North Jersey Circassians 'in exile' launch Olympic protest, by Andrea Alexander
Circassian World Newsletter
February 8, North Jersey - Circassians in North Jersey are headed for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver with a message to the world: If you let the 2014 games go on as planned in Russia, you’ll be skiing on the graves of our oppressed ancestors.
Members of the Circassian Cultural Institute in Totowa are leading a campaign with their sister organizations worldwide to stop the 2014 winter Olympics from being held in Sochi, Russia, the former capitol of their historic homeland.
They say Russia’s armies brutally drove their ancestors out of the area between the Black Sea and Caucasus mountains nearly 150 years ago. Since then, it’s been life in exile for descendants of the survivors, and they don’t want to see worldwide celebration and games in the same location.
On Wednesday, 10 members of the institute plan to leave for the Vancouver Olympics to call attention to their history. They are going to join members of a Circassian community from California in protest at Russian Olympic event venues while the world has its eyes turned on the games.
Read more: http://www.circassianworld.com/new/diaspora/1429-nj-circassians-protest.html
http://www.northjersey.com/wire/North_Jersey_Circassians_in_exile_launch_Olympic_protest.html