The Foreign Service Journal, December 2011

52 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1 across an article about the opening of U.S. Embassy Bishkek. “Looks like a job opportunity to me,” I thought to myself (at the time I was contemplat- ing a career change). But because I’d worked at the same place for 12 years, I had no clue how to apply for a job, much less how to apply for one at a brand-new foreign embassy. A couple of days later, I went to the embassy, and just walked in off the street. Inside, I saw a group of Americans. One of them invited me to her of- fice to talk. Then I spoke with another officer about my skills, and he asked when I could start. (Can you be- lieve that there was once a time when you could land a job without going through an online application pro- cess or even sending a hard- copy application?) A week later, I started my job at the embassy. After living behind “the Iron Curtain,” it seem- ed surreal that I was spend- ing eight hours a day on what was formally U.S. territory. The first months were like a kaleidoscope: temporary staffers coming and going every other month or so; two chargé d’affaires before the first U.S. ambassador to Kyr- gyzstan, Edward Hurwitz, arrived. There were just a few other Foreign Service Nationals, none with any experi- ence working for a diplomatic mission or an international organization. A group of us called “interpreters” were really assis- tants-at-large, doing whatever needed to be done. Later, our roles were defined, and I became the personnel/ad- ministrative assistant. Seven temporary admin officers re- placed one another before the first permanent one arrived at the end of the year. We were a small post, which meant that both FSOs and FSNs had to multitask. For example, the areas covered by the admin officer (and, hence, by the admin assistant) included, but were not limited to, personnel, payroll, se- curity, facilities and medical care. The embassy was temporarily housed in a building pro- vided by the government, which was located on Erkindik (“Freedom” in Kyrgyz) Boulevard, just one building away from KGB headquarters. It was an old, one-story building, sitting right at the sidewalk. But as the saying goes, there is nothing more permanent than temporary: the embassy stayed in this building for six years. We were all on a steep learning curve: FSNs were learning how to work for the embassy; FSOs were learning how to build relations with a post-Soviet country; and host-country officials were learn- ing how to act as the government of an independent na- tion. Lacking experience, the Kyrgyz officials tried to replicate Soviet-era policies and practices, including the UPDK — the Main Administration for Service to the Diplomatic Corps — a Ministry of Foreign Affairs office and a set of rules designed to control diplomatic mission operations. I participated in numerous meetings between embassy officers and Washington visitors and host-government of- ficials, including the Kyrgyz president and foreign minis- ter, aiming to lay the foundation for bilateral relations that would be free from the Soviet legacy. Signing a memo- randum allowed, among other things, unrestricted travel by the U.S. diplomatic staff in Kyrgyzstan was one of the victories over this “legacy.” Until the embassy opened a bank account in a local bank, which happened several months down the road, the cash to pay embassy expenses and FSN salaries was car- ried over from Moscow. There were no international flights to Bishkek at the time, and most visitors came through Moscow— some with a briefcase of rubles (Kyr- gyzstan was still using the old Soviet currency) for the em- bassy payroll. I remember the very first party that we had for the em- bassy staff. The FSOs wanted to treat us to something very special from American cuisine. At that time, many staple goods and food products were not available in Kyr- gyzstan, so the admin officer arranged for a Butterball turkey to be brought in on a support flight. Since FSOs lived at a hotel and there was no oven at the embassy, we cooked the bird in my little kitchen and brought it over to the embassy. We had a real feast! If in the early 1990s someone had told me that Kyr- gyzstan would become an independent country and I would work for the U.S. embassy there, I would have laughed. Now, 20 years later, I can only thank the turn of F OCUS There were no international flights to Bishkek at the time, and most visitors came through Moscow. Tamara Burkovskaia translates during meeting between then-Rep. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev.