Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., August 24, 2008 Av 23, 5768 | | Israel Time: 03:23 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

FROM GEORGIA / After fleeing Gori, refugees find themselves angry at the world By Gideon Levy Tags: Tbilisi, Georgia, Russia TBILISI - At 6 P.M. Wednesday, a dozen or so impassioned refugees from the Georgian city of Gori were protesting outside the Georgian parliament. Their protest came very close to turning violent. A day after the alleged victory celebration, when the same square was filled with thousands of people silently supporting their nation, emotions have now turned to rage - aimed partly at Russia, partly at their own government, and partly at their own compatriots, who did not offer them shelter for the night. These people, the victims of world politics, would spend the night in their tattered vehicles. They fled their torched city by the skin of their teeth, with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Now they were standing in the capital, in front of the symbol of their nation's sovereignty, angry with the world. Advertisement "I want to go home, but I can't because it's not safe," a refugee named Marina Okorbince told me bitterly. "Who are you angry at?" I asked. "Everybody," she replied. "At the situation." An hour earlier, on the road to Gori, I met the French Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy. The famous thinker looked as striking as always. He told me had come to listen and try to understand what had happened here, in a country that had just started to blossom and was now at war. As the West was trying to understand what was happening, Russian tanks were threatening to advance on Tbilisi. How Levy got there is a mystery. The international airport is almost entirely closed. It seems that only foreign journalists and French philosophers are allowed to move freely on the road, which was held by a column of Russian tanks only a few hours earlier. The Russians were behaving like cats that had caught their prey, but were now determined to play with it and humiliate it, before devouring it alive. Russian tanks crossed the main road between Gori and Tbilisi unhindered, entered the abandoned city of Gori, and then left only to claim they were never there. Their confusing actions concealed their intentions: Is the war continuing? Do they want to capture the capital and replace the government? Or is the worst behind us, as Georgian Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili told us in fluent Hebrew? Wednesday morning, as we approached Gori, clouds of black smoke were billowing from villages on the city's outskirts. A group of armed, masked Ossetian militiamen, alongside Cossacks and Chechens, had raided and pillaged the villages. How much the Russians encouraged them is unknown. "This is a pogrom carried out by Cossacks," Yakobashvili said, trying to conjure sentiments familiar to Jews and Israelis. Either way, the roads were full of refugees fleeing their villages in their rundown Communist-era Ladas. Contrary to claims, there were no massacres in those villages, but the terrified residents were fleeing their homes. The situation here is still incredibly volatile. No one knows what tomorrow may bring. Yakobashvili estimates that since the confrontation began, some 30,000 Russian soldiers and 1,000 tanks have poured into his country. But next to Gori, only one tank column was seen, as well as a few dozen tanks scattered in the area. The soldiers sat on their turrets, and seemed less frightened than what one might expect. A burnt-out Georgian tank sat nearby. Then we came across a group of refugees huddling next to a sign pointing toward the Stalin Museum in Gori, the Communist dictator's birthplace. A woman with a few baskets of moldy biscuits cried as journalists photographed her. Another elderly woman fell on the street and screamed. "They are robbing us of everything, they are not leaving us anything," she said. The refugees described the gangs of plunderers that raided their villages, and the hundreds who had fled from the Georgian and Russian armies. Meanwhile, the Georgian government's only defensive action was to place a police barrier on the road to Gori. Tuesday afternoon, traffic to the capital ground to a halt, and Tbilisi was cut off from the country's west. Shall we wake up tomorrow, open the windows of our hotel room and see Russian tanks in Tbilisi's Liberty Square? Probably not. Rumors that the capital has been conquered are a bit too early. Related articles: Israel, U.S. send humanitarian aid to war-torn Georgia Georgia president denies Israel halted military aid Moscow denies Georgian claims its troops invaded and looted Gori Bookmark to del.icio.us   Nail in the coffin? Haniyeh: Arrival of blockade-busting boats spells end of Gaza siege. Operation Shalit Islamic Jihad urges Palestinian groups to kidnap Israeli soldiers.   1.   At least Georgians know how Lebanese felt 03:41  |  Steven Grumman 14/08/08   2.   Steven has it backwards 04:54  |  Sam C 14/08/08   3.   Steven the genius 04:56  |  Thomas 14/08/08   4.   War is Hell, Grumman 05:49  |  judith 14/08/08   5.   4,War is hell Judith 07:13  |  lydia 14/08/08   6.   ITN Reports 08:11  |  Mark of Lewiston 14/08/08   7.   Russia is SYria and Iran NOT Israel and Lebanon is Georgia 09:52  |  rony lebanese 14/08/08   8.   1: Steven claims Georgia attacked Russia`s existence 10:10  |  David Teich 14/08/08   9.   georgia/lebanon comparison 10:23  |  fadi 14/08/08   10.   "..rage aimed partly at Russia, partly at their own government.." 10:31  |  Chanalau, Tova 14/08/08   11.   Spot On Steven, The Hypocrits in the USA Set the Prescedent. 11:15  |  Johan Odin 14/08/08   12.   Russia and Georgia 11:50  |  fk 14/08/08   13.   11-12: note two more who can`t address reality (6th try) 17:20  |  David Teich 23/08/08

Read & React Ma`aleh Adumim mayor to appeal new West Bank fence route Responses: 193 Haniyeh: Arrival of blockade busting boats spells end of Gaza siege Responses: 180 Livni: World pressure on Israel, PA could spark third intifada Responses: 163 Mofaz: Israel must show a tough stance against regional foes Responses: 98 Karim Sadjadpour: Iran doesn't want to bomb Israel, just vote it out of existence Responses: 98 More Headlines 21:56 Haniyeh: Arrival of blockade-busting boats spells end of Gaza siege 17:36 Islamic Jihad urges Palestinian groups to kidnap Israeli soldiers 02:19 Russian embrace of Syria tightens, but for what purpose? 02:00 Haredi rabbis call for renewal of ban on Jews entering Temple Mount 01:35 Despite row over cuts, gov't likely to approve 2009 budget 22:49 ANALYSIS / Obama played it safe, but is Biden good for Israel? 21:59 Paul McCartney announces he will perform in Israel next month 08:17 Country or family? Israeli soldiers may have to choose which to defend 19:50 New film follows Holocaust refugees-turned-soldiers 00:36 Olmert eyes Russia trip 'to discover what they're planning to sell to Syria' 15:06 Still aiming for 2008 peace deal, Rice heads to Israel, West Bank 13:29 Four die on Israel's roads within 24 hours 03:30 U.S. entrepreneur makes aliyah seeking 'next big invention' 09:16 Obama chooses Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as VP running mate Previous Editions Select Day 22 aug 21 aug 20 aug 19 aug 18 aug 17 aug 15 aug 14 aug 13 aug 12 aug 11 aug 10 aug

Special Offers Advertisement Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com MBA in Israel in English APPLY NOW! Limited spaces available Israel's Premier Real Estate Website www. israel-property.com Your vacation starts here Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved