A Refuge No More by Daan van der Schriek 16 June 2004 The several thousand Chechen refugees in Georgia have seen their post-revolutionary hopes shattered and are leaving in despair. PANKISI GORGE, Georgia--Georgia, the Russians have always claimed, is a destination of choice for Chechen “terrorists.” But look at figures showing the dwindling number of Chechens in the country and speak to Chechens, and there is no sense that Chechens themselves view Georgia as a refuge.
“I wish I hadn’t come to Georgia,” says Aslan, a Chechen refugee in Tbilisi. “We’re all still suffering because of Basaev.”
It is a comment that highlights the predicament of the thousands of Chechens who fled the war and headed for Georgia. They may have found refuge, but they could not count on much sympathy, Aslan says. Shamil Basaev, the Chechen warlord who claims to have been behind the May assassination of Chechen President Ahmed Kadyrov, also fought during the 1992-1993 war in Abkhazia against the Georgians, earning himself a ferocious reputation and the Chechens lasting hatred from many Georgians. “I’d rather I’d gone to Azerbaijan,” Aslan says.
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