Where are the Circassian activists in the United States?

 

Against the Winter Olympics which were held in 2014 in the city of Sochi of the Circassian homeland, almost all the Circassian organizations, both in the homeland and in the diaspora, expressed their opposition to these games, and this for the reason that Russia does not recognize the genocide committed by the Russian Empire against the Circassian people in the 19th century.

Russia, which started a war against Circassia in 1763, used all means to empty Circassia of its Circassian inhabitants. This war lasted until 1864, in which the entire territory of Circassia was occupied by the Russian Empire. About 6000 villages, towns and cities were wiped off the face of the earth, and their inhabitants were deported into the Ottoman Empire. Of the three million Circassians who lived before the occupation, after the occupation less than a hundred thousand Circassians remained in their homeland.

One of the Circassian communities that actively acted against the Olympics in Sochi was the Circassian community in the United States. Circassian activists conducted many outreach activities such as holding conferences, demonstrations, interviews on the various American televisions, outreach operations about the Circassian problem via the Internet, opening and running the website No Sochi nosochi2014.com and many other activities. There were many activists who worked on this issue, among whom we will mention Eyad Yaguar, Tamara Bersik, Dana Wudjukh, Zach Bersik. They and other activists were active a few years before the Olympics and even after that they continued their advocacy activity for a few years.

In recent years, this movement of the Circassian activists in the United States has declined greatly and their voices are not heard on Circassian issues. The activist Eyad Yaguar rarely appears in interviews with certain media and occasionally also writes on social networks. There is one more activist Batir Kadikoi who posts articles on Facebook about the Circassian problem. Apart from the two of them, we do not see other activists.

There is great potential for the Circassian community in the United States in order to promote the Circassian issue globally, considering the fact that they live in a democratic country and many things can be done for the Circassians. Unfortunately, most of the Circassian people live in countries where democracy is not developed and the work there on the Circassian problem is very difficult.