Monday, August 10, 2009

BOOK REVIEW: Georgian Minorities: Roma, Qists, Assyrians, Ezids

With contributions by Dea Elibegova, Meqa Khangoshvili, Sergey Osipov, Eka Bitkash, Dimitri Pirbari

Ms. Elibegova has compiled articles of four minorities in Georgia (Caucasus). LIBERTAS – European Institute is a think-tank on European and international economy and governance (all other books see under www.libertas-institut.eu, then Button “Publishing House”).

We would appreciate any review or being registered with the data/website, and I am available for all further information. If you want a hardcopy sent to a review editor please tell us his/her address. Otherwise we would be grateful if we would get a short feedback with a review.

Thank you and kind regards, Hans-Juergen Zahorka

Hans-Juergen ZAHORKA, Assessor jur.,
LIBERTAS - Europaeisches Institut GmbH,

Lindenweg 37, 72414 Rangendingen (Hechingen), Germany,
tel. +49 7471 984996-0 (direct -13), fax +49 7471 984996-19,
mobile +49 173 6603682 (new)
Skype: zahorka
www.libertas-institut.eu
zahorka@gmx.de, zahorka@libertas-institut.com

LIBERTAS Paper 72, August 2009, 56 pages, ISBN 978-3-937642-10-9.
15,00 EUR (payable in EUR, plus postage if outside of the EU); electronic version 12,00 EUR
(PDF will be sent by e-mail after receiving the amount of the invoice on our bank account)


Can be ordered either in every bookshop or directly (eVersions only directly) at:
LIBERTAS - Europaeisches Institut GmbH (LIBERTAS Verlag),
Lindenweg 37, 72414 Rangendingen (Hechingen), Germany,
phone +49 7471 984996-0, fax +49 7471 984996-19,
eMail:
verlag@libertas-institut.com
Internet: www.libertas-institut.com


Content
Protection or Isolation? On Georgia’s Policy Choice Towards Roma - Dea Elibegova
The Qist Phenomenon in Georgian RealityMeqa Khangoshvili
Assyrians in Tbilisi - Sergey Osipov and Eka Bitkash
Ezidism in Georgia - Dimitri Pirbari


The Publication
This booklet includes articles on four ethnic groups or minorities - Roma, Qists, Assyrians, Ezids – in Georgia today. This South Caucasus country is today a multiethnic country where different national and ethnic minorities live side by side, and it can hardly be understood without knowledge of their minorities. The preservation of national-historical originality and ethnic self-identification of these groups, while keeping their culture, traditions, history and language is the key issue and a noble task of minorities today as well as the state.
The paper serves as first entrance, mainly for non-Georgians, but also for Georgians to be aware of the culture, traditions, history and customs of people living next to the majority population. The importance of the paper is in indicating and identifying key points characterizing the precise ethnic or minorities groups. The paper may become, after all, a useful contribution for European minority research.
By different kind of analysis the originality of each group should be highlighted. While the contribution on Roma is a genuine social science research work, with high empirical content, it states that there are significant differences between the obligations Georgia has signed for in European conventions and the de facto treatment of Roma, for which Dea Elibegova sets up an ambitious – but also self-evident – checklist for the state. She works as Chief Specialist in the Department of Minorities of the Ministry for Reintegration in Tbilisi/Georgia. Her co-author and colleague Meqa Khangoshvili describes the history and mentality of the Qists, a Chechen minority in Georgia, who always were friends of the Georgians throughout their history. Also the other chapters are more culturally and historically oriented, first about the Assyrians, written by Sergey Osipov and Eka Bitkash, both very active in Assyrian organizations, in the case of Sergey Osipov as Deputy Chairman of the World Assyrians Association, in the case of Eka Bitkash as chairperson of the Young Assyrians in Tbilisi. The Ezidism chapter by Dimitry Pirbari also includes specific religious criteria and gives an excellent overview about the habits and customs of Ezidism. After all, this booklet brings valuable insights and an interesting picture of life in Georgia.


AmazonShop: Books, Maps, Videos, Music & Gifts About The Caucasus

No comments: