Posted on 02/25/2006 7:10:24 PM PST by Imnotalib
KRASNODAR, Russia, July 24, (IslamOnline.net) - The United States has agreed to grant citizenship to 7,000 Ahiska Muslims who will be settled in Pennsylvania, reported a Russian newspaper on Friday, July 23.
The first 11-strong batch of the Ahiska Muslims, living in the Russian province of Krasnodar, left for Geneva on Thursday, July 22, before flying to Philadelphia, reported Novie Izvestia.
It added that the Muslims would be housed near the grand mosque in Philadelphia.
The paper recalled that Krasnodar governor Alexander Tkachev was notified of the American decision on February 15.
Izvestia said the Russian government does not treat Ahiska Muslims as citizens and has not therefore given them passports or IDs.
An official in Krasnodar administration had told Interfax on Tuesday, July 20, that of the 11,999 Ahiska Muslims living in the region, 4,943 have received Russian citizenship and 744 have embarked on Russian naturalization procedures.
He added that more than 5,000 others have expressed a desire to emigrate to the United States.
Earlier, Chingiz Neiman-zade, chairman of Vatan, a Meskheti Turks association based in Georgia, said the United States had offered to accept the Ahiska Muslims living in Krasnodar as immigrants.
"On February 16, the International Migration Organization began an information program in Krasnodar to explain the terms for the resettlement of the Ahiska Muslims in the U.S.," he told Chicago Tribune on Thursday, July 22.
"The immigrants will be provided with housing and furniture, they will be helped to learn the English language and to complete formalities needed for residence in the US, which is especially important, and have been promised life-long welfare allowances for pensioners and the disabled."
Happiness
Ahiska Muslims were happy with the American offer.
"This decision marks a great change in our life", said Tepeshon Swanidze, leader of the Ahiska Muslim community in Russia.
"We thank the US administration for its humanitarian decision", he added.
Ahiska Muslims , originally hailing from Anatolia, were exiled from their homeland after Russia seized the region of Ahiska following its 1828-1829 war with the Ottoman Empire.
Many Ahiska Muslims were forced to seek refugee in Erzurum in eastern Turkey after being persecuted by the Russian Cesar for supporting the Ottoman Empire.
Facing a similar fate under the notorious Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Ahiska Muslims fled to Uzbekistan in 1944.
One year later, they went to Azerbaijan where they currently reside.
Turkish and Azeri parliamentarians had recently appealed for an international intervention to pressure the Georgian government into allowing the return of Ahiska Muslims.
Ahiska became part of Georgia in 1918.
ping
Could we all be just a little more gullible?
Isn't this whole issue brought up because at Gitmo...we have some of these guys...the Ahiska Muslims...who were supposed to be let go, and the Russians won't allow them back...and no other country will take them. And the Gitmo authorities gave them several privelages extra...but they still remain prisoners a year after Gitmo wanted to release them. I think GW probably sat there and said if we can't dump them...we'll take all of them. Where are those dang friendly Saudi's when you need them? Plenty of room there and they ought to own up and take all of the 7,000.
Radio Free Europe also reported it:
"Prague, 28 July 2004 — For the third time in 60 years, Russia’s stateless Meskhetian community is setting off into exile.
Last week, 84 Meskhetians bid farewell to Russia’s southern Krasnodar region and arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under a U.S. resettlement program. These few families are the first of a 9,000- to 10,000-strong contingent expected to emigrate to the United States within the next few months.
Arrangements for their initial accommodation are being made by the Lutheran Children and Family Services, a private voluntary agency that is providing them with resettlement services, such as housing, food, clothing, and other basic necessities."
IF they're going to Philly, won't they have a problem with the Kalmyk population there?
Did you hear about an invasion of 11,000 Muslims in Penn? No? That might be your first clue as to why they'd laugh at a paniced and angry call about a 7 month old article.
So what's your take on this?
I have yet to hear anything in the news about a crime/terror wave or welfare fraud in connection with these people, I can't say the same for some of the Katrina refugees that have moved into my state. I'll take these Ahiska folks over the US-born criminal thugs in my city any day.
Thanks for posting the story from Radio Free Europe.
Am I at the Mad Hatter's tea party?
I have enough faith in this administrations determination to fight the war on terror that if they decided to bring in people, there is no way there would be any connections with terror.
We can not live in a world where we have 5 billion enemies. Before 9-11 I knew exactly zero about Muslims and the ME. Since then I have made sure that I find out as much as humanly possible. Every day I read several Iraqi blogs, a few Egyptian blogs, and various other blogs scattered throughout that part of the world. I have learned that they are as scared of the terrorists and fanatics as we are. And they have a right to be because they have been living with them and suffering under them for a long time. It would be wise to enlist these people to help us defeat these creeps. They know who they are, they know how they think, they have helped to bring us light years ahead in understanding their thinking and figuring out how to fight AND WIN this war.
I hate to see the Xenophobia that is developing over this, it's a recipe for defeat.
Bravo.
You know, the democrats use the xenophobia and racism tool every day. I hardly expect to see conservatives use it. In fact I have never seen a real conservative use it.
Give them a passport and one way tickets to France.
You must dearly love Jessie Jackson. That's what McGavin999 has become on this thread. Race baiting just doesn't belong on this forum.
Dunno, we once gave citizenship and resettlement rights to the Arcadians who were kicked out of Canada and then went to Louisiana and became the Cajuns. That worked out alright didn't it? The Vietnamese who resettled here after the war also have turned into fine citizens too.
Cheap shot D-1 and you know it, but if you've fallen that far in this thing, there's no point in discussing it with you.
And that from the King of Cheap Shots on this thread. You should be ashamed of yourself.
That would never do, why it might upset the Black Socialists of all Africa.
But otherwise, I agree, this is Bovine Scat. If they are "oppressed" in Russia send them to Saudi Arabia, the UAE or most anywhere but here. I guess Arabs aren't so friendly after all. At least Israel takes in those of "theirs" that the Russians have chased off over the years, plus the Germans, Poles, and other Europeans. And of course any Jew from anywhere that wishes to go there.
The terrorists are USING those same parts to justify their killing of fellow Muslims who they declare to be aposates. That happens to be any Muslim who doesn't follow their strict interpretation. In case you haven't noticed, thousands of Muslims are being killed on a daily basis by these guys.
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