Today in 10th of March, 2021 a very important event related to our diaspora took place in the Republic of Turkey. In the city of Kocaeli near the settlement of Kefken, on the Black Sea coast, was held an event of planting trees, namely olive trees in honor of the memory of our ancestors, the memory of the representatives of our diaspora who were forced to leave their historical lands, their historical homeland as a result of the events of the mid-19th century.
This event took place near the coast of the village of Kefken, since it was in this place 155 years ago that the largest number of representatives of the Abkhaz-Adyghe ethnic group in the Ottoman Empire landed as a result of Russian Caucasian War. This area bears great historical significance; it is here that events are held on May 21 to commemorate the victims of Mahajirism. This is the first time such an action has been organized in Turkey. The action was held under the leadership of the Abkhaz cultural center of the city of Kocaeli, as well as with the assistance of the administration of the city of Kocaeli. Due to the restrictions that swept the whole world, a small number of representatives of our diaspora took part in the action, but nevertheless there were more than 100 people, including the leadership of the Federation of the Abkhaz Cultural Center in the person of Atanur Akusba, the head of the regional branch of the Abkhaz-Abaza Congress in the person of Akhmet Khapat, adviser to the plenipotentiary representative of Abkhazia in Turkey, Jansuha Lazba, heads of Abkhaz cultural centers that are part of the federation of cultural centers from different regions and representatives of the public of our diaspora. Of course, the chairman of the Abkhaz cultural center of the city of Kocaeli Hasan Chichipa, as well as the city leadership and representatives of the administration of the city of Kocaeli, took part in this event. The olive tree was chosen very symbolically, as it symbolizes its historical characteristics. It should also be noted that this event was attended by representatives of the local media. At the beginning of the event, there were short speeches on behalf of representatives of our diaspora, the leadership of Abkhazfed and an adviser to the plenipotentiary representative of Abkhazia in the Turkish Republic.
