Authors: Lily Hyde
Dream Land (23 page)
Many other ethnic groups in the Soviet Union were deported from their homes to Siberia and Central Asia in 1944. However, all but the Crimean Tatars were allowed to return in the 1950s, after Stalin’s death. Over a quarter of a million Crimean Tatars finally came back to Crimea between 1987 and 1995.
Sadly, Safi is right not to pretend that “everything’s going to be all right now”. The land disputes in Crimea continue to this day. Crimean Tatar religious and historical sites are being destroyed, and there are sometimes violent clashes between Tatars and Russian nationalist groups. However, Tatar classes and schools have been established, and Crimean Tatar culture is visibly reviving, an intrinsic part of the modern Crimean Autonomous Republic in Ukraine. Most importantly, there is no war.
In reality, the Crimean Tatar village of Adym-Chokrak has never been rebuilt. But on the other side of Mangup-Kalye the village of Haja-Sala has, and I have borrowed elements of its geography for this book. Similarly, Kermenchik has in fact been renamed Vysokoe (which means “high”), but another Tatar village, Ozenbash, really was given the new name Happy. I have also taken some liberties with the dates of some real events.
This book could not have been written without the generosity of the Crimean Tatars who invited me into their homes, fed me coffee and cakes and shared their astonishing stories. I am vastly grateful to all of them. Especial thanks to Lutfi and Ayshe Osmanov and family for unending kindness, patience and inspiration; Limara and Ayder Isayev, who recall their mother Shefike’s stories as if they were their own and took me to see her house in Kermenchik; and Halide Kipchak and Nikolai Chernigovtsev for Crimean salt.
L.H.
Italicized words are Crimean Tatar, Uzbek or Arabic words commonly used by Crimean Tatars
aga
older brother, uncle: a term of respect
ana
mother
balam
little one
bogcha
plain handkerchief for wrapping betrothal gifts from a suitor; also a larger cloth which a girl would embroider and use to wrap her trousseau
chaykhana
tea house
chebureki
fried meat pasties
churchkhela
Georgian snack made of walnuts and raisins threaded on strings and dipped in honey and pomegranate juice, commonly sold in Uzbekistan
collectivization
process in 1930s Soviet Union when private property was taken from its owners and turned over to state ownership in collective farms
Crimean Tatars
a Turkic Muslim people who have lived in the Crimean peninsula, now part of Ukraine, for over seven centuries
inshallah
God willing
kalpak
traditional Crimean Tatar hat made of sheepskin
Karaims
Turkic-speaking people who follow Karaite Judaism and have lived in Crimea for many centuries
kenessa
Karaim place of worship
khartbaba
grandfather
kobete
meat pie
Koran
Islam’s holy book
lagman
soup with noodles, vegetables and meat
lyepushki
flat loaves of bread
marama
long white or cream headscarf traditionally worn by Crimean Tatar women
medresse
Islamic upper school
nar
pomegranate
NKVD
Soviet state security police, predecessor to the KGB
perestroika
process of restructurization that led to collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991
plov
dish of spiced rice, chickpeas and meat
Ramadan
month of fasting in the Islamic calendar, when it is forbidden to eat from dawn to sunset
Salaam aleikhum
Islamic greeting meaning “peace be upon you”
Stalin, Joseph
leader of the Soviet Union from the late 1920s until 1953
Surgun
exile
tamga
symbol like a pair of golden scales on the Crimean Tatar flag
tata
older sister, aunt: a term of respect
zelyonka
green-dyed iodine
Safi and her family have returned to their homeland after being forcibly deported many years earlier. The prejudice and persecution that they face are sadly all too common for people who go back to their countries of origin after time in exile. Having a home and belonging to a country are fundamental human rights, but they are denied to many people around the world.
Human rights are basic principles that allow us the freedom to live dignified lives, free from abuse, fear and want, and free to express our own beliefs. Human rights belong to all of us, regardless of who we are or where we live.
Amnesty International is a movement of ordinary people from across the world standing up for humanity and human rights. Our purpose is to protect people wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied. We aspire to create a world in which we can all enjoy our basic human rights.
Youth groups
In the UK we have an active membership of over 550 youth groups. Youth groups are gatherings of young people in schools, sixth form colleges or youth clubs who meet to campaign for Amnesty International. They hold publicity stunts, write letters to government leaders and officials, fundraise, get publicity in their local paper, hold assemblies and create displays. You can also join as an individual member and receive magazines and letter-writing actions.
If you would like to join Amnesty International, set up a youth group, or simply find out more, please telephone our Education and Student Team on 020 7033 1596 or email
[email protected]
Amnesty International UK, The Human Rights Action Centre, 17–25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA. Tel: 020 7033 1500
.
“It is difficult to explain how greatly our life changed after that first postcard. I never felt lonely any more… Every letter was a miracle – they changed my life, they gave me hope.”
Marina Aidova
, who was 8 years old when her father was arrested and imprisoned by the Soviet authorities. Amnesty International asked its members to write to Marina and her mother Lera
.
“Amnesty’s greetings cards really helped me in prison. In total, I received more than 4,000 – amazing! I read each one: the best, I think, were those from children and other student activists… It amazed me to see that those children know about human rights. What a good omen for the future!”
Ignatius Mahendra Kusuma Wardhana
, an Indonesian student who was arrested at a peaceful demonstration in 2003 and spent more than two years behind bars, where he was beaten and threatened
.
Lily Hyde is a British freelance writer and journalist based in Ukraine. She has been covering cultural and social issues in the former Soviet Union for several years, and her journalism and travel writing has been widely published in the international press. She has written short stories and is the author of
Riding Icarus
, her first novel for children.
Lily first learned about the Crimean Tatars when she wrote some news articles on Crimea, and found their history and the struggle for their homeland so inspiring she went on to write her second novel,
Dream Land
. She says, “I love listening to people’s stories, trying to understand what they dream about, what makes them tick; wondering what our lives would be like if I’d been born in their place and they’d been born in mine. Everyone has an astonishing tale to tell, and the hardest thing about writing this book was that I just couldn’t include them all.”
Books by the same author
Riding Icarus
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.
First published 2008 by Walker Books Ltd
87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ
This edition published 2013
Text © 2008 Lily Hyde
Illustrations © 2008 Sarah Coleman
Extracts p21 and p22 from Edward A. Allworth “My Tatarness, Shevki Bektore” in
The Tatars of Crimea
, p 77 © 1997 Duke University Press. All rights reserved. Used by permission of the publisher.
The right of Lily Hyde to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-4063-5358-7 (ePub)