November 18, 1991 is a truly historic date for Kazakhstan. A resolution on the resettlement of our compatriots from abroad was adopted in the country for the first time 30 years ago. Since then, more than 1.5 million people have returned to their historical homeland. During the sixth meeting of the National Council of Public Trust, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that this day is remarkable for the country.
“Auyt Mukibek and other public figures, taking into account the historic role and importance of the Great Migration, emphasize the need of setting a separate date in the calendar for this event. I instruct the Government to consider the issue of including this historic date in the calendar of special dates and submit a proposal,” Tokayev said.
Marat Toksanbayev is one of the witnesses of that historical moment of the resolution adoption. He said that in those years, certain agreements with 15 departments of the country were reached to support Kandas people. According to him, this work needs to be continued with even more eagerness. After all, this contributes to the return of a large number of ethnic Kazakhs to their motherland from abroad.
“Over 80 doctors and more than 220 PhD candidates of Kandas people arrived in recent years. All of them are now working in education and culture in our country. I think that we need to increase the number of quotas, support them. For example, currently, Kazakh Ministry of Education and Science has a specific project for youth. Special quotas are provided. These quotas should be increased. I think if we attract more young people from abroad, they will bring here their parents and grandparents here soon,” Toksanbayev noted.
Since the beginning of this year, 15,903 ethnic Kazakhs have returned to their historical homeland and received the status of Kandas. 76.3 percent of them came from Uzbekistan, 9.5 from China, just over 6 from Turkmenistan, 2.5 from Mongolia and the remaining 5.5 from other countries.
Translation by Saniya Sakenova
Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova
