ISSN: 2158-7051 ==================== INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RUSSIAN STUDIES ==================== ISSUE NO. 3 ( 2014/2 ) |
“Memoirs
by Kadir I. Natho” ,. By Omer Turan*, Published
by: Xlibris Corporation, New Jersey,Year of
Publishing: 2010. Subject Area: 20th century Circassian History, Book Type: Biographies and Memoirs.
Total Number of Pages:
731. ISBN: 978-1-4535-8897-0.
After
bravely resisting the Russians for almost a century against the occupation of
their homeland in
The
chain of disasters which the Circassians faced for
about two centuries has not yet been written. The official view in Caucasia
under Soviet/Russian rule claimed that the Russians came to the
At this
point I must state that Kadir Natho`s
Circassian History fills in an
important gap. It is the only book which covers all Circassian
history from the early ages to the present time in and outside of
The
same author has also published his memoirs recently (Kadir
I. Natho, Memoirs, Xlibris,
2010). Although he lives in
The
first chapter of the book is devoted to his childhood memories. He was born in
the small
Memoirs is not merely the memories of an
individual. It reflects the social, economic and political conditions of a
period of Circassian history in Caucasia. In plain, sincere and honest
language, he describes the childhood games and songs, the food, and traditional
medical treatments. Even under such difficult conditions, Circassians, or at
least his family and the others in their neighbourhood, kept their traditions.
Following tradition strengthened their power to resist the difficulties they
faced. They might be poor, and wear patched clothes, but they were always clean
and ironed. Politeness, modesty and dignity were held above everything else.
Respect and discipline were never forgotton. In their free time they talked
about Nart epics and their ancestors’ heroic defence during the
Russo–Circassian War. It was important for the younger generation to keep their
traditions and understanding of their past. Although they lived among the
Russians, there was no antogonism towards them. However, the principle was `not
to be like Russians.` Even though his parents disagreed, he went to a summer
resort for the succesful students of the region. There he realized that he was
the only Circassian child among the participants. At the end of camp, he
returned home with a Russian type peak cap. His father took the cap off his
head, threw it away, and said firmly “Son, don`t try to become Russian!
Otherwise you will neither be a Russian nor Adygha.”
In the chapters that follow, the author describes the
Nazi occupation of Caucasia, the regaining of control by the Russian, the
second Nazi occupation, and situation of the Circassians all through the
experiences, feelings and observations of a Circassian boy. Both of his brothers
were mobilized into the Red Army and it was left to him to look after his
entire family including his old, ill father, mother, two sisters-in-law, and
two nephews. His sister-in-laws were forced to dig anti-tank trenches. At
first, the Germans occupied their village but then the Russians recaptured it.
While the Germans were coming back to their village, they
killed nine Red Army soldiers in the garden of Kadir`s house. At the same time,
a bullet broke through the wall killing his mother. The Germans did not allow
him to carry his mother`s body to the village cemetery. His sisters-in-law
prepared her body and according to his father’s explanation, he alone dug a
grave in the backyard and burried his mother while bullets were whistling by
his ears. A few days later while his house was in the center of the fight
between the Germans and the Red Army, his pregnant sister-in-law gave birth.
With his father’s permission, he secretely accompanied his other sister-in-law
to her relatives in another village in order to save the lives of her two
children. He was unable to return to his village and had no place to go. At
anytime, he could die from the cold, hunger or a bullet. Finally he returned to
Hatramtouk and was compelled to work in
a German military warehouse. In spite of all these difficulties, life
continued. He was human; he fell in love with a Russian girl who was working at
the same warehouse.
The war destroyed everything causing the families to
disperse. Some Circassians who escaped from Caucasia organized a community in
Crimea which was recognized by the German authorities. With a group of other
Circassians he went and joined them. After staying there for a while, they went
to the Ukraine due to the start of the German retreat. In the spring of 1944, they
had to leave the Ukraine by order of the Germans. Some of them left in
carriages and horses but most of them left on foot. They went to Italy through
Belarus, Romania and Austria. At the time he was just 17 years old. They were
separated into small groups and sent to villages. A group of Circassian
refugees, including members of Sheretlyqo family from Greece, reached Italy at
the same time. In his childhood he had heard much about the heroic feats of
Sheretlyqos during the Russo-Caucasian War, so he was happy to meet them. With
his assistance, a friend of his abducted a Circassian girl, and married her.
The entire process and the wonderful wedding ceremony were done according to
Circassian tradition. The book contains much detail in terms of Circassian folklore
and tradition. All aspects of the events that took place are covered; what was
done, how it was done, and the philosophy and meaning behind it are described
perfectly.
As the war was ending, they were gathered back together
in Austria. Western Europe no longer wanted them. They were repatriated to the
Soviet Union who called them traitors. They did not know what to do as they had
no protector or place to take refuge. The Circassian refugees of Caucasia, like
the others were sent back to the Soviet Union. They were then probably sent to
the death camps of Siberia. Pretending to be a member of Sheretlyqo family,
Kadir Natho remained in Austria until the family was sent back to Italy and
branded displaced persons. After living in refugee camps, and prisoner of war
camps for three years under the fear and threat of repatriation to the Soviet
Union, he went to live in Jordan in 1947.
The Circassians of Jordan welcomed him warmly. He met
some relatives who asked him to stay with them, but he did not want to bother
anyone and refused. His resources were limited as there was not much work. New
arrivals from Palestine made the conditions even worse. From construction to
work in a marble quarry he worked anywhere he could. While he was working for
the railroad, he had an accident causing him to stay in the hospital for
months. The doctors even wanted to amputate his arm but it was saved after six
operations. Afterwards, however, it did not function well. With the help of the
Tolstoy Foundation which was helping unemployed Russians of the Middle East
migrate to the US, he was able to go to the US in late 1956.
He did
not have a proper education and profession; and he was not familiar with the
language and the culture of this new world. Apart from some Circassians
from Jordan, he did not have anyone to rely upon either. He underwent several
operations to recover the use of his arm but the results were not satisfactory
causing him to finally give up. Instead he decided to learn twenty English
words a day. His first job was addressing envelopes. He also started taking a
high school correspondence course. After getting a high school diploma, he went
to work on his university degree in the field of journalism. He studied
political economy in Henry George School. Moreover, he enrolled in several
writing courses, graduated successfully, and began to write his own books. In
the meantime he improved his working conditions. He worked in a restaurant as
the cashier for years. He then purchased his own printing shop.
He was
a hard working, determined, persistent person. He
proved that dignity and modesty can be maintained. He was mature, reasonable,
reliable; generous and loyal. His tendency towards being hospitable was an
important part of his personality. His hearth and door were always open. Circassian culture and tradition were the keywords in his
world. In the book, he represented all the qualities that he believed to be an
essential part of Circassian culture and tradition.
He was an idealist, but not a day-dreamer. In Memoirs, he was not afraid
of reporting his weaknesses and mistakes. This sincerity and openness increased
his reliability. He was also not afraid to speak about unfaithful Circassians. While reading Memoirs the reader also
notices that even the most devoted and traditional people, from time to time,
could do harm due to their egos .
As soon
as he was able to stand on his own two feet in the US, he started to help his
fellow countrymen. During those years, the Circassian
population of the US was about one hundred people with most of them living in
New Jersey. Except for a few aristocratic families that came following the
First World War, they were the first generation. Since they were coming from
another part of the world, adaptation to the US was not an easy task. Some of
them were old and sick, and some were alone and unemployed. Even though he was
living in New York, he helped them like they were his brothers. He did everything
that he could.
