A Letter to the People of Georgia

I am not Georgia and I no longer live in Georgia, but on this sad one year anniversary of the stolen parliamentary election, I have a few things to say, since I care so deeply about Georgia and talk to lots of Georgians. So many Georgians are so brave and doing so so much. We all owe them thanks. This is not to them, this is to the others I talk to.

There are so many reasons people give for not believing in Georgia’s future, but every one of them is bad for the same reason. Because all of them are rooted in fear.

I hear the same thing, again and again from people of all generations and from people who mean well: "It’ll never work." "They have unlimited money." "They are too strong" "The will always be able to divide us." “Nothing will change.” “We’ll never be free of them.”

It is my responsibility to listen patiently. These are people I care about. I understand their exhaustion and disappointment. I know where it comes from, this year of frustration, the demonstrations, the costs of the fines, the fear of prison, the ever present titushkebi, the humiliation of seeing kotsebi ass kissers spending money around town. But I’ve realized that listening to this despair has become a kind of habit, and that habit is now part of the problem.

Because what so many call realism is really fear in disguise. Fear that nothing we do will matter. Fear that if we believe again, we’ll only be disappointed. Fear that those in power are too rich, too ruthless, too well-protected to be defeated. Plus Moscow.

But that fear, not the ruling party, not bullshit on Imedi, not Moscow, is the real enemy of the samshoblo.

Yes, the system is corrupt. Yes, Imedi and the Kotsebi's online troll and bot army is constant and maddening. Yes, the road to the European Union will be very long. But what’s eating away at Georgia’s future is the voice inside too many of us that whispers: "why even bother?"

That is how fear wins, not by making us obey, but by making us surrender.

Georgia doesn’t need saints or heroes. Although it definitely has them. It needs citizens, regular people willing to pick themselves up, look around, find two or three others, and start doing something that makes this country stronger. It can be small. It can be simple. But it must be done with faith that it matters.

If you can’t trust politicians, fine, trust your neighbors. Trust your own hands. If you can’t trust the system, build a better one. If you can’t see the path to the EU yet, make sure at least your little part of Georgia deserves to walk that path with head held high.

The great lie that keeps people powerless is the idea that we are powerless. That someone else, some party, some billionaire, some big foreign power abroad, will always decide who we are and what happens to us. I remember so many people saying that back in Shevardnadze's time, "All decisions will be made in Moscow and Washington". But the truth is simpler and older than any government: Georgia will be what the people of Georgia make it.

Fear is not realism. Pessimism is not wisdom. Cynicism is not intelligence. These are the habits of the defeated, and Georgians are not a defeated people.

You don’t have to wait for permission to believe again. You just have to start. Talk to people. Organize. Build something. Refuse to join the chorus of hopelessness. Refuse to give fear the last word. Even with people you are very close to who watch Imedi too much and start talking about the importance of "peace" in that way we all understand. Don't get angry. Listen and engage. But most of all be persistent.

Because the day Georgians stop being afraid, of their leaders, of failure, of disappointment, that is the day Georgia will already have changed.

Come on. Don’t be afraid. There’s work to do. We just have to do it together and we have to start now.

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