Tajikistan: President’s family distributes humanitarian aid on their behalf

Tajikistan receives a lot of humanitarian aid from many countries to fight against coronavirus, but only a small part of it reaches hospitals and population. At the same time, the President’s family members give this help on their own behalf or their companies.

A scandal, related to humanitarian aid, erupted in Tajikistan on May 13, when the city hall of Dushanbe announced on its website that the Avesto Group company had provided assistance to the capital’s doctors, posting photos of the aid transfer process. However, the company forgot to take away from the boxes the labels with the flags of China and Tajikistan with the inscription “humanitarian aid”.

This news was reprinted by the independent news agency “Asia Plus”. Stormy discussions began on social networks under this news, as people noticed that this was humanitarian aid from China, and Avesto Group was giving it as their own. After that, the photos on the website of the city hall of Dushanbe were urgently replaced. The independent agency “Asia Plus” also replaced all the photos. However, by this time, many citizens managed to save these pictures, which today “walk” on social networks as evidence of exposure.

However, the scandal didn’t end. The medical institution, to which this assistance was given, didn’t receive it. As it turned out, immediately after the demonstration shootings of the transfer process, the Avesto Group company loaded all the medicines back into the cars and took them away in an unknown direction. However, the process of transferring aid from the country’s patriots was quite pompous presented by state television channels of Tajikistan.

The most interesting thing in this story is that the Avesto Group company belongs to the President’s son Rustami Emomali, who is the mayor of the capital. It is the city hall of Dushanbe that regularly reports on its website the arrival of new humanitarian aid to the country, although a special headquarters has been created under the government, headed by the Prime Minister, who should be responsible for all activities related to the fight against coronavirus.

The daughter of the President, Ozoda, who runs the President’s office, decided to provide assistance to the doctors. On her behalf, she sent humanitarian aid to doctors in the city of Dangara, from where the presidential family actually came. How was she able to purchase it? It’s not reported.

Earlier, the son-in-law of the President, Shamsullo Sokhibov, sent humanitarian aid to Khatlon region. 25 cars with 200 thousand protective suits, masks and medicines triumphantly drove through the streets of the cities, and state TV channels broadcasted a reportage about the country’s next patriot.

Emomali Rahmon sets the example for his family. He distributes humanitarian aid, which was sent to the country, on his behalf. So, the other day, a motorcade with food and medicine on behalf of the President of the country went to Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous region.

Meanwhile, heated discussions continue among the Tajik population. Where did huge batches of humanitarian aid disappear? The disinfection in many cities and regions was not done at all, or on a paid basis. In the Tajik segment of the Internet, photos of a batch of humanitarian aid discovered in markets and pharmacies appear daily.

Meanwhile, today, doctors of many hospitals in the country are experiencing an acute shortage of protective equipment and medicines, although today Tajikistan has received more than a million protective suits, masks, glasses and other medicines as humanitarian aid.

For example, to date, the main hospital of Sogd region has not received a single batch of humanitarian aid. Doctors buy all protective equipment themselves, or the country’s population helps in their purchase. Complaints about the lack of protective equipment come from many other cities and regions of the country.

Friendly countries of Tajikistan continue to send huge batches of humanitarian aid to the country.