12 09 2011
Jinal: Hello David, thank you for giving me an interview. First I would like to give our readers some information about you, your profession and your activities for the Circassian topics. Can you tell us something about your background?
David: I also would like to thank you for this interview, and I want to encourage all the people who take part in “Cherkessia.net” to keep on with the good work you are doing in spreading the important information about our nation.
My name is David Shawgen and right now I am completing my graduate studies in Sociology.
I was born and raised in Israel and all my life I tried to be an active member of our local community. However, after visiting our motherland and several communities in the Diaspora, I came to realize that all my focus was completely wrong. I understood that if I want a future for me and for my People, I must be active in the international level and not just in my local community. All the problems that we are seeing in our local communities are only the symptoms of a much greater problem that all of us have in common. And that problem is being outside of our homeland and being without the independence to govern ourselves. Being part of the Radio-Adiga team, gave me and my friends the opportunity to make change in that level, and we were able to raise the international awareness to that great problem.
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Jinal: What can you tell us about the situation of the Circassian Diaspora in Israel? How are you living there? What are the main targets Circassian having there?
David: The Circassian Diaspora in Israel has about 4000 people who live mainly in two villages in the northern part of the state. In Kfar Kama there are about 3000 people and in Rehania close to 1000. Kfar Kama, the village in which I live, has dozens of small businesses and workshops which attract both Arabs and Jews from our immediate neighborhood. Recently there has been tourism boost in the village, and we have many visitors who come to be impressed from our culture and history whether by visiting our unique Circassian Museum, or by visiting the other businesses that promote the Circassian culture.
In one hand, the Circassian community in Israel, like any other scattered communities around the world, is trying her best to keep its Circassian and Muslim identity. And on the other hand, we try to improve our socioeconomic status by integrating into the local society. The village schools teach the Circassian language and heritage together with the teaching of Hebrew, English and Arabic. And although the official language of instruction in school is Hebrew, most of the classes are taught in Adigabze when the teachers are Circassian.
Many visitors from Caucasus and other Circassian communities often mentioned that the Circassian community in Israel is one of the few communities who managed to keep well on its language and customs despite the long separation from the homeland. However, as someone who lives in this community, I see how the process of assimilation affect us every year, and the day that we will be completely assimilated in the local population is not that far.
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Jinal: Is there a support from the state of Israel towards Circassians?
David: The official position of the State of Israel is supportive to its Circassian citizens and they appreciate our contribution to the state. Kfar Kama, as being a Local Council, receives funds from the state to manage the village affairs, the schools and the Community Center. And Rehania get its funds from the Regional Council that she is part of. Basically, the State of Israel has no problems that the Circassians will keep their own language and traditions and it is also ready to help them. But the Circassians in Israel are a small minority who cannot translate their numbers into political power, so I think they will never benefit from the same conditions of the Jews in that country.
However, in April 2008 for example, the Ministry of Interior in the State of Israel, recognized the 21st of May as “A day of Choice” [a day in which every Circassian can miss work to be in the memorial ceremonies and still get paid for it as if he worked]. And as far as I know, this is the only country with a Circassian minority that officially recognized the Circassian Memorial Day. This shows us that although our electoral power is quite small, we can still get some things form the State of Israel for the benefit of the Circassians.
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Jinal: You are active in RADIO ADIGA . What is the purpose of this project? When you and your friends did start it? What are the main impacts and successes, you achieved?
David: RADIO ADIGA was established in 2004 by a group of volunteers from our community. The fact that Circassians didn�t had any international media that will broadcast the matters concerning to them, was very frustrating for us and we decided that we should do something about it. The solution was to establish a Circassian radio that will be broadcast over the internet, so anyone who wants to listen to it, will be able to do so from anywhere on the world.
Radio Adiga had (and still has) two goals; the first was to make the Circassians feel that they are part of a one global community and not just small communities with no connection between them, and in doing so to revive and preserve the Circassian national identity. And the second is to raise the issues concerning the Circassians to the global agenda.
