Said Bargandzhia

On 14 November, representatives of the WAC organized and held a meeting with local residents in the Tkuarchal district of Abkhazia, introducing them to the Congress, its activities, goals and objectives.

The Executive Secretary of the Congress, Inar Gitsba, in his presentation stressed, in particular, that one of the activities of the WAC is to work specifically to improve the lives of the villagers. He also spoke about the structure created and the immediate plans of the Congress.

The Executive Secretary of the Congress Inar Gitsba

© WAC

Viacheslav Chirikba, member of the Supreme Council of the WAC, also spoke at the meeting. He emphasized that the Congress is «not a political organization, but an organization of our ethnos».

«The main tasks, in the face of globalization, are not to dissolve, but to preserve our language and culture,» Chirikba said, adding that with the help of the Congress, Abazins and Abkhazians living all over the world can be united and «there is still a lot to be done».

The information web portal of the WAC was presented at the event. A spokesman for the information portal, Said Bargandzhia, said that the website includes publications about the activities of the Congress, about the life of representatives of the Abkhaz-Abaza ethnos, about their culture, history, ethnography.

In addition to the information component, the publications are designed to form a positive image of Abkhazia in the world. All materials will be published in six languages: Abaza, Abkhaz, Russian, Turkish, English and Arabic. To date, five language versions are already available: the Arabic version is under development and will soon be launched.

Bargandzhia drew the attention of the meeting participants to the advantages of registering on the portal.

«Anyone can register and use a database that will help search for representatives of the Abkhaz-Abaza ethnic group around the world,» said the press secretary of the WAC.

The leaders of the Youth and Women's Councils of the WAC made speeches at the meeting. Thus, Levan Torchua, head of the Youth Council, shared his personal impressions of participating in the activities of the Congress.

«I came to WAC to «build a bright future» and thought that they would do everything for me, for us, and I would be a kind of gear in the mechanism. But it turned out that everyone, joining the ranks of the WAC, was faced with a choice: to rotate at the end of the chain or to be the very mechanism that actively contributes to the improvement of life in our Republic. Everyone can do it in his place, starting from his home, his street, his city or village,» stressed Torchua.

The head of the Women's Council of the WAC, Geta Ardzinba, outlined the main tasks of the direction.

This is, first of all, the creation of a union of active women throughout Abkhazia and the organization of district branches of the WAC women's council in each settlement of Abkhazia. For each of the settlements, it is planned to create a special «passport» that will help identify its potential and possible directions of economic development, said Ardzinba.

The head of Tkuarchal district, Aida Chachkhalia, believes that the ideas and intentions voiced at the meeting will be continued.

«We have active youth, active women who are ready to support the initiatives of the councils,» said Chachkhalia.

After the meeting, everyone could join the Congress by filling out a special form. One of the new members of the WAC, a resident of Tkuarchal, Angela Darchan, shared her impressions.

«There are hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sisters all over the world, and it’s a great joy that today there is a strong organization ready to work in the name of association, for the good of the village,» she said.

A meeting of representatives of the World Abaza Congress with activists from the Tkuarchal district is the first of a scheduled series of meetings with residents of towns and districts of the Republic of Abkhazia. Such meetings will be held in all districts in order to acquaint the residents of Abkhazia with the activities of the Congress, to attract new participants to the WAC and its work.