Adjusting to Swedish life after the Andijan massacre

Five years ago, soldiers opened fire on demonstrators in the city of Andijan, Uzbekistan, killing hundreds. Terrorists, said the government. Peaceful protesters, said human rights groups. The BBC's Monica Whitlock was expelled - but she met up again recently with one group of survivors, this time in Sweden.
This place," says Bahram, shouting somewhat, "is amazing! You can't imagine! The schools, the hospitals! The way they live! And nothing's done by hand! Even the baking! Even cleaning the street! They have these little carts... you just press a button. The police! They smile at you and say 'Hey!'"

It was good to see him again. We last met in Andijan on a hot afternoon in May, 2005, as the demonstration reached its height.

Bahram had been desperately worried that things were about to implode.

The next day, the troops moved in. His son was shot dead.

Bahram disappeared - a cake-shop owner, a grandfather, hiding and moving from house to house, country to country - until the United Nations found him.

And now here we were on the Baltic coast. Frozen ships in a bay of ice. Quiet streets. Glittering shops. Prints of warm boots in the snow.

It is another world - a looking glass through which the Uzbeks see themselves and their country.

So even as Sweden amazes and delights Bahram, it breaks his heart. "If we had just a fragment of this development in Uzbekistan," he says. "If I could take just a tiny part of this when I go home..."

Tapped phones

Bahram, and all the Andijanis, are sure they will go home - one day. Until then, they try to stay in touch as best they can.

They gaze into computer screens to catch a glimpse through Skype of families they've left behind.

Back home, relatives upload shaky photos of weddings and children they've never seen.

Piercing sunshine, blue skies, yellow dust - it's home but behind glass. A reflection.

They can't chat on the phone, only "Hello and how are you?". Uzbek phones are, of course, tapped.

Somehow this slight, virtual contact only underlines how very far away the Andijanis are.

Bahram parcels out his days in tiny, manageable steps that keep him from tipping into despair. Breakfast. Prayers. Language lessons through the internet. Watering the plants on every window sill. Lunch - cooked by Andijani women and brought over hot. Prayers. Television time - and another day is done, another notch on the long measure of days that have already become years.

He has not acquired nor desired any possessions in this rich land. No distractions. He spends this measured time, instead, thinking, peering deeply into the looking glass.

"Here in Sweden there are laws," he says. "And even the government obeys them! There was a minister who did not pay his TV licence - and he lost his job. Can you imagine? And the way they treat people! We saw a prison and do you know, in the canteen, the prisoners take a tray and chose the food they want. Different salads, meats, yogurt… everything. Fresh! In prison! Oh my lord above!"

Lucky escape

Back home, Bahram spent six years accused, like thousands of people in Uzbekistan, of conspiring against the state.

He was beaten daily and his legs frozen with ice water. The Swedish doctors have now fixed his legs.

The younger Andijanis, too, reflect deeply on the extraordinary shift in their lives: "We have learnt so much by being here," says Shamshuddin.

Five years ago, aged 29, he lay among the dead and dying in the square at Andijan. By luck alone, he escaped.

He walked through the night out of Uzbekistan and into Kyrgyzstan. And there was the outside world: the foreign press, cameras, the United Nations.

He went to a Red Cross camp and became a news item - an image, a refugee.

"Only a day," he says. "On 13 May I had hopes, a family, my wife, three children, a house, a car, a business. By 14 May? Nothing. Not even a passport. I even wore another man's clothes, in another man's country. Just a day, and I was… somebody else."

Poised to leave

Shamshuddin has kept his mind together with the most extraordinary resolve during his five lonely years in Sweden.

He's learnt Swedish, worked hard, bought a car, set up a business and plans to open a cafe in Stockholm. And just before we arrived - the greatest news. His wife and family arrived in Sweden to join him, including the son he'd only seen as a new baby, now six years old.

They're already dressed in the bright, cosy clothes of Swedish children, swinging back-packs on their way to school.

For some survivors, the clock stopped on that day in May. Only the pain of separation is real. Others, like Bahram and Shamshuddin, have managed to find some meaning in their transformation.

Yet all the Uzbeks we met living along the frozen Baltic coast all have the air of people poised to leave again.

Arriving with nothing, they could sweep their lives into suitcases in half an hour, happily leaving behind this fancy new country - if it was safe to go home.

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Does filling the empty nest make financial sense?

Her house in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, which she shares with her husband and two cats, has views over the Chilterns and a couple of spare rooms. It has been home for 16 years.

"I work from home, so it is nice to have someone along in the evening," she says.

She advertises a double room with a television and internet access on a website that matches visitors to spare rooms. She charges £20 a night for the room - plus £5 for an evening meal.

"It is pleasant to have somebody there, and a few extra pounds always helps - but money is not the primary motivation," she says.

A sociable visitor with a story or two to tell and who leaves the room neat and tidy is the perfect fit, she says.

While good company - rather than cash - is the stimulus for Mrs Spencer, other homeowners have found that the financial crisis means they are looking for ways close to home to make money.

Some - especially younger homeowners - who bought when it was easy to borrow 100% mortgages and jobs were safer, are now aware that renting out a room can help pay the bills.

According to Mrs Spencer, the internet has proved to be a vital tool in bringing landlord and tenant together - even for just a few nights.

'Low-cost'

Stephen Rapop

Inspired by his experience in Sydney, when he could not find a hotel room during the Olympics and ended up paying to sleep in a friend's spare room, he set up Crashpadder.com.

The website matches guests to rooms offered by "hospitable locals". It now advertises rooms in 48 countries, including £15-a-night accommodation in London.

Guests search the site for suitable accommodation, the host checks the guest's profile on the website and decides whether to accept the booking - and the Crashpadder team take 10% of the fee for matching them up.

The business - run by a team of three all aged in their 20s - is yet to make a profit, but has won some venture capital backing and, according to Mr Rapoport, is growing by 100% a month.

Far from attracting backpackers and students looking for a cheap place to stay, he says that the average guest is aged 38 and 50% of them are travelling for business.

Most, he says, want to escape "sterile, overpriced and environmentally unsound" hotel rooms, and Mr Rapoport hopes the internet generation will come to the website which is similar in design to a social networking site.

"We have plans for forums and travel guides written by our members," he explains.

Miles Quest, spokesman for the British Hospitality Association, says homestay websites are still so niche that they do not offer a great threat to hotels or guesthouses.

He says the licensed hospitality industry offers more service and more extensive facilities, which make rooms more expensive.

Re-think

How many people really want strangers helping themselves from the fridge and blocking the bathroom in their own home?

Matt Hutchinson, of flatshare website spareroom.co.uk, said that the start of any year was a time when many people considered their domestic arrangements.

"Many will be thinking about getting a lodger or lodging, especially young professionals who find they have a job in one area and a property elsewhere," he says.

"Empty nesters tend to have bigger properties. Rather than downsize they want to use the space and tend to take on younger lodgers.

"They attract people who want to live a family-orientated life."

Handily for these hosts, the UK's tax rules can work in their favour.

People planning to rent out a furnished room in their main residence may be able to claim "rent-a-room" relief.

This means that no tax is payable if the gross rents for the tax year - before deducting expenses - do not exceed £4,250.

But the relief is not automatic and a declaration is still needed on a self-assessment tax return. More details are available in this guide .

There are issues to think about from the guest's point of view, in addition to the obvious consideration of personal safety.

Citizens Advice recently warned people to take greater care when searching for rooms or property online.

Some rogue landlords are requesting that tenants prove they have sufficient money for the rent or a deposit by sending a receipt from a money transfer transaction.

But this receipt would carry sufficient detail for the rogue landlord to withdraw these funds, before the prospective tenant realises that the room or property does not exist.

Finding that the bank account - as well as the nest - is empty could be a financial nightmare.

ort lost his City consultancy job, with a six-figure salary, during the recession and decided to turn his "bedroom hobby" into a business venture.

Inspired by his experience in Sydney, when he could not find a hotel room during the Olympics and ended up paying to sleep in a friend's spare room, he set up Crashpadder.com.

The website matches guests to rooms offered by "hospitable locals". It now advertises rooms in 48 countries, including £15-a-night accommodation in London.

Guests search the site for suitable accommodation, the host checks the guest's profile on the website and decides whether to accept the booking - and the Crashpadder team take 10% of the fee for matching them up.

The business - run by a team of three all aged in their 20s - is yet to make a profit, but has won some venture capital backing and, according to Mr Rapoport, is growing by 100% a month.

Far from attracting backpackers and students looking for a cheap place to stay, he says that the average guest is aged 38 and 50% of them are travelling for business.

Most, he says, want to escape "sterile, overpriced and environmentally unsound" hotel rooms, and Mr Rapoport hopes the internet generation will come to the website which is similar in design to a social networking site.

"We have plans for forums and travel guides written by our members," he explains.

Miles Quest, spokesman for the British Hospitality Association, says homestay websites are still so niche that they do not offer a great threat to hotels or guesthouses.

He says the licensed hospitality industry offers more service and more extensive facilities, which make rooms more expensive.

Re-think

How many people really want strangers helping themselves from the fridge and blocking the bathroom in their own home?

Matt Hutchinson, of flatshare website spareroom.co.uk, said that the start of any year was a time when many people considered their domestic arrangements.

