The story told by
Zamira's journey from a young librarian and single mother in post-war Kyrgyzstan to a resilient, multilingual head librarian and loving grandmother.
Scroll to explore
Have you ever wondered how life might turn outfor a woman from the USSR, working as a librarian and becoming a mother at ayoung age? If so, Zamira’s story is certainly for you.
Zamira was born in post-war Kyrgyzstan, ayoung girl with big dreams. After graduating from university, she embarked onher career. For several years, Zamira studied German, aspiring to work inGermany. The first job she applied for was as a translator at the Germanembassy. During the interview, her language proficiency was tested. Zamira wasfluent in Russian and German but had minimal knowledge of the Kyrgyz language,which had been restricted in the USSR. Unfortunately, Kyrgyz turned out to bean essential requirement for the position.
A New Path and Motherhood
Confused and uncertain about her ambitions, Zamira applied for a job at the National Scientific Library. However,difficulties continued to follow her. At 21, she became a single mother. In her youth, like many women, she sought to find herself. Instead, she found her self in the new role of motherhood. As she continued to work at the library,climbing the career ladder, her daughter was learning to climb real ones.
Although library work might seem monotonous,it taught her resilience and creativity. As Zamira recalls:
"Theage of most of our books can be estimated at 50 years or more. Of course, they[books] have passed through many hands. Books, parchment paper, and letters cancarry fungal spores and various bacteria."
Overcoming Challenges
A tragic event involving two fatalities from exposure to fungal spores in the library shook the entire team, including Zamira. Guilt and sadness loomed over everyone, but they knew they had to prevent further tragedies. Despite limited funding, the team applied for every grant opportunity, worked through weekends, and recruited new specialists for international collaborations. Thanks to their efforts, the National Scientific Library became the first in Kyrgyzstan to establish a laboratory department. Within a few months, a cure was found for the spores that had caused the deaths.
Over her 42-year career, Zamira rose to the position of head librarian, the second-highest rank in the library. Editing Kyrgyz texts as part of her duties helped her perfect the language, and she became fluent in four languages: German, Russian, Kyrgyz, and English. This work gave her the chance to reconnect with her Kyrgyz heritage, a culture she had missed out on during her youth under Soviet rule.
Zamira’s approach to motherhood evolved over the years. In times of hunger, poverty, and instability, it’s hard to focus on anything beyond meeting basic needs. However, Zamira had a different vision. She wanted to give her daughter the emotional support she herself had longed for as a child. While she may not have taught her daughter to cook or clean, she imparted the values of love and forgiveness—lessons Zamira had to learn on her own.
Despite years of discord with her husband, Zamira reconciled with him, setting a powerful example for her daughter, Gulnara. This act of forgiveness allowed Gulnara to mend her own relationship with her father, who had missed much of her childhood. Zamira’s love and warmth helped Gulnara grow into a caring mother, just as Zamira had been to her.
.avif)
.avif)
