Born in 1976 in the village of Japalak, Damira is a married woman and a mother of two children — a son and a daughter. According to her, she initially planned to move to Russia, but when her children started school, the need to care for them made her stay.
Starting her career in the morgue, Damira worked as a cleaner, but soon began to actively participate in the main processes. "When I was cleaning the offices, I always asked, 'Is it free?' — and, observing the work, I gradually started to help. For me, this became an ordinary job, like any other. Some are curious if I'm scared, and I reply, 'Are you afraid of the dead? You should be more afraid of the living,'" she says.
Memories of her first day at the new job remain vivid. "That day, we received a boy who died in a car accident. We conducted an examination, did everything necessary, and handed the body over to the relatives," Damira recounts.
She emphasizes that many mistakenly believe that expertise is equivalent to working in a morgue. "When they hear 'expertise,' people immediately think of the morgue, but we have many different departments: biology, chemistry, histology, and so on," she notes.
After the body arrives, as Damira explains, the responsibility shifts to the experts and nurses. "The police deliver the bodies, and then we start our work. The investigator records information about the delivered body," she clarifies.
Sometimes, newborns who died in the first hours of life are brought to the morgue. "There are cases when parents blame doctors for negligence," she adds. In recent years, there has been an increase in suicide cases among teenagers: "In September, we received the bodies of children born between 2000 and 2012 who committed suicide. This is particularly alarming," Damira says.
In cases of mass arrivals, such as in traffic accidents, bodies arrive simultaneously. "If 5-6 people die, all undergo autopsy. There are cases with severe injuries, and we try to restore their appearance as much as possible," she explains.
Damira also admits that sometimes it is hard for her to hold back her emotions, especially when she sees the grief of relatives. "There are days when I cry too. It touches the heart because everyone has their own children," she shares.
Working in the morgue requires special attention to detail, and Damira explains how the time of death is determined by post-mortem lividity. "There have been cases when a body was brought in after lying for a month, reduced to just bones," she says.
Relatives are shown the body only after receiving permission from the investigator. Damira claims that there are hardly any people willing to work in this field. "We searched for employees but found none. I work alone throughout the region," she says.
Despite the difficult working conditions, the salary remains low: "I earn about 16-17 thousand soms. To make ends meet, I have to work part-time in cafes and restaurants," Damira shares.
The job requires a lot of time and effort, and in special cases, such as during the coronavirus pandemic, the working conditions were extremely challenging. "We worked in protective suits while examining bodies, and it was frightening," she recalls.
Damira also participated in the tragedy in Oң-Adyr, where a mother and five children died. "It was terrible. We took the bodies and prepared them for release to the relatives," she recounts.
The difficulties of working in the morgue remain significant, and Damira continues to face daily challenges and emotions that accompany her profession. "My life is a constant struggle and responsibility," she summarizes.
