Hadijat Gatayeva
Encyclopedia
Hadijat Gatayeva is a Chechen
Muslim
humanitarian
activist who, together with her husband Malik
, took care of some of the Grozny
's war orphan
s. She is usually referred to just as Hadijat.
Gatayeva and her children were one of the subject of the 2005 documentary film The 3 Rooms of Melancholia
(Melancholian 3 huonetta) by Pirjo Honkasalo
, who kept in contact with her ever since. Hadijat is also the titular "angel
" in the 2008 book Angel of Grozny: Orphans of a Forgotten War
by Åsne Seierstad
.
, opened-up a makeshift orphanage
for street children
in 1996. After the beginning of the Second Chechen War
in 1999, for a period of time she had operated her orphanage in a refugee camp
in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia
; she was forced to return to destroyed Grozny after electricity and water were cut off from the camp after the ascent of Murat Zyazikov
in 2002.
Eventually, she moved with 21 orphans from Russia to Kaunas
in Lithuania
. On October 16, 2008, Gatayeva reportedly went "missing" after she and her husband were arrested by the Lithuanian security police
in Kaunas on unspecified charges.
On January 7, 2010, Gatayeva and her husband were arrested by Finnish police. The arrest was based on European Arrest Warrant
from Lithuania. Before the arrest Gatayeva and her husband had applied for political asylum in Finland
.
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
humanitarian
Humanitarianism
In its most general form, humanitarianism is an ethic of kindness, benevolence and sympathy extended universally and impartially to all human beings. Humanitarianism has been an evolving concept historically but universality is a common element in its evolution...
activist who, together with her husband Malik
Malik
Malik is an Arabic word meaning "king, chieftain".It has been adopted in various other, mainly Islamized or Arabized, Asian languages for their ruling princes and to render kings elsewhere. It is also sometimes used in derived meanings...
, took care of some of the Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
's war orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
s. She is usually referred to just as Hadijat.
Gatayeva and her children were one of the subject of the 2005 documentary film The 3 Rooms of Melancholia
The 3 Rooms of Melancholia
The 3 Rooms of Melancholia is a 2004 Finnish documentary film written, directed and co-produced by Pirjo Honkasalo...
(Melancholian 3 huonetta) by Pirjo Honkasalo
Pirjo Honkasalo
Pirjo Honkasalo is a Finnish film-maker. Although she has written and directed over a dozen films, Honkasalo is also an accomplished cinematographer, film editor, producer and actor. For her work in the film industry, Honkasalo has been recognized by winning 19 major film awards while being...
, who kept in contact with her ever since. Hadijat is also the titular "angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
" in the 2008 book Angel of Grozny: Orphans of a Forgotten War
Angel of Grozny: Inside Chechnya
Angel of Grozny: Inside Chechnya is a book by Norwegian journalist Åsne Seierstad published in 2008, which gives an account of everyday life in the war-torn Russian Republic of Chechnya...
by Åsne Seierstad
Åsne Seierstad
Åsne Seierstad is a Norwegian freelance journalist and writer, best known for her accounts of everyday life in war zones - most notably Kabul after 2001, Baghdad in 2003 and the ruined Grozny in 2006.-Personal and professional life:...
.
Biography
Gatayeva, who had served as a young field nurse for the separatist forces in the First Chechen WarFirst Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
, opened-up a makeshift orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
for street children
Street children
A street child is a child who lives on the streets of a city, deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old.Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself...
in 1996. After the beginning of the Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
in 1999, for a period of time she had operated her orphanage in a refugee camp
Refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, or NGOs.Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu...
in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia
Ingushetia
The Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
; she was forced to return to destroyed Grozny after electricity and water were cut off from the camp after the ascent of Murat Zyazikov
Murat Zyazikov
Murat Magometovich Zyazikov is the former president of the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia. He was born in what is now Kyrgyzstan. Zyazikov was a controversial politician in Ingushetia.- Political Career :...
in 2002.
Eventually, she moved with 21 orphans from Russia to Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. On October 16, 2008, Gatayeva reportedly went "missing" after she and her husband were arrested by the Lithuanian security police
Security police
In some countries, including the United States, security police are those persons, employed by or for a governmental agency, who provide police and security services to those agencies' properties....
in Kaunas on unspecified charges.
On January 7, 2010, Gatayeva and her husband were arrested by Finnish police. The arrest was based on European Arrest Warrant
European Arrest Warrant
The European Arrest Warrant is an arrest warrant valid throughout all member states of the European Union . Once issued by a member state, it requires the receiving member state to arrest and transfer a criminal suspect or sentenced person to the issuing state so that the person can be put on...
from Lithuania. Before the arrest Gatayeva and her husband had applied for political asylum in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
External links
- Grozny's war-hardened orphans trying to be kids again, Globe and Mail, 1996
- Grozny's Children of War Hope for Better Days, ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, 26 December 1997 - Orphans of One War Now Face Another, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, October 6, 1999 - Chechen war orphans made whole with a gift, Toronto StarToronto StarThe Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
, May 5, 2002 - Author Asne Seierstad enters hell with the angel of Grozny, The Sunday TimesThe Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, March 2, 2008 - Grozny's lost boys, The Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
, March 22, 2008 - Shelter for the orphans of Russia's Chechen storm, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Mar 28, 2008 - Witness to horror, The PostThe PostThe Post was a national tabloid newspaper in the United Kingdom, owned by Eddy Shah. It ran for only five weeks in November and December 1988. Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves, then the hosts of an ITV football series called Saint and Greavsie, had a column in the paper.The Post was produced at...
, April 20, 2008