Kazakh NGOs help prevent extremism

    By Alexander Bogatik
    Kazakhstani officials alarmed by the outflow of hundreds of young men to fight as insurgents in Iraq and Syria are working to stem the tide.
    In late September, the Committee for Religious Affairs (KDR) decided to utilise the potential of NGOs to prevent extremism, provide an expert evaluation of the religious situation in the country and rehabilitate individuals who have suffered at the hands of destructive sects.
    "We recognise that supporting stability in these matters requires constant efforts from both the government and civil society," Vice-Minister of Culture and Sport Marat Azilkhanov said.
    The decision to rely on the potential of NGOs was not accidental. They already have co-operated many times with the government on such issues.
    
    NGOs already at work
    Centres that help individuals who have suffered from destructive sects have been operating in most Kazakhstani cities (including Almaty, Kyzylorda, Kostanai, Shymkent and others) since 2012. Local authorities and NGOs work together to implement all these projects.
    Projects involving the Association of Practicing Psychologists (APP) are particularly active. Every week, the association holds support sessions for victims of destructive sects to help them return to normal life.
    With support from the Kostanai Oblast government's Administration for Youth Policy Issues, at the end of August the APP organised extremism prevention seminars for young volunteers, who are now engaged in defusing extremism among their peers.
    In addition, Kazakhstan has established a 114 hotline that people can call to receive psychological help or information on extremism.
    One mother called because her 23-year-old daughter, Meruet, had a fiancé who was introducing her to banned extremist literature.
    Meruet was poised on the crossroads between secular life and radicalism. Timely psychological assistance and advice steered her away from the road to extremism.
    "It's not uncommon for young women and their parents to turn to support centres," Yuliya Denisenko, president of Kostanai Oblast's Association of Support Centres for Victims of Destructive Religious Movements, said. "Fiancés committed to radical Islam speak many beautiful words about 'true' Islam to their lovers."
    
    NGOs' great potential
    More than 27,000 NGOs operate in Kazakhstan, according to the Justice Ministry. Their number grows every year, as does their involvement with social processes.
    "Civic groups have gained great experience in implementing important social projects," Andrei Perenkov, a volunteer at the Zhambyl NGO Youth Centre for Reconstruction and Development, said. "It is essential to direct this immense potential toward preventing the spread of extremism. Nobody can do this job better than the NGOs can. But close co-operation with government agencies and financial support are essential."
    About 1m employees and volunteers work in the NGO sector, having some kind of impact on about a third of the population, the government says.
    "[Our] work will continue," KDR Chairman Galym Shoykin said. "We'll introduce new methods and ways to prevent terrorism and extremism,” according to Central Asia Online.