Gerhardstein in Georgia

I include this only because I know Al and also I was in Tbilisi last fall. Both are lovely.

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Cincinnati.Com » Other voicesLast Updated: 12:52 pm Tuesday, June 24, 2008
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Guest column: Al Gerhardstein Republic of Georgia well worth our friendship " name=story-title>
Guest column: Al Gerhardstein Republic of Georgia well worth our friendship The stairway was unlit, accessed by a doorless opening from a muddy courtyard. Walking up five stories, we passed exposed wires, crumbling concrete walls and peeling paint. Our host, Nana Asanishvili, opened the door to her Soviet-era apartment - our home for the next week. She is a pediatrician and, typical of doctors in the Republic of Georgia, she is paid very little and serves many friends for free. She is lucky to be working. More than 50 percent of the people in this country are unemployed. Our government thinks Georgia is important because of its strategic position on the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia and its utility as an oil and gas pipeline host. Along with 12 others from Cincinnati, my wife and I think Georgia is important because people like Nana want to know us and want us to know them. Georgia is isolated, physically, linguistically and politically, a wannabe democracy with two "conflict zones" within its borders occupied by Russian "peacekeeping forces." Why not just ignore this complicated, often depressing land? Because Nana, her brother Levan and her mother Cira have opened their arms to us. Their embrace is warm. This is the land of the Golden Fleece, centuries-old watchtowers, and fortress churches perched on strategic hilltops. Sulphur spring baths have cleansed local folks, Mongol, Turkish and Russian invaders and remain open today. This is a land of song and dance, a land full of musicians singing and playing beautiful folk songs. It's a land of expressive dancers often wearing fabulous costumes that reclaim traditions and celebrate better days. Kahaa, Nana's friend, walked me up a steep hill to show me an ancient Georgian Orthodox Church. On the wall he pointed out graffiti in Russian from soldiers who sacked the church in 1922. Many of the churches were used for warehouses. He is visibly angry. Today, Jews, Muslims and Georgian Orthodox all work hard to rehabilitate their desecrated houses of worship and now thoroughly enjoy religious freedom after years of Soviet repression. In this land of favors and barter it is clear that honor, family and friendship will drive them forward. That friendship must include folks beyond Georgian borders. The deputy mayor of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital city, met with us to answer questions and tell us of the ambitious plans the government has for economic recovery. I delivered a letter from Mayor Mark Mallory extending Cincinnati hospitality to the people of Tbilisi. But an even stronger bridge is built through our home stays: living with and shadowing our host families on the buses, in cars that dodge each other and huge potholes in a wild game of dodge-'em, in visits to orphanages that must compete for scarce resources, in travels past formerly abandoned buildings that now house hundreds of thousands of refugee families from the conflict zones; and in gatherings in overstuffed apartments with the tamada leading toast after toast as we celebrate our lives together on this Earth. How did my wife and I have the opportunity to make friends in Georgia? Friendship Force. It's an international group of volunteers with more than 350 clubs in more than 50 countries. It has a simple mission. Build friendship. Promote peace. This is done by staying in homes in host countries. Cities across the U.S. and world have clubs and send delegations to one another. Cincinnatians have a strong chapter. Chapter President Sonia Derge says Cincinnati has hosted delegations from Peru, Brazil, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and many others. In recent years the local club has traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Slovakia, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, England and Romania. Trips cost little. The reward is great. I could have stayed at a Marriott in Tbilisi, avoided the physical inconveniences and had running water at night. But Nana's apartment was a home. My friend's home. I made the right choice. For more information, go to www.friendshipforcecincinnati.org. Al Gerhardstein is a civil rights attorney who lives with his wife, Mimi Gingold, in Kennedy Heights." name=story-contents> -->
Republic of Georgia well worth our friendship
By Al Gerhardstein • June 24, 2008


Our host, Nana Asanishvili, opened the door to her Soviet-era apartment - our home for the next week. She is a pediatrician and, typical of doctors in the Republic of Georgia, she is paid very little and serves many friends for free. She is lucky to be working. More than 50 percent of the people in this country are unemployed.
Our government thinks Georgia is important because of its strategic position on the Black Sea between Turkey and Russia and its utility as an oil and gas pipeline host. Along with 12 others from Cincinnati, my wife and I think Georgia is important because people like Nana want to know us and want us to know them.
Georgia is isolated, physically, linguistically and politically, a wannabe democracy with two "conflict zones" within its borders occupied by Russian "peacekeeping forces."
Why not just ignore this complicated, often depressing land? Because Nana, her brother Levan and her mother Cira have opened their arms to us. Their embrace is warm. This is the land of the Golden Fleece, centuries-old watchtowers, and fortress churches perched on strategic hilltops. Sulphur spring baths have cleansed local folks, Mongol, Turkish and Russian invaders and remain open today. This is a land of song and dance, a land full of musicians singing and playing beautiful folk songs. It's a land of expressive dancers often wearing fabulous costumes that reclaim traditions and celebrate better days.
Kahaa, Nana's friend, walked me up a steep hill to show me an ancient Georgian Orthodox Church. On the wall he pointed out graffiti in Russian from soldiers who sacked the church in 1922. Many of the churches were used for warehouses. He is visibly angry. Today, Jews, Muslims and Georgian Orthodox all work hard to rehabilitate their desecrated houses of worship and now thoroughly enjoy religious freedom after years of Soviet repression.
In this land of favors and barter it is clear that honor, family and friendship will drive them forward. That friendship must include folks beyond Georgian borders. The deputy mayor of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital city, met with us to answer questions and tell us of the ambitious plans the government has for economic recovery. I delivered a letter from Mayor Mark Mallory extending Cincinnati hospitality to the people of Tbilisi. But an even stronger bridge is built through our home stays: living with and shadowing our host families on the buses, in cars that dodge each other and huge potholes in a wild game of dodge-'em, in visits to orphanages that must compete for scarce resources, in travels past formerly abandoned buildings that now house hundreds of thousands of refugee families from the conflict zones; and in gatherings in overstuffed apartments with the tamada leading toast after toast as we celebrate our lives together on this Earth.
How did my wife and I have the opportunity to make friends in Georgia? Friendship Force. It's an international group of volunteers with more than 350 clubs in more than 50 countries. It has a simple mission. Build friendship. Promote peace. This is done by staying in homes in host countries. Cities across the U.S. and world have clubs and send delegations to one another. Cincinnatians have a strong chapter. Chapter President Sonia Derge says Cincinnati has hosted delegations from Peru, Brazil, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and many others. In recent years the local club has traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Slovakia, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, England and Romania. Trips cost little. The reward is great. I could have stayed at a Marriott in Tbilisi, avoided the physical inconveniences and had running water at night. But Nana's apartment was a home. My friend's home. I made the right choice.

Al Gerhardstein is a civil rights attorney who lives with his wife, Mimi Gingold, in Kennedy Heights.