"If only I had your youth..." Recommendations from microbiologist Dilfuza Egamberdiyeva

**"If I Had Your Youth..." Recommendations from Microbiologist Dilfuza Egamberdiyeva**

As part of the "If I Had Your Youth..." project, respected figures in society will recall their youth and give advice to young people from today's perspective. The next guest is microbiologist Dilfuza Egamberdiyeva.

**About Dilfuza Egamberdiyeva:**

* Born in Tashkent in 1971.

* Graduated from the Faculty of Biology of the National University of Uzbekistan.

* Received a PhD from the Faculty of Agriculture and Horticulture of the Humboldt University in Berlin.

* Conducted scientific research at the universities of Helsinki, Manchester, Leiden, Florence, and the German Agricultural Center.

* In 2023, she was awarded the UNESCO-Carlos Finlay Prize for her research in the field of plant-microbiome interactions, plant stress tolerance, soil biology and microbial diversity.

* In the same year, she returned to Uzbekistan after 30 years of work abroad.

* Currently, she is the head of the Food Quality and Safety Laboratory at the National University of Uzbekistan, as well as the deputy director of the International Scientific Center under the Ministry of Agriculture.

**Youth and years of independence:**

Dilfuza Egamberdiyeva, who said that she went back 30 years when she read the project questions, said that it was not easy to restore those memories, but she was glad that they were not forgotten. She included herself in the ranks of the youth of the Soviet era, noting that they were very happy and innocent children at that time. In 1988, he entered the Faculty of Biology of the National University of Uzbekistan, and in 1991, Uzbekistan gained independence. Recalling that the following years were very difficult, he said that his first sentence would be "an innocent childhood and a narrow worldview", because they did not understand the world and lived in everyday life.

The collapse of the great Soviet state, the revival of Uzbekistan during the years of independence, opposition parties, uprisings on campus, contradictions and problems instilled great fear in their hearts. They felt that their thinking was stifled, that they had taken a step back. They were forced to help their families more. They spent their days in traffic jams or in long lines for flour, they had no money, and they lived on coupons.

In the first years of their studies, they were taught by powerful doctors of science and academicians. But after independence, science also went into decline. Many scientists went to the markets to support their families or were scattered to other jobs. Salaries were low. Therefore, he said that the second sentence can be called "a period of daily life and struggle for existence."

They lived in a very abstract period, as if in a fog. They did not know their future. After independence, they were tormented by questions such as "what will happen, how will it be, how will the state develop, where will we work?" Although they continued to work at the Scientific Research Institute, they did not understand the reason for their science. They came and went. Therefore, he called the third sentence "an invisible future."

**Life and dreams abroad:**

The scientist, who said that he lived in Germany for 10 years, Finland for 15 years, as well as England, the USA and China, emphasized that his youth, when his worldview and thinking were formed, passed abroad. Therefore, her conclusions may differ from those of her youth in Uzbekistan. Although the years of independence were difficult, they were still independent. Embassies began to open in foreign countries. They were the first Uzbek youth to go abroad, the "swallows". At that time, she went to Germany to study for postgraduate studies.

"Whatever you set your mind to, life will direct you to it," says Dilfuza Egamberdiyeva. She was born into a very ordinary family. She was born in the Kokcha neighborhood of Tashkent and studied at a school in Chilanzor. They had five children. Because she read a lot of books, everyone nicknamed her "academic". At school, when she said, "I will become world famous, become an academic, and go out into the world!", everyone laughed: "How can you do that? You have no one behind you." At that time, there was a sense of familiarity. Moreover, it was almost impossible to go abroad, because wherever you went, you had to go through Moscow.

Later, when he worked at the Research Institute, he would envy someone who had gone to England for a month, and someone else who had gone to America. He would say to the head of the laboratory, "Wow, I have dreams of going somewhere, Germany or England, one day," and he would say, "Oh, the camel dreamed of a bathhouse. Good luck to you. Do you know who the father or god of these things is? You go and wash your dishes in the laboratory." There were times when he would cry and wash the dishes that were under the water.

"The era of thinking that it would be difficult to study abroad if you don't have money or connections is long gone. Even at that time, in that situation, we were able to go. It all depends on your intentions, goals, and aspirations. Whatever you ask of God, He gives you in such a way that you can't believe your eyes," says the scientist.

