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The Minutiae
It is in the minutiae that we find the flow of history.
It is in the minutiae that we find the flow of history.
August 2024, Volume 2: Truth Kyrgyzstan
Sally is a young woman living with her brothers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She has a degree and experience working as a hostess in Dubai. Currently, she works in an office in Bishkek, however she would prefer to work abroad again.
I met Sally at a hostel in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She was there to take pictures and improve the hostel’s social media. We had a nice conversation about her job, my plans, and the hostel cat. After that, we met a few more times around the city. Sally introduced me to ashlan-fu, a local cold noodle soup, and the beautiful gardens throughout the city. We talked about the pressure to get married and have kids, Sally described struggling with anxiety and depression due to the conflict between her desires and her family’s expectations. She told me about her impressions of Kyrgyzstan’s politics, expressing pride that Kyrgyz people do not tolerate presidents who do not have the people’s interests at heart. Recalling how the last two presidents were run out of office and had to flee to Russia.
I interviewed Sally in one of the many parks surrounding the center of Bishkek. Being early spring, tulips were in full bloom and everyone was outside enjoying the long evening. Sitting on a bench, with my recorder between us, we discussed the concept of truth.
For Sally truth is in the eye of the beholder. She described truth as, “being genuine,” but acknowledged that everyone has their own preferences. “What is okay for me, maybe some people don’t like it.” She rejected the idea of universal or objective truth.
I asked her how she could tell when someone was being ‘genuine’ or not. She said she “recognizes it by their words”.
When I asked her to give me an example of something she knows to be true, she struggled with the question. Eventually, we turned the recorder off and carried on a more relaxed conversation. A few minutes into talking without the recorder, Sally started expanding on the question and describing what is true in her life. I turned the recorder on and got the last bits of her answer.
“Yes, I know myself. I know my past.
I’m thinking about my future, but I don’t know what the future is.
I think it’s true.”
“I’m living in this world. I live here with my brothers.
I think it’s true.
Yes, sometimes I dream about living in another countries, but it’s just a dream. I think I believe that now, now it’s true.”
Interviewer: 0:09
What is truth? Or your definition of truth?
Sally: 0:20
So for me, truth is about being genuine. Yeah, being genuine.
Interview: 0:29
Okay, so is that specific for yourself, or do you think that that is real for other people?
Sally: 0:50
Just for me, I don’t know how other people think.
Interviewer: 1:01
Okay, so actually that makes sense with the next question. Do you think there is objective truth, like something that is real for or true for everyone?
Sally: 1:20
Can you repeat?
Interviewer: Do you think there’s objective truth or universal truth?
Sally: 1:29
Universal truth?
Interviewer: 1:44
Do you think that there are some truths that are true for every person?
Sally: 2:04
People are different.
If something is okay with me, maybe some people don’t like it.
That’s why I don’t think so.
Interviewer: 2:24
Okay, cool.
You said truth for you is being genuine. How do you tell when other people are being genuine, or even when you’re being genuine, how do you recognize truth?
Sally 2:59
I recognize…, it’s a really difficult question.
Interviewer:
Yeah, it is. You don’t have to have the answer either.
Sally: I recognize by their words.
Interviewer: 3:39
yeah, all right, cool. And then, can you think of something that you know to be true, like an example of something that you believe is true?
Sally: 3:55
Can you repeat?
Interviewer: 3:59
Yeah, it could be an idea or a fact or a thing, but something that you believe is true, or a behavior like anything but an example. Maybe you don’t have one, It’s also okay.
Sally: 4:31
It’s a really difficult question.
I don’t know, yeah.
Interviewer: Yeah, fair enough, you don’t have to have one. That was also kind of the point. Okay, one last question, how does your understanding of truth affect your interactions with like your community or your country?
Sally: Like the world in general, truth.
Interviewer: Yeah, your understanding of truth, or how you…
Sally: 5:40
It’s really hard to explain.
Interviewer: 5:44
Yeah, if you, if you want to say it in Russian, and then we can translate later, maybe also…
Sally: 6:25
Can I skip this question?
Interviewer: 6:31
Yeah, of course. Yeah. Then, that was, it is easy.
We stopped recording here and carried on with a general conversation. After talking for a few moments we got back to the question: what is something you know to be true? I started recording several minutes into the conversation.
Sally: 5 6:40
what was in the past and what will be in the future, it will be okay.
Interviewer: 6:52
So what you said at the beginning is that you, when you’re sitting here you know yourself to be true.
Sally: 7:03
Yes, I know myself. I know my past.
I’m thinking about my future, but I don’t know what
the future is called on. I think it’s true.
Interviewer: 7:24
I see.
Sally: 7:30
I’m living in this world. I live here with my brothers.
I think it’s true.
Yes, sometimes I’m dreaming about living in another countries, but it’s just a dream. I think I believe that now, now it’s true.