Grieve...and then give

Readers will forgive, I hope, the non cotton-related nature of this post.  No one with even a passing interest in Central Asia could fail to be devastated by the Rwanda-like violence meted out against ethnic Uzbek citizens in southern Kyrgyzstan, by their own compatriots.  Reports by newswires, by Fergana.ru, local human rights defenders, by international groups on the ground such as Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group indicate that the pogroms of the week-end have not wholly abated. Uzbeks continue to face threats, and to be denied medical care and humanitarian assistance on the basis of their ethnicity.

There are some few organizations on the ground distributing aid directly, and if you are able to, I hope you will support their efforts.  One is Save the Children, which is beginning to disburse aid to suffering families as we speak:  see their announcement here.  The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, which has been providing shelter and other assistance to refugees in Uzbekistan (and maybe on the border?) has its appeal page here (the donation page does not yet allow funds to be targeted for the Kyrgyzstan emergency, but I hope they will soon change that).