There's something that people rarely share online when they're out and travelling the world, and that's often the tough political climate that tends to surround some of the most beautiful (in nature) countries of the world. A lot of these nations are riddled in poverty or facing tough regimes that tend to lean more on the authoritarian side of things. And there's no doubt about it that many people just overlook such issues, especially in regards to whether these destinations are to be considered a potential long-term place of living. Georgia has been seen its name thrown around the news around the world in the past few weeks with some clashes between civilians and police after the results of an election didn't quite go as planned. With citizens preferring the more western route of the future with European Union membership and accusing the current government of rigging the election using manipulation of the EU promise while actually being more on the Russian side of things. This country has a tough political history, much like most former Soviet Republics, and I definitely don't have much of an opinion on the matter. This isn't my country, all I can do is observe. I'm certainly not going to be taking sides and jumping out into the protests and experiencing such clashes with the police in the night.
Just the other day a British citizen was arrested during one of the protests, to which his reason for being there makes absolutely no sense to me, and then deported for his participation with accusations of throwing stones at the parliament building and trying to even enter it. As much as I love photography and culture, this is one side of things I definitely will not be getting caught up in. But it was today that I had little choice but to witness these protests firsthand as a (mostly) student demonstration appeared right beneath my balcony in another district of the city. Out of nowhere, I could hear endless car horns, endless whistles going on that had me questioning what was going on out there. Flags waving around, people began to chant. At first I wasn't sure whether it was a protest or not, somewhat assuming it was the regular insanity that takes place here because the roads are like another realm of chaos. The chants would shout the name of Georgia in the Georgian language: "Sakartvelo!"
It appears that it was a student demonstration for the most part, most looking like the younger generation that would be more politically fuelled. I'm not entirely sure what they idea was, as it seems as if they would just walk across the road over and over again, waving the European Union or Georgian flag to cars that either honked in appreciation of the demonstration, or just honked in a "Shut the fuck up and get out of my way!" attitude. I have a feeling it was a bit of both. I'm not really one to glorify or even support protests, I don't really believe they do anything other than disrupt the people they'd want to be supporting their cause while those they are supporting are just cozy at home or in their offices not caring. It was an odd sight to see. And from what I've seen online this was a more peaceful side of recent events, having seen online a ton of violence at these protests from masked individuals, a rise in violence towards foreigners with more robberies of both individuals and businesses unfolding. It's a strange environment to be in lately. Especially with the new discovery of drug needles appearing in the stairway of the apartment building I'm in. I'm even seeing posts online of people saying they don't feel safe going outside when it's dark anymore. For context: it gets dark at like 5PM.
I hope the protests come to an end soon, I don't think they're really going to achieve anything. I can understand the want in people to have positive changes, I just don't think the focus is in the right place regarding going about getting those changes pursued. Tensions appear to be rising here, violence is definitely increasing. It's unclear what's safe and where even in the daytime. Coming closer to Christmas with more people outside, more crowds and general density, the last thing you want is to accidentally get caught up in a protest, especially as they can suddenly spring up like this outside your own apartment. Or be witness to some of the brutality that appears to be taking place even outside of the protests. It feels as if these recent events are still brewing, that they haven't yet peaked. If for some reason you were planning a trip here anytime soon, I'd say don't bother. Stay away.
Tbilisi
