Saida’s Success
A Tajik migrant worker starts a business at home
In the busy central market of Bokhtar, Tajikistan, Saida Safarova energetically serves her customers food, beverages, and sweets from her small stall. To succeed in this “fast food” industry in Tajikistan’s third largest city, vendors need to have a good location, delicious food, fair prices, and an entrepreneurial approach to dealing with customers.
But Saida was not always like this. A year ago, she was depressed and unsure of what to do with her life.
She had recently returned to Tajikistan from Russia where she lived as a migrant worker with her husband and three Russian-born children. Saida was surprised to learn her name had been added to a list of migrant workers who were banned from re-entering Russia.
For reasons unknown to her, she was not allowed to return to the Russian city where she spent the last 15 years of her life and where she had a stable job baking sweets at a confectionery shop.
Unable to find a job at home in Tajikistan, Saida temporarily lived with her brother, but this could not last. She lived in poor conditions, could not feed her children, and had to bring one child to an orphanage and leave two others in the care of her siblings.
According to Russian officials cited in a recent International Organization for Migration (IOM) report, more than 260,000 Tajik citizens have been deported and/or are banned from re-entering Russia as migrant workers, mostly because of minor violations.
Saida counted the remaining $400 in her pocket and tried her hand at starting a business. “I decided to buy and sell fruit, but I did not have the proper experience and ended up losing all of my savings. My physical and mental health quickly deteriorated, and I spent the next several months in and out of hospitals.”
One of Saida’s doctors told her about Akhtari Bakht, a local civil society organization whose name means “bright happiness.” The organization helps re-integrate returning Tajik migrant workers like her who’ve been banned from returning to Russia.
Akhtari Bakht, which is supported by USAID, IOM, and local NGOs through the Dignity and Rights project, provides financially vulnerable migrant returnees with vocational training and grants to start their own businesses at home.
USAID works with the Government of Tajikistan and civil society organizations to create employment opportunities for returning migrants, and helps improve legal and policy frameworks to protect migrants’ rights. USAID partners with the government to address the needs of migrants and trafficked persons in order to ensure their reintegration into society and reduce the risk of further trafficking or marginalization. This in turn promotes local economic vibrancy and prosperity, promoting a path to self-reliance.
Saida met with the organization to discuss her work skills and experience. After she was selected to participate in the project, she received vocational training in business management and start-up capital to buy professional equipment. With a fridge, toaster, microwave, oven, and other equipment to bake sweets and cook food, she could embark on her new business endeavor, a food stall.
The assistance not only enabled her to regain a stable income, but also gave her renewed self-confidence and hope for a brighter future. Just one year later, she expanded her business — she increased the number of products she sells, purchased two more fridges with her own savings, and hired a local woman as an assistant.
“My dreams have come true,” said a beaming Saida. “I have my own place to live, I have brought my children back to live with me, and I can educate them.”
Wishing to express her gratitude to the American people who brought her back to life, Saida said: “I don’t know their names, but I know — they are wonderful people. I am very thankful to them, sincerely, and I virtually shake their hands and say — tashakkur (thank you)!”
In the past five years, the USAID Dignity and Rights project has helped more than 250 returned migrants in Tajikistan start a range of businesses, including cattle breeding, poultry farming, pastry and confectionery production, sewing, and construction.
With this support, returning migrants have increased their monthly income by an average of 13 percent per year. The project gives returning migrants an opportunity to make a living, provide for their families, and stay in their home country close to their family and friends, while contributing to Tajikistan’s economic self-reliance.
About the Author
Abdulfattoh Shafiev is a Communications Specialist for the International Organization for Migration in Tajikistan.
