There are many pages in social networks that unite Kazakhs living in Turkey, Russia and Uzbekistan. The page "Tashkent Kazakhs" has the largest number of users. This page, which has about 60,000 subscribers, opened only four years ago. As we found out later, Zhanabay Israilov, who runs this page, has done a lot in four years and initiated many projects. We only found out about this page when we were sending humanitarian aid to the victims on behalf of the Kazakhs of Uzbekistan during the flood. At the same time, we contacted and talked to Zhanabay, who visited the villages and collected information about the Kazakhs living there.

- Was the page "Tashkent Kazakhs" originally called that or was the name changed later?

- That was its name at first. I was born in the village of Abay, Bostandyk district, Tashkent region. I wanted to know in which corners of Uzbekistan the same Kazakhs as me live and what they do. There are many villages that I have not reached. There are enough areas that we need to study. I wanted to show the life of Kazakhs who are concentrated in these villages. I went around the villages, collected information about how many Kazakhs live there, who is from what clan, who is known from this village, and even filmed the school and the street and uploaded it to the page. At first, I did it for myself. At that time, I did not have the goal of becoming such a popular blogger.

- When did you realize that by calling your page that way, it really became “page No. 1 in the Kazakh language in Uzbekistan”?

- Many of those who moved to Kazakhstan or other countries, seeing the posted photographs and videos taken while visiting villages, said: “This is my native village. I cried when I saw this”, “So many years have passed since I left. I missed this, I saw this video and enjoyed it." There were people who wrote to me and asked what kind of village this was. I started this page four years ago, when the world was in the midst of a pandemic. The border is closed. No one cannot visit relatives. However, at that time I often visited the villages. At that time, the brothers who moved to Karaganda and Petropavlovsk said that they had not seen their relatives for 5-6 years, that the village had changed, and then they thanked me and wrote kind words. Over time, the number of reposters increased. “This is our village!” Many people spoke and uploaded the video to their pages. It so happened that the number of people sending videos to their villagers and relatives increased. After this, people from other villages wrote in a personal message: “Please come and film our village. We also want to see our village. on the “Tashkent Kazakhs” page. In fact, I try to visit every village myself. What could be better than seeing everything with my own eyes! However, residents of very distant villages also heard about us and made a lot of videos themselves. neighboring villages support them. Then I realized that I was doing something useful and moving in the right direction. I still receive calls from residents of many villages.They are eagerly awaiting us, setting the tables and seating us in the most honorable place. Thank God, I am respected wherever I am. Aul residents call a lot during the Nauryz holiday. I do not refuse and try to go. I always take gifts with me, but I do not return empty-handed. I love listening to stories and advice from elders. I still remember a conversation in one aul with an aksakal who witnessed the famine, was in the war and, despite his almost 100 years of age, was of sound mind and clear memory. This man knows history at "5". "Kazakhs lived here. They moved in such and such a year," he presented precise information down to the year. I do not want to return from such places, I would listen endlessly. I also want to note that there are enough people who want to help when we go to the auls where our dear old people live. Our generous brothers say: “At least financially, we will not spare help. You tell us,” they offer. If we need to go to the village, they will send a car and support us. I must say that not everyone believed in this matter. There were those who said: “What's the point?” What are you going to do with all this?” And now it has become a page that every Kazakh in Uzbekistan is looking for.

- There are many Kazakhs in the city where you live. Why did you want to show the lifestyle of Kazakhs in the village, and not in the city?

- You are right, there are many Kazakhs living in the city too. However, the village is our golden treasure. A place where you understand who you are and where you come from. That is why I give priority to the aul and its residents. I hope that people in the city will see the photos and videos I have posted and will not forget their origin and place of birth. I would like to hope that wherever we are, we must preserve our Kazakhness, we must remember our morals, customs and traditions. Since I was born and raised in the aul, I know all this very well. And some of the young people living in the city, or those who left the aul early, hardly know what I know. "Did we have such a family?", "I did not know that there was such a tradition in Kazakhstan." I understand that this work, which I began then, was not in vain.

- Many of those who know you said that through this page you addressed people in need. You are also involved in charity.

- Yes. At first I didn’t know if it would work or not. Some time after the page was opened, a mosque was being built in my village. At that time, the page had 10 thousand subscribers. Then I thought that I would see if the subscribers could help me with this. Then they told me a story: “A mosque is being built in such a village. Please help as much as you can,” I wrote, and in a short time almost $1,000 was collected. I didn’t touch a penny of the money, but gave it to the representative of the mosque as help from the “Tashkent Kazakhs” page. Then I realized that with the help of responsive and generous people who subscribed to my page, we can initiate many good deeds.Then we started the business of opening a fund to help children suffering from various diseases. The one-year-old daughter of a couple living in a distant village needs a lot of money to go to Turkey for treatment. We immediately opened an account, posted information about it on the page and asked for help. As a result, 50 thousand dollars (22,288,500 tenge) were collected. Having received treatment in Turkey, the child is now in good condition. Shukur! In the same way, we helped about 10 brothers and sisters who needed help by collecting the necessary funds. Even now there are a lot of SMS with the words: “Open an account. Publish it. Help us". However, if I do this regularly, the activity on the page slows down. Because about 60,000 users subscribed to the page want different content. It is worth noting that all 60,000 users are registered voluntarily. Like some, I don't have hand-drawn numbers. That is why they are actively involved in any initiative. However, from time to time I open a fund. For example, every year at the beginning of the school year we open a fund and collect funds. We then use this money to buy school supplies, visit every village and distribute them to poor students who have no parents. In addition, we bring food to widowed and disabled women. In general, we try to help those suffering without remaining indifferent.