"Many will be thinking about getting a lodger or lodging, especially young professionals who find they have a job in one area and a property elsewhere," he says.

"Empty nesters tend to have bigger properties. Rather than downsize they want to use the space and tend to take on younger lodgers.

"They attract people who want to live a family-orientated life."

Handily for these hosts, the UK's tax rules can work in their favour.

People planning to rent out a furnished room in their main residence may be able to claim "rent-a-room" relief.

This means that no tax is payable if the gross rents for the tax year - before deducting expenses - do not exceed £4,250.

But the relief is not automatic and a declaration is still needed on a self-assessment tax return. More details are available in this guide .

There are issues to think about from the guest's point of view, in addition to the obvious consideration of personal safety.

Citizens Advice recently warned people to take greater care when searching for rooms or property online.

Some rogue landlords are requesting that tenants prove they have sufficient money for the rent or a deposit by sending a receipt from a money transfer transaction.

But this receipt would carry sufficient detail for the rogue landlord to withdraw these funds, before the prospective tenant realises that the room or property does not exist.

Finding that the bank account - as well as the nest - is empty could be a financial nightmare.

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Iceland: Is the UK a bully?

REYKJAVIK: On Saturday Iceland is holding a referendum. Not that you would notice it. There are no posters on the walls of Reykjavik, there are no public meetings or protest marches. It is the silent referendum. And yet many say that the country's reputation hinges on the result. Icelanders must decide whether to support or reject a deal to repay Britain and the Netherlands outstanding debts from the failed Icelandic bank Icesave.

When the online bank Icesave failed the British government covered the deposits of those who had put money in the bank. Now it is seeking to get the money back from the Icelandic government. A mere £2.3bn.

London and Reykjavik - and the Dutch - have been haggling over the terms for months. A deal was on the table but then the Icelandic president stepped in. President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson blocked the agreement. He said it contained long-lasting consequences for the Icelandic people and there had to be a national consensus. A referendum was born.

This saga (and that is what it is) has continued until just a few days ago. Indeed the chairman of the Icelandic treasury committee said they had been discussing nothing else for weeks and months. It has been the longest debate ever held in parliament. The Icelandic government has agreed that money should be repaid - the question is at what interest rate. They have argued down to the wire. The British say their "best and final offer has been turned down".

Now, as the two sides negotiated in London, there were doubts that the referendum would go ahead. Nobody knew 24 hours ago whether it was on or off. But something curious has begun in the cold-grey light of late winter. Early voting. On Thursday on the outskirts of the capital I found long queues of voters. Some were taking advantage of early voting to prevent any last-minute cancellation of the poll. They wanted their voices to be heard and counted.

Every person in the line said they would vote "no". They would reject the British offer. One poll suggests 74% could vote "no". The result could even be higher.

In the voting lines there was anger and much of it was directed at Britain. "They're bullying us," was the common complaint. Some turned on Britain reluctantly but nonetheless many fingers were pointed at London. Even the Business Minister complained that London was trying to muscle them. Only recently the Icelandic foreign ministry described the British action as "disproportionate, aggressive and highly damaging".

What incenses the people is that London used anti-terrorism legislation to freeze the assets of Landsbanki, the bank that operated Icesave's internet accounts. They also object to the rate of interest that Britain is seeking on the debt. "It smacks of profiteering," one voter told me.

I sensed that a majority still supported repaying the UK, but only if the terms were fair. Some would like to see the whole issue taken to the European Court. But a significant number of people don't want any money repaid. A fork-lift driver at the port of Grindavik said Icesave had nothing to do with him. He did not see why they should have to pay for "reckless bankers". One man said the scale of repayment was equivalent to what Germany had to pay after the war and would impose years of misery on the Icelandic people.

The British view is simple. They're not bullying; they just want their money back under international agreements.

Now there are consequences for a "no" vote. The UK financial Services Secretary Lord Myners has said that in those circumstances Iceland would in effect be saying "it doesn't want to be part of the international financial system." An IMF loan that Iceland desperately needs is dependent on it settling up with the UK and the Netherlands.

For a moment here I closed my eyes and imagined I was back in Greece. The voices and arguments were similar. There was resistance to embracing austerity. Many believed the recession was caused by greedy bankers and that working people are paying the price. The flaws in Greek accounting and the irresponsibility of Icesave are conveniently set aside. In both countries there is resentment and hostility towards the EU. In Iceland the EU is blamed for poor regulation.

So a "no" vote here in Iceland is not just a rejection of a deal, it reflects, too, a growing anger with spending cuts, wage freezes, unemployment lines, the hallmarks of Europe's time of austerity.

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