The following is a letter from one of my graduates, Tinatin (Tika) Baum. Several students are from the Republic of Georgia or, as Americans, are currently working in Georgia. One young American who set up her own non-profit 501(c)3 to raise funding for orphans there is stranded and not able to get home. The young woman who wrote this e-mail was scheduled to be in South Ossetia last week but the president ordered her and her party back. Her job has been to assist with the reintegration of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to the Republic of Georgia, thus her distress.
“I am sending this appeal from Georgia, a small republic in the Caucasus. As an alumnus of Pepperdine University, I believe it is of an utmost importance to inform you about the developments that are taking place in my country. We are at war with Russian Federation, that is bombing not only our territories in conflict zones, but also the rest of the country.
We did everything to avert the war. When the intensification of the situation started, State Minister for Reintegration Temuri Yakobashvili, with whom I work, went to the South Ossetia conflict zone to meet with the Separatists leaders, they refused to negotiate with him.
The separatists continued heavy shelling on Georgian villages and yet, President Mikheil Saakashvili made a public statement and ordered the Georgian forces to unilaterally cease fire, for the purpose of offering again the South Ossetian secessionists to resume talks. Despite these efforts, the secessionists wiped out several Georgian villages. The tensions escalated. The Russian media started anti-Georgian propaganda and spread misinformation about the situation that, unfortunately, was quoted by many international news agencies.
My government once again offered a cease-fire and stopped shooting. This good will was used against us as Russian troops started entering the conflict zone via Roki Tunnel that connects South Ossetia with the Russian federation. Russians sent heavy artillery, tanks, armored vehicles, paratroopers, 58 army units, Pskovsky elitist division and warplanes. Russian warplanes ruthlessly bombed and razed Tskhinvali to the ground under the disguise of [a] peacekeeping mission. Not only that, the Russian warplanes started to bomb cities outside the conflict regions. They are attacking strategic infrastructure, like military bases, airports, etc. They bombed Gori, a city very close to the conflict zone, several times. One of the pilots by mistake bombed the dwelling building. Russians also bombed seaport of Poti and the oil terminal (at the Black Sea shore, far away from the conflict region). They also bombed several other cities and caused quite a lot of deaths and injuries.
This morning the Russian warplanes bombed the Tbilisi airplane factory.
Simultaneously, the Russian navy entered Abkhazian ports (another conflict region of Georgia). The Russian aviation heavily bombed Kodory Gorge/upper Abkhazia that is controlled by Georgia. The people in this country are in panic. Hundreds died, thousands are wounded.
My nation is endangered by the Russian Federation. We are at the abyss. I want you to know that this is not a conflict between Georgia and its separatist region, but it is a brutal war of Russia against a sovereign country of Georgia.
My people are in a woe! The international community is silent!
The existence of my country is at stake. The world might witness 1921, when the Soviet Army invaded the whole Caucasus! War in the Caucasus will change the world order!
I, not as a representative of my government, but as a citizen of my country that is fighting for Western values of democracy and freedom, call upon you to stand with us, help us and save us from total devastation.”
James Wilburn, dean
School of Public Policy
Pepperdine University