An Open Letter from a Lesbian Activist to Bidzina Ivanishvili
Yesterday I attended the premiere of Salome Jash’s documentary, “To Tame”.
A film depicting trees being taken? from the villages of Adjara by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili… What words can I use – moved? Abducted? Expropred?
To me, and it seems, not only to me, it’s clear from Salome’s extraordinary work that this story is not necessarily about trees, but rather the story of an attempt at taming trees or people by those in power.
The film shows the painful process of cutting down trees in the middle of the village (again, I can not find any better words) (the process is painful, people shed tears) – the locals try to justify the oligarch’s behavior, overcome the strong discomfort, overcome the resistance. Arguments – “What is so difficult, a rich man will do whatever he wants”, “These trees are needed by Bidzina, because it helps to prolong life”, “No matter where our tree is taken, they will be revived, not left to die?” ! ” and so on. However, it is also heard – ,, I will not spend this! I will die but I will not spend it! ” “Could we not enjoy the shade and beauty of this tree here?! ”
The scene of cutting with a piece of wood is reminiscent of a rape scene – in the depths of the earth, accompanied by a terrible noise, an iron drill is dug followed by iron pipes – one, two, three, ten, twenty … a horrible sight that feels like a silent witness to a crime.
Power… Does power give us the right to everything?
The right to weep over people, to confront each other, to concrete all the green spaces in the city, then to capture the trees, to chain the dendrological park and let the city dwellers watch them from a distance (approaching the tree in the park is forbidden), and to tell the villagers law does not exist for you – the weak and vulnerable (lots of trees were cut down illegally in the process, the ecological condition was damaged) and tell everyone that you can do whatever you want, despite the resistance, because you can buy the equipment, human labor and people themselves. Also, if you did not find it difficult to uproot so many trees, what would ordinary people do?
But you know where you are wrong? You do not see the heart of a Georgian person.
It makes you think you can tame people. You can instill fear, indifference, apathy, divide the community – those you paid and those you declared enemies, and then dominate both.
It makes you think that you are giving people access to information and education and because of that they will not understand what you are doing.
It is you who thinks that you will punish tens, hundreds, and the rest will never vote again.
But you are wrong. Fortunately, you are wrong.
I recommend you watch the movie and you will understand why. Look at how the villagers say their goodbyes to the tree, they grieve it as if it was a corpse – followed by weeping and mourning. Unite in the calamity you have caused.
Now imagine what happens in the hearts of these people when you show the torture and public execution of a living person.
You were happy at that time and sociopaths like you, such as Tea Tsulukiani and Irakli Kobakhidze, gathered around you. Believe me, there is another reality here that you do not see.
Georgia will never become Russia.
You may take the territory (you will not really be the first Georgian traitor), but not a mentality that will always be loyal to a person, sensitive to their freedom, dignity, pain.
Also, you can not take away the ability to love. No matter how hard you try, we still love each other, even our gay children. Our mothers, fathers, aunts, grandmothers will still hug us… our eyes will water and they will tell us that they love us.