One day, she received a letter, and when she opened it, she was summoned to the German embassy. They handed her a letter stating that she had been accepted to graduate school. She was overjoyed, stood in the rain, and came home and said, "Mom, Dad, look, I'm going to Germany!" They said, "Did you sleep well last night? For what? You don't have money, a foreign country, a plane." No one believed her. Then, for these reasons and also because she was a girl, they opposed her leaving.

She had two choices - either stay or leave. He didn't want to stay, but even if he did, it would be an abstraction. He didn't even know what Germany was. During the Soviet era, Germany was considered an enemy and wasn't even shown on television. But he took a big risk and went with a German scholarship, and he says he did the right thing.

A German woman took him in, treated him like her own daughter, took care of him, and taught him how to live. They didn't know the language, they didn't understand each other, but humanity prevailed over everything. Later, they also started teaching German to Uzbek youth. When she finished her studies, that woman didn't want her to go to Uzbekistan.

"A girl from your homeland, Turkestan, came to Berlin, studied medicine and biology, and worked hard to become a scientist. But when she returned to her homeland, she was subjected to pressure and executed. My concern is that your homeland has now become independent, and at such a time there will be great pressure on intellectuals. Look, so much evil happened to you when you were there, now you are going to Uzbekistan as a great scientist. If you go now, they will not take you seriously again. Let Uzbekistan develop a little, you increase your knowledge," she said, and she took her to Germany to continue her education.

During the Soviet era, there were young people who did not know the history of Uzbekistan well, and only accepted what was shown as the truth. She wondered why the girl who went to study was executed. Years later, after reading about the Jadids, she understood the reason and learned that the girl from Turkestan was Khairiniso Majidkhanova.

During their school and university years, they spent most of their time with their friends. Perhaps because there were few acquaintances at universities, they studied wholeheartedly. The better they studied, the more scholarships they received. They held competitions to see who could read the most books.

"We are young people who lived mainly with books in times without the Internet. Perhaps that is why loyalty, respect for each other, and appreciation for parents and teachers were so high in our time. We did not strive for a career, for profit, or for a materialistic life such as household or material things, clothes, and things," says Dilfuza Egamberdiyeva.

Looking at today's youth, she noted that they spend a lot of their time on social networks in vain.

"They say that we create all the opportunities for young people, but they don't go to the cotton fields. If we compare, we went to the cotton fields for two or three months, came back tired, and read our books by candlelight. I and several other Uzbek scientists who are known to the world, did not have the conditions, we studied in hard times. By saying, 'We created all the conditions for young people, they don't sweep the streets, they don't go to the cotton fields,' you are not creating the conditions for them to study science or become educated. I think that studying is not in work, in external conditions, but in ourselves, in our inner aspirations. If our young people direct the opportunities provided by their parents, the Internet, and the state to deep knowledge, I believe that Nobel Prize winners will emerge from this country," the scientist says.

When he worked at a large research institute in Germany, he would laugh when someone said, "You know, Dilfuza, we have 39 Nobel Prize winners." "The roots of science are here, in this country, in our ancestors. We all have their science gene. You and I have this gene. But we need factors to manifest it. I believe that if we awaken those genes and use them, we will make great discoveries," he emphasized.

**The importance of science and the laws of nature:**

He noted that the world has changed in recent times, there are global problems and many wars. Uzbekistan itself is very hot, there is a lack of precipitation. In such conditions, the world cannot be saved without science.

Perhaps in the best of times, it would have been normal to say that I would become an economist or a designer. During their time, medical, legal, and economic universities were also in vogue. After some time after going to Germany, he said, "I'm bored with science, I'll start a business, create good conditions for myself, grow flowers."

Professor Gisela Höflich, who taught him, said, "Dilfuza, the things you're interested in are good, but in 30-40 years the climate will change, the water will decrease, there won't be any food to eat, famine and disease will increase, trees will be cut down, and there won't be clean air. At that time, there will be a very strong demand for agriculture. Therefore, study natural sciences, do science."

The professor continued: "Here you are, you were born. The goal is not just to earn a good salary somewhere and live a comfortable life. The goal, the meaning of life is for you to contribute to the development of society. This contribution can be any. Even if it is just planting one tree, after all, nature is from God. When you leave this world, if they ask you, 'What did you do?', you should not be able to say, 'I ate well, drank well, drove good cars, dressed well,' but, 'I did such and such things for society, for the world, I saved so many people, I created a vaccine and saved millions of people, I made an environmentally friendly product, I created something that cleans the air, I will leave this world, but this thing I created can help so many generations.'"

