Beginnings

I'm not entirely sure I'll actually follow through with this blog-idea, what with me being a very capable procrastinator and everything, but I'll make an attempt at least.

I'm in Georgia. Not the US state, but the Caucasian republic, the former Soviet state, recently frequently talked about in world news due to the 2008 conflict with Russia over the breakaway regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia. I am in Zugdidi, a city in Samegrelo, very near the border to Abkhazia (local sources tell me about 15 minutes by car). Zugdidi was the recipient of a large amount of refugees after the first war in 1992-1993, many of which have not been able to go back and continue to live here in inadequate housing. Unemployment and poverty rates among these IDPs (internally displaced people, for those who didn't take Refugee Law) are high. My own hosts are also refugees, but educated and able to find work and rebuild their lives.

I've come here to do an internship with Imedi, an NGO founded by women who provide education and information for local IDP women, who are often not aware of their rights (regarding pensions, welfare, property rights, etc.). They provide activities for these women, often through seminars on peacebuilding, conflict resolution and other types of education. I'm meant to be teaching English to some of these women, something which fills me with unspeakable fear and great interest at the same time. Lesson preparations haven't started yet, since we have to wait for the boss to come back from Tbilisi before we can finalise the groups, so for now I'm just floating around, reading stuff, taking walks in the park with my colleague and host and eating lots of very tasty Georgian food (good thing I love coriander).

I arrived in Tbilisi on Friday at 3.30 in the morning and consequently spent the rest of the day slightly out of it (because attempts at sleeping were thwarted by neighbours that thought a loud 2-hour singalong at 4am was a good idea), and only accompanied my contact person to a presentation on a new project, supported by one of the very few female Members of Parliament, which aims to support single mothers. Georgia is a very conservative society, and being unmarried and having a child is a thing of great shame here. Many girls are disowned by their families and some are even driven to kill their newborn children to avoid the shame. Interestingly, I found out the next day that abortion rates are shockingly high here - 2,5 abortions per woman. Apparently it's used as a form of contraception, and as a way of ensuring that if your first-born is a girl, you will not have any more later. One shocking case was cited in which a woman was forced by her husband to go through six abortions in a row simply because the fetuses (? what's the plural of fetus?) were girls.

I spent the weekend sightseeing before coming to Zugdidi on Monday. Tbilisi is quite interesting; many buildings are old and decaying, but clearly they were very beautiful once upon a time. Many are being renovated, but the renovations seem to be mostly cosmetic: the facades are restored, while the insides remain dilapidated. Traffic is horrible and crossing the road isn't for the faint-hearted. The horn is a driver's best friend, and the bigger his vehicle the better his chances of getting his way. At least traffic lights are obeyed! Mostly.

What I found quite interesting is how keen Georgians are to belong to the European Union. Outside the Parliament both the Georgian and the EU flag fly, and there are "Europa houses" everywhere. Georgians consider their country to be just like any other in Europe. Whether actual membership of the EU will be a reality remains to be seen. I think Turkey will probably beat them to it, and that says a lot...

On my first day in Zugdidi we went for a small excursion to a dam and a waterfall along the road to Mestia in Svaneti, which runs very close to the Abkhazian border. Readers will probably be relieved to hear that I didn't stumble on any soldiers, landmines, tanks, KGB-spies, suicide bombers, invasions in progress or similar. The media image of Georgia is still one of "danger! danger!" but in reality things are much less dramatic. The biggest problem around here is really the unemployment; according to an ICRC publication I just read it's a staggering 70%.

The nature is, of course, stunning. Just going 20 minutes up the road to Svaneti made me want to come back as soon as possible and hike through the mountains until my feet fall off. Clear, fresh air, silence, fantastic views over snowcovered mountain tops... I'm looking forward to more of that.