Residents of Kabardino-Balkaria call on to preserve memory of deportation

The deportation affected all Balkar families, and the memory of it is passed on from generation to generation. It is important to remember those who did not return from the deportation, emphasize participants of a mourning rally in Nalchik dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the deportation.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that actions in memory of those who fell victim to the deportation of Balkars were held in Nalchik on the 80th anniversary of those events.

During the mourning rally, Boris Zumakulov, Commissioner for Human Rights under the leader of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), thanked the Balkar women. He noted that the women “worked in incredibly difficult conditions, raised children, cherished customs, and instilled confidence that our people would definitely return to our land.” Boris Zumakulov called the deportation a “barbaric act” that remained in the minds of the people like an unhealed wound.

The participants of the mourning rally told the people what the deportation meant to them and how it affected their families.

Raziyat Shavaeva, a resident of Nalchik, said that although 80 years have passed, she feels like it took place yesterday. “My aunt had seven sons. Six of them were at the war front, and their parents were deported. They didn’t even arrive to the destination, as they died along the way,” the woman said.

Zhabrail Zhaboev, the executive director of the public organization “Alan”, noted that when the Balkars who fought at World War II began to return from the front, it was a shock for them to learn that their families were deported to Central Asia. Many of them did not even know where their families were sent.

Rakhima Gekkueva, a board member of the Nalchik Women’s Council, remembers how they were driving back, although she was only three years old. “I remember very well the boxcar and the blankets with which we covered ourselves. God forbid that any people should experience what we experienced,” Rakhima Gekkueva emphasized.