"Absense of Will" - Young Georgians investigate the reasons of Abkhaz/Ossetian/Georgian conflicts

Full title: "ABSENCE OF WILL. A journey through Georgia’s conflict zones"
Director: Mamuka Kuparadze

Description: "Vakho and Teo are twenty-something university graduates from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. Born as the Soviet Union collapsed, they've grown up in the shadow of the wars that tore their country apart in the early nineteen nineties. They're too young to remember the fighting, but like everyone from their generation, their lives have been shaped by the legacy of the violence.
In the summer of 2008 Vakho and Teo set out to try to understand for themselves what caused the war in Abkhazia, and why after fifteen years of peace talks the sides are still no nearer to resolving their differences. Halfway through filming, fighting broke out again over South Ossetia. For a few brief days in August, war suddenly became a reality for Vakho and Teo, and as they experienced its horrors first hand, their search for answers became more personal and more urgent."

The documentary was shown on 10 September 2009 at the offices of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, Tbilisi.

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<a href="https://caucasus-pictures.blogspot.com/2009/10/absense-of-will-young-georgians.html">"Absense of Will" - Young Georgians investigate the reasons of Abkhaz/Ossetian/Georgian conflicts</a>

"Georgians are gradually leaving Akhalgori"

"The Georgian population is gradually leaving Akhalgori in fear of the aggression of the Ossetian home guard. Local residents confess in conversations that they are scared with so plenty of people with sub-machine guns in the streets. According to Lokshina, civil guardsmen behaved extremely rudely. "All the civil guardsmen we met were drunk," the human rights activist asserts."

Read the full article here.

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<a href="https://caucasus-pictures.blogspot.com/2008/12/georgians-are-gradually-leaving.html">"Georgians are gradually leaving Akhalgori"</a>

Kyrie eleison - Herr, erbarme dich - God, have mercy

Please click this link for music: / Bitte klicken Sie hier, um die Musik zu hören:

sung by / gesungen von Mariam Roinischwili. (With friendly permission by the artist / Wiedergabe mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Künstlerin.)

Gott hatte Erbarmen mit uns. Ich bin so dankbar. Herrgott, hab Erbarmen auch mit denen, die auf uns geschossen haben.
God had mercy with us. I am so thankful. Good lord, I beg you for mercy with the guys who shot at us, too.

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<a href="https://caucasus-pictures.blogspot.com/2008/08/kyrie-eleison-herr-erbarme-dich-god.html">Kyrie eleison - Herr, erbarme dich - God, have mercy</a>

Wish-trees / Wunschbäume

This first picture was taken in Truso-valley and, yes, it´s the same as one the post before, just seen from the other side. You bet this is frequently visited... By the way, the Ossetians pray to the same patron (St. George) as the Georgians. I hope they will sometime be able to worship together again.
Dieses erste Bild zeigt - genau! - den selben Wunschbaum im Truso-Tal (wie im letzten Post), nur von der anderen Seite. Man sieht, es ist ein beliebter Ort... Übrigens beten die Osseten zum selben Schutzpatron (dem Hl. Georg) wie die Georgier. Ich hoffe, sie werden eines Tages wieder zusammenfinden.
The second picture shows another wish-tree in the zivi-mountains, province of Kakheti:
Das zweite Bild zeigt einen Wunschbaum im Zivigebirge (Provinz Kachetien):

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<a href="https://caucasus-pictures.blogspot.com/2007/01/wish-trees-update.html">Wish-trees / Wunschbäume</a>

House in Truso Valley - Haus im Truso-Tal

This is one of the very few inhabited houses in the last (?) village of Truso-valley. The mountains are definitely ossetian (seperatist) area that claims to be independent. The tent on the lower mountain-slope probably hosts border guards - Georgians or Ossetians?

Dies ist eines der sehr wenigen bewohnten Häuser im letzten (?) Dorf des Truso-Tals. Die Berge im Hintergrund gehören zum separatistischen Gebiet Süd-Ossetien, das auf Unabhängigkeit von Georgien besteht. Das Zelt beherbergt wahrscheinlich Grenztruppen - georgische oder ossetische?

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<a href="https://caucasus-pictures.blogspot.com/2006/12/house-in-truso-valley-haus-im-truso-tal.html">House in Truso Valley - Haus im Truso-Tal</a>

Truso Valley - Das Truso-Tal

Truso valley/ Truso-Tal (Georgien / Georgia / Sakartvelo), originally uploaded by Henning(i).

Auf der Georgischen Heerstraße, ungefähr 15 km südlich von Kasbegi im Kaukasus gelegen, sieht Kobi aus wie der letzte Vorposten der Zivilisation. Wenn man sein Auto im ersten Dorf hinter Kobi parkt (etwa 5 km die Abzweigung und der Schlaglochpiste nach), sollte man ein paar von den Männern fragen, die fühlen sich dann für das Auto verantwortlich. Ein bisschen Russisch wird sicher nicht unwillkommen sein. Man wandert nach Westen, das Tal wird bald enger und macht ein paar Biegungen bis es sich in diese Ebene öffnet. Von hier sieht man die Berge Süd-Ossetiens. Als wir im Juli weiter marschiert sind, kam uns ein israelisches Paar entgegen, das ziemliche Angst hatte vor einem halben Dutzend unfreundlicher und bewaffneter Männer, die sie nach ihren Pässen gefragt hätten. Mehr zu dieser Geschichte in einem der nachfolgenden Bildbeschreibungen.

Das nächste Bild wurde hinter dem Dorf gemacht, das man am Ende der "Straße" erkennt.

On the georgian military road, about 15 km south of Kasbegi in the Caucasus, Kobi looks like the last forepoint in the wilderness. Take the turn-off, follow the potholes and park your car near the little river. When I was there in summer 05, it was possible to cross the river and park the car in the village over the river. It is an Ossetian settlement. If you ask some Ossetian men if it´s possible to park the car in a certain place, they will feel responsible for their guests. Some words of Russian should be appreciated. Hike to the west, the valley will make some turns and finally opens up to this plain. From here you can see the mountains of South-Ossetia. When we marched further in July 2005, an Israeli couple reached us terrified, because they had met half a dozen unfriendly armed men who asked them for their passports. This story will be continued.

The next photo was shot behind the village that you see in the center of the picture.

Truso valley/ Truso-Tal (Georgien / Georgia / Sakartvelo), originally uploaded by Henning(i).

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<a href="https://caucasus-pictures.blogspot.com/2006/12/truso-valley-das-truso-tal.html">Truso Valley - Das Truso-Tal</a>