INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Zarema Gasanova, an Indigenous Avar from the republic of Dagestan, was working as a nurse in a St
Petersburg clinic when Moscow ordered its troops over the border with Ukraine
nurse-turned-Indigenous-activist about her career change, the benefits of activism in exile, rising xenophobia against people from the
Moscow.When February 24 happened, I could no longer stay on the sidelines
I first joined street protests, but when those became impossible due to repressive laws, I tried to do some local [anti-war] outreach work
the country?On July 16, 2022, I was attacked by a man at a bus stop in St
He was huge, about two meters tall
He first hit me on the shoulder while shouting racial slurs [used against people from the Caucasus]
scene, so I went to the hospital and the police station by myself to document my injuries and file a report
I was traumatized by the assault
At some point, I became afraid to even be out in public.Then, the mobilization started [in September]
Because I am eligible for conscription [as a trained nurse], I felt that it had all gone too far
Petersburg for many years
I walked in and apologized, but my professor started mocking me by imitating a Caucasus accent in Russian in response
faced racism while working in the medical sphere
Patients would openly question my competencies because of my non-Russian first and last name and my former boss would use ethnic slurs
behind my back.In short, xenophobia was everywhere, but it is growing now because the government uses the dominant Russian identity as a
have a better understanding of what is happening there compared to, for example, people in Western Europe.But the image of the North
Caucasus here is often full of the same old stereotypes
For people from these regions, the [asylum] process is much more difficult than it is for ethnic Russians.The additional vulnerability of
asylum applicants like us, Indigenous peoples, is often neither acknowledged nor taken into account by the system.In Russia, the risks
associated with political activism are not the same for everyone
Laws that are formally the same for all citizens are applied unevenly in practice
Indigenous peoples, especially those from the North Caucasus, often face heightened surveillance, suspicion, discrimination and harsh
persecution, even for peaceful anti-war or human rights activities.This is something that must be taken into account when it comes to
granting international protection
People [with a Russian passport] are not fleeing the same Russia
activism became much more transparent, naturally, because I am no longer afraid to speak out loud
I can also speak freely about the decolonization of Russia and I have finally found allies.Here in Finland, I co-founded a local chapter of
Feminist Anti-War Resistance
It is an intersectional organization that includes the decolonial agenda and embraces all marginalized communities
republic with immense ethnic diversity and no single dominant ethnic group
dolls and the kokoshnik [headdress]
than 30 ethnic groups living in Dagestan, each with its language, culture and traditions
Visitors are often surprised at how peacefully and harmoniously this mosaic of ethnicities coexists in Dagestan
kind of Dagestan would you want to return to?An independent one, of course
A Dagestan where people are not afraid and can take responsibility for their own lives
I believe that Islam and democracy do not contradict one another
