Remember Georgia? No, not the sweet peach state in the South, but the small nation in Central Europe. Last summer, this country’s plight was unfortunately catapulted into our living rooms due to ‘drama’ from big brother. You see, Georgia is an independent transcontinental country in the area that is Eurasia and a part of the former Soviet Union. Its proximity to Russia and many other Eastern European countries have helped to shape the identity and rich heritage of this nation of 4.4 million people. It is bordered, in the Caucasus region, by the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia. Having been incorporated into the Russian Empire in the 19th century, Georgia has had back and forth fights over independence from Russia throughout the 20th century.The most recent unrest occurred in August 2008, when separatists from the South Ossetian and Abkhazian regions joined forces with Russian troops to storm into the republic and briefly occupy the country. Needless to say, there were casualties in the melee. Both Georgian and Russian political leaders claim they were hit first. One of the most severe claims actually comes from Russia, indicting the Georgian government of committing genocide against the separatist South Ossetian civilians. Systematic genocide, which the Georgians have counter-accused the Russians of perpetrating against South Ossetians and other minority groups, usually include ethnic cleansing, rape and the killing off of scores of people, including the next generation, children and their mothers. Tight negotiations occurred from August 12th to the 25th with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in an effort to finalize the six points of settlement between Russia and Georgia. As of October 5th, however, Russia still had not totally removed its troops from the disputed regions, citing that it recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. As usual, the civilians in the midst of the fray suffer the most from these armed conflicts. Even in the settlement, it was hard to hammer out a specific method for granting peacekeeping groups access to those that needed aid. Human Rights Watch’s most recent letter to Russia on November 25, 2008 called for more control over the South Ossetian militia. The organization asserts that ethnic Georgians in the Akhalgori area of South Ossetia routinely attack these civilians,and intimidate those that speak to human rights workers.

While human rights are guaranteed in the Georgia constitution, it has been difficult to achieve broad, effective and open reforms to the state of human rights. The status of refugees in Georgia is below par. With many of these refugees being women and children of the Chechen War, it has been difficult for them to find adequate jobs, housing or medical care. These conditions almost always spell disaster and terrible conditions for women, even when there are no significant accounts publicized or figures reported. A September 23, 2008 article from NewsBlaze.com, an American subsidiary of The Daily News, specifically addressed the state of women without peace in Georgia. The article described group issues such as displacement and separation from family, as well as hotly contested areas of occupation. Women caught in the midst of turmoil find themselves economically and socially disadvantaged. Their worth as human beings sometimes devalued to the point of desperation, where they are forced to use their bodies as currency. If they are not citizens of South Ossetia or are refugees in a neighboring country, it is harder to maneuver through the shaky welfare systems. Waiting for peace accords to be signed by warring factions rarely allows for necessary economic provisions or medical care. Prostitution quickly places them on the outside of legality, in addition to their often suspended state of national identity. Almost hand-in-hand with moral and social degradation, rape is also a high risk for women and young girls.

Although it has been difficult to find real-time, concise information of a distinctly professional quality, I stumbled upon a shining light, in the form of a Georgia-based website, www.humanrights.ge. This site is a portal for documents, publications, and other necessary information linking activists, free press and concerned individuals abroad. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association has also been involved in reports of regional gender inequality, citing poor and non-improving conditions for women. For instance, of 49 cases of domestic violence from January 2007 to May 2008, 39 cases involved women as victims. The overall report claimed that women were oppressed in the Adjara Autonomous Republic, a region of Georgia. One thing is for certain from the website: women in Georgia are not satisfied with their lot, whether it is the drop from 14% in 1998 to the current 11.5% involvement in self-government and political life or the lack of sustainable jobs for women to support their families. Many women are forced to choose between family and security, emigrating to neighboring countries to make a living. Lack of adequate representation in local politics also leaves women out of the loop when policies are constructed for socio-economic progress. Single motherhood is also a status largely overlooked by regional governments.

A more targeted approach needs to be put in place regarding the UN peacekeeping and non-governmental aid workers that are allowed to enter the country. If they can specifically inquire into the state of women in the occupied areas and throughout Georgia, there could be a significant breakthrough in how this whole ongoing conflict is treated by all sides. Among its recommendations for the Georgian government, HRW calls for more documentation and transparency in reporting how ethnic Georgians are being treated in the areas of conflict. UN organizations need to do more in-depth investigations of human rights abuses in order to inform the world of the ongoing status of women and children in Georgia.

There is, indeed, a sweet spot in the middle of bitter Georgian tales. Due to the greater human rights collective online, aid is somehow finding a way through the various borders. Women are organizing and speaking up, even when they face deaf ears or are forced to make hard decisions for the sake of survival. However, there is still a lot of work to be done. We, young and intelligent women in America ,can help the women of Georgia. Write a letter to your state representative and urge them to co-sponsor the International Violence Against Women Act. This important measure ensures our commitment to the worldwide recognition of systematic abuse of women and ending it. The women in Georgia need to know they have allies in the West. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are leading the international organizations that enable individual and group activism. You can log onto their websites and pledge a donation to a specific cause, sign a petition or forward emails to spread the word of the crisis. The important thing is that more women and men know about the horrors of war from a woman’s perspective, and that we do something about it.

~Selome Brathwaite

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