Tuesday, August 07, 2012 -
Some Tajik citizens are taking advantage of a Russian program to attract more settlers in its Jewish Autonomous Oblast, located in the Far East of the vast country which borders China.
The oblast, established in 1934 by dictator Josef Stalin, is in desperate need of doctors and teachers, and has a population of only 176,000.
It is unknown how many Tajik citizens have taken up the opportunity to relocate to the remote province, the local news agency Asia-Plus.tj reported on Tuesday.
One family, the Rahmatiloevyhs, moved from the impoverished Central Asian state to the isolated section of the Far East to take the opportunity afforded as part of the resettlement incentive.
The father is an English teacher, while his wife is a specialized pediatrician, the Federal Migration Service (FMS) said on its web site.
One of the perks of moving to the region is free housing. The family of five has been granted a two-bedroom apartment, obtained through the father’s employment. Mrs. Rahmatiloevyh still has to go through additional training in order to obtain certification to work in the oblast.
Emigration from Tajikistan is common as Tajikistan derives nearly one-third of its gross domestic product (GDP) from migrant workers, the majority of which work in Russia and Kazakhstan.