On the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, where she was undergoing treatment, Rakhiza met her future husband. She currently lives with her family in the Talas region.
In a conversation with a Turmush correspondent, Moldokulova shared that she was born on March 11, 1950, in Shaueshek (also known as Chuguchak, located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China). She began her education in the 1st grade and, at the age of 12, returned to her homeland with those who fled due to the tragic events of 1916, known as the "Urkun." "I remember how a young man on a horse asked who wanted to receive a 'Red Book' to cross into the territory of the USSR. At that time, there was famine in China, and many wanted to leave. We started gathering our things and signing up. On April 12, 1962, the border opened for just one day. My older brother, a military man in China, arrived at the border in a military vehicle to help us cross. My mother died during childbirth, and my father passed away in 1959. My brothers and I were raised by relatives. I was left with my sister in China, but she insisted that I be brought along, otherwise, she refused to cross. At night, we set out on horseback, and suddenly a friend of my brother approached us, which helped avoid delays. That's how we crossed the border," she recounts.
After crossing the border, Moldokulova lost contact with her brother and sister, who remained in China. "We ended up in the Almaty region of the Kazakh SSR. After two years, we found relatives who took us to Semey. My family now lives in the Ayagoz district of East Kazakhstan. When we fled, I was in the 5th grade, and my brothers were in the 8th and 9th grades. In Kazakhstan, we were placed in the 4th grade since we did not know the alphabet. I studied from 4th to 10th grade and enrolled in a pedagogical college to become an 'elementary school teacher.' After college, I continued my studies part-time at the history faculty. In Ayagoz, I became one of the first elementary school teachers and worked at the school for 4 years. After an illness, I was given a voucher for a vacation at Issyk-Kul, where I met my future husband, Birimkul Moldokulov. I never thought I would marry a Kyrgyz man. A month after our meeting, I left, but he found me and came to visit. Despite his illness, I may have fallen in love with him. Without telling my relatives, I left with him by train. My older brother found out about this but couldn't stop me in time. My husband is from Talas, and his father did not return from the front. He was raised in an orphanage because his mother remarried when his father went missing," Rakhiza shares.
In 1974, the couple formalized their relationship and moved to Osh, where they lived in a small room at the foot of Sulaiman-Too. Moldokulova recalls that the conditions were tough: "We had no pillows, no blankets, no dishes, but we did not despair and decided to build everything together." Her husband often went on business trips, and she stayed alone but always looked forward to his return. On May 2, 1975, their first daughter, Botoköz, was born. Soon, they were allocated housing in a barrack, and they were very happy. When her husband fell ill, a doctor named Kambarov helped her find work as an accountant. Later, she went on maternity leave and began working as an educator in a kindergarten, where she worked for 10 years. In 1983, the family moved to Talas, where Rakhiza met her husband's relatives and received their blessing. Her husband insisted on returning to his small homeland, and in 1983 they moved again. Over time, she began working as an educator in a kindergarten and then, starting in 1992, as an elementary school teacher, gradually learning the Kyrgyz language. Eventually, she became the school principal and implemented many of her ideas. Now, according to her, everything is fine, and they are raising their grandchildren. "We worked hard in our youth, and now we are reaping the fruits of our labor," she says.
Rakhiza also shared memories of her parents and relatives who remained in China and her reunion with them after almost 30 years.
"In 1916, my parents fled to China, and my father was Kazakh. He was a well-off man, but soon he was dispossessed, and everything was taken away. After that, he suffered greatly and passed away in 1959. My mother, as I mentioned, died during childbirth. My father did not remarry and left five children in the care of his 'wives' (the wives of his older brothers). We were raised by grandmothers and did not know that the woman who took care of us was not our real mother. We left China in 1962, and contact with our remaining relatives was cut off. In the end, I became part of a Kyrgyz family," she recounted.
Once, while visiting with her daughter, Rakhiza passed a gift from her sister in China. A month after her arrival in Talas, she received a letter from her sister, written in Arabic, which was passed hand to hand. This was the first letter from her sister in 29 years.
On October 19, 1991, along with her husband and children, she went to China with gifts. "When we arrived in the city where my sister lived, I asked everyone not to tell anyone about our arrival. It was an exciting event. The neighbors immediately recognized us and escorted us to her house, but my sister was not there. She was at a wedding, and her son was harvesting. When my sister returned, we hugged and cried. My brother was herding cattle at that time and felt that something was happening. We were given a visa for 2 months, but out of 60 days, we only spent 5 with our relatives. We visited Urumqi, where we met Jusup Mamaev, and this became one of the most pleasant moments of my life. We keep in touch with my brother and sister by phone and dream of meeting again," Rakhiza Moldokulova concluded her story.
