European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 9, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Bleakness Beauty abound in Kazakhstan City by Peggy Davidson staff writer it seems As though All the people hurrying along the Grimy streets of the town of Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan Wear fur in some form a fur hats fur Coats fur lined gloves sometimes All three. Animal rights activists would be appalled. The furs Are Fox and Rabbit Mink and Sable furs that would Cost hundreds even thousands of dollars at the finest salons in the United states Are everywhere. It looks strange to Western visitors who Are seeing for the first time this City of rickety Homes nearly empty stores and pothole filled streets. The City has a Stark and Dingy appearance the result of smoke spouting factories. Blackened Snow has been shoved to the roadsides forming unsightly piles. Wooden fences surround wooden buildings All of which appear As if they d fall Over in the slightest Breeze. Balconies on apartment buildings Are decorated with lines of Wash despite the sub freezing temperatures. But despite All this there Are traces of Beauty. Along the iced Over Irtysh River looking As Gray As the City streets is a tree lined Park and benches with backs of ornate wrought Iron scroll work. Nearby apartment buildings in desperate need of fresh paint Are decorated with sections of tile carvings that break up their otherwise Bleak appearance. In the Center of the City stands a statue of Lenin towering Over the surrounding buildings a and not sporting a rope around his neck in anticipation of being toppled. Lenin is alive and Well in Semipalatinsk. The people Many of whom Are distinctly Oriental Are Friendly and curious about westerners especially americans though a trifle aloof. The children who know no fear approach westerners with shouts of Quot dollars chocolate Quot and outstretched hands. They also know the words Quot thank  a the Region of Siberia embraces a Large chunk of Kazakhstan including the area where Semipalatinsk is. It is near the chinese and mongolian Borders which accounts for the Oriental appearance of Many of its residents. The area is also where the former soviet Union performed underground nuclear testing. Hospitals in the area specialize in treating children with leukaemia people of All Ages with All varieties of cancer and an uncommonly Large number of Cleft palates. Since the crumbling of the soviet Union medical supplies have become scarce said Jim Schollaert first Secretary for economic affairs at the newly established . Embassy in Alma Ata capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 848 Jan Dart Wim three kazakhs a including the one at left wearing a . Air Force Cap Given him by an american airman a take a chewing gum break while helping unload a c-5 from operation provide Hope. Americans who Are part of the on site inspection Agency Europe were on hand earlier this year to help translate Between americans and kazakhs when operation provide Hope flights brought food medical supplies and other humanitarian Aid into an area previously off limits to westerners. The monitors had been sent ahead of the provide Hope flights to ensure that the aircraft could land at specific airports and that the civilian agencies in each area would make proper use of the humanitarian Aid. The inspection Agency s real Mission is to conduct inspections and escort officials from the former soviet Union and former Warsaw pact countries As part of the conventional armed forces in Europe treaty. Military members fluent in russian found themselves Quot drafted Quot by the Agency to help with the project. Among them was senior airman Candace Moak from the 6911th electronic Security so Hahn a Germany. She said that while she enjoyed using her linguistic skills Quot the Best thing about being in Kazakhstan is knowing we Don t live  Moak had been in Alma Ata about two weeks before the first flight of operation provide Hope landed in Semipalatinsk on feb. 18. She and other Agency members travelled from the capital to work As monitors. They already had experience monitoring four flights that had flown into Alma Ata earlier in the month. Moak and others who lived in Alma Ata s Quot Best hotel Quot talked about How Little Money they spent. The entire team spent about $45 on food and rooms during their two weeks in Kazakhstan said the Agency Leader. At the time the Ruble has been trading for less than a Dollar per 100 rubles. Pvt. A Chuhra azide 20, an armoured personnel Carrier Driver for an army tank unit said that his monthly salary is 91 rubles. Azide said that he and his fellow soldiers Are still part of the soviet army despite the fact that the soviet Union has crumbled. The soldiers seemed not to notice the cold on the wind swept flight line As they helped unload a c-5 filled with food from operation provide Hope. Their Wool uniforms topped off with the mandatory fur hat kept the cold at Bay. The hats were the object of much bartering Between the visiting americans and the kazakhs. As More fur hats appeared on american Heads the realization seemed to set in that in spite of political differences the people were a lot alike. Pins and insignia were swapped handshakes and smiles traded. Common ground was found when kazakhs and americans spoke of their children and americans handed Over bags of Candy brought specifically Quot for the . 8m.jfcn0vt�lra despite recent upheavals Lenin is still upright in Semipalatinsk