Anthropology & Aging Quarterly 2012: 33 (4) 152 PORTFOLIO “Who are you to teach us?” Elder Abuse in Kyrgyzstan Photographs by Malik Alymkulov HelpAge International The photos were exhibited on June 15, 2012 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to mark UN World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. 153 Anthropology & Aging Quarterly 2012: 33 (4) Anthropology & Aging Quarterly 2012: 33 (4) 154 155 Anthropology & Aging Quarterly 2012: 33 (4) Anthropology & Aging Quarterly 2012: 33 (4) 156 About the Photos Eppu Mikkonen-Jeanneret, Social Anthropologist and Regional Director in Central Asia for HelpAge International There has been a rapid societal change in Kyrgyzstan during the post-Soviet era. Up to 20% of the population has migrated overseas for work as unemployment and the weak economic situation remain serious problems. The latest World Food Programme report is esimating that up to 25% of the population in the country is food insecure due to high food price increases and high levels of poverty - this is a shocking figure that unfortunately compares to many more ‘classical’ development countries. In short, there is a lot of tension and a lot of families struggle to survive. What we aimed to do was to document the impact of these tensions on older people. The project interviewed a number of older women and men who told stories of every-day abuse that they encounter at home. The focus is mostly material; they are told they are a financial burden, that they are useless, that they don’t contribute. As you see, the context of the abuse is a home, in most cases a lovely well cared for home. This ‘normalcy’ is what most viewers find so difficult about these pictures - myself included. Most of the people in the photos are the actual persons presenting the words they hear from their families. In some cases people were not prepared to give their face as well as their words to the project, and in these cases their friends stepped in. So in cases the photo is of a person who does not personally experience abuse but who wants to give his/ her face to the cause of a friend. There was an astonishing sense of solidarity among the group working on this piece. The full set of photos and other galleries from HelpAge International are viewable online. http://www.flickr.com/photos/agehelps/ For more information about HelpAge International visit http://www.helpage.org http://www.flickr.com/photos/agehelps/ http://www.helpage.org