Witness to History

Three days ago I didn't know many, if any people who could say "I was there when a war began", but today, I know of several and I am one of them. What began as a business-as-usual overnight trip to Tbilisi, Georgia ended as a bit of a race against the clock.

For those who don't know, a brief geography/history lesson. The Republic of Georgia is a former Soviet state on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. It is a relatively small country, roughly the size of Nebraska. For the past few months, the region of South Ossetia, about 40 miles northwest of Tbilisi, has been trying to break away from Georgia in an attempt to join the Russian Federation. Until recently, the uprising was limited to small armed skirmishes between Ossetian fighters and the Georgian Army, and was relatively insignificant in the grand scheme of things. As my luck would have it, that all changed the day we arrived in Tbilisi.

It seems the Ossetians, fearing being overrun by the Georgian Army, requested military assistance from Russia, and they got it in the form of hundreds of Russian tanks, and dozens of fighter/attack aircraft. The last I heard, thousands of people had been killed, several Russian jets had been shot down, and in retaliation, the Russians had bombed targets all around Tbilisi. The night before we left, they bombed an airfield just 3 miles south of the one we'd landed at. I even heard a rumor that the only reason the Russians didn't bomb Tbilisi International Airport was because our airplane was there and they didn't want to give the US any reason to get directly involved. How considerate of them...

All of the above is just to set up my real story. Obviously and thankfully, I did not experience any of the fighting or destruction first hand. What I experienced and what moved me was the reaction of the Georgian people to the news that their country was in the early stages of all out war. I was just a visitor to their nation, and I had a ticket out of town (provided they kept the airfield open...but I guarantee you we would have found a way to get out of Dodge either way), the local citizens were in it for the long haul. This was their home and their way of life, and it was under attack from one of the most powerful nations on Earth. I hope and pray none of us ever have to find out what that feels like, but if we ever do I hope we weather it with the calm and grace or these kind people.

As I've told many who were concerned about our well being, unless you watched CNN or BBC News, you would never have known that there was a real live war starting just up the road. Nobody was panicking, people were going about their daily activities, all businesses were open, it was life as usual for the Georgians. That's not to say they didn't know or understand the gravity of what was happening, everyone did, but it just did not seem to affect them in a way that caused them to alter their normal daily activities. Everyone at the hotel, from the housekeepers to the front desk clerks, to the waitresses in the restaurants had smiles on their faces. They went about their jobs as if it were just another day in paradise. One of the waitresses apologized for the "bad time", and invited us to come back again in "good time", all with a big smile on her face. Can you imagine? She apologized to us because her country was under attack? Seems a little counterintuitive, but she was sincere.

If anything, the beginning of this war brought about an outpouring of Georgian pride and patriotism. The night before we left, there was a rally in Freedom Square (formerly Lenin Square), just down the street from our hotel. Horns were honking, people were cheering, and Georgian flags were everywhere. It was an impressive display, and I realized then that David had no intention of letting Goliath get the better of them. These people truly loved their homeland, and it was inspiring.

As you might be able to guess, the Georgian people are very proud of their heritage, and very proud of their national individuality. Georgia has a long and varied history, with the first settlers arriving in the region in approximately 4000BC. Since that time, just about anyone with a cause has come thru and left their mark. The Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, the Mongols, etc, etc. The resulting culture provides a very unique experience. The majority of Georgians are Orthodox Christians, but most other religions are present and welcomed. How many places do you know of that have a Mosque on one corner and a Synogogue on the other?

Until 1988, Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet/Communist influence is still very evident, but evident as part of the Georgian past, not it's present and hopefully, not it's future either.

Our trip back to Iraq was uneventful, as was our entire experience in Georgia. It was only after I returned to Iraq and had a chance to watch the news in English that I realized just how perilous the situation really was/is. I never thought I would say it, but I'm glad to be back in the relative safety of Iraq.

My thoughts and prayers are with all the kind people we encountered on our brief trip to Tbilisi, and for that matter, with all the people of Georgia. May cooler heads prevail, and bring about a quick and peaceful end to this conflict.