Chechen-Americans fear retaliation

Ever since the Boston Marathon bombers were revealed to be ethnic Chechens, a fear of reprisals has ripped through Chechen immigrant communities. Some worry about revealing their ethnicity to Americans, others fear a crack down on immigration.

It probably doesn't help that Americans in general know little about their homeland. Few appreciate its history, the nationalist movement against Russian authority, and Putin's hard stance against Chechnyan separatists.  Evidently fewer can even locate Chechnya on a map.

Few Chechens reside in the US

The Boston Marathon bombings earlier this week have brought a spotlight to the Chechnyan community. The two suspects in the bombings, brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, were naturalized U.S. citizens originally from Chechnya. A report shows how there are few Chechnyan immigrants to the United States, as most American cities refuse applicants from this region. One estimate has the number of Chechens in the US to be no more than 250 persons. Additionally, the majority of those immigrants granted asylum are women. Very few men are granted asylum due to American anti-terrorism policies.

Meanwhile the Chechan president, Ramzan Kadyrov, has blamed the acts of terror on the Tsarnaev brothers American upbringing. Compare that reaction with the humility of their uncle Ruslan Tsarni of Maryland, who expressed shame for his nephews' actions.