Records Set But Money Not Spent

Op-ed

Sometimes, somewhere, good things happen in Georgia. One such ‘thing’ took place on September 9 right in the middle of the city of Batumi in front of a huge crowd rooting for the star of the show: 57-year old Georgian ‘sea-walking’ marathon swimmer, Beglar Ebakidze, who set a new record in the so called Zezela (standing) old-Georgian martial-training swimming style with both hands raised above the water. He covered by swimming, with his legs only, seven Olympic distances, which is equal to more than ten thousand meters, using no flippers or special swimsuit or other swimming aides whatsoever. The swimmer, who was followed in the water by a full boat of experts and witnesses, improved his own ten-year-old record by covering the distance of 10.5 kilometers in exactly 5 hours and 25 minutes. The event was organized within the framework of the Golden Fleece Sporting Program by the Adjara Autonomy, Georgian Geographic Society and Khashuri Municipality, headed by Gvanji Mania, President of the Giorgi Union - patron of all Guinness-like records in Georgia. It was judged by a special commission of referees who based their decision on the currently functioning charter of world records.

The champion was born in the village of Gomi of the Khashuri district of Georgia and learned how to swim “as a little boy in the whirls and rapids of the Kura River”. Beglar and his family are still living in their native places, making their livings through local agricultural and trade efforts. The records like his recent one are helping Georgia to let the world get better acquainted with its cultural heritage and new achievements like this type of swimming, which are purely Georgian traditions. The annals have it that in the mid 19th century a Georgian gentleman from Odishi, named Kelle Ekhvaia, became a perfect master of the Zezela swimming style and used his great talent to lure the invading foreign army into the deep waters of the Inguri river to be drowned, as he created the impression that the water was shallow by swimming in it with his hands above the water. I was told that there is another kind of water sport that someday might merit wide public interest, and that is underwater wrestling – the so called ‘Menchurva’. Currently, attempts are being made to attract the attention of Olympic experts, sponsors and organizers to let the world try this new outlandish sporting event.

There are a good number of other records and champions in Georgia like this one and they are not often heeded by variously preoccupied members of our society. But this is not the worst feature of this society that might annoy us. One of the most frustrating characteristics of our life is that our business community is dragging its feet in learning charity. Well, sometimes, somewhere, something charitable is taking place, but this has not yet become a habit as biblical tithing is not a commonplace thing in our religious and social life. Incidentally, I don’t even know if we want to learn it.

Yet, records and champions need to be taken care of so that they do not disappear without trace. And who should come up with the money for such a noble job as this kind of charity? Not difficult to guess, is it? But those deep and thick pockets are sown so tightly that a charitable finger can hardly get into it. Meanwhile, in the West, the west of our idyllic dreams, is a place where charity happens in big numbers on a daily basis. And the constantly ongoing process of doing some good to ‘thy neighbor’ is supported there by legislature: you do charity and you write it off from your revenues as a tax-exempt part of your profits. Why doesn’t this happen here? Because our desire to have a western appearance is not propped up and sustained by content thereto. Oh yes, we are ancient Christians with a short memory for ‘Do unto others . . .’

Nugzar B. Ruhadze