By Rostyslav Averchuk
Lviv (EFE).- Thousands of displaced Crimean Tatars commemorated on Monday the 82nd anniversary of their mass deportation on orders from Joseph Stalin, while drawing painful parallels with the threat posed by the ongoing Russian occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula.
During rallies across Ukraine, representatives of the Indigenous Muslim minority remembered the over 200,000 people, virtually the entire population, forcibly removed from their homes in just a few days in May 1944 and deported to Central Asia in cattle wagons.
Around 46% died during the journey, and in the difficult first years of exile. At the same time, survivors were long banned from returning to Crimea or even learning their native language, renowned Crimean Tatar musician and activist Dzemil Karikov reminded the audience at a ceremony in the western city of Lviv.
History repeats
The cultural revival and growing political voice that followed the return of many families to Crimea after Ukraine’s independence were abruptly halted by Russia’s illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014.
“Many people were arrested, some were forced to leave their homes for the second time,” Karikov said.
“In 2014, history repeated itself,” Amet Bekir, head of the NGO Areket, which works to preserve Crimean Tatar identity through cultural heritage, told EFE.
“My father was expelled from his native land in 1944, when he was only five years old. In 2014, my daughter was also five years old when we were forced to leave our native land again,” he added.
Since then, the Crimean Tatars have continued to face mass searches and arrests, with more than half of the over 350 political prisoners in Crimea representing the minority.
“Persecution and repression in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea are a direct continuation and manifestation of Russia’s genocidal policy aimed at the destruction of the Crimean Tatar people,” said a statement from the Mejlis, their representative body, banned in Russia.
Hoping for freedom
After Crimean Tatar leaders and Ukrainian authorities publicly rejected suggestions by United States President Donald Trump that the occupation could be accepted as legitimate, Crimea’s future is rarely mentioned explicitly in discussions about a potential war settlement.
Kyiv acknowledges it currently lacks the forces to retake the peninsula militarily. At the same time, Ukraine continues regular aerial strikes against Russian military targets in occupied Crimea while pressing for stronger international sanctions and pressure on Moscow.
“Restoring justice, protecting human rights, de-occupying Crimea, and returning the Crimean Tatar people to a life of freedom on their native land remain our common tasks,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.
More than four years after the start of the full-scale invasion, Bekir and many others remain convinced that their homes will eventually be liberated as they focus on concrete steps to preserve national identity.
“I am very proud of the strength of spirit of my people. They were able to survive in such inhuman conditions, so that today the children and grandchildren pray and pass on the memory to the next generation,” Bekir said.
Staying active
Under heavy political pressure, those Crimean Tatars that remain in occupied Crimea rely on their own resources to preserve and develop their culture and language, Bekir said.
In mainland Ukraine, the voice of Crimean Tatars is growing stronger as Ukrainians recognize their crucial role in the future of a Ukrainian Crimea.
Up to 2,000 Crimean Tatars are serving in the ranks of the invaded country’s army. The identities of many are not publicly revealed to avoid possible reprisals against their families in Crimea.
Greater cooperation between the two peoples, united by histories of deportation and repression, is making them both stronger, Bekir said.
“We remember everything,” Bekir said. “Like swallows, we hope to one day return to our native Crimea.”EFE
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