KULOB, September 22, 2008, Asia-Plus — Since the beginning of this year, the branch of Amonatbonk (Tajikistan’s savings bank) in Khatlon’s Vose district has provided 1.5 million somoni in loans to local residents leaving for Russia for seasonal work, Anvar Nodirov, head of Amonatbonk’s branch in Vose, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, this work with labor migrants has proved its value and paid for itself. “The labor migrants have not only repaid their loans but also remitted 3,824,141 US dollars and 8.885 million Russian rubles (RR) to our bank since the beginning of this year, while during the whole year of 2007, they remitted 2.4 million US dollars to the bank for their families,” Nodirov said.
“After explanatory work carried out among labor migrants, many of them have established accounts at our bank,” said Nodirov. “When remitting money to our bank, they note what amount should be given out and what amount should be deposited into their savings accounts.” According to him, these operations are mutually beneficial: the bank has money for crediting small projects and labor migrants have an opportunity to save up their capitals.
Labor migrants are a critical component in the economy of Tajikistan, and their remittances keep many families in the country above the poverty line. More than 400,000 Tajik seasonal workers travel abroad each year to the CIS countries, primarily to Russia, seeking better employment opportunities.
