Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Tuesday, April 19th, Ferghana, Uzbekistan

Greetings!

If you’re coming to Uzbekistan, and you need prescriptive drugs, you better have a note from your doctor.  Two senior travelers found that out this month at the Osh border, as they were forbidden entry until they voluntarily smashed all but the few necessary for their stay in the country.  Medicines for the rest of the trip were tossed into a garbage can.

“Not only did they say I couldn’t have them, but they said it’s illegal for anyone in the country to prescribe them for me.  These pills have been my daily routine for 25 years, and now I’m having to go cold turkey for the five weeks left on my trip’, said Susan of Birmingham, Alabama. 

Echoing in, Barbara of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (who was told she could keep five pills), said  “This is outrageous.  No one even keeps the doctor’s prescription.  Most pharmacies keep them, or it’s done electronically.  Do they want to close their borders?’.


The tour group leader, a veteran of decades of travel in this part of the world, responded that this behavior isn’t at all normal, and hopes that the medicines can be obtained in time to reduce the effects on his travelers.  But he wonders if travel to Uzbekistan will suffer from policies like this.

To see the photos taken today, click on Tuesday, April 19th.

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