The entire civilized world has never been as united as it is now. A clear example of this is the rallies of thousands of people that come out in order to support Ukraine. For me, personally, it’s a therapeutic experience and I feel much closer to the Ukrainian people when I’m attending rallies. I often feel powerless, like I can’t help or do anything for them. But every time I go to a rally, I am convinced that there is a point in fighting.
It is very important for the rallies to continue until Ukraine has won the war. With the rallies we are all trying to force the EU to impose more effective sanctions on Russia and Russian oligarchs. Besides, I try to talk to Ukrainian people and explain to them that Georgian government does not represent Georgian people’s opinions. This is the bare minimum that I can do and that’s why I will always attend every rally.
Georgians in Belgium are particularly patriotic. Before the war, my friends and I organized a rally to support Ukraine, to which many Georgian came. Additionally, they are actively involved in collecting humanitarian aid. Once I posted that my friends were going to Ukraine as volunteers. In just 15 minutes, 300 EUR was collected through small donations for the boys to have cigarettes and basic needs. Most queer Georgians live in Belgium and almost all of them attend rallies. There has not been a single rally in support of Ukraine without a Georgian flag. Everywhere and always, we express our support. Everywhere and always, we are with them – sometimes more, sometimes less.
The Russian patriarch and Russian propaganda is already mentioning Zelensky being a gay activist, trying to discredit him in such ways. Can you imagine, what will happen if the war ends with Ukraine’s defeat?! There will be colonies created for gay people, the way they exist in Russia and in countries controlled by Russia. We’re not just saying it in vain when we mention war between the civilized world and Russia. This is no ordinary war, either the clear judgment will win, or we’ll have to spend the rest of our lives in the darkness. I don’t even want to think about Ukraine’s defeat, this is an unacceptable outcome. Ukrainians have already defeated the evil. It is inadmissible for the world to abandon this war and for it to become Ukraine’s defeat. LGBTQI+ community members are also fighting with much dignity in the war. This is the group of people that is the most vulnerable to the results of the Russian propaganda. We have been dealing with this our whole lives. Obviously, it is hard for queer people to handle it.
Ukraine has supported us not only in 2008, but also in 1993. They have never been scared to express their support. They were the first ones that helped us with actions and were together in this experience with us. And with that, the actions of Georgian government are like a slap in the face, to put it mildly. They have revealed their true faces in the last 2 weeks. Now we can say confidently that our government is Russian. They voice the same exact messages as the Russian government. My eyes start bleeding when I’m listening to their statements. They don’t even dare to say that the war was started by Russia. High-rank clergymen shamelessly declare that there is a war in some country and that they’re upset about it. They sell out Ukrainian children’s corpses for 2 glasses of milk. They give up their dignity, conscience, honor, and country! I honestly feel ashamed when I meet Ukrainian people at the rallies. I always speak up to apologