The conditions of the deportation where families were packed into railway cattle wagons were brutal, according to Eldar Muradov, president of the Osman Gazi Mosque in Dayton. The deportation and difficult living conditions afterward resulted between 30,000 and 50,000 deaths.
“They shoved all these people into the vans and moved them to Central Asia,” Muradov said. “...The journey lasted 45 days, and this is happening in November in Siberia, so imagine the cold.”
The modern-day country of Georgia has not allowed Ahiska Turkish people to return to their native homes, Muradov said.
“We have never returned,” Muradov said. “...Through the legal ways, we are trying, doing our best, to get to rehabilitation and return to our homelands. Whoever wants to return should be allowed to.”
It is important to remember their history so new generations will know how they got to where they are now, Muradov said.
“It’s been 79 years. We’re trying to pass this on to our generations so they know, they don’t forget what happened, and we will never forget,” Muradov said.
Tuesday was the 79th anniversary of the forced deportations that would eventually lead to Ahiska Turkish people living in multiple different countries, including some resettled within the U.S., which started in 2004.
Dayton mayor Jeffrey J. Mims, Jr. issued a proclamation that Nov. 14, 2023 was a day of remembrance for the Ahiska Turkish exile.
“For you to be in a situation where you are now, being in a situation where you can raise your families, where you can work and take care of yourselves and make strong contributions to our community is very much honored and respected by myself and my colleagues,” Mims said.
Some survivors of the 1944 forced deportation and exile are still alive to share their stories with their community.
“There are still a few people who remember it that are still a part of their community who lived through these events,” Dayton city commissioner Matt Joseph said. “...It’s important for us to remember as humans that we can do better, especially in these times with war raging everywhere it seems like, we need to remember, we need to do better.”
Mims and Joseph wanted to make sure the Ahiska Turkish community members know Dayton leaders support them, Joseph said.
“The mayor and I being here, we want to show support for our community. We have thousands of Ahiska Turks here now, and they’re Americans now,” Joseph said.
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