18 Crimean Muslim men are languishing in prisons in Crimea on trumped up charges.

Many of these men have small children, who are now living without their fathers. Besides the severe psychological trauma they endured, these children have been deprived of the only breadwinner capable to provide for them, given that most of them have non-working mothers. Without a breadwinner to sustain them, these children become our children. With their fathers being held as political prisoners, their fate is in our hands and our intervention on their behalf is urgently needed.

Children are without fathers and have no source of financial support.

It is difficult to imagine the trauma that these children endured when they saw armed men come to their homes in the dark of night and drag their fathers away, tearing to pieces their sense of safety and security. With the loss of their only source of financial support and amidst the sharp economic downturn in Crimea, the well-being of these children becomes our responsibility. To top it off, prices have soared for residents of Crimea due to the recent change from the Ukrainian currency—the grivnye-- to the Russian ruble. People are now paying Moscow level prices, but with much less per capita income.  The average monthly salary in Crimea is $70 a month and it costs about $4 a day to feed 1 child. Funds raised will go toward fulfilling the immediate needs of these children, including food, clothing, and school supplies.

Endorsed by  the All-Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS Center)

 It is up to all of us - Muslims and non-Muslims alike - who care about human decency and succoring these desperate children to reach out a hand of kindness and mercy and to say these are #OurChildrenNow. 

Sabriye's Story

One of the children affected is Sabriye Zetullaeva, who will turn eight years old on July 30. She was severely traumatized on the night of January 23, 2015, when masked men from the Russian security forces broke down the door of her family home and dragged away her father Ruslan. Formerly an outgoing and affectionate child with an extremely close bond with her father, Sabriye has since suffered severe insomnia and panic attacks, and has become progressively more withdrawn. She recently underwent intensive neurological testing to determine whether she has suffered permanent mental impairment and will need to undergo further testing in the months ahead.

Pictured below below is the Zeytullaev family home on the outskirts of Sevastopol, Crimea. Ruslan Zeytullaev, a devout Crimean Tatar Muslim, was arrested on January 23, 2015 by Russian secret police  on unspecified charges of religious “extremism.” He has been held in administrative detention ever since and will receive a closed trial at an unspecified date in the future. His wife, Meryem who is unemployed, is struggling to raise her three children, Sabriye, 7, Mumine, 5, and Nuriye, 3 on her own.

Some of the most devout Muslims in the Crimean Tatar community have been tortured, kidnapped, or killed.

Since 2014, due to Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea, the 300,000 strong Crimean Tatar Muslim community, the indigenous population of the peninsula, has been the target of sustained and intense repression;  including systematic violation of its human, civil, and religious rights.

In the words of our brothers and sisters in Crimea: 

"During the past two years, due to profound and unexpected political changes in Crimea—the historic homeland of the Crimean Tatar people—the Crimean Tatar Muslims are daily facing very difficult challenges. We are experiencing intense repression of our community. Searches in mosques and religious schools as well as in our homes, have become everyday occurrences. Some of the most active and devout Muslims in the Crimean Tatar community have been tortured, kidnapped or killed. Some 20,000 Crimean Tatar Muslims have had to flee their homeland and are now living in exile in difficult circumstances."

A history of oppression and injustice

Pictured below are Crimean Tatars being herded on boxcars by Soviet security forces during the Forcible Deportation of the entire Crimean Tatar population from their ancestral homeland by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin on May 18, 1944 as a collective punishment for supposed collaboration with the Nazi German invaders of the Soviet Union. While a few Crimean Tatars did collaborate, many more fought in the Red Army to repel the invasion. In all, 230,000 Crimean Tatars were deported by Stalin to Central Asia and Siberia, of whom an estimated 46 percent died of starvation or sickness during the deportation. The Crimean Tatars were only able to return home after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The deportation of the Crimean Tatars has been recognized as genocide by the Parliament of Ukraine, but since the Russian takeover of Crimea in February-March, 2014, Crimean Tatars have been forbidden by Russian occupying authorities to hold public commemorative events of the Deportation, as took place every May 18 during the period of Ukrainian control.

About the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding

FFEU is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting understanding between diverse religious, racial and ethnic communities, with a special emphasis on nurturing ties of communication and cooperation between Jews and Muslims, across America and around the world.

How will you step up for our children?

Donate and then get 5 of your friends or family members to donate as well.

Educate yourself and those around you about the injustices happening to the Muslim Tatar community in Crimea.

Spread the word and use the LaunchGood sharing tools above!

Last, but not least - keep this community in your prayers!