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Beekeeper’s Plight Flags $109 Billion Remittances Problem

  • Europe and Central Asia could see biggest fall in remittances
  • Some former Soviet countries saw money flows halve in April
Georgia saw money sent home drop by more than 40% in April.

Georgia saw money sent home drop by more than 40% in April.

Photographer: Vano Shlamov/AFP via Getty Images

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Since the breakup of the Soviet Union three decades ago, Khatam Khaydarov has helped support his family in Uzbekistan by traveling over 1,500 miles to work in Russia for months at a time. Not this year.

Khaydarov, 62, was visiting his home in Samarkand in March when Russia and Uzbekistan shut their borders to halt the spread of the coronavirus. The beekeeper has lost about 60,000 rubles ($858) in income since then, and has been living off savings.