Moved by the professor's words, he decided to continue in his field, biotechnology, and work on environmentally friendly products and food quality. 20-30 years later, she emphasized that everything that the German woman said - temperature, environmental problems have become apparent, and that they have dried up the Aral Sea because of the economy.

There are two types of laws: natural law and social law. If you violate the law of society, you pay a fine, apologize, or receive another punishment. If you violate the law of nature created by God, you will not be able to escape it in any way. Its punishment is very severe. She reminded us of the situation they found themselves in when they cut down trees and dried up the sea.

But one more thing should be mentioned. Science is a divine thing. A person can never choose to "become a scientist." Both science and knowledge are from God. Science chooses a person. Many people study science, try, but this does not mean that they will become scientists. Each person has their own destiny.

There are those who criticize someone for graduating from university and becoming a driver or a baker. University is not a place that provides a good job. If someone studies and does something else, this is their destiny. A person cannot escape from it.

If everyone chose what they wanted, there would be no life in this world. Therefore, the main thing is not who they are, but what they do through their profession and how they live in this world. For example, we cannot imagine our life without a cleaner. The work of that cleaner, the scientist, and the biggest billionaire for society is the same. At the end of his life, he can say, "I cleaned where people are." This is also a prayer.

Therefore, he wanted people to understand that getting knowledge is not about becoming a scientist or an academic, but about becoming a good specialist in a field. For example, both the best jeweler and the baker who bakes bread according to a new recipe are based on knowledge.

**Values:**

**The first value is sincerity.** He currently works in the ministry, has been to more than 60 countries. He cooperates with international organizations such as the UN and UNESCO. But he talks to his students as friends, appreciates them, and respects his colleagues. This value may have been instilled in him as a child, perhaps from Europe.

In Finland, presidents walk the streets, prime ministers ride bicycles, and ministers stand in line at the supermarket to buy groceries, and in Germany, ministers and university presidents sit and eat with their students. The president of the German Academy of Sciences Center sat with them and drank soup, helped them carry their bags. He emphasized that this value still accompanies him, seeing that his position is not above humanity.

**The second value is respect and loyalty.** He values a person who has done good or spoken well for a lifetime. Today's Dilfuza has an incalculable contribution to the formation of her teacher. That's why she always prays, and asks her children to pray for her teacher. Every piece of bread she eats contains her teacher's work. But now, seeing the students who threw stones at her teacher and slandered her, she feels hurt.

When she returned to her homeland after 30 years, she was very surprised. Uzbekistan, schools, universities, women - everything has developed, but it occurred to her that they had lost more humanity. When she returned, she did not see sincerity, consequence, the mentor of the youth, respect for their parents, and pure and sincere love for each other. Technology has developed, all opportunities have been given, but she felt that they had forgotten something.

It all goes back to education and upbringing in schools. While speaking, I remembered an incident. When she took her son to school in Finland, she was asked, "What religion are you?" They asked. "We respect all religions and nationalities, let them go to school," he said, "No, what religion are you?" they asked again. "We are Muslims," they said, "Okay, then we will find a teacher who will teach Islam to your two children." Surprised, they said, "I also teach at home, it doesn't matter," they said, "No, if a child doesn't know religion, how will he learn humanity? A child learns goodness, love, affection, appreciation of people and nature from his religion."

So, the first value taught in our schools should be humanity. "I wonder if we have given all the opportunities and left the upbringing of our youth aside. Should we teach respect for each other, what is good, what is bad, what is sin, what is halal, what is friendship, what is a teacher?!" he asked.

The third value that he inherited from his youth is justice for the people around him. "There is no justice in this society, in the world, they say there is only justice from Allah. I understand, I do not seek justice, I know that no one can do justice like the Creator, but I try to strive for that justice," he says.

They disrespected an academician. Usually, when injustice is done to someone, many people stay away to protect themselves. In such a situation, he said to that person, "Why are you doing injustice to a scientist who raised the entire institute, worked hard, and spent his life?" "Why do you say that to a scientist who is close to me, now the management will hate you?" they said. "Okay, let them hate you. I will tell you one thing," he said.

It is narrated that when a person dies, Allah Almighty says, "I was sick, you never visited me." "Can Allah, who created the entire world, also be sick?" He says, "No. Remember, you didn't hear from a person in the hospital, he was close to you. I was in front of that sick, oppressed, suffering person. If you had visited him, you would have come to me."

