Divided Georgia moves forward along rocky detour

HS reporter travels through Tbilisi countryside towards Poti

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By Susanna Niinivaara
     
      Although the armed battles of the conflict appear to have died down by now, Georgia continues to experience a powerful Russian presence in its country. Those who suffer from the after-effects of the war include those who did not lose their lives, their loved ones, or their homes.
      Russia has divided the country into two by cutting transport connections between east and west.
      The harbour of Poti has been partially destroyed, Russian roadblocks prevent travel along the main highway from Poti via the city of Gori to the capital Tbilisi.
      The destruction of the railway near the city of Kaspi means that there are no rail connections. Georgia blames Russia for the explosion that took place earlier in the week, but Russia denies the accusations.
      No matter who blew up the bridge, the fact is that the trains are not running.
     
Domestic flights have been cancelled because of the unstable situation, said Georgia’s Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zghuladze on Monday evening.
      According to the minister, Russia also mined small roads near the cities of Kaspåi, Zugdidi, Gori and Poti. For that reason, the Georgians are looking for a road to bypass Gori from the west of the capital Tbilisi.
      A route was found along the mountainsides. Leastways it could be called a road - but this would require a vivid imagination.
      In the small town of Manglisi, people already know what people from Tbilisi are asking from the windows of their cars: “Where is the road to the west, to Bakurian, Boryom, Hasuri?”
     
No Georgian soldiers are to be seen anywhere on Tuesday. In some houses along the road, the Georgian flag has been hoisted to remind people what country they are driving through.
      A police patrol is nodding off on the edge of the bridge on the edges of Manglis, confirming that we should turn left. The mountains rise to the heavens. In the valley, hay is drying out. In this area, horses still do the agricultural work. The age of the tractor is yet to arrive.
     
The asphalt road ends, and the route becomes rocky and narrow.
      It is only with great difficulty that it can be traversed. The deeper we go into the west, the more cows, and the more shepherds on horseback are to be seen.
      One can imagine that they have never seen such busy traffic near their pastureland.
     
Just outside the village of Tslka, two Russian helicopters fly at a low altitude, in an area that is well outside the disputed South Ossetia, which was the reason for the outbreak of the war. A third helicopter is seen on the way.
      Cars move in both directions. Tbilisi is currently considered the safest of Georgian cities, and some have decided to go there to stay with relatives for the time being. Others are going westward to see how their relatives are doing.
      Some of the lorries, which usually try to ride along the main roads, are now trying to push along the roads that wind along the mountainside toward the capital.
     
The route is barely passable by jeeps, but now just about any vehicle is trying to use it. Consequently, the following happens: a van that has been converted into a taxi is trying to pull a lorry uphill.
      The further we move west, the more people in oncoming vehicles stop to ask “What is the way to Tbilisi? Are we on the right road?”
      “Yes, just keep going, and good luck."
     
Finally, after a torturous eight-hour drive, when the car reaches the city of Bakuriani, a target of winter tourism, a road sign pointing at the closed main highway says that the distance to Tbilisi is 113 kilometres.
      In peacetime this would be a drive of an hour and a half.
      Someone has put a hand-painted sign on the road leading to the mountainside: “Tbilisi”.
     
In the centre of Bakuriani the fire brigade is heading off to put out a forest fire. A dense cloud of smoke is rising from the mountainside. Georgia has accused Russia of deliberately setting forest fires. Russia has not commented on the allegations.
      In the city of Boryomi, which is famous for its mineral water, everything is quiet. Normally there would be tourists who have arrived in the spa city on evening walks after their spa cures.
      Now, cows wander unmolested along the main road.
      “Everyone has gone. Not even our acquaintances will come to see us”, says a senior citizen selling sweets at a bus stop.
     
It is clear at this point that in addition to the humanitarian crisis, the war has caused considerable problems for Georgia’s economy.
      Although ships still arrive in Poti, their cargoes cannot be transported to other parts of Georgia.
     
In the city of Hasuri, a Russian flag flies on an armoured personnel carrier. Russian soldiers sit on top of their vehicles.
      “It is the fourth day that they have been here. They are peaceful men. They go to the filling station to buy food, and sometimes they check the papers of people driving by”, says Georgi, the guard of the filling station.
      “Many have a white armband, and they speak Ossetian”, he continues.
     
Several eyewitnesses say that a white armband means that the men are paramilitary Ossetians travelling with the Russian forces. Refugees in Tbilisi say that Ossetian men specifically are the ones who loot houses. Russian forces have also taken over the military base of Hasur.
      “The Georgians left when we came here four days ago”, says a soldier who tells us his name is Ratmir.
      The soldiers who are now in Hausur are from the Russian contingent deployed in Chechnya. The soldiers have heard that there has been talk of withdrawal.
      Artyom, 26 years of age, says that the forces in Hasuri will be the last to go.
      “When we drove here from Chinvali, the Ossetians gave us water and cigarettes”, Artyom says.
     
And who in this area would stand up against the Russian forces, considering that even the remaining units of the Georgian police have been disarmed?
      “We worked together with the police, because not all of the people here even speak Russian. We say that we are here only to secure public order”, Artyom says.
      According to Artyom, the Russian forces have been ordered not to shoot.
      “We only shoot if we are shot at, and even then we have to think about it."
     
We are not able to get spare parts for our vehicle in Hasuri, but It is possible to drive it slowly toward where we are to spend the night. The day has already turned to night.
      Outside Hasuri, a little café still invites us to have something to eat.
      We wash the day’s dust from our faces and sit down at the table. Naturally, a pitcher of wine made by the restaurateur is also brought to the table.
      Our driver Shota raises the first glass: “To peace in Georgia.”
      And before the wine glasses reach our lips he continues: “And to having the Russians in the peace as well.”
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 21.8.2008


Previously in HS International Edition:
  COMMENTARY: Hasty predictions of big changes (20.8.2008)
  Vanhanen: South Ossetia crisis will affect next national defence report (19.8.2008)
  Georgia: Stubb’s marathon sprint (17.8.2008)
  Finnish and French foreign ministers hold talks with Georgian President (11.8.2008)

SUSANNA NIINIVAARA / Helsingin Sanomat
susanna.niinivaara@hs.fi