Wanderlustress: We're all fine...

Some parts of this post have been deleted from the earlier version.

This was written on 13th May at 11pm with some edits/updates this morning...(Thanks to Nathan who posted on my safety.)

Peace Corps has accounted for all Andijon volunteers, everyone is safe, and we are no longer in the city.

I do not have any confirmed reports, nor have I witnessed any events related to the reports.

After arriving in Andijon last night (12th May) around 9pm (returning from a brief vacation in Singapore), I received a call from my Program Manager the next morning asking me to stay at home. He briefed me on the forced release of up to 2,000 prisoners from the Andijon prison. Later, my NGO director informed me that there had been demonstrations the night before with some shots fired. From my apartment, I couldn't see nor hear anything. All was unusually quiet - few kids playing in the lots, no cars, few people out and about - everyone hanging out their windows like I was. Both my LAN line and my cell phone could not call out to any number, but I was able to receive calls. A helicopter hovered overhead around 3pm.

Peace Corps called earlier in the day to tell me that two Peace Corps staff were on their way to "check up on us." So I waited, read, napped, tried the phones, SMS's those I could, and waited. Finally, a call came through saying that despite the diplomatic plates on the vehicles and diplomatic passports, that they were not allowed to enter the city. Apparently, events had escalated while they were enroute and it was decided that we would be removed from the city as a precaution. Since two Andijon volunteers were already in Tashkent, and the other two lived outside the city limits, I was the only one to be removed from within the city. After getting through three city limits check-points, they could not get passed the last blockade to reach me. They tried other check-points without luck so I suggested that I walk out to the first check-point since it was only about 100 metres from my apartment building. I could sense that something was seriously wrong when we were walking towards each other only 50 meters apart and they still called me on the cell phone asking if I could see them walking towards me. As soon as the Peace Corps staff reached me, they flanked me on both sides until we got near the vehicles. Only then did I become aware that there had been shootings there just 30 minutes before. We then drove to pick up the two other volunteers who were outside of the city limits and drove to Ferghana City where we spent the night.