30 April 2016, 22:16
Residents of Nogai District rally to mark return day of Karachay people
A rally to mark the 59th anniversary of the return of the Karachay nationals to their historic homeland was held today at the railway station of the dwelling settlement of Erken-Shakhar of the Nogai District of the Karachay-Cherkessian Republic (KChR). The first train with returnees from deportation arrived at this station 59 years ago.
According to the International Society "Memorial", in 1943-44, about 70,000 people were deported from the KChR. In early May 1957, the mass return of Karachays to their historic homeland began after 14 years of exile.
The commemoration event started with a prayer for those who perished in the places of deportation, which was read by Ismail Hadji Berdiev, the Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) of the KChR.
The rally was addressed by activists of public organizations, members of religious confessions, officials of state bodies, and figures of science, culture and education. The speakers noted that "in the hard years of deportation, Karachays did not break under the blows of fate." "Having covered the way of turmoil, they preserve their traditions, customs, culture and identity. They returned home, and then, together with other nations, worked for the favour of the republic," said the participants of the rally.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Author: Leila Gochiyaeva Source: CK correspondent
