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Medford woman discovers a different world By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Walda Reeder wasn't exactly sure what she was getting into early last month. But the Medford resident knew one thing for certain: No terrorist attack was going to stop her. She was going to visit her daughter in Uzbekistan, a little-known neighbor to Afghanistan. "Unless the State Department ordered me not to, I was going to go," she said, adding later, "What I found was that it was a whole lot calmer over there than back here." Jonna Reeder, 33, a 1986 graduate of Medford Senior High School, has been in Uzbekistan for two years. She works as an accounting administrator for a nongovernmental organization sponsored by the Presbyterian Church. She is the oldest child of John and Walda Reeder. John is a retired teacher; Walda retired after more than 30 years with the state government. Their other daughter, Julie, 29, teaches at the college level. Jonna Reeder, who will be home for a visit in March, graduated from what is now Southern Oregon University with bachelor's degrees in accounting and music. She also has a master's degree in business administration from Santa Clara University in California. "We're very proud of Jonna, but we've also been very anxious," Walda Reeder said. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States heightened concern for their daughter, a Christian in what has long been an Islamic country. The former Soviet Union satellite state became independent in 1991. Uzbek President Islam Karimov was Uzbekistan's Communist-era leader who retained power after the Soviet Union collapsed. Karimov was the first Central Asian leader to give the United States military access to facilities for the Afghanistan war. But organizations such as New York-based Human Rights Watch say that Karimov's Uzbekistan has a history of electoral abuses, torture and false imprisonment. The group says there are more than 7,000 political or religious prisoners in Uzbek jails. After 35 hours of travel, Reeder arrived in Uzbekistan's capital city of Tashkent early in November. For the next two weeks, she traveled Uzbekistan with her daughter. "In spite of the difficulty of living there, she's very happy," Reeder said. "They don't have the variety of food. The housing situation is very difficult. But she deals with it very well." So do the Uzbeks, Reeder observed, though minimum wage is $2 a month in their country. "The thing she loves and I love is hospitality of the people," she said. "They are wonderful, open people." Her daughter's group is involved in humanitarian efforts, such as well-drilling projects and educational and economical aid. While there, Walda Reeder taught several classes in English. "One of their primary focuses is getting women who are alone set up in a micro business," she said. "One business is raising chickens. They give them chicken and feed to start their business." Payments are in chickens, she explained. She and her daughter traveled from Tashkent along what was historically known as the Silk Road to within about 150 miles of Afghanistan. "We went out and about and had no real concerns," Reeder said. "There were a lot of checkpoints along the roads. We didn't have any problems. But I was amazed at all the donkey carts." Her daughter's group, which is based in Tashkent, has opened an office in Termez, a town near the Afghanistan border, she noted. The Uzbek government does keep tight reins on its people, Reeder said. "You cannot proselytize in Uzbekistan," she stressed. "They don't allow anyone to proselytize, not even Muslims. You don't do that." That is probably a hard-line law leftover from the now defunct Soviet Union, she said. Still, having visited Uzbekistan, Reeder understands what draws her daughter to the region. "There is part of me that would like to go back," Reeder said. "They are wonderful people." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.