Kentucky Refugee Ministries to Resettle Meskhetian Turks
By Lee Welsh, Sponsorship Developer

This year, in addition to the continued resettlement of the Somali Bantu families who began arriving in the fall of 2003, we anticipate the arrival of a new group, the Meskhetian Turks.  Over the next few months between 50 and 100 Meskhetian Turks are expected to arrive in Louisville.

The Meskhetian Turks were originally from Meskhetia, located in the southwest of Georgia. In November 1944, upon the orders of Josef Stalin, some 100,000 Meskhetians were deported to the Ferghana Valley in Uzbekistan.  Unlike other ethnicities deported by Stalin, the Meskhetians were never accused of a specific treachery, nor were they “rehabilitated” once Stalin died. 

In the summer of 1989, ethnic violence between Meskhetians and Uzbeks in the Ferghana Valley culminated in a pogrom killing at least 100 people.  Over the next year, most of the Meskhetians were relocated out of Uzbekistan, many to a region called Krasnodar Krai on the Black Sea.  The Meskhetians were not allowed to sell their property and prepare for the move.  Consequently, some left without the proper documents and without following the “established procedures” for departing an area in the Soviet Union. 

According to the 1991 citizenship law, Meskhetian Turks are entitled to Russian citizenship.  However, in the Krasnodar Krai the Meskhetian Turks face hostility from administrative authorities and the paramilitary Cossacks and are consistently denied their rights. Because the Meskhetian Turks lack citizenship and residence status, they are unable to fully access social services in Russia or work in formal economic sectors.  There are also reports of discrimination in medical services and in schooling.  Meskhetians are sometimes evicted from their houses because of a lack of formal ownership documents.  In addition, violence against Meskhetians in the Krasnodar Krai remains a threat.

Refugees are victims of physical and emotional trauma but at the same time they are people with hope for peace and freedom. By assisting KRM in welcoming these families through your gifts of time, donations, and financial assistance you help to build trust by introducing them to the caring community they will now call home. 

For more information about these refugees or to find out how you can help them, please contact Lee Welsh.