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rfmcdonaldHigh atop a mountain chain in western Turkey stands Mezit village, a hamlet founded in the 19th century by Abkhaz rebels on the run from Tsarist Russian troops. More than 130 years later, Mezit’s Abkhaz residents now have one goal -- to return to Abkhazia, where Russian troops are now a welcome presence.
"We would like to see this place with our own eyes, a place where our language is spoken," said Nalan Uran, a middle-aged Mezit homemaker, as she indicated a black-and-white photograph of her great-grandfather in the Abkhaz capital, Sukhumi.
That is a desire the de facto Abkhaz government would like to encourage. Promoting the return of Diaspora members is seen as one way to strengthen efforts to secure the territory’s independence from Georgia.
Thousands of Abkhaz, known as makhadjiri, fled Abkhazia for Turkey in the mid-19th century after resisting the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. Today, Turkey is home to the world’s largest Abkhaz Diaspora community. Size estimates vary - Diaspora leaders say 1 million people; Abkhaz estimates range from 150,000 to 500,000.
Their value for the de facto government in Sukhumi lies more in their interest in Abkhazia -- and their financial influence. Turkey’s Diaspora community reportedly remains a potential key source of outside investment, a long-term priority for de facto leader Sergei Bagapsh’s administration. Campaigning for Turkish recognition of Abkhazia’s independence fulfills another role.
The numbers of ethnic Abkhaz in Turkey actually making plans to live in Abkhazia are small, on account of the territory's poverty and instabiliity. More likely, they'll constitute a lobby in Turkey for that country's recognition of Abkhazian independence
