Meskhetians

1. Meskhetians (Meskhs) are ethnic Georgians, indigenous population of Meskheti (Samtskhe-Javakheti province of Georgia).

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2. Meskhetian Turks are the former Muslim inhabitants of Meskheti (Georgia), along the border with Turkey. They were deported to Central Asia in 1944 by Josef Stalin and settled within Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Today they are dispersed over a number of other countries of the former Soviet Union. Majority (more than 80%) of Meskhetian Turks are ethnic Turks (Yerli and Terekeme) and Kurds and Muslim Armenians, minority (about 20%) - descendants of indigenous Georgians forced into Islam in the 17th-18th centuries. Estimated population of Meskhetian Turks is around 300,000. They are known as Ahıska T?rkleri (Akhaltsikhe Turks) in Turkey.

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In May 1989 a pogrom of Meskhetian Turks occurred in Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan as a result of growing ethnic tensions in the overcrowded and poverty-ridden area of Fergana. This triggered massive evacuation of Meskhetian Turks from Uzbekistan.

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In the 1990s, Georgia began to receive Meskhetian settlers, in case they declare an ethnic Georgian origin. This rose protests among the Armenian population of Samtskhe-Javakheti province. Azerbaijan accepted a number of Meskhetians, however, having problems with the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, it showed no further will to accept a larger portion. Turkey, seen as their "true homeland" by many Meskhetian Turks, started a program of settling Meskhetian immigrants in the underpriviliged, Kurdish majority eastern regions of the country, falling far behind satisfying their expectations. Meskhetians settling in Krasnodar Krai of Russia nourished an "anti-Turkish" sentiment among the local Cossack population.

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Starting in February of 2004, and in cooperation with the governments of Russia and the United States (the State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration--PRM), the International Organization for Migration started a program to resettle Meskhetian Turks from the Krasnodarskiy Kray to the United States. As of September 2005, 21'000 individuals had applied to the program, and 5000 had departed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Atlanta, Georgia; Knoxville, Tennessee; and 60+ other American cities.

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Georgians: The Georgians (, kartvelebi) are a South Caucasian people and nation mainly centered in Georgia. They also live in Turkey, Russia, the United States, Iran, and other countries....

Meskheti: Meskheti is a mountainous area and a province in the South-West of Georgia. Ancient Georgian tribes of Meshech (later Moskh) and Mosiniks were indigenous population of this region (4th-2nd millennia BC). Majority of the modern Georgian population (Meskhs) of Meskheti are descendants of these ancient...

Turkey: The Republic of Turkey or Turkey (Turkish: T?rkiye), is a bicontinental country that is located mainly in the Middle East (Southwest Asia) and partly in Southeast Europe; The Anatolian peninsula comprises most(97%) of its territory, and is situated between the Black Sea on the north and the Mediter...