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ATTEMPTS TO EASE a half-century of heartache have unexpectedly opened doors for the gospel among a Muslim community historically resistant to Christianity. 

        Missionaries have been invited to start Bible discussion groups among Tatars touched by concern for a dark chapter in their history. 

        The opportunity arose after Youth With A Mission worker Sasha Karabin publicly expressed his regret for the 1944 deportation of thousands of Tatars from Russia, which saw almost half die on their way to Siberia and Central Asia. 

        The Ukrainian nephew of two KGB officers serving at the time of the mass relocation, he addressed the crowd at a Tatar rally in 
Yalta commemorating the tragic events, and asked for their 
forgiveness for what had happened. 

        "Judging from the many invitations we have received from people to share this message in other towns, it's had a very positive effect in building relationships with Tatar people in the area," 
said Jerry Perkins, who directs the YWAM ministry in the port 
city. 

        "No-one has ever apologized for the great suffering the Tatars have endured because of the exile more than 50 years ago. Just 
the small act of hearing your former enemy say, 'I was wrong and 
I'm sorry' has a way of defusing decades of hatred and division." 

        As well as being offered the use of a library in a nearby town 
for discussions about the Bible and the Koran, the YWAM team has been given the use of a cafe frequented by members of the Tatar community to present the gospel through music and drama. 

        There are no known Christians among the 47,000 Tatars in the Ukraine, who trace their ancestry back to the White Horde, an 
offshoot of Genghis Khan's army that swept across Asia and 
Europe. Settling in the Crimea, they mixed with the Turks from 
whom they adopted Islam and much of their culture. 

        Around 1,000 Tartars now make their home in Yalta - a Black Sea resort most famous for the 1945 meeting of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt at the end of World War Two - where each May 18 they take part in the march to commemorate the deportation. 

        "It's a peaceful march," said Perkins, who took part in the 
event with a Tatar friend. "When the Tatars first began to 
arrive a few years ago there was some tension, but things have 
cooled in recent years." 
 

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