HS
6.6.2009:
Chechen
refugees came to Finland via Baku and Istanbul
Islam
Tumsoev wants a good education and a job
He goes by the
name of Islam Tumsoev - not to hide his real identity in Finland, but rather so
that he will not be recognized in Turkey, Russia, Chechnya, or somewhere else
where he has relatives who could end up in trouble because of him.
“I am studying
Finnish”, he says in Finnish, almost without an accent, after just a few weeks
of lessons.
Tumsoev is one
of the 15 Chechens who were brought by human rights activist Mikael Storsjö
from Turkey to Finland. The Finnish Border Guard said on Thursday that it
believes that the actions constitute aggravated arranging illegal entry into
the country.
Tumsoev, a
30-year-old engineering student, is a long way from Chechnya now, and is
visibly relieved.
A couple of years before the beginning of the second Chechen
war he left Russia to go to Chechnya to work for an international
telecommunications company. His studies were interrupted, and he wants to
complete them.
He says that
during the war he helped with the radio communications of Chechen soldiers. In
2000 his relatives decided to send him out of the area, and he flew via Moscow
to Baku in Azerbaijan.
“My parents
still lived in Russia, and they were facing pressures there. The security
service, the FSB, even drilled a hole in our cellar and set up a camera there.
My father found it. Finally they were forced to leave Russia.”
From Baku,
Tumsoev’s travels continued to Istanbul, where he lived with relatives, and
worked as a computer wizard for Kavkaz Center. This was how he got to know
Storsjö, who allowed Tumsoev to set up a website on his own computer.
Life in Turkey was more or less satisfactory, but it lacked
hope for the future. Tumsoev planned to return to Chechnya some day, but when
his uncle was kidnapped, and was not heard from again, Tumsoev stayed in
Turkey.
About 100,000
Chechens live in Turkey, as refugees from the various wars in the region. The
most recent arrivals came in 2002.
“We lived on aid
from an Islamic aid organization. Life was uncertain. Those without papers were
imprisoned if they were caught. On the other hand, people constantly hope that
they might be able to go back home. That is why they stay so close to the
area.”
Tumsoev says that the idea of work and a place to study
weighed heavily on him all the time, as did the idea of going back to Chechnya.
“I have land there, only the house needs to be rebuilt. A person cannot live
without his own land.”
He says that it
would have been possible to stay illegally in Turkey for as much as 50 years,
but that “it would not have been a life”. Three Chechen activists whom he knew
personally had been murdered in Istanbul. He wanted to get out.
“It was
frightening to think that agents of Ramzan Kadyrov are in Turkey looking for
Chechens.
Tumsoev’s parents gave their blessing to his plan to go to
Finland.
“Everything
happened very quickly. I even accidentally left my glasses in Turkey.”
He says that he
travelled to Finland with Storsjö and a certain family. The tickets were all
the way to St. Petersburg. During the whole trip, he was frightened that he
would end up in Russia for some reason.
“At night we
arrived at a nearly abandoned airport and we reported to the border guards.
They were friendly and said that we need not fear. ‘You haven’t committed any
crimes’, they said.”
By Kristiina Markkanen
http://tinyurl.com/nktm3y