Kazakhs of Kazakhstan
“Who am I?” That’s the question on the minds of contemporary Kazakhs. In the aftermath of a turbulent series of national events, they are now undergoing an identity crisis.
During Soviet rule, the region known as Kazakhstan became a dumping ground for the empire’s unwanted. In the 1930s and 40s, dictator Josef Stalin banished millions to concentration camps in the Kazakh steppes. The original residents, the Kazakhs, quickly became a minority as l30 nationalities were cast into this confusion.
In the process, the Kazakhs lost their history and individuality as a people. With no written records, they depended upon oral tradition to communicate their uniqueness. This was quickly wiped out and they were soon unable to remember life before Soviet control.
Today, Kazakhstan is attempting to return to its roots by invoking laws that make learning the Kazakh language mandatory. This has caused non-Kazakhs to feel alienated and to resent the Kazakhs. The discovery of oil and the subsequent rush of wealth and Western values have merely added to the stress of an already volatile situation.
Ask God to reveal to the Kazakhs the identity which He envisioned for them before the foundations of the world: those who would worship Him, and identify with Christ above all else. Ask Him to establish the Kazakhs as part of the Body of Christ, equipped to praise and serve Him in unique and wonderful ways.-CL
Tujia of China
People Name: Tujia
Country Name: China
Population: 8,961,000
Primary Language: Chinese, Mandarin
Primary Religion: Ethnic Religions
% Evangelical: 0.30
Status: Unreached
