– What do you mean bullied?

– The employees of the pre-trial detention center systematically beat us, often for no reason – just like that. This is called educational work. It doesn’t matter to them that we are not convicted yet, because there is no court verdict yet. But, as I understand, in Tajikistan, if you are in the investigatory isolation ward, then you are already a criminal. For several in the investigatory isolation ward, I heard only about a few cases when the person under investigation was acquitted in court and released. All the rest were in prison.

– Have you tried to appeal against the actions of the investigatory isolation ward’s employees?

– What are the complaints? I saw, one person wrote a complaint. After that five officers of the investigatory isolation ward beat him so badly that he could not walk for a long time. In general, everything that I saw there reminded me of German concentration camps, which I had previously seen only in the movies. The worst sight was when the guys received the term, began to learn the hymn of Tajikistan.

– Why did they do this?

– People, who were previously convicted, were sitting with us and said that in prison they would ask everyone if they knew the hymn by heart. If not, they beat person again and give him the time to learn. According to the rules of the prison, every morning all prisoners in chorus must sing the hymn. And when I saw absolutely innocent people, and there were many with me who, under torture, admitted to a crime that they did not commit, having received a term; through tears, they sat and taught the hymn that they would not be tortured again. It caused me aversion to the state system.

– You didn’t know the hymn either?

– I doubt that at least five percent of Tajik citizens fully know the hymn by heart. I also knew only a part, and having received the term, I also learned it to the end. And when in the prison every morning, for years you are forced to sing the hymn, you start not to like it, and at the end, you will hate it at all. For me, it was no longer a national hymn, but just an ordinary boring song that evoked only negative emotions. I already tried not to go into the words of the hymn, as this caused me even more pain. The correctional system leadership apparently thinks that forcing to sing the national hymn, they will awaken the spirit of patriotism in us. But, what kind of patriotism and love for the motherland can one talk about when a corrupt state system sends thousands of innocent people to prison for their own interests? This is not a correctional system; on the contrary, it only makes people worse. After serving, people come out with a hate for the state.

– What are you going to do next?

– I just left Tajikistan with my whole family. I started a new life, created my own small business, my children go to a local school. I need to think about their future. And I can’t be a citizen of Tajikistan. Having so many negative emotions of the country for which I worked and lived, I could not stay there. Sometimes, when my family watches Tajik TV, and suddenly begins to play a hymn, I either cover my ears with my hands, or even leave the room. This music and words only make me very unpleasant sensations and mentally return to prison, where I experienced far from the best years of my life.