Introduction

A proper greeting won’t hurt anyone. I officially welcome you to the next thought of my life.

To be Tajik is not easy, but being Tajik is a blessing. That’s something you must learn from today’s post. We are a mixture of immigrant and migrant activity abroad, and we can’t help ourselves with that. Every nation, whether you like it or not, goes through that at a certain period in its history. And Tajikistan is not an exception to this pattern. A 2024 analysis says that about 800,000 to 1,200,000 Tajik citizens each year seek seasonal work abroad, and around 80% of them go to Russia. Well, Russians are our brothers — whether you like it or not — we are bound by the shared history of our nations. The only Persian country (which is now Tajikistan) that was part of the USSR — that fact alone explains a lot.

But why do Persian Tajiks choose the lands of the Slavs? Well, the first and foremost reason is that the language is already known; you don’t have to force yourself to learn something new, as Russian was forged into our souls over the years. It’s not something foreign — it’s something native and familiar to us. That’s why we, the Tajiks, choose the road that was already paved for us by our ancestors.

But has anyone ever thought about the roads that lead to the unknown? The roads that no Tajik has ever explored? Who will be that patriot who says, “Hey, guys, I found something new, and it’s apparently better, I think!” Do we have Tajiks who go beyond their personal goals to share knowledge about places that might give us a new reality and a new outlook on the things that were previously shaped by our old worldview? Do we have that Tajik who goes somewhere no other Tajik has ever been — to learn, to bring back knowledge, and to inspire others?

We’re going to explore that right now. Make some tea and read carefully — you might need my experience when the right time comes. You never know where life will take you, so be prepared for everything. Literally everything.

Backstory

The guy who is talking to you right now — me — has worked in many international organizations. Let’s start with Central Asia itself and my homeland, Tajikistan. A really good starting point. And here we go: China (Hong Kong), British Virgin Islands (the Caribbean), the United States of America, Dubai, UAE, and Africa (Mauritius Island). Pretty good experience, but always not enough. I could do better and learn much more.

We are now about to focus only on Africa, since that’s the main title of our next post — particularly Mauritius Island, a truly beautiful paradise where work feels like a vacation. How did I get there? A long story, but to put it shortly, it’s past experience that brought me here; I won’t go deep into the details.

When I got to the airport, the immigration officer saw my Tajik passport and said, “I am seeing this for the first time; I’ve never seen a Tajik visit these lands.” Who knows if he’s right or not — maybe he’s just never seen a Tajik passport in his entire career as an immigration officer. Anyway, that was the first thing he said about me.

I am here because I have an occupational permit issued by the Economic Development Board of Mauritius (EDB). The EDB is the main catalyst for economic growth in Mauritius, bridging government policies and private sector development. Sounds pretty cool, right? It is. If you didn’t understand what I just said, let me make it simpler for you: I have a talent, Mauritius has companies. The companies need talents. They hire me and finance the occupational permit that I get through the EDB. Pretty simple.

What does that give me in return? Authority as an international and experienced professional. And money. Plus, we’ve got many beautiful African women here (joking, don’t take it seriously). The occupational permit in Mauritius, financed by the company-employer, makes it easier for you to go on business trips worldwide since you have solid ground for this. Many business trips will include the South Asian part of the world, the West, and Africa.

What do I think about Mauritius? I think the people here couldn’t be bothered much by what’s happening around the world. They’ve got the beach, their women, children, sunset, and a good drink. I think if the Lord grants them Paradise after their death, they would just see it as a Windows 11 upgrade — not something mystical or really special. Why? They are in their own mini-paradise, whether you like it or not.

In Mauritius, the majority of the population are Indo-Mauritians, making up approximately 67%, followed by Creoles at around 27%, Sino-Mauritians at about 3%, and Franco-Mauritians at roughly 2%.

The Revelation

A question to all the Tajiks: did you know about that place and these opportunities? No, you didn’t. But now you know there is something better out there than choosing the traditional route forged by generations. My company here told me that I am the first ever Tajik to be employed here and to be given the occupational permit. Many don’t even get it that easily. They might be right about this.

The problem we have with our Tajiks back in our homeland is that they are used to the old sayings and ways that guarantee them a loaf of bread. The old saying approximately goes like this: “Dirty hands are a sign of the decent glory of a hardworking man.” But do you really need to get your hands dirty just to bring food to the table? Another way of thinking is that they believe they bring value through physical hustle. Stop, Tajik. You are not Superman. Stop it. Get some help. Your health is not always there for you; it has its limits.

“I swear to God, bakhudo, not a single good place to work in Tajikistan,” said a man around 40–45 years old when I was in Dushanbe City. “You know that better than me, just look around yourself, abacha!” he added. “Where should I go, brat?” asked his friend on the phone.

I went straight to somon.tj to test whether his opinion was correct. 8,000 to 10,000 announcements. Okay, went further — hh.ru: 70,000 announcements for work from home. I said, no, let me go further. LinkedIn: 2 million paid remote job postings. Still not enough? Went to Indeed. Approximately 157,488 remote jobs listed on Indeed as of October 2025.

“What the hell is he talking about?” I wondered. I later found out that he meant the type of job that involves high physical activity with a high salary. My bad, I said to myself, and went for my own business. That’s what they still seek.

Believe me, the things that happened from 2021 to 2025 have already shattered the entire world, and human civilization now moves with incredible speed that you cannot even imagine. Things that were normal yesterday are now subjects of jokes and even mockery, which is disappointing. You either adapt or opt out.

The Year 2025

What does it take for a real man to change his entire life? A book. If I ask you when was the last time you ever took a pen and a notebook to write something down, you won’t be able to answer that question. And that’s the problem. We bring Chinese people who know how to deal with their own machines instead of learning their language and becoming the experts ourselves.

“Yak guli sunjit ba bari ruyi tu,” my brother. It’s time to wake up and choose a different path — a path that grants advantage, profit, and benefits. Don’t take the road everybody else thinks about by default. Change your brain settings and make them personalized to your own preferences. You are not Nokia, by the way. You can change, adapt, and upgrade your life to completely different realities. Why are you running? Where are you running? I mean, speed is good, but the ultimate direction decides your future. Just because you need quick money doesn’t mean you need the fastest road.

Africa is one of the options. The goal of a Tajik patriot is pretty simple: to devote your life to learning about the world outside your country and coming back. Some people choose to live anywhere else but not in their own country. That’s a mistake you can fall into. Remember one simple thing in your life: you were born Tajik, and you will be buried among other Tajiks in the same soil and ground that raised you. No matter how rich you are, how many houses you have in fancy cities around the world — when you die, your relatives will come to bring your body back. The graveyard for you is the graveyard of your country, my Tajik compatriot. Instead of nourishing the soil of another country, focus on the soil of your own, since your body will decay exactly in that ground. You can’t help it or escape it.

My goal in life is pretty simple: to learn real-world experience, to become an international Tajik. To learn how different cultures live, to compare them, to come back to Dangara City, Tajikistan, and say to all other odamo (“people” — Dangarian-Kulobi jargon): “Ebacha, I’ve got something. We can do this, and we can do that — let’s make it happen. Bza bra, do this and that, bring me this thing, that thing, and another one. We are going to build something entirely different and better for ourselves.”