Paintings auction and fluffy tails: how the SOKO-fest in support of homeless animals was held in Tashkent
Tashkent's indifferent youth decided to organize a festival in support of temporarily homeless animals.
Remember how many years ago there were always lots of dogs and cats in almost every yard? We fed them with all neighours, built kennels, and left the door of the entrance and basement open during the cold season so that the animals could get warm. In fact, there were so many of them that each entryway had "its own" cats.
But after a while the yards became empty. Now it is very difficult to find stray dogs and only rarely do we see cats. There are several reasons for this, of which only one is positive: the number of shelters and rehomes has increased. The negative reasons are the following: residents poison animals, the number of dog hunters and unscrupulous catching services, who sell animals for meat and slaughterhouses increase, and simply cruel people who take pleasure in torturing a defenseless creature.
Not so long ago, our editorial staff, together with the founders of the "Hayot" and "Gavcheg" shelters, prepared a guide on how to protect your pet from dog hunters, who have recently managed to poison and kill not only stray animals but also domestic pets, by throwing poison over the fence into the yard. It is not clear what drives these people: childhood fears, a sick desire to hurt, and an unhealthy idea to keep the streets safe. However, it is not the animals we should fear at all, but such types of people, because if they harm animals, they can harm people as well.
The media is increasingly full of headlines about the cruel treatment of animals. People poured boiling water on them, hung them and beat them with sticks, skinned them alive. There are many reasons for this behavior, but one of the most common is the lack of a proper behavioral culture with animals from childhood. One small action on the part of parents in the presence of the child can be stored in his unconscious for life, for example, lightly kicking a cat as an inanimate object. That is all, the child no longer perceives the animal as a creature with feelings. A vivid example of this is the case of my friend Aziza Aliyeva, when guys on bicycles ran over her dog.
Tashkent's indifferent youth decided to organize a festival in support of temporarily homeless animals, SOKO-fest. At the end of January 2021, a page of the festival appeared on social networks, with recommendations on animal care, what to do if you want to adopt an animal, instructions on visiting shelters, myths and facts about neutering and spaying, and much more on this topic. On May 29-30, the festival itself was held at 139 Documentary Center Gallery.
"SOKO" is the first charity project aimed at developing charitable activities and drawing citizens' attention to the problem of homeless animals in Uzbekistan. The festival is supported by AKFA Group, which is currently building a shelter for dogs in Pskent district of the Tashkent region.
According to the plan of the organizers, "SOKO-fest" will allow telling the greatest number of citizens of our country about all the problems which shelters for animals face every day. And the lack of money is only a small part of the difficulties. Human rights activists, volunteers and all citizens not indifferent to animals are fighting with their own forces not only for the life of animals but also for the humanity towards them.
The festival as a whole is intended to comprehensively highlight the problems of Tashkent's animal shelters and attract interested people to volunteer and financially support them. The idea is also to make "SOKO-fest" a place where people can not only help shelters but also have an interesting time. Therefore, the extensive program of the festival includes lectures from veterinarians and animal advocates, an exhibition of works by photographers and illustrators, a contest from a pet store, a charity auction, a live exhibition of dogs and cats.
During the two days, lectures were given by Iroda Matkarimova, founder of the Hayot Shelter, TashAnimalCare on "How to Help Homeless Animals" and Kamila Dalabaeva on "Prevention of Cruelty towards Animals".
One of the most interesting parts of the festival was the direct contact with the animals. On the first day, we were introduced to the dogs from the Four Paws shelter, whom we could walk on the gallery grounds. On the second day, there were aviaries with cats. Of course, walking with cats is an unusual thing, and most of the time there were kittens, but they could be petted and held in hands. Also, those who wished could help the shelters, both financially and in terms of food. At the end of the second day, there was an auction of paintings by local artists and designers, the proceeds from which will also go to supporting the animals.
I talked to one of the festival's organizers, Angelina Sharipova, about the ideas behind "Soko" and the difficulties of organizing it.
On the Internet, I learned about the existence of the Yuna Center, Russia's first multifunctional animal rehabilitation center. The center provides a full range of services to prepare temporarily homeless cats and dogs for living at home: from treatment and spaying to canine adaptation to new living conditions. I thought it would be cool if we had something like this. At first, I just thought "that would be cool", but then I decided that we had to try and organize it ourselves. It was difficult to organize because our city is not ready for this kind of event. However, we are glad that the festival was held without incident. We were worried and terrified that something would go wrong: a dog would get annoyed and bite someone, or a kitten would be tortured. The dogs behaved well, people walked and played with them properly. On the second day, it was a little tense that there were a lot of people around the enclosures with the cats, and it was stressful for the animals. I had to ask people to move away from the enclosures for a while so the animals would rest.
For the situation with animals to shift from the dead point, it is necessary not only to publish posts on social networks about how bad it is and how much help is needed but also to show it through such festivals and to cooperate with brands. Because people will read the post on the Internet and forget, but the impressions of the event and contact with the animal will remain. In this way, a desire to help will appear.
From an early age I dreamed of having a pet, but my parents did not allow me to have a cat or a dog. At most, there were turtles, parrots, and fish. It was heartbreakingly unfair: someone dreams of a pet their whole life, and someone abuses their own and doesn't appreciate a wholesome family member. I believe that a child needs at least some kind of pet - it will teach them responsibility for someone else's life and prepare them for death because an animal's life is much shorter than a human's.
I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the good news that our PEOPLE newspaper now has a cat. We got him from the street, but he lives with us like a king. Now my day at the office begins not only with a mug of tea but also with cleaning the litter box, washing the bowl, and a big walk around the house with the cat.
Coming back and summarizing the theme of "SOKO," I want to say that it warms not the heart but the soul that our progressive youth are concerned about the problem with animals because it is an indicator of the presence of great mercy and love for our lesser brethren. It is these young people who are our hope. Speaking of hope. I like the positioning of the festival - "in support of TEMPORARY homeless animals. This very "temporarily" is like a ray of hope in the darkness of the sad animal situation.
Source: https://peoplenews.uz/aukczion-kartin-i-pushistye-hvostiki-kak-proshel-festival-soko-fest-v-podderzhku-bezdomnyh-zhivotnyh-v-tashkente