Pamirirs
Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2012 4:28 pmI just thought I'd post on the Pamiri people who numer around 100,000, they don't have a country and are all discriminated and oppressed like Kurds. The are an eastern Iranic people and descendned from the ancient Sogdians. I just thought it would be interesting to post about them.
The Pamiris are composed of people who speak the Pamiri languages, the indigenous language in the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous province, and adhere to the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam. The Pamiris share close linguistic, cultural and religious ties with the people in Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan, the Sarikoli speakers in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang Province in China, the Wakhi speakers in Afghanistan and the Wakhi speakers in Upper Hunza Gojal region of Northern mountainous areas of Pakistan. In the Pamiri languages the Pamiris refer to themselves as Pamiri or Badakhshani, a reference to the historic Badakhshan region where they live.
In China, Pamiris are referred to as ethnic Tajiks. In Afghanistan, they are recognized as ethnic Pamiris, and the Afghan National Anthem mention Pamiris (پاميريان Pāmiryān) in the list of ethnic groups of Afghanistan.[2]
The Pamir languages are a group of the Eastern Iranian languages, spoken by numerous people in the Pamir Mountains, primarily along the Panj River and its tributaries. This includes the Badakhshan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province of eastern Tajikistan. Smaller communities can be found in the adjacent areas of Pakistan where many have settled in recent decades. Sarikoli, one of the languages of the Pamir group, is spoken beyond the Sarikol Range on the Afghanistan-China border, and thus qualifies as the eastern-most of the extant Iranian languages. The only other living member of the Southeastern Iranian languages is Pashto.
An ambitious project is underway in the remote region of the Pamir mountains to help the mountain people fend for themselves.
For decades the mountain range, which is described by the Tajiks as "the roof of the world", was dependent on Moscow for survival.
But when the Soviet Union collapsed, the Aga Khan foundation stepped in to fill the gap. It is now trying to teach the people self-sufficiency.
In one of the most ambitious land reforms in Central Asia, the local authorities have agreed to break up the collective farms and train everyone in basic farming techniques.
Staving off starvation
The Aga Khan, who visited the region this week, is the leader of the world's Shia Ismaili community, and the spiritual leader of the Pamiris.
