Dudaev’s appeal to refugees violates tradition of Caucasian hospitality

With his speech delivered in Russian to refugees from Palestine, Akhmed Dudaev, Minister for National Policy, External Relations, Press, and Information of Chechnya, has given a signal to the authorities of Russia that in Chechnya, they do not have time to solve the problems of refugees who have already arrived from Palestine and that no new groups should be sent to the republic for now. At the same time, the Akhmed Dudaev’s reproaches against the guests contradict the Chechen traditions of hospitality, note Caucasian experts and human rights defenders.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that 167 refugees from Palestine arrived in Chechnya in two groups, and they are accommodated in a health camp in the village of Avtury in the Shalinsky District. Akhmed Dudaev has noted that refugees should maintain cleanliness and be more organized and that they should not rush the Chechen authorities to solve their problems.

Svetlana Gannushkina*, the chair of the “Civic Assistance Committee”*, considered public reproaches to refugees from the war zone to be incorrect. The human rights defender believes it is obvious that refugees first of all need help.

At the same time, Svetlana Gannushkina* has noted that it is never possible to be fully prepared to receive refugees.

Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, Chechnya has enough reserves to accommodate a relatively small number of refugees. “The attitude towards Palestinian refugees in Chechen society is intensely sympathetic ... There are plenty of places to accommodate refugees. It seems to me that they could accommodate all of Palestine,” said Ruslan Kutaev.

The public statements voiced in the presence of refugees have been addressed to the authorities of Russia, agrees Chechen human rights defender Oyub Titiev. “But in any case, this is not normal. If people are accepted, then we need to take care of them,” stated the human rights defender.

Oyub Titiev has emphasized that Chechen adats (local customary practices observed by Muslim communities, – note of the “Caucasian Knot”) do not talk about refugees, but there are laws of hospitality.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.