Mountlake Terrace presenter describes building cultural groups for Tatar, Saha, Kazakh and Crimean communities

Beza, who identified herself only by her first name, told the Mountlake Terrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission on Nov. 20 that she has organized several diaspora communities in the Seattle area and is seeking more local venues and volunteer support.

Her presentation summarized how she connected with groups from Tatarstan, Siberia (the Saha/Yakut people), Kazakhstan and Crimean communities and then helped form nonprofit associations to plan events, language meetups and seasonal festivals. “If they said yes, I told them I wanna be your friend,” Beza said of early outreach to Tatar community members, and later added, “Let’s just create a Toutar Association.”

Beza described a string of community gatherings she organized: a small potluck limited to about 30 people at a…