He is afraid that one day when he leaves this world, Allah will say, "You have done injustice to me," and when he asks, "How have I done injustice to Allah?", he will say, "You were silent when injustice was done to so-and-so." He wants his face to be bright before God. Therefore, wherever he sees injustice, even if he knows that it will harm him, he will definitely tell the truth.

They say, "You came to Uzbekistan, this is not Europe, you cannot change the system." He knows that he cannot change the system of science, that he cannot eliminate the looting and injustice in higher education, in science. "Have you heard that when the sea is rising, all the ants start building a dam out of sand. A bird flies by and says, 'Oh, stupid ant, a drop of the sea will destroy this dam of yours,' and he says, 'Who said that this thing I am building will hold back the sea? God sees what I am doing, and that will be enough for us,'" he says.

Any organization that has injustice will not develop. Where there is injustice, there is neither peace, nor friendship, nor cooperation. Justice means honor.

**Healthy lifestyle:**

As mentioned above, they lived in a time of poverty. They did not think about healthy eating. They ate whatever they had. They did not have a proper routine. They dropped out of school to help their parents and families, worked, came home at midnight, and went back to school in the morning. At that time, the concepts of earning a living and maintaining a family were more important than issues of healthy eating, daily routine, and sleep.

Now this issue has become central. There are even special courses. But in his opinion, if there is no order and healthy eating in society, you cannot get rid of it. In Finland, all the shops, cafeterias, and schools around the area only had healthy food for children, boiled vegetables, and sugar-free products. You couldn't find unhealthy food even if you wanted it.

"When you teach your children to eat right, if the things sold around them are unhealthy, they will see it with their eyes, smell it with their noses, and eat it. First of all, we need to completely change the products in our stores, especially those in kindergartens and schools. If you don't drink unhealthy foods and drinks for a while, then the desire to eat them will fade away. Now we eat a lot of vegetables and legumes in our family. I wouldn't say we're vegetarians, but we don't eat meat either," the scientist says.

He reminded them that Germans are very demanding about time and order. Once, because he was a few minutes late for the laboratory, he wouldn't be late again after the bell rang. Even then, he wasn't really late; he entered the building on time, put on his lab coat, and then went inside. The head of the laboratory had said, "The state is not paying you for entering the building, but for the time you spend in the laboratory room. Next time, please put on your robe and put down your bag, and enter the room at the exact time."

If you say that an event starts at 10:00 in our country, they will delay it by an hour or two. Or, for example, some company will hire employees until midnight, and that employee has to get up in the morning and go to work again. How much sleep can one get in this situation? Therefore, you will follow the footsteps of the society you live in in terms of order.

**Risks and returning to your homeland:**

**His first risk was going abroad.** At that time, only his mother used him. "My daughter, go towards your dreams and goals. I can't help you, I don't know your situation, but I always ask Allah in my prayers. I trusted you in Allah, you are a trust in Him," she said. There was no phone, she couldn't talk to her child on the phone, and letters only came every 2-3 months.

Then, here was a German woman who welcomed her and helped her so much. "A person who comes to you never comes on his own, he only comes when Allah sends him. The help and love that the Creator gives is often through people," she says. She taught German, and she hired an English teacher to teach her English so that she could study in America.

One day, she said, "Do you want to defend your dissertation?" She was surprised. "Me? Get a degree? In Germany?" She said, "Yes," she said. "How?" she said. Unable to enter graduate school in Uzbekistan, she worked at a research institute. Perhaps because she was a woman, they were so opposed to her, they did not bring her closer to science, they did not allow her to go abroad and defend it. They threw away her dissertation, saying, "Pack it up, it's nonsense!" The film "Whirlwind" made at that time well shows the hardships of science.

When she said, "I guess I can't defend it," and didn't believe in herself, she said, "Why can't you defend it? We will help you. You are from the homeland of a Turkestan girl who remained in that history." After the defense, she cried a lot, remembering these words. It was touching that strangers, unfamiliar Germans, supported her so much when she was so stubborn in her homeland to prevent an Uzbek girl from being exposed.

"So, you have to trust in Allah. You take a step, the door will open. Don't say, 'No, I'm afraid, I can't do it, I can't do it.' If you believe with all your heart, if your intentions are pure, you can do anything. Allah is the one who changes everything," he says. Later, he lived and studied in England, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Italy.

