The Language… 4. Crimean Tatars…

In the 70s and 80s the language in the little towns of central Crimea was… I would call it Ukrussian with a hint of the Tatar’s language blended in…

My grandma educated me on the household differences… 

There were homes with lots of half-naked kids running around and playing in the dirt, where the oldest kids were taking care of the youngest. The back yards had nothing, but weeds. Some of the households kept a cow. Those were migrants from Russia, attracted by the warm climate and promise of a house…

Ukrainian migrant’s yards were green with happy crops. Kids had daily chores of taking care of the house, livestock, garden, etc. The kids usually played outside in the afternoon once their chores were done. I remember helping my friend with her chores so we could play sooner…

Tatars… My grandma had no faith in them. She used to teach me: "Never buy their farm produce when you grow up, because they fertilize crops with human urine"… 

I believe the difference between Christian and Muslim religions played its role back then too… 

I almost never saw the kids outside those homes. Their gardens… I still remember… were incredible! Every inch of the property was blooming and fruiting… lots of well-kept dogs, that were trained to control the herds of sheep…

I feel deep respect for the Crimean Tatar’s ability to keep their historical roots and traditions for generations, despite mass deportations and severe discrimination over the past 100 years… And I still love to buy their farm produce…)

To be continued… 

VGM 

P.S. 

Wikipedia: Crimean Tatars constituted the majority of Crimea's population from the time of ethnogenesis until the mid-19th century, and the largest ethnic population until the end of the 19th century.^[10][11] Almost immediately after retaking of Crimea from Axis forces, in May 1944, the USSR State Defense Committee ordered the deportation of all of the Crimean Tatars from Crimea, including the families of Crimean Tatars who had served in the Soviet Army. The deportees were transported in trains and boxcars to Central Asia, primarily to Uzbekistan. The Crimean Tatars lost 18 to 46 percent of their population as a result of the deportations.^[12] Starting in 1967, a few were allowed to return and in 1989 the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union condemned the removal of Crimean Tatars from their motherland as inhumane and lawless, but only a tiny percent was able to return before the full right of return became policy in 1989.