Living Peace 17: Letters of Wars and Peace

My story is the story of a child who went through war. I was five years old when Russia encouraged separatists and the “Abkhazian War” began on the territory of Georgia. The war claimed countless lives, brought destruction, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Including me.

In my memories, which I am very careful about, and which often appear to me as beautiful dreams, a child lives happily in her own home. The house is situated in a seaside town which is lined with green palm trees, it is always warm there and the people are friendly. This memory is then replaced by another sad story. I remember the chaos that broke out in the city, the desperate faces of my parents, who had to leave home to move somewhere far away … The sound of bombs replaces my mother’s lullaby, and the comfort of the home is replaced by long displacements and temporary shelters.

When the Georgian government lost control of Abkhazia, my family left Sokhumi, we had to escape from the war and move to a relatively safe place. Ethnic cleansing began in Abkhazia. Any Georgian found in their home was brutally beaten and tortured by hired militants. The elderly did not want to leave their ancestral homes. Many of them died in terrible conditions.

We left the city by boat. Some people had to cross the Sakeni-Chuberi pass on foot in terrible conditions. Many of them froze on the way and did not manage to escape to safety.

After leaving Abkhazia, a difficult period of displacement began. The country, weakened by the war, was unable to properly care for the displaced. We had to live in former hotels, hospitals, and factories. My family of four lived in a 15 square meter room of a former hotel for seven years. Then, with the help of kind people, we moved to the premises of a former factory.

The war lasted thirteen months. Abkhazia was reduced to ruins. People who once lived in friendship suddenly turned into enemies. Hatred was incited by a third force, and to this day it is still not possible to restore the burned bridge. The fact that people left their homes with only handbags in the hope that the conflict would be resolved very soon and people would reconcile again is also an evidence of an artificially encouraged conflict. The Russian side is trying to hinder the search for common grounds, using the frozen conflict as a subject of constant pressure on Georgia. There is no possibility of a real dialogue without Russia. The influence on Abkhazia is so large that the Abkhazian authorities do not take a single step without Russia’s permission.

I had to relive the emotions of the war I had experienced as a child when I was twenty years old, when Russia violated Georgia’s borders in August 2008 and launched a large-scale war against us.

During the war, I had to stay far away from my family. The city where I lived with my relatives was bombed. Military helicopters were flying over my house, and this time I realized the cruelty of war even more clearly. I became even more rebellious about how long it will take for our neighbour to punish us just for desiring freedom. During my time away from home, I thought about the causes and consequences of war, its horrors and how war penetrates peoples’ lives and destroys them. How is it that the plans of those who want war outweigh peoples’ right to life?

The August war, which was followed by a new wave of refugees from the Samachablo region, lasted five days. Then the situation was frozen which suited Russia. It recognized the so-called independence of two Georgian regions and occupied a fifth of the country causing a displacement of around 300,000 people, nearly 8% of our population. Russian authorities exerted complete dominance over the local so-called “government”, they stationed the troops near the country’s highway while displaced population is still not allowed to return to their homes.

A month after the war began, I returned from Poti to Tbilisi. I walked through bombed cities for the second time, watching desperate people on the road again and again asking the same questions …

After two wars, observing a raging war in another country is especially painful. The war in Ukraine is still painful for me and other Georgians. Today, Georgia lives between two conflict zones with Russian troops occupying the territory, which continues to creep up in our psyche. Soldiers arbitrarily erect barbed wire fences on new lands, preventing residents from living in peace. For example, a family may wake up one morning to find that their land suddenly “doesn’t belong” to them and is under the control of Russian troops. People are being abducted from nearby areas, and several people have lost their lives in recent years.

People in the conflict zone have to live in difficult conditions. The Georgian population, including my relatives, has survived in the eastern part of Abkhazia. They do not have the opportunity to receive decent medical care, and electricity is supplied on a schedule. The teaching of the Georgian language is prohibited in schools. Georgians are discredited by the Abkhazian leadership because of their Georgian origin. There are frequent cases when it is not possible to provide emergency assistance to the sick. My uncle died of the coronavirus due to the lack of proper treatment. In the event of being transferred to the territory controlled by Georgia, Georgian doctors provide them with every possible assistance. The relationship exists only on an interpersonal level. Otherwise, there are no effective activities aimed at reconciliation between the sides.

There is a gap between the divided sides, which is also facilitated by the propaganda of the Russian side. This in itself serves to maintain hatred between both sides. The conflict, which has been frozen for more than twenty years leaves many people with a feeling of longing for their native land. Many displaced people died so far from home that returning home remained an unattainable dream.

The tragic side of war is being covered up with propaganda and mutual hatred, as if there was an objective reason for killing each other. That’s why I think it’s very necessary to fight propaganda. We all need to realize that neither side can be victorious in war.

Unity and mutual support are most needed to achieve peace. The aggressor must know that starting a war will defeat him. He will be defeated by a united world and by the force for good.