80th anniversary of Ahıska Turk exile: A legacy of suffering and resilience

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the forced exile of the Ahiska Turks. On November 14, 1944, Stalin ordered the mass deportation of Ahiska Turks, scattering them across Central Asia. Despite the passing decades, their longing to return home remains strong, as the painful legacy of that dark chapter continues to echo. THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AHISKA TURK EXILE: A DARK CHAPTER İN HISTORY It was November 14, 1944... On a winter night, the Ahıska Turks were packed into cattle wagons and sent into exile. During this journey into the unknown, thousands of Ahıska Turks lost their lives. This marks the 80th anniversary of the Ahıska Exile, a dark stain on human history. November 14, 1944: Brothers were separated, and all were sent to different villages. They were left hungry and thirsty… Ahıska, located on the border of Georgia and Türkiye, was ceded to Russia following the 1828-1829 Russo-Turkish War. OPPRESSION BEGAN UNDER TSARIST RUSSIA AND CONTINUED UNDER THE USSR Ahıska came under the control of Tsarist Russia The oppression and injustices against the Ahıska Turks that began during the Tsarist regime continued during the Soviet Union era. For the Turks and Muslims living in Georgia, life had become increasingly difficult. Especially during the Stalin era, these pressures intensified. Leading intellectuals among the Ahıska Turks were arrested on various pretexts, either killed or exiled. The names of the Turks were changed, and thousands of soldiers were deployed to Ahıska and surrounding areas under the guise of 'border protection.' THEIR WORK ON THE RAILWAY BECAME A TESTIMONY TO THEIR EXILE Ahıska Turks who were not drafted into the military were sent to the frontlines when World War II began. Around 40,000 Ahıska Turks were sent to fight against the Germans. Meanwhile, the remaining women and elderly were forced to work on railway construction. However, they had no idea that the same railway would eventually lead them to exile. A WINTER NIGHT OF FORCED DEPORTATION Stalin, despite having sent them to fight in the Russian army during WWII, signed an order for the mass deportation of the Ahıska Turks, just like other Turkish communities. It was a winter night… 'Vacate your homes immediately. Take 3 days' worth of food. You have 2 hours to prepare.' they were told… Thousands of people from over 200 villages and towns were loaded into freight and cattle wagons. They were sent into the unknown without being allowed to take their belongings. 86,000 TURKS SENT INTO EXILE A total of 86,000 Turks were deported from Ahıska to various regions of Central Asia. The journey, in overcrowded wagons, lasted more than a month. During this time, nearly 17,000 Ahıska Turks died from hunger, cold, and disease. Another 30,000 Ahıska Turks perished in the areas where they were left. The surviving Ahıska Turks were dropped in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Due to hunger, epidemics, and infectious diseases, another 30,000 Ahıska Turks lost their lives in various parts of Central Asia. 'YOU CANNOT MOVE TO THE CITY, VIOLATE THE RULES AND YOU'LL BE EXILED TO SIBERIA FOR 25 YEARS' The Soviet regime imposed harsh working conditions on the Ahıska Turks in labor camps, treating them cruelly without regard for age or gender. Ahıska Turks were banned from settling in cities. They were also forbidden from leaving the areas where they were placed without permission. Those who violated the rules were exiled to Siberia for 25 years, along with their families. 80 YEARS LATER: THE PAIN STILL FRESH IN MEMORY AND HEART Today, nearly 600,000 Ahıska Turks live in various parts of the world, still longing for their homeland. THE REAL GOAL: CLEANSING THE BLACK SEA REGION OF TURKS The Soviet Union justified the deportation by accusing the Ahıska Turks of collaborating with the Nazis, despite their military service in the Soviet Army during WWII. However, with the dissolution of the USSR, it was revealed that this justification was false, and the real aim was to ethnically cleanse the Black Sea region of Turkish people. HOPE TO RETURN TO THE HOMELAND Today, about 20,000 people still live in the Ahıska region, but only a small portion of them are Turkish. Most Ahıska Turks continue to live in exile, either in the places where they were forcibly relocated or in countries they migrated to later. According to international organizations and various sources, there are currently 550,000 to 600,000 Ahıska Turks living far from their homeland. The countries where most Ahıska Turks live include Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, and the United States. PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN AND TÜRKİYE STAND BY THE AHISKA TURKS Türkiye and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have never abandoned the Ahıska Turks. Türkiye has been taking steps to help Ahıska Turks gain Turkish citizenship, which they have long awaited, and has been accelerating this process. President Erdoğan emphasized on various occasions that the Turkish government considers the well-being and peace of the Ahıska Turks as part of its own citizens' welfare: 'We are the government that has supported the Ahıska Turks the most and followed their issues closely. Before us, the number of Ahıska Turks granted citizenship was very limited. Between 1992 and 2003, only 4,840 of our brothers benefited from this right. Under our government, this number has exceeded 60,000. We continue to engage with our counterparts for the voluntary return of the Ahıska Turks to their homeland. We are working to resolve this issue on the basis of friendship, respect, and goodwill, within a humane and legal framework. We will continue to make every diplomatic effort to support your cause.' 'PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN IS THE FATHER OF ALL TURKS WORLDWIDE...' At the acceptance ceremony held by President Erdoğan at the Türkevi in New York, Yunus Muradov, an 83-year-old who had gained Turkish citizenship, expressed that all Muslims around the world stand behind President Erdoğan: 'He is the father of all the Turks in the world. This man is the father of all the Turkish people. You all know what we went through. No one can ever forget what we endured. Mr. President, I thank you. May God protect you from harm. As long as you are with us, we will not falter. May God never allow Türkiye to fall into the hands of others.' GEORGIA HAS YET TO TAKE ACTION Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the 'Ahıska Turks' Right to Return' issue, no solution has been reached over the years. The Georgian government, despite the law passed in 2007 that allows the return of Ahıska Turks to their homeland, has not taken concrete steps to implement it. 'WE WERE LEFT HUNGRY, THIRSTY, AND NAKED' Ahıska Turks who were exiled 79 years ago on November 14, 1944, still cannot erase the suffering and harsh days they lived through during their exile. 81-year-old Simizar Mehmetoğlu, who was sent into exile with her family at the age of 4, described how they were left hungry, thirsty, and naked during the exile. Mehmetoğlu couldn't go to school, she never saw her mother again, and she never got to meet her father again after he was taken by the soldiers... 'I don't know what my father's color was, whether he was tall or short, or whether he was beautiful or ugly. He was gone, no longer with us. We wore everything we could find. I worked in a broken labor camp in Uzbekistan for six years. We swept their doors, carried fodder for their animals. We helped my mother cut grass. I drank muddy water. I got kidney stones. When we were first exiled to Uzbekistan, my siblings and I were just kids. We traveled by train. They took us by train for a month. If anyone spoke, they would throw them into the water. There was no food or water. We traveled for a month in an empty, hungry train. We endured a lot of hardship. Even now, I tremble when I recall the suffering. I entered Uzbekistan as a child and left as an old person. My parents were gone. We lived as orphans in Uzbekistan for 40 years.'