A Pilfered Corpse

Op-Ed

Even the Patriarch, the wisest among living Georgian men, exposed his fatherly worry, having figuratively described the current desperate situation in the country as a rock rolling downhill. I completely understand His Holiness, although my philosophy of life defies any kind of pessimism for any presumable reason. In fact, I sometimes feel inadequate because of my persisting optimism in any situation that life might bring about. What’s so worrying about us after all? Aren’t our cars filled with gas, stores full of goods, restaurants packed, constructions on, businesses tinkering away, kids at school, politicians as glib as never before, TV channels bursting in shows, theaters crowded with buffs and the new spacious malls glittering? What else do we need to ask for? I know that at times a couple of flies drown in the ointment, but this can happen anywhere in the world, not only here.

So, I am still compelled to continue being the inveterate optimist that I am in terms of evaluating the intricately convoluted goings-on in Georgia as a regular routine, but I don’t even know if our economy has enough capacity to feed our people without asking external economic forces to give us a hand; I don’t know if our system of education can provide for a better future; I am not sure if our international political game is optimal enough for pulling the nation out of the geopolitical marsh we are being sucked deeper into; I have no idea whether the EU and NATO have Georgia’s membership in mind and if they are doing anything reasonable and forceful to make it real; I have no clue if the dropping demography is truly a bother to this nation or not, and if yes, what is being done to correct the situation; I cannot figure out whether the European visa liberalization was good or bad for this nation; and I don’t know, and I am afraid nobody knows for sure, how to behave in the blind political alley we have found ourselves in together with Russia.

Is Russia an enemy? I don’t know. She might be, and she might just as well not be. There is no consensus in the nation on the issue of Russia. Yet, we need to know because knowing this will give us precise contours to our current and future political behavior in the heavily mined international field.

I cannot afford to be overly straightforward with my personal opinion about Russia’s wants and needs concerning Georgia because I am a functioning journalist, not a politician, and journalists should keep to their own devices rather than going for somebody else’s. But if I were allowed to utter here my modest view, I would openly say that Russia wants the entire world, including Georgia, to recognize the independence of our unfortunate runaway territories. Yes, go ahead and recognize those perky little fellows and Russia will immediately smile at Georgia a broad but sarcastic smile. The ludicrous administrative formations on the forfeited Georgian historical lands are impotent without Russia’s protective paw. And every existent international format for bringing things back to previous order is ridiculously in vain, a waste of time and political energy. Russia has the body of our soldier not for reasons of due expertise, but to mock Georgia.

Should we send the Russians an appeal that Georgia is rejecting the western way of development and is now prepared to embrace the newly independent two states, the poor tortured corpse would be ours within hours. This is the anguishing reality the Georgian people and its government are faced with. Russia wants to be satiated on our flesh and desires our blood to quench her sadistic thirst. Shall we treat them to the delicatessen? If not, they will continue dispatching us and storing our unattended corpses somewhere in the wilderness. If yes, we will definitely have our due funerals in place. This is the point I find myself depleted of my stubborn optimism, and as a result, the insurmountable pain, sense of helplessness, self-pity and desperation become overwhelming.

Nugzar B. Ruhadze