Sorry I’m pretty back logged from the past 2 weeks for blog updates. I went to Batken in Southern Kyrgyzstan two weeks ago and shot an event for ACTED and stayed with some OSCE and UNDP folks. Here’s a zoomed map showing Batken and the territories within a few kilometers of Batken. There is a frequent conflict over border demarcation, and water rights among other issues in this region. Requests for funding to fix massive infrastructural problems have long been ignored by the central government, presumably because of the distance between Batken and the capital city Bishkek in the north. A Kyrgyz man was shot by Uzbek guards the night before I was supposed to return and there was disagreement about what happened. Needless to say, there were protests and my trip back was delayed for a day. Seeing a map as marked up as this and knowing how historically fluid ethnicity has been in the region brings up a lot of questions regarding peace and what the intentions of these borders were. There is frequent conflict in Batken, although I had a nice stay myself. More images to follow.