Refugees from Sputnik camp refuse to return to Chechnya

Another deadline for dismantling the Sputnik refugee camp in Ingushetia expired on March 10; but unsurprisingly, only 20 families left the camp.

Just as they've done in the past, when ordered to leave by a certain deadline, most people ignored it and stayed put. And of those who did go, some found accommodations in Ingushetia while others returned to Chechnya.

Sputnik is considered to be the largest camp in Ingushetia. Several years ago it held 6,000-7,000 people; but as of March 10, only about one thousand residents are left.

The refugees, aware of the deteriorating situation, are unwilling to discuss it with the press. However, Prague Watchdog's correspondent managed to talk with a few of them after promising their names would be withheld.

"It's very dangerous to give interviews here as you could suddenly disappear during the night," a middle-aged woman explained.

The refugees insist they will not return home under any circumstances. The woman stated, "If they drive us away from here, which I am sure can happen, I'll take my family either to Ingushetia, or Osetia, or some other place. But definitely not to Chechnya..." Other residents of the camp are of a similar opinion.

The reasons given for this reluctance to return to Chechnya are all the same. "Before we were afraid of Russian soldiers, now the threat comes from local law enforcement units," the refugees said. Then they cited examples of detainees who were beaten and tortured by Chechens engaged in various law enforcement agencies.

The new Chechen powers-that-be shrewdly use a carrot-and-stick approach. First they threaten to bulldoze the refugees' tents; then they promise to give them money to compensate for their destroyed houses if they agree to return home.

However, the refugees who do accept this offer are then denied the documents that detail the results of their case. Only after they dismantle their tents, pack up their belongings and leave the premises, they are able to get them.

Unfortunately many refugees take the bait and end up with fake documents, as Prague Watchdog's correspondent discovered in talking with them.

According to the Ingush Migration Service, about 5,000 people have returned to Chechnya from various temporary accommodation places in Ingushetia since the beginning of the year.

Earlier, Bella and Alina, two camps near Ordzonikidzevskaya, were dismantled, and the two that still remain, Satsita and Sputnik, contain more than 4,000 people.