Paradise Rivers

Carolyn Drake

Orion/Pulitzer Center/Steppe

The canals often serve as borders, and when the Soviet Union was divided into separate countries, many towns were split down the middle, separating families. The flow of water is controlled by the whims of politicians, leaving most local people desperate, doing unsanctioned trade across borders to make a living. These Uzbeks are smuggling containers for gas across the Kyrgyz/Uzbek border.

Carolyn Drake, "Paradise Rivers," in POYi Archive, Item #43252, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/43252 (accessed November 23, 2024).