[LINK] Chechens in Europe

[rfmcdonald]

The Institute for War and Peace Reporting an article up now by Timur Aliev describing the new phenomenon of Chechen emigration to Europe, as Chechens displaced by war in their homeland and unable to find secure tenure elsewhere in the Russian Federation head west, despite the high odds against getting admitted.

The latest figures suggest that around 70,000 people from Chechnya have applied for political asylum in Europe in the last few years. Only a few of them have had their asylum requests granted.

Many more wish to join them. "What is there for me?" said Aslambek Isayev, a 35-year-old father of three from Grozny. "I would go to France or Germany, not for my own sake but for my children’s future. They can get an education there and if they want to they can return home."

"Xenophobia in Russian society towards Chechens and also the lack of security guarantees and financial problems in Chechnya are basically forcing many of them to leave for Europe," said political analyst Idris Amayev.

Those who wish to leave face two main problems: getting a foreign passport and obtaining a visa.

The issuing of foreign passports was halted in 1999 at the beginning of the second Chechen conflict and still only Chechens officially registered outside Chechnya can obtain them. The only exception is for top officials and those performing the Haj to Mecca. To buy a passport on the black market can cost as much as 500 dollars.

Amayev says that the Russian authorities are deliberately not giving Chechens passports out of fear of causing an even bigger tide of emigration. “If Chechens began to ask for asylum in other countries in still greater numbers then it would be glaring proof that everything is not so wonderful in Chechnya,” he said.