Story of Kuradashvili’s Family Who Became Mekhriev

“I want to return my surname back, but they are sending me to various institutions for a single document”…

Muslim Meskhetian, eighty-nine-year-old Osmana, his son-forty-year-old Ali, daughter-in-law Osana and grandchildren-Aslana, Raina and five-year-old Abasa live together. Osmana Mekhriev was twenty-seven when he was evicted from Georgia. He well remembers the details of eviction. “Soldiers arrived at our houses at 3:00 AM and ordered to pack our stuff in two hours; we had to leave the village before 5:00 AM. We left Atskuri (Akhaltsikhe District) by train. We traveled 22 days and finally arrived in the village of Luisan in the Ahum-Baboev District in Fergan Region, Central Asia. Later on we moved to Tashkent.”

At the night of November 14, 1944 the family of Mekhrievs or Kuradashvilis was evicted from the village of Abastumani in the Adigeni District together with other 92 thousand families and sent to Central Asia. 62 years later the family arrived in their home land again.

Foreign Affairs Committee of the Georgian Parliament started discussion of the draft law on repatriation of Muslim Meskhetians that aims to return evicted people in Georgia before 2009. Repatriation of Muslim Georgians has been under way for several years already. According to statistics 700 repatriates live in Georgia at the moment. 15 families of them settled in Samtskhe-Javakheti Region.

The seven-member-family of Mekhrievs or Kuradashvilis has lived in the village of Abastumani for a year already.

We hardly found the house of Mekhrievs. It is located on the lowland so one can easily see what people are doing in the yard. The dog is lying in front of the gate. When we called the hostess the dog stood up and met us waving his tail; then he goes back to the shade again. Guests are not strange for him.

The house is two-storied with large veranda. There is plenty of wool on the veranda. A girl of fifteen is lying on the wool-hill who stood up when we called and invited us in perfect Georgian.

Entering the yard you will notice two large stoves. There are saucepans on the stove. Local people have to pay much for gas and despite terrible heat they prefer to cook meal on stoves.

They do not like the term-Turkish Meskhetians-We are Muslim Meskhetians,” said Ali Mekhriev.

Only the oldest in Mekhriev’s family was naturalized in Georgia. The rest of the family is expecting to take identity cards. Ali Mekhriev is eager to return his surname back.

“I want to return my surname back but they are sending me to various institutions for a single document. They are telling me to bring this or that but how can I get them?! Shall I go to Central Asia?!” said anxious Ali Mekhriev.

Aslan Mekhriev could not enter the institute because he had no documents.

“I want to be a lawyer but I do not have any documents to apply for national exams…” said Aslan.

Ali Mekhriev fought in Abkhazian War. He was a reservist and having been seized hostage he was replaced by Vice-Prime Minister, Gia Baramidze. Despite that the family with seven members still lives on 45 lari pension of their father.

The family breeds cattle. The men are repairing cattle-shed in the yard behind the house.

“Unless you work hard you will never succeed. We paid much money for this house. I had borrowed that money. But I will not leave my debt to my children so I work hard,” said Ali.

The hostess of Mekhrievs cannot speak Georgian but she can understand everything. She is smiling listening to us and says that her ancestors were evicted from this village.

In Central Asia Osman Mekhriev dreamed to return to those places where he was born and grown up. He lived in Ozurgeti district for twenty-two years. However, finally he managed to return to his native place.

“I was born here and I want to die here too,” said the old man.

Gulo Kokhodze, Abastumani