The Prisoner of Wakhan

• Watchlist

During the Soviet era, Western Sovietologists were prohibited from visiting Kyrgyzstan, but some ventured into Afghanistan's remote Wakhan Corridor to study the Kyrgyz tribe, the last nomads of Central Asia. With Gorbachev's Perestroika, foreigners gained access to our region. German anthropologist Gundula Salk, who one day joined us for lunch at home, shared a German article. This article, featuring on yellowed paper black-and-white drawings of mountain nomads, resonated with our Kyrgyzstan experiences. What stood out were the elaborate embroidery of their dresses and dwellings, and the presence of yaks. Gundula said they are the Kyrgyz of Afghanistan. My Soviet upbringing left me perceiving our Kyrgyz cousins in Wakhan as "People's Enemies," due to relentless Soviet Propaganda. The lack of personal contact created an emotional void. I also had little knowledge that they retained private ownership, resisted Soviet forces, and didn't speak Russian. Fortunately, since then life presented numerous opportunities for me to satisfy my curiosity about the Kyrgyz of Wakhan. Today, I may be the sole journalist to extensively cover this community, culminating, since I switched to filmmaking, in this documentary film. Sadly, the government's decision to invite them to Kyrgyzstan has disrupted their delicate equilibrium. Most remain in Afghanistan, still wary of their "Communist" cousins. Their thoughts, dreams, and needs often go unnoticed, while we perpetuate a cycle similar to what Russians have done for a century, alienating us from our own culture. "The Prisoner of Wakhan" aims to address some of the damage since we gained access to their world in the early 2000s, bringing their aspirations to light. I hope this film encourages us to recognize their ancestral wisdom and unwavering quest for freedom, as well as to approach this and similar resilient yet vulnerable communities with humility.