Stories from Central Asia
The team’s focus in Central Asia was the Amu Darya and looking at this river from source to sea. In Uzbekistan, the team focused on the Aral Sea before following the Amu Darya. In Tajikistan, Mina ran along the Zeravshan, the Panj and on the Fedchenko Glacier. After arriving back in Dushanbe, Mina took part in a large community run for water ahead of the Dushanbe Water Process.
“The drying up of the Aral Sea didn’t only cause environmental issues, it also caused health issues. It caused many different diseases in the area. The water disappearing led to the sea bed drying up. This meant the quality of the water changed, heavy metals were found in the water which caused liver and kidney diseases.” - Doctor, Muynoq, Uzbekistan
the aral sea
“First, the sea left the people, then the people left the sea.”- Ali Shaddinov, Fisherman. On the next leg of Run Blue, the team visits the Aral Sea - or what’s left of it. While Mina runs among the boneyard of shipwrecked boats, we talk to locals about the devastating consequences of climate change.
The Amu Darya
Run Blue continues in Central Asia, with early mornings, extreme heat, and big expectations.
dushanbe
Mina Guli's speech to delegates at the Dushanbe Water Process conference