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Yazidi Diaspora of Georgia

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Read: 1316     15:30     02 Октябрь 2023    

Yazidi Diaspora of Georgia is one of the oldest and largest Yazidi communities outside of Iraq. The migration of Yazidis to Georgia from the Ottoman Empire began in the late 18th and early 19th centuries due to persecution and violence. The number of Yazidis in Georgia peaked in the 1980s and numbered more than 30,000 people. However, since the 1990s, due to the difficult economic situation in the country, the number of Yazidis living in Georgia began to decline. Yazidi community migrated mainly to neighboring Russia, Western Europe and North America.

Today there are about 8,000 Yazidis living in Georgia, they are concentrated mainly in the capital, in the city of Tbilisi and in the southern regions of Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli.

During the years of Soviet rule, Yazidi organizations were active in Georgia, whose representatives were the intelligentsia of Yazidi people, Azize Isco, Lamar Pashayev, etc. Also, in those distant times, Yazidi electives were actively working in schools in Tbilisi, where children were taught their native language.

Over the past years, Yazidis in Georgia have faced a number of problems, such as learning their native language, history, religion, culture, unemployment has also not bypassed Yazidi community of the country. Also, Yazidis have faced discrimination and social exclusion more than once, facts of violence and persecution have been recorded more than once. In 2004, a school where Yazidi children studied was attacked by a group of Georgian nationalists.

Despite these problems, Yazidis in Georgia have retained a strong sense of identity and community. They have their own language, culture and religion. Yazidis in Georgia celebrate their religious holidays and traditions at Yazidi temple in Tbilisi, have created a number of cultural and educational institutions.

The Georgian Government has taken some steps to improve the life of Yazidi community, for example, in 2019 the Government adopted a strategy for the integration of ethnic minorities, which includes a number of provisions for Yazidi community.

However, more needs to be done to address the problems faced by Yazidi community in Georgia. The Government needs to combat discrimination and social exclusion, as well as ensure that Yazidis have equal access to education, employment and other services. The Government also needs to provide greater support for the preservation and development of Yazidi culture of language and identity.





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