It was a surreal moment that makes living in Uzbekistan such a stimulating experience for the foreigners living there. In Mustaqalik (Independence) Square, the "public square" of Tashkent, towering lighting galleries and impressive seating stands were being erected for the nation’s most important nationalistic celebration. The stage was being set for the 1st September Independence Day celebrations in which Uzbekistan would once again indulge in a huge nationalistic revelry. Technicians were making a sound check and booming out of the speakers was the Pink Floyd classic, "The Wall." The children chorus, "We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control" in defiance of the prospect of being "just another brick in the wall."

There are those who are understandably nervous about some aspects of the emerging Uzbek nationalism. Not the least are those from ethnic minorities and Uzbekistan's smaller neighboring countries. Others note that it seems too harsh and hypocritical for western critics to deny the Uzbeks an opportunity to celebrate their long sidelined ethnic traditions and still novel experience of statehood. What all can agree on is the need for a national identity to develop that is both confident and also understanding and appreciative of other national identities. Easier said than done, but C.A.F.E., an NGO that accepts foreigner volunteers, plays a strategic role in encouraging that process.

Central Asian Free Exchange (CAFE) is, along with Peace Corps, one of the two highly human capital intensive NGOs operating in Uzbekistan. This means that it offers people rather than dollars. CAFE's foreign volunteers and local staff are involved in a wide variety of projects, and yet in one sense it is not so much the doing as the being that makes CAFE's role so distinctive. CAFE, which only operates in Uzbekistan, attracts volunteers who, for the most part, have a highly developed interest in Uzbek culture. Many work outside of the Tashkent area, serve for long periods of time, and, in many cases, become not only highly proficient in the language, but also in the culture. When an American leaves paradise to learn, live (and like!) Uzbek culture, what does that communicate to an Uzbek? Such an affirmation encourages the development of confident national identity.

The foreign volunteer living and working "shoulder to shoulder" with Uzbeks also contributes to the vitally important counterweight, an understanding and respect for other cultures. Other cultures does not just mean American, as there are approximately twenty-three nationalities represented within CAFÉ that in itself is a potentially instructive model of how different nationalities can work together. As Independence Day was recently celebrated in Uzbekistan, it is worth remembering that the youth of Uzbekistan, while they can happily do without thought control, they do need education and a modelling of respect for other cultures so that a healthy national identity is built. The alternative, mutually suspicious and defensive "walls" of nationalism, would obstruct the development of the Central Asian region and its integration into the world community.

Daniel Stevens, doctoral candidate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, served two years with CAFE in Uzbekistan.