Tag Archives: society

Exam stress may trigger suicides in Kazakhstan

ALMATY/ASTANA/ Kazakhstan , JUNE 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Politicians, teachers and schoolchildren in Kazakhstan are debating the value of a new standardised test that gives access to university grants and financial aid.

Some have linked the test to the high rate of youth suicides.

And the link may not be far-fetched. Kazakhstan has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the world and it has risen since the exam was released a few years ago.

At the Hazret Sultan mosque in Astana, the largest in Central Asia, deputy Imam Maksat Kairgaliyev said that the stress the new test placed students under and the relatively high suicide rate for young people in Kazakhstan were linked.

“This has unfortunately become a pattern,” he said.

Introduced in 2009, the Unified National Test (ENT is its Russian acronym) has become less and less popular among students.

Last May in Aktobe, two 17-year old classmates killed themselves. Their suicide notes both blamed ENT. Another 18-year-old schoolgirl in southern Kazakhstan tried to kill herself just after sitting the ENT test.

Azamat, a first-year student at a university in Almaty, told the Bulletin: “Kids freak out because their future depends [on the test] and which university picks them.”

MPs have also raised concerns. In November 2012, Dariga Nazarbayeva, the eldest daughter of the president and member of the Parliament, was among the first to connect the ENT to youth suicides during a question time with the minister of education.

But the government has defended bringing in the ENT as an effective way of measuring who the best people are to receive grants and various financial aid. Deputy PM Berdybek Saparbayev said the link is inappropriate. “High numbers of suicide are recorded in our country every year,” he said. “But it’s not appropriate to link that to the youth fearing the ENT.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 237, published on June 25 2015)

Azerbaijan wants F1 team sponsorship

JUNE 23 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan wants to sponsor a Formula 1 team, sports minister Azad Rakhimov said. Mr Rakhimov said he would like to see a team race in the Azerbaijani national colours. Baku hosts an F1 race in 2016 and wants to increase its profile by sponsoring sports teams.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 237, published on June 25 2015)

Kazakh court fines Karachaganak

JUNE 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A court in west Kazakhstan handed the Karachaganak oil and gas project a fine of 7.3b tenge (roughly $40m) for excessive flaring, media reported quoting a court statement. Karachaganak’s shareholders are BG Group, Eni, Chevron, Lukoil and Kazmunaigas.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)

IOC President visited Kyrgyzstan

JUNE 16 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), travelled to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as part of a short trip to the region. Mr Bach first travelled to Baku for the opening ceremony of the European Games and then to Tashkent, Dushanbe and Bishkek.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)

Turkmen President visits Azerbaijan

JUNE 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was one of a handful of international leaders to head to Azerbaijan for the opening ceremony of the European Games. In Baku, he held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Turkmenistan wants to send gas to Europe via Azerbaijan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)

Rondeli, Georgian analyst, dies

JUNE 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Alexander Rondeli, one of the most high-profile and influential Georgian political commentators, died aged 73. Rondeli was known for his charm and hospitality and was widely quoted by foreign journalists and diplomats.

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(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)

UN highlights concerns over Azerbaijan’s food security

JUNE 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a new report on malnutrition and food security, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation highlighted several areas of concern in Azerbaijan. These included stunted growth for under 5-year-olds because of poor diet and anaemia among pregnant women.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)

Armenians flee from Syria to Yerevan and beyond

YEREVAN/ARMENIA, JUNE 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Liana Pakhdigian, 32, was pregnant when she arrived with her husband in Yerevan from Aleppo, Syria, with just one piece of luggage three years ago.

They intended to stay for a fortnight but it has, instead, become their new home.

“War was worsening in Aleppo, forcing us to settle in Yerevan. We didn’t have enough money, shelter or even clothing. So we hired an apartment and intensively searched for a job,” she said.

They left behind their home in Aleppo as well as a furniture manufacturing business.

“We lost everything we had earned in our lives. But what is important is that we’re alive, healthy and looking forward,” the again pregnant Liana said.

She smiled but the tears welling in her eyes betrayed her sadness.
As the war in Syria has worsened, so the number of ethnic Armenians fleeing has increased. Armenians have, generally, been accepting. Armenia’s Ministry of Diaspora now estimates that

it has taken in 12,000 Armenians from Syria since the start of the conflict, most from Aleppo, which was home to more than 80% of Syria’s 100,000 Armenians.

Despite some grumbling, the refugees have generally integrated well. They speak the same language, are the same Orthodox religion and have many of the same customs.

And they are happy to be out of Syria. Gevorg Yepremian, 41, moved to Armenia from Syria 2-1/2 years ago with his wife and two children.

“My salary here is very low and life conditions are far from those in Syria where I have my own home,” he said. “But my children feel good here and they play with many toys. Also, there is no shooting in the streets.”

Then, rather wistfully, more in hope than expectation, he said: “If things improve in Syria I think we’ll go back.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)

Azerbaijan’s President opens European Games

JUNE 12 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At a lavish ceremony in the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev opened the inaugural European Games.

The focal point of the $95m opening ceremony celebrations was a haunting rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine by Mr Aliyev hosted a handful of global leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. The leaders of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Belarus and Serbia also attended.

And the glitz and the glamour couldn’t displace all the criticism of Azerbaijan and its record on human rights over the past few years.

Irish band U2 used a concert in Montreal to call for the release of a number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. In a strongly worded statement, Rupert Colville, the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights, heavily criticised Mr Aliyev and the authorities in Azerbaijan.

“These cases are indicative of a shrinking democratic space in Azerbaijan,” he said.

The Games themselves haven’t been without controversy either. Police arrested a bus driver who ploughed his coach into a group of Austrian swimmers walking on a pavement in the Olympic village and a partisan Azerbaijani crowd booed Armenian athletes at the Opening Ceremony.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are still officially at war over the disputed region of Nagorno- Karabakh.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)

Electricity price rise in Armenia

JUNE 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s public services regulator approved a 17% increase in electricity prices, the third in two years. The price increase has angered people in Armenia and opposition parties have called for protests.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 236, published on June 18 2015)