Learning about Tajikistan: One of my most recent Servas visitors was from Tajikistan. I must say I did not know anything about this country or even where the country was on the map. So I went to the World Fact Book developed by the CIA. Yes, the CIA which offers very current country specific information freely on line. I learned that it was in Central Asia and formerly part of the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union left, there was no structure of government. Tajikistan was destabilized by civil war which has resulted in tremendous personal losses, economic crisis, deep poverty and other social problems. Tajikistan had the lowest per capita GDP of all the 15 former Soviet Republics. Muborak, my guest said that many have left Tajikistan for safety and economic reasons and they send money home. For those that remain, the economy is very poor--the teachers receive $2 per month, the physicians $5 per month and the public servants do not always receive their government pay checks. Under these conditions, bad things are happening.