Almost 2,000 Tajik and Uzbek citizens are stranded in Kazakhstan’s southern region of Turkistan because they are unable to travel back home due to restrictions imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The majority of those stranded at the Zhibek Zholy (Silk Road) checkpoint are male labor migrants who lost their jobs in Kazakhstan after many businesses shut down following lockdown measures. They complained that they have to stay outdoors and that the weather is very hot during the daytime and cold at night.
On June 19, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had organized transportation by bus to repatriate 635 Tajik citizens stranded at the Zhibek Zholy checkpoint.