Within the first day we started broadcasting in Adigabze, and we also had few attempts to broadcast in other languages for our brothers and sisters who have forgotten the language. Not long after, we were able to start broadcasting daily news in five languages: Circassian, Turkish, Russian, Arabic and English, and we also had live radio programs on hot topics in the Circassian world. All of these thanks to a network of Circassian volunteers from several communities in the diaspora.
The most significant achievement of Radio Adiga was becoming an important anchor for many Circassian activists around the world, and being an important mean for raising the global awareness on the Circassian issues. Radio Adiga was involved, both in the foreground and behind the scenes, in many of the positive developments toward the Circassian issue in the last seven years. Starting from the first conference that Jamestown Foundation made in the United States, and continuing with the Georgian declaration recognizing the Circassian genocide. I have no intention to say that without Radio Adiga, these developments would never happen, but it is worth noting that the radio team had an important role in the campaign.
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Jinal: On the 20th of May, this year, the Georgian parliament confirmed, that the tsaristic Russia conducted crimes against humanity against the Circassian nation � the genocide and extreme ethnic cleansing. What do you think about this conclusion? What does it mean for our nation’s future?
David: The Georgian recognition of the Circassian genocide is one of the most important events in Circassian history since the end of the Russian-Circassian War, and we should thank them for that. It is the first time that the ‘Circassian Problem’ officially crosses the boundaries of the Circassian communities, and it is the first time that the Circassians receive recognition of their long repressed history from any other nation.
The implications of this recognition for the future of the Circassians can be far-reaching, but first and foremost, this declaration shows us that the Circassians began to demand back all the rights that were taken from them, and that there are people who ready to help them. The Circassian genocide is an integral part of the Circassian history, and recognising it means in fact, recognising the Circassians as one of the indigenous people of the North Caucasus, and also recognising historical Circassia as the place in which the genocide was executed. These are all inseparable and there is no need to say them explicitly.
Now, I want to point out here that the recognition of the genocide is not an end of in itself, but only another mean for saving the Circassian people from extinction. However, it makes me very sad when people from our nation – especially the educated youth – don�t understand the importance of raising the Circassian Question to the international level, especially after the blatant ignorance from the Russian government.
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Jinal: You were been there in Tbilisi on these days. What were your experiences there? What is the attitude, Georgia has for the Circassians and our problems? Do you think they just want to make their politics with us and use us for their own?
David: First of all, it is important to say that the Circassians don�t have the privilege to reject any proposal that could help them in promoting their interests, even if it is coming from the Russians themselves. It is true that we must be cautious, but we cannot reject everything, thinking of the worst, without having any proof.
Circassians are not fools, and they know very well that each country has interests to promote. Promotion of interests is not necessarily negative and it is very logical thing to do. The Circassians also should do their best in promoting their interests. But to say that the Georgians use us and we even don�t know it, is absolutely ridiculous. It’s like rejecting any Russian proposal for negotiation from fear that they will take advantage on us. So my advice to all the opponents of the Georgian support is to think about this question- who gets more? An independent state of Caucasus that strengthens its position by strengthening its ties with other peoples of Caucasus, or is it a Nation that even doesn�t have any independence and receives historical recognition for its genocide and its long presence in Circassia?
We also saw the Georgian parliament members are not impulsive people and they do not act according to emotion. The fact that they spent a long time examining the documents and were supported by many academics outside of Georgia, shows us how serious were their intentions. For me, it was more interesting to hear the opponents of the recognition than those who support it in the parliament. And the fact that even the strongest opponent addressed to the timing of the recognition and its implication for Georgia, and had expressed no objection to the validity of the Circassian Genocide, shows us how supportive the Georgian were.
The Georgian Parliament is not a parliament of angels that has been sent down from the sky to help the Circassians, because recognition in the genocide is the most human thing to do for anyone who learns the facts in the documents. But we must remember that this recognition has implications on the Georgians themselves and that�s what makes it such a brave decision.
to be continued…
In the picture – David Shawgen (holding the Circassian flag on the left)among Circassian activists at the entrance of the Georgian parliament house, after the historic recognition:
“The Georgian recognition of the Circassian genocide is one of the most important events in Circassian history since the end of the Russian-Circassian War, and we should thank them for that.”
http://www.radioadiga.com/ClosedIndex/artikkk.php?ind=3789
