We Are All Ossetians Now

Lira Tskhovrebova,
Christian Science Monitor,
“I survived the Georgian war. Here’s what I saw.”

“My friend’s elderly father tried to douse the flames set by Georgian fire on the home he had built with his hands. His leg was severed by shrapnel from Georgian weapons. He bled to death while his disabled wife crawled from their burning home.”

“I know this because I was in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, on Aug. 7 when Georgian troops marched into the city and killed my friends and neighbors. I huddled with my family in terror for three nights while Saakashvili’s tanks and rockets destroyed hundreds of our homes, desecrated cemeteries, gutted schools and hospitals.”

“When I heard the reaction of the international media they told us only about the triangle of great powers, Georgia, Russia and the United States. There was nothing about Ossetia. Nobody said anything about dead Ossetians. It made my heart sick.”

“I know that Americans are a generous and fair people. But Americans haven’t been told the truth about what happened to us.”

“Yes, I would very much like to see an international commission investigate the truth of what happened.”


Area
1,506 square miles
(about the size of Rhode Island)

Population
70,000
Ossetians: 66%
Georgians: 29%
Russians: 2%
Armenians: 1%

Economy
Total – $15 million
Per Capita – $250