“Why do people want to go to s***hole countries?”
They get deployed there. I was sent to Uzbekistan with a maintenance detachment in 2004. No travel allowed but our chaplain pulled strings and we drove to Samarkand to bring stuff to a reopened Catholic church.
Samarkand lies close to the border with Tajikistan. As our guide gave us a quick tour of the city, we drove past a casual hire point where several hundred Tajiks were milling around. The guide turned up his nose & remarked, “they come across the border looking for work. That place is poor and it really sucks.” Yes, his English was that good.
FWIW the Uzbeks seemed OK, not much Islam evident. They are mostly secular and like their vodka. Their women dress as they please. Many go to college here. Too bad our worthless State Department got us kicked out; it could have been a friendship worth having in the region.