Lecture promotes global outlook

On Tuesday, March 9, Keene State College and the Department of Environmental Studies hosted a speaker who raised environmental issues important to Central Asians and Americans alike.

Zuzana Jezerska, a Slovenia native, spoke to KSC students and faculty about the environmental and political troubles of Central Asia Tuesday night in the David F. Putnam Science Center. Jezerska began her career as an actress but now travels and speaks on behalf of the United Nations about issues in Central Asia. Jezerska said travel was very influential in her life.

“I had to discover myself. I think everybody has to change their life eventually,” Jezerska said.

Jezerska began her lecture with a short historical overview of Asia after the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) dissolved in 1991. 

The countries she focused on were Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Jezerska explained the problems these countries faced after the USSR split are “continuous.”

“Environmental degradation and resource scarcity are not the sole causes of violent conflict but have a cumulative effect to existing political and ethnic tensions,” Jezerska said.

As her presentation continued, she outlined each country’s environmental and political issues and said poverty, resource scarcity, radioactive pollution and poor sustainability practices are at the core of the area’s problems.

Jezerska explained how the USSR used a territory as a producer for one type of material then would shift the production to another material. Jezerska said these practices made it hard for the countries to become independent once Asia had lost its central control in Moscow. Her presentation included pictures from her travels through the various places that have seen the most troubling times. Jezerska claimed these pictures of abandoned factories, rusted ships beached in dried up lakes and washed out radioactive waste dumps are common throughout Central Asian countries. Jezerska concluded with a message for the audience to take away from the presentation.

 “We should learn more about these countries, not because of global security issues but because we can gain so much knowledge and perspective from them,” Jezerska said.
After the presentation ended, Jezerska fielded student and faculty questions about social reform, ecology issues, health problems and economical possibilities in the Central Asian area.

“It’s not just one country with all these problems. The whole area is linked and share these challenges,” Jezerska said.

Adjunct professor George Corrette had his Fundamental Economics class attend the lecture. He commented on the tangibility of how a lack of resources inspires economic competition in the area.

“It’s something here in New England we don’t have exposure too, definitely a lot to take away from it,” Corrette said.

Junior Steve Ginny is a native of the Central Asian area and offered his perspective into the issues there.

“The issues take so long to solve because there are political and community problems to pass through before anything can happen. We are blessed here in the US because there isn’t the scarcity of resources here like there is elsewhere,” Ginny said.
Jezerska delivered a final word for the KSC community.

“Do not isolate yourself in America. The world is becoming more global even if we don’t want it to be, traveling has taught me that we can’t isolate ourselves. I would recommend opening your mind and understand other people because this would make the world a better place to live,” Jezerska said.

Tony Yates can be contacted at ayates@keeneequinox.com.