THE WAR AT HOME
By Chandra Niles Folsom
fairfieldweekly.com
http://www.fairfieldwe ekly.com/article.cfm?aid=9344
Aug 27 2008
CT
Local immigrants from Russia and Georgia fall on the sides of their
homelands over the South Ossetian clash
"My mom is so scared," says Nina Maledev. "When I talk to her on the
phone, she doesn’t even want to say what she thinks because she is
afraid someone is listening."
Maledev, a caregiver living in Fairfield, is half a world away from her
mother, who lives in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia and a city that’s
been enveloped into the new war in Eastern Europe, one that’s being
waged in the name of the continuing democracy of the former Soviet
republic–Maledev’s homeland–and to prevent Russian prime minister
and former president Vladimir Putin from achieving his suspected goal
of controlling the pipelines in that oil-rich region–perhaps even
reestablishing a Soviet Union.
The conflict has sparked a war of words between Maledev and her
godmother and closest friend in the area, Larissa Tarishkova–who
happens to be Russian.
"It is not because of democracy but for oil that the U.S. wants to
help Georgia," says Tarishkova. "I don’t believe [Georgia President
Mikheil] Saakashvili. He’s not a normal person. There is something
wrong with his brain. I am not saying this because I don’t think
Georgia should be independent, but it was wrong for him to start a
bloody conflict. Georgians are very warm and loving people and they
have the closest relationship with Russians because we have one
church, one religion, together. It is very sad to see that in one
day Saakashvili can ruin the long life of these two peoples."
They argue over the focal point of the conflict: The province of
South Ossetia. Located in Georgia but loyal to Russia, it broke away
from Georgian control in 1992. On Aug. 7, U.S.-trained Georgian troops
began an offensive to attack pro-Moscow separatists and regain control
over South Ossetia, launching heavy artillery fire and air strikes
that pounded the regional capital of Tskhinvali. The next day, Russia
responded by rolling tanks into the province, prompting heavy fighting
that spread to another breakaway territory, Abkhazia. More raids were
launched on Georgian territories outside the initial conflict zone and
civilians began spilling into refugee camps. Organizations including
Save the Children, headquartered in Westport, have been working to
provide food and medical supplies to the upwards of 158,000 people,
according to the U.N. refugee agency, who’ve been displaced.
"I tell [my godmother], ‘If the Ossetian people want to be Russian
let them go live there–not in Georgia,’" Maledev asserts. "They don’t
want to leave their homes where they have lived all their lives, but
they want Russian passports and to be called Russian. It’s the same
in Abkhazia, which is the most beautiful vacation place but Russia
took it over in 1992."
The views of the two immigrants reflect those of their
countrymen. Georgians claim its offensive was mounted only after
Russian troops entered South Ossetia, but Russians insist they advanced
because Georgians began attacking Tskhinvali–and both sides have
very different views of the U.S.’s role in the conflict.
"[Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice was in Georgia in 2005,
which is when all the perturbations began," says Gennady Shikariov,
a SoNo artist originally from St. Petersburg. He does not believe
Russia was the aggressor, nor that the U.S. helped instigate the
conflict to make Russia look like the bad guy and gain an oil-rich
ally in Georgia. Rice, whose area of expertise is the Soviet Union,
also visited in July, before the current outbreak of violence and has
stood stony-faced alongside President Saakashvili as he made appeals
for international intervention.
"Saakashvili wants badly to enter NATO, hoping to get privileges from
the U.S.," says Shikariov. "It gave him ambition to attack Ossetia,
which is part of Russia."
Maledev has an almost opposite opinion. "I don’t want to start World
War III over our little Georgia," she says. "But if nobody defends us
there will be no more Georgia tomorrow. Oil pipeline, which is very
important, goes through Georgia, so Russia wants to control this but
innocent people are dying."
Blood for oil–imagine that.
"We always had the best relationship with Russians and now this affects
our relationship because we think Putin is wrong and Russians think
Saakashvili is wrong, and I just wish it never happened at all,"
says Maledev.
Has the conflict ruined the relationship between Maledev and her
godmother?
"Not a war, not Saakashvili, not Putin, not Bush, can destroy my
love for my goddaughter," says Tarishkova. "But it has created much
discomfort. Let me tell you–I have lived in a place where there was
genocide–Azerbaijan, and I went to a refugee camp in Moscow. So,
I hate war and want only peace. My husband is from Armenia where
there was massive genocide but America won’t even recognize this
genocide. America is not telling the truth about Georgia, either. Where
do you hear the Russian side of this–on CNN or anywhere? Do they
tell you that Georgians killed 2,000 people in Ossetia? No. So, why
are they lying? I love this country–but I am an independent person
and I know what is the truth."