Day 34

It is difficult to put into words the reaction to the events of today. Had we been in the UK we would never have experienced it and on some level I feel that our life experience would be diminished as a result. It certainly highlights the almost sheltered life I lived, privileged to be a part of a stable economy. Yes, I would moan and groan over the decisions the UK government had made, but ultimately nothing they had done had impacted me as significantly as the Kazakhstan Central Bank (KCB) devaluing the tenge. The news arrived in my office this morning and immediately I and my colleagues were shell-shocked. Joe has been trying all morning to transfer yesterday’s pay across to the States without success. It dawned that the actions of the KCB had lost him about $1,000 in the short hours of changing the tenge value. It took about 4 hours for the currency exchanges rate sites to list the new value. Had I studied economics, perhaps I could have seen the signs leading up to this. Essentially, our salaries have been instantly cut by 20%.

Of course it is easy to look at how we have been individually affected, after all we expats are continuously transferring funds out of the country and therefore very aware of what figures will turn up back home. A lot of NU staff were hit by the facile way in which this devaluation had been applied and how little protection we have here. You might think that it was part of the risk and you are absolutely correct. One had hoped in light of the reforms, the investment, new start-up projects, things were under control, but anyone who knew that the KCB had spent $56bn in trying to keep the tenge at yesterday’s exchange rate would have been counting the days till this type of event happened.

Their future hanging in the balance?

So lots of discussions ensued. No-one knows where this will end. The fear is that the expat staff will move back home, equipment purchases will halt, leaving NU unable to provide teaching and research for the students and essentially ceasing operations. A gorgeous building left to the elements; a grand white elephant. Whilst talk persisted and emails exchanged, human resources contacted everyone by the end of the day and said they would adjust the salaries of the international staff accordingly. Alas, no-one knows by how much. And we will be paying higher bills.

Forgotten in the backdrop to this saga are the Kazakhstanis, unable to escape and having to face sharp rises in prices. I asked a Kazakhstani colleague today how this would really impact them. He said hard. 18 million people in a vast land with unforgiving winters. It seems more desolate today.

Unemployment.

Devaluation.

Austerity measures.

Hyperinflation.

We hear it on the news. Our friends or family may have experienced them, but for me it was always something that happens to others. One cannot worry about them and even when it hits there’s nothing most people can do. The axiom that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer still holds true. The gap between these groups gets wider. Two key thoughts were shared today; I am sure they’ve been circulated before. The first is that we will not be defined by the event, but by our actions in response to that event. The second is that a situation is never so bad that it cannot get worse.

We were not here for the financial reward. Our wise elder and friend, Steve Blaber, said that the financial gain would only ever be part of the side-benefits of going. Today was a clear reminder. Clever chap that Steve.

Ray