Essay #10 (Milk and Yogurt Satire)

There’s been a topic bothering me here day to day. I need to dedicate some space to a discussion of milk and yogurt trafficking.

Now it may seem to the untrained eye that this kind of thing never happens in Turkmenistan, but I have seen with my very eyes trucks parked on the street with the back hatch open. Old women--old, seemingly distinguished women--crouch in the back of these trucks dispensing their products. Apparently in order to disguise themselves, they’ve donned large scarves over their heads making them look like the average law-abiding Turkmen. The milk is poured from buckets into large glass jars while money is subtly exchanged. These jars are unmarked and carried by hand with no lids on, perhaps to lessen the fingerprint evidence. The yogurt is more solid, spooned into a jar and then mixed with water.

As soon as the truck appears, the area crowds with buyers--right there on the street! I often wonder how the 17 year-old cop can stand idly a mere block away from a scene like this and not alert someone to these underhanded dealings. This back-of-a-truck milk and yogurt selling has gone too far, and I’m prepared, as a Peace Corps volunteer, to do whatever I can to put a stop to it. Just think--young children at home are getting this fresh milk daily! That’s every morning! And I assume the money is going straight to the old woman who goes right home to milk her cow.

Again! This country needs milk and yogurt reform! Who’s with me?!