**The second risk was moving to Finland.** He took his children with him, saying, "You will learn Finnish." This decision also paid off, and now his children can speak four languages fluently.

**The third biggest risk was not in his youth, but in his middle age.** After Shavkat Mirziyoyev became president, he began to travel to foreign countries and meet with Uzbeks there. "Enough, let's build a new Uzbekistan. We need your knowledge," he decided to return to his homeland after they said.

His children were born abroad, they have homes in Europe, and returning with the whole family was a big risk. His children said, "Why are we returning from Finland, the best, cleanest, richest, best country in the world?" He said, "I need to return to my homeland, I have learned so much, now I need to contribute to its development."

"What is homeland?" they asked. When he said, "Homeland is the place where you were born and raised, where you are from, where you eat your bread and salt," they said, "Then our homeland is Europe, and we are from this land." "But your motherland is Uzbekistan," he said, and returned.

In fact, this decision was also motivated by the words of his teacher. "Europe and Scandinavia are developed. We will benefit more from our developing country," she said. It is better to be in the society where science benefits the most. Of course, there were contradictions and obstacles after her arrival. She knew this, and there are still some.

There is still a lot of pressure on women in Uzbekistan. Sometimes they say, "Not many people can point out the shortcomings in education, you said it as a woman." Because she did not come here looking for a job, she wants to be a part of the system here, to change it. If they could establish real education and science, free from numbers and pretense, Uzbekistan would develop like Europe, and maybe she will see this for the rest of her life.

Sometimes when she is in trouble, they say, "Dilfuza, pack your bags and leave." He will not leave because he has received the "Future Inheritance" as a reward for his work here, and now he must finish his work.

He recommends that young people, especially girls, who want to study abroad but whose parents do not allow it, talk to their parents as friends, tell them their dreams, provide more information about abroad and explain that other countries are not bad, and take their prayers with them. Dua protects a person from everything.

**Failures and ways out of them:**

There were many. During the Soviet era, they did not study Islam and worship well. Later, they studied, learned, and surrendered their hearts to Allah, overcoming depression or failures.

If a failure occurs in their life, for example, if they themselves fall or if their child gets injured somewhere, then they have done something wrong and they need to correct that. He goes and gives alms, or does some other good. He tries to do good immediately after every misfortune.

The bad things in your life are probably a warning to you. You have done something wrong, hurt someone, taken someone's right, or unknowingly did not give their right. Either you should give alms or help someone. Or something good may come after the misfortunes. It is like a calm after a big storm and the sun suddenly rises. Now, these are his personal views.

**Family life and financial independence:**

He recommends that both the young man and the girl start a family when they are financially independent. Because parents have their own lives. They also raised you so much, taught you, when you are middle-aged or old, you have to take care of your health, live for yourself. Moreover, they were not made for eternity. At some point, you may unexpectedly have to pull the cart yourself, even without starting a family. This is life.

It is recommended to graduate from university and get a profession. Nowadays, it is considered a mistake to rely only on a man in a family. Moreover, if women stay at home and only men work, who will develop society? Where will doctors, teachers, scientists, drug manufacturers or other specialists come from? If a vacuum forms, the state will not develop. If the state does not develop, your child will not have a prosperous life. Or, God forbid, if something happens to her husband, then the woman will be responsible for her and her children's lives.

During the process of studying at university and then working, you are formed as a person. You see poverty, you learn to save money and achieve something, you see betrayal and loyalty, good and evil, and you mature. If there is a small problem in the family, one of you will go down, and the other will support you. If you fall or bend, you will pick up your hand. If you consider yourself ready for these, the family you have built will also be strong.

Before getting married, a German woman described three types of family goals. The first is - I love you, I want to marry you. The second is - I want to start a family because my parents told me to or because I am old enough, and the third is - I want to share my life with you.

"Choose the person who can say the third and act on it yourself," she said. When I say I want to share my life with you, I mean my good days and my bad days, when we have children and when God does not give us children, my illness, my misfortune, my failure, my laughter, my joy, my anger – everything, every day of my life, that is a different mindset. Only then will the family be saved.

**Address to the youth:**

If I were 18 years old in the current circumstances, I would have started my movement by thinking that I would receive the Nobel Prize. Because there are so many opportunities for young people in science now that they would have taken advantage of them and made great discoveries. Life is so short, time passes so quickly that even if you study every day, you will not have time. Therefore, I would say to today's youth – get knowledge, go out into the world, become rich, make discoveries. You have many opportunities.