My new favorite ethnic people are the Meskhetian Turks, who like the Gypsies
have been struggling to find a permanent homeland for sometime. The Russian
Empire acquired their original homeland in 1828-1829. In 1944, Stalin
forced the ethnic group, along with Kurds and Khemshils (Muslim Aremenians),
some 120,000 in all, out of Meskheti-Javakheti region of Georgia and into Central Asia
(present day countries include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan). The only reason
I could find for Stalin's dispicable relocation program was that he questioned the Meskhetians'
loyalty to the Soviet Union in the case of a possible conflict with Turkey. 15,000 people
died en route to their new home. Until 1956 the Meskhetian Turks were placed under
special resettlement restrictions that included having to carry special ID cards designating
them inferior citizens under the law, no freedom of movement without special permits and no
choice in their work assignments. Because of their legal status and difficult conditions, many
Meskhetians suffered from inadequte medical care and nutrition. After 1956, Meskhetian Turks
launched a movement for repatriation to Georgia but this proved unsuccessful; another attempt
was made to emigrate from Russia to Turkey but this too failed. In 1989, a pogrom in the Ferghana Valley of
Uzbekistan caused more death and heartache for these people, and another relocation of the Meskhetian
Turks sent them to Krasnodar Krai region in Russia and Azerbaijan. The relocation happened so quickly that
many Meskhetians were unable to sell off their property or leave with the proper documents necessary in the former
Soviet Union for departing an area.
"The local government [in Krasnodar Krai] refused to grant permanent residency to a majority of the Meskhetian Turks and the rights to hold most jobs, attend higher education and own property that goes with such legal documentation. Their lack of legal protection exposed them to Cossack intimidation and police harassment. Officially stateless the displaced Meskhetian Turks did not qualify for refugee status according to the United Nations because they never crossed an international border. They remained in a legal limbo unable to return to Georgia, immigrate to Turkey or even go back to Uzbekistan." [from J. Otto Pohl's blog Otto's Random Thoughts]
In 2004 the U.S. government offered asylum to thousands of Meskhetian Turks from the Krasnodar
region and relocated them to over 60 American cities.There is genuine debate about the historical
roots of these people: Are they ethnic Georgians who adopted Islam or ethnic Turks who settled in Georgia
during the expansion of the Ottoman Empire?
Haven't found out yet if there are Meskhetian Turk refugees in KC or not, but I am actively on the case. These
are not your normal ethnic Muslims, the women commonly wear head scarves but it's just as common to see
men swigging vodka during weddings and parties.
