Tajik Government has reportedly allocated funds for medical treatment of Tajik known poet Bozor Sobir in the United States.
“President Emomali Rahmon has ordered the Government to find the best doctors for medical treatment of Bozor Sobir,” Nizom Qosim, the head of Tajik Writers’ Union, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, the Tajik Government has allocated enough funds for medical treatment of Bozor Sobir, who is currently undergoing treatment in the resuscitation department in one of hospitals in Seattle, the United States.
Qosim also noted that Tajik Ambassador to the United States Farhod Salim and Embassy in Washington and Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the United Nations Mahmadamin Mahmadaminov have visited the poet in the hospital.
“Emomali Rahmon has ordered to involve the best doctors in medical treatment of Bozor Sobir and his medical test results have been sent for assessment to Moscow and Germany,” Qosim said.
Meanwhile, some people close to the poet say the American doctors have diagnosed Bozor Sobir with pulmonary fibrosis, but his relatives doubt the diagnosis.
Recall, Tajik known poet Bozor Sobir got to the hospital in Seattle last month. He reportedly left for the United States recently to visit his children.
Born in the village of Sufiyon in the Fayzobod district on November 20, 1938, Bozor Sobir completed his studies in Tajik philology at Tajik National University in Dushanbe in 1962 and had worked for the magazines Maorif va Madaniyat (Education and Culture) and Sadoyi Sharq (Voice of the East). During the Soviet period his verse was widely translated into Western languages and even published in Iran.
With the advent of glasnost he became actively involved in the political and cultural movements for an independent national identity. Four major collections of his verse were published in the 2000s.
Bozor Sobir was also a prominent member of the Democratic Party of Tajikistan until his resignation from the party in November 1992, reportedly because of disagreement with the party leadership.
On March 26, 1993, Bozor Sobir was arrested at the Dushanbe airport, where he had gone reportedly to send a parcel to his son who was living that time in Moscow. On April 5, 1993, Bozor Sobir was charged with "incitement to illegal deprivation of freedom" and "attempting to inflame interethnic discord." He was released from jail in later 1993 due to support of international human rights organizations. After release from jail, Bozor Sobir in December 1994 left Tajikistan for the United States, where he resided for 19 years before he returned to Tajikistan in May 2013.
