Georgia: Voices From A War Zone

Tamta Kilasonia

It should be my wedding day today. I'm looking at my wedding dress and don't know if I will ever see my fiancé. It's the second day that he's not answering my calls.

Yesterday, on BBC, I saw the Georgian hostages, walled and waiting to be shot by Russians. I looked at the back of the neck of one of the soldiers and thought that it looked exactly like my fiancé's.

I know it's silly. Everyone's necks look the same from the back. I know I should not think negatively. And brace myself . I've never been religious, but now, I can not do anything but pray to God. I try not to cry.

Beka, 11, From Kehvi

I'm a sixth-grader and Giga [Beka’s 10-year-old brother] is a fifth-grader. We used to go to Achabeti, a neighboring village, to play football and take wresting classes. We used to walk there. We both love football. Chelsea is my favorite team.

They say our school was blown up. I don't know exactly. I don't like going to school that much, but still it's bad if it's true. I only like literature classes.

My grandma stayed in the village. We don't know anything about her now. Some people say Russian troops are withdrawing. My father called grandma and she said she's together with a neighbor woman and they are o.k. She said they only burned the houses of those people where they find military uniform or guns. So our house should be o.k. I think they took only clothes and other stuff.

I don't like living in Tbilisi, I prefer home. I used to live here for a year and didn't like it at all. I've got a lot of friends there, in my village. I don't know where they are right now.