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TACOMA RESIDENT STRANDED IN GEORGIA
C.R. Roberts;[email protected]
TheNewsTri bune.com
August 12, 2008
WA
As Russian air and ground forces continued to press toward Tbilisi,
capital of Georgia, I was able to speak with Miriam Anderson, events
coordinator at the World Trade Center Tacoma.
She arrived in Tbilisi on July 19 with her husband, Todd, and their
9-month-old son, Zura. After nearly a month of visiting with family,
she had planned to return to Tacoma on Saturday.
Tbilisi's airport was closed after being bombed by Russian aircraft.
It was 3 a.m. Tuesday when we spoke. Anderson was with her parents
at their home in a downtown residential neighborhood.
"There is a convoy leaving from the American embassy Wednesday at 1
o'clock," she said. The caravan will travel to the Armenian border,
some two hours away.
Anderson had rerouted her tickets on British Airways to depart from
Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, rather than from Tbilisi. Under
normal circumstances, the full drive to Yerevan takes four hours.
"There is not so much danger," Anderson said. "They are not
fighting. They are just trying to occupy Georgia city-by-city. The
Russians will come into power. The Russians will put in their own
parliament. The other concern is that there will be a curfew, where
we could not leave. We are hoping to get to the bus provided by
the embassy."
In the United States, Anderson has permanent residency.
"The mood is - we are staying hopeful. The overall idea is that Russia
will occupy the country. After that, they will go for Azerbaijan,
Ukraine. It's all big politics. Overall, there is fear, like in
the early '90s, when the country was without food, electricity
and water. My parents hope that it won't be like that. People are
nervous. They are buying piles of food."
Troops had not yet entered the capital, she said.
"Not yet, but they are in other cities. In a couple of days
perhaps. There is nobody in the streets. People are not chaotic. There
are a few peaceful demonstrations in front of the Russian embassy,
but there is no screaming, no yelling."
She and her parents fear the occupation.
"The final point here - we think that the Russians just want to
occupy the entire country, not just Ossetia. Georgia is a door to oil
supplies, to energy. It is horrible. I am getting out because I have
an American husband and I have a child. If I didn't have a child,
I wouldn't leave."
It's about power, she said. It's not right, she added.
"That Russia can do something without acknowledging international
diplomatic rules. (Georgian president) Saakashvili was brave at the
beginning, hoping that the United States would step in and help them
to defend their territory. When it came down to reality, nobody is
going to fight against Russia. It would be World War III."
She expects Georgia to fall alone.
"People are disappointed. Everybody wants to have Georgia as a
significant partner, but nobody steps in to help. The population thinks
the West and the United States - they can talk, offer condolences,
but nobody takes action. Next Azerbaijan, next Ukraine.
"There is no action, there are just words. When everybody needs
Georgia, Georgia is there. But when Georgia needs help, nobody steps
in. There will be no barricades. It will be done in a quiet way. They
just occupy the city."
C.R. Roberts;[email protected]
TheNewsTri bune.com
August 12, 2008
WA
As Russian air and ground forces continued to press toward Tbilisi,
capital of Georgia, I was able to speak with Miriam Anderson, events
coordinator at the World Trade Center Tacoma.
She arrived in Tbilisi on July 19 with her husband, Todd, and their
9-month-old son, Zura. After nearly a month of visiting with family,
she had planned to return to Tacoma on Saturday.
Tbilisi's airport was closed after being bombed by Russian aircraft.
It was 3 a.m. Tuesday when we spoke. Anderson was with her parents
at their home in a downtown residential neighborhood.
"There is a convoy leaving from the American embassy Wednesday at 1
o'clock," she said. The caravan will travel to the Armenian border,
some two hours away.
Anderson had rerouted her tickets on British Airways to depart from
Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, rather than from Tbilisi. Under
normal circumstances, the full drive to Yerevan takes four hours.
"There is not so much danger," Anderson said. "They are not
fighting. They are just trying to occupy Georgia city-by-city. The
Russians will come into power. The Russians will put in their own
parliament. The other concern is that there will be a curfew, where
we could not leave. We are hoping to get to the bus provided by
the embassy."
In the United States, Anderson has permanent residency.
"The mood is - we are staying hopeful. The overall idea is that Russia
will occupy the country. After that, they will go for Azerbaijan,
Ukraine. It's all big politics. Overall, there is fear, like in
the early '90s, when the country was without food, electricity
and water. My parents hope that it won't be like that. People are
nervous. They are buying piles of food."
Troops had not yet entered the capital, she said.
"Not yet, but they are in other cities. In a couple of days
perhaps. There is nobody in the streets. People are not chaotic. There
are a few peaceful demonstrations in front of the Russian embassy,
but there is no screaming, no yelling."
She and her parents fear the occupation.
"The final point here - we think that the Russians just want to
occupy the entire country, not just Ossetia. Georgia is a door to oil
supplies, to energy. It is horrible. I am getting out because I have
an American husband and I have a child. If I didn't have a child,
I wouldn't leave."
It's about power, she said. It's not right, she added.
"That Russia can do something without acknowledging international
diplomatic rules. (Georgian president) Saakashvili was brave at the
beginning, hoping that the United States would step in and help them
to defend their territory. When it came down to reality, nobody is
going to fight against Russia. It would be World War III."
She expects Georgia to fall alone.
"People are disappointed. Everybody wants to have Georgia as a
significant partner, but nobody steps in to help. The population thinks
the West and the United States - they can talk, offer condolences,
but nobody takes action. Next Azerbaijan, next Ukraine.
"There is no action, there are just words. When everybody needs
Georgia, Georgia is there. But when Georgia needs help, nobody steps
in. There will be no barricades. It will be done in a quiet way. They
just occupy the city."