He was
aware of the limits of an individual’s help. There were some associations
established to meet these needs. However, some of them were small Circassian groups like the Circassians
of Jordan or Kabardins. Since their powers were so limited,
they were unable to represent all the Circassians of
the US. Therefore the Circassian Benevolent
Association and its members like Kadir Natho attempted to unite all these associations. After a
series of negotiations, their unification under the roof of the Circassian Benevolent Association was created in 1977. The
Association would provide a place for the Circassians,
organize solidarity among them, and work to keep the language, culture and
traditions alive among the younger generation.
Doing
anything to keep language, traditions and culture alive with the younger
generation was the most sacred and noble job of all. This was his main
motivation for writing. The younger Circassian
generation in the US did not have any written materials to learn their culture
and traditions. Some books published in Caucasia were written in the Cyrillic
alphabet and carried Soviet propaganda. Therefore he decided to write short
stories, based on Circassian folklore, which would
convey to the younger generation their culture and history. As a matter of
fact, while he had been in Jordan he had written some poems in Circassian. Unfortunately while coming to the US, he
destroyed them in order to avoid any trouble at the border. Based on old Circassian epics, he wrote poems, a novel and a play in
English. They were accepted with great enthusiasm everywhere among the Circassian communities and translated into Circassian, Turkish and Arabic. He became a well-known,
world-wide recognized author among the Circassian
communities.
Among
these literary works, The Circassian Star
should be mentioned. It was the first Circassian
periodical in the US. It was also the first Circassian
periodical published in English in the world. Although some of his friends
provided some articles, he was the sole author of the journal, publisher – he
printed it in his printing shop- and distributor. He received some financial
aid from his friends, but again, he was the main sponsor of the journal. It
contained articles about Circassian history, culture,
folklore and art. There were some Circassian articles
as well. It was distributed for three years.
In order to tend to the needs of the Circassian
community, the association bought a larger place in New Jersey. They began to
build a big building with a huge meeting room, mosque, cafeteria and clasrooms.
The money collected from individuals in the US was not sufficient to cover all
the expenses. Therefore, sometimes alone and sometimes with a friend, he went
to the Middle Eastern countries to solicit donations. Always he covered his own
travel expenses.
After completion of the building, he, with his wife and
some friends, became volunteer teachers for the children on weekends. They
taught the Circassian language, Arabic and Islam. In a few months the number of
students rose to over a hundred. In 1991 he became the president of the
association, and served for four terms. He also initiated the establishment
of The Institute of Circassian Studies
in 1970s, which aimed to organize academic research and activities about
Circassian culture and history.
During the cold war years, relations between the
Circassians of Caucasia and the Circassians of the diaspora was extremely
limited. After the collapse of the Soviet regime and the switch to democracy,
the pressure on the Circassians of Caucasia decreased. In these new conditions,
starting from the early 1990s, the International Circassian Association was
organized in Caucasia. Kadir Natho participated in all the International
Circassian congresses of the International Circassian Association as the
representative of the Circassians of the US. Memoirs, from that aspect,
also contains very valuable information about these meetings, policies,
negotiated subjects, different approaches, etc.
The book is written in simple language making it easy to
read. It is a moving story, and anyone from any background can read and benefit
from it. The numerous footnotes and pictures make it easy to follow and
illustrate the events. The book is an important source for the political and
social history of the Circassians of the twentieth century. From the viewpoint
of the author, the destructive effects of the wars, people being forced to
leave their homes due to the wars, their
problems; the theory and practice of Communist ideology, its image outside the
Soviet Union; migration to the US after WWII, their struggle to survive and
their institutions are presented like a moving documentary. It contains first
hand information about the Circassians of Caucasia, the Middle East and the United
States, their social life, problems, institutions, their relations with each
other and their folklore. Since there is not much written on the subject of the
Circassians in English, I am convinced that it will fill in important gap. I
sincerely congratulate Kadir Natho and look forward to seeing his new
publications about Circassians.
*Omer Turan - Full Professor at Middle East Technical University, Chair of the Department of History,
e-mail: omert@metu.edu.tr
© 2010, IJORS - INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RUSSIAN STUDIES