108 years ago, on 13 February 1916, Saide Arifova was born in Bakhchisaray. During the Nazi occupation of Crimea, working as a kindergarten teacher, she concealed the true nationality of her children, forged documents and passed off Jewish children as Crimean Tatars, risking her own life.
After the liberation of Crimea, she rescued these children for the second time, this time from Soviet deportation, handing over their real documents to the NKVD. However, Arifova herself, like all Crimean Tatars, was deported to Uzbekistan.
In the 1990s, she returned to Crimea, where she lived until her death on August 9, 2007. In 2017, the story of her heroism became the basis for the film ‘Her Prayer’ by Crimean Tatar director Akhtem Seitablaev.
The Crimean Tatar Resource Center is inspired by the courage and bravery of Saide Arifova. Her life is an example of the struggle for justice. We believe that the memory of such people helps to build a future of mutual respect, equality and truth.