We came across several patients from Turkmenistan who used the services of Hindi Lukman. We conducted an interview with Mr. Asim Afsar, Founder of Hindi Lukman, based in Delhi, India to find out about his work.

Saglyk: Can you tell us briefly about your work? When did Hindi Lukman start?

Hindi Lukman: We are a two and half year-old Health Care Facilitator Company. Our goal is to provide information, guidance, and full support to citizens of Turkmenistan looking for medical treatment in India. Till now, we have helped more than 100 Turkmen families to get good quality medical treatment including some major surgeries like, liver and kidney transplantation. Hindi Lukman serves as an educator, organizer, facilitator, and as an advocate on behalf of a patient. We provide a full logistical support including language services and translation from the Turkmen and Russian languages into English. Detailed information about our services can be found at our website.

Saglyk: Why do Turkmen patients choose India? What are the specific factors that influence their decision to come to India for medical treatment?

Perhaps when you go for a walk you might have witnessed how guys would call out at girls with vile words, how they persistently ask for their cell phone numbers, how they whistle when they pass by, or gaze at girls’ body like "hungry" wolves, they stop their cars and invite girls to take a ride with them, or grab girls’ private parts.  I witness disturbing incidents on the streets that assault Turkmen women’s and girls’ dignity, and I am frustrated by the fact that I cannot do anything about it.  The last event that I experienced resulted in ending my inaction and silence on this issue.

Last summer my aunt and her grandson Bayram came to visit my family. As a typical child, Bayram was super active and to keep him busy I played with him. At some point, Bayram got distracted by my books on the book shelf. He picked up one of the books and asked me to read it to him. The book was about the Nobel Prize winners and their biographies. After sometime Bayram asked me a very interesting question: "Why are all of those names either Charles, John or Alexander? Why don’t they have names like ours, like Bayram or Chary?" I could not find the answer to his question, but I asked myself, why, indeed, among these famous people are there no Turkmen names?