The end of multi-ethnic Chechnya:
In another significant development, Chechnya has also lost almost all of its former non-Chechen population. At the end of the Soviet period, several hundreds of thousands of Chechnya's residents belonged to different ethnic groups - most of them Russians, but also Armenians, Ingush, Georgians, Ukrainians and many more, concentrated in the vibrant urban center of Grozny. This multi-ethnic Grozny has long ceased to exist. Under the separatist leadership of the pre-war period, many non-ethnic Chechens found themselves threatened by criminal elements and faced with an indifferent government that showed no intention to protect them. Many of the educated elites also lost their positions in government, industry and academia to locals connected with those in power. The ensuing exodus of some 300,000 non-ethnic Chechens represents the tragic end of a once peacefully diverse community and a dramatic brain-drain that continues to impede Chechnya's efforts to rebuild. The often negative experiences of Chechnya's former residents, exploited by Russian media and politicians, also became a major factor for anti-Chechen sentiment in Russia.

Key issues - internal displacement and safe return: For a long time the presence of Chechen internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ingushetia was the main symbol of displacement caused by the wars, especially the second war. The number of IDPS in Chechnya reached around 250,000 at the onset of the second war, increasing the native population of the small republic of Ingushetia by more than 50%. Ingushetia became an area of massive international aid operations that provided these IDPs with shelter, food and other services. Since 2002, IDPs in Ingushetia had been pressured to leave their camps and return to Chechnya, in spite of the persistent violence there at the time. Over the past years a gradual return has indeed taken place. As of early 2007, less than 20,000 IDPs remain in Ingushetia and many of them are expected to integrate locally rather than return to Chechnya. The international aid effort has shifted to Chechnya, where those who have returned from Ingushetia have often been unable to move back into their destroyed homes. As a result more than 100,000 people are today IDPs within Chechnya, most of whom live in substandard housing and poverty.

IDP girl (© Tamara Chagaeva)

Chechen refugees in Georgia and Azerbaijan:
In Azerbaijan, the Chechen community was estimated around 8,000 strong until about 2005, after which it was reassessed and found to be less than 3,000. Many Chechen refugees appear to have returned home, despite the persistent security risks in Chechnya, because of the desperate economic and social conditions that prevail among the refugee community. The government of Azerbaijan has never recognized them as refugees and they are thus without proper legal status, unable to seek employment or receive public welfare. Instead, they are provided with protection letters by the local UNHCR office. While there are some humanitarian programs to assist these refugees (by UNHCR, the Norwegian Refugee Council and UMCOR), the overall situation of this refugee community is extremely dire. Although several dozen families were resettled to third countries, this appears increasingly unlikely for the rest of the community. Chechens in Georgia have generally been granted refugee status on a prima facie basis (i.e. without having to prove persecution). There are several hundred Chechen refugees registered in Georgia today. However, beyond that the Georgian government's treatment of these refugees has been problematic. In order to be eligible for humanitarian aid they are forced to reside in the remote and impoverished Pankisi Gorge, and they have been subject to harassment by the police. Both Azerbaijan and Georgia have extradited Chechen refugees to Russia in violation of their obligations under international law. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Georgia violated the rights of the extradited Chechens.

Implications for Chechens at home and abroad:
What are the implications of these refugee flows and diaspora life? First, these refugees have to fend with European asylum systems, an often bewildering experience in which some benefit from speedy and comfortable protection, while other, no less deserving, refugees are left out in the cold. In western Europe, which has received the greatest number of Chechen refugees, the differences in treatment of Chechen refugees are stark, so much so that the process of applying for asylum in Europe has been compared to a lottery. According to EU law, moreover, refugees are not free to apply for asylum in their country of choice, but may only do so in one country, most often the country they first entered. Since most Chechen refugees are either unaware of these regulations or hope to find a way around them, they are often subject to repeated transfers and needless delays. In the 1990s and the first years of the second war Chechens arrived in Europe in small numbers and generally received asylum without complications. This liberal policy has for the most part been reversed, and countries like Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and France today usually grant only temporary protection status or deny asylum except in special cases. The reasons behind this include a Europe-wide shift towards stricter immigration policies, a perceived "improvement" of the situation in Chechnya, as well as concerns about large, compact migrant communities and the political and financial liability they could become. Some countries, like Austria or Belgium, are defying this trend and continue to grant permanent asylum to most Chechen refugees. While most Chechens who arrive in Europe are ultimately allowed to stay, if often under humanitarian or non-refoulement protection, they may have to wait up to several years for a final decision and their final status may be only temporary or exclude them from some welfare programs.

Second, there is the impact on Chechen society itself. A closely-linked, often insular community with practices and rules that favor self-segregation, many Chechen refugees are finding it difficult to cope with the new experience of diaspora life. The reactions range from enthusiastic embrace of the opportunities and freedom offered by life in Europe or the US (a small, but growing Chechen community exists in the latter), to severe isolation and fears about the loss of identity and social customs. This struggle is reflected in Chechen media and websites, where some commentators welcome the educational opportunities for Chechen children and youth and appreciate the benefits of the rule of law, while others mourn a perceived loss of cohesion, control and traditions. Because as many as 10% of the Chechen population may by now live abroad, all of Chechen society is affected: in this tight-knit community, everyone now has relatives or friends living abroad, and the experiences of the latter reverberate back home.

Our role:
The Chechnya Advocacy Network recognizes that diaspora life and its implications for the future of the Chechen people are increasingly central to the Chechens' story. We advocate for fair treatment of Chechen asylum-seekers in Europe and elsewhere, consideration of certain refugee populations for resettlement programs, and help Chechen refugees with their asylum procedures and with adapting to their new lives. Integration of the large and recent Chechen communities in Europe is an area of particular concern for us due to many European countries' failure to integrate previously arrived migrant groups in a positive way. Since the Chechen diaspora community is starting to become more organized and active, we are ready to help them improve their capacities and become more effective.

Guidelines on the Treatment of Chechen IDPs, Asylum Seekers& Refugees in Europe
Policy Guidelines prepared by ECRE, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles

Whose Responsibility?
Comprehensive, data-based report by the Norwegian Refugee Council on the situation of Chechen IDPs in Russia and Chechen refugees in Europe (May 2005)

CAN coverage on "Whose Responsibility" and interview with its author, Anne Marit Austbo

ECRE/Norwegian Refugee Council:Report from seminar on IDPs from Chechnya Summary of conference on Chechen IDPs and refugees held in Moscow in August 2004, with participants from European and Russian refugees aid organizations.

"Gender and Family Relationships among Chechens in a Czech Refugee Camp" - Alice Szczepanikova, 2004
Alice Szczepanikova is a PhD
student at the Department of Gender Studies at the Central European University. She focuses on gender aspects of forced migration and has spent three years working in Czech refugee camps as a social worker. The above text is her MA thesis.

"The right not to return: the situation of displaced Chechens dispersed in the Russian Federation" Matthew Naumann, August 2003
(Matthew Naumann worked as an intern in Moscow and Nazran for the Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development, a Chechen/ Russian/ English NGO, in summer 2002. He wrote this thesis pursuant to an LLM in International Human Rights Law at the University of Essex in 2003.)