- You did not sit quietly even during the flood, which frightened the people of Kazakhstan. We saw how you joined forces with several active Kazakhs in Uzbekistan and opened a fund, while kandas in many countries offered help.

- Kazakhs of Uzbekistan, who know well that I visit many villages and help them, ask: “Why don’t you open a fund? You start, we will support you. We believe in you.” We will help," he wrote. At first, I thought for a long time. Because this is not like what we have done before, this is a large-scale undertaking. A big responsibility. I was haunted by the thought that if a small amount of money is collected, it will be embarrassing in front of people. Then I was worried about whether we would be able to find a car to deliver humanitarian aid to Kazakhstan. However, later we started this business together with entrepreneur and blogger Mekhnat Besbarmakov, who owns a Kazakh cultural center and restaurant in Tashkent. On the page, we announced that we were opening a fund and collecting aid. It turned out that many residents of the village delivered 15-20 trucks with food to the specified location. We shot a video “Such help came from such a village” and uploaded it to the page. Seeing this, other villagers asked: “Why are we silent?” Why don’t we act? If we don’t help our brothers in such a difficult time, when will we be able to help?” They themselves took the initiative, collected the necessary things and brought them to us. We loaded the collected clothes, food and bedding into trucks and sent them to the Kostanay region, which was badly damaged by the flood.

- The page “Tashkent Kazakhs” is closely followed not only by Kazakhs of Uzbekistan, but also by many residents of Kazakhstan.

- Yes. Many residents of Kazakhstan write that if you write “Tashkent” or “Kazakh” on Instagram, your page will appear first. People in Kazakhstan often ask: “Where can you go in Tashkent?” Information about hospitals is often needed. I make a request: “Where is the best clinic?” Which center has a strong doctor?” So, relying on the help of many people, we find doctors who will be satisfied with those who come from their homeland. In addition, we find passports and driver’s licenses of citizens of Kazakhstan who forgot them at a customs post or nearby. Those who have lost documents immediately write to me. I am posting this to history, and soon the lost documents will be found and returned to the owner. It’s also worth noting that the brothers who follow us in Kazakhstan leave a lot of comments under the page. The Kazakhs of Uzbekistan reciprocate and establish relationships. When subscribers from Kazakhstan say: “Go back to your homeland” and “Move here,” our people say: “We live well here too.” It will be enough for us to stay with you and return,” they write, getting to know each other better and showing brotherly feelings.

- I noticed that advertisements are often placed on the page. Do you run this business alone or do you have help?

- Yes, we advertise. We receive income from this. There are enough advertisers. However, you can't fill everything with advertising. As I said above, activity is falling. My goal is not to make money by any means. I want to make meaningful and interesting videos from time to time.In fact, I do most of the work myself. However, there are several guys who help me when we go to villages. Everyone has their own responsibilities. One of them conducts the survey, and the other films the content. Someone is helping me. In the near future we are going to start making educational videos with meaning. We have almost no Kazakhs in Tashkent who make vines. We don't want to make funny and meaningless movies. Their main goal is to help our brothers who have fallen on a bad path come to their senses. Therefore, we are going to write a script based on real life events and start a great good deed. In fact, many people think that I don't work, that I make a living through social media. In fact, I work in a different field. And I plan the rest of the work on the weekend, design and shoot.

- Where do you work?

- I work at a copper pipe production plant in the city of Chirchik. Most people who don’t know this are surprised: “Do you work somewhere? You’re running back and forth.”  - “Of course, I’m working.  And no one will pay me for my legwork,” when I answer like that, some don’t believe me. “Come on, you're lying. You can make a lot of money online.” Nobody makes money on the Internet. It's true that I get paid to advertise. However, this amount only covers expenses incurred when moving from one village to another. And I earn my living by working in a factory. There are still people who don't believe my words. As I said above, I'm not trying to make a lot of money using page activity. For me, spiritual value is above all.

- I can’t say anything other than enormous gratitude to you that, along with working at the plant, you are engaged in social work and travel around the villages!

- Thank you! In fact, it seems to me that the voice of ordinary people is heard on our page. I'm just glad I realized it in time. When most people see me, they say, "Hey, aren't you that blogger guy?" If they find out, some of them say: “Well done. You are on the right path. You are doing good things. Press! Try! We support you. We will help,” they express gratitude. Every time I hear this, I feel inspired and want to do more good and useful things than now.

- Good luck! Thanks for the story!

interviewed

Aliya TLEUZHANKYZY

turkystan.kz

translated by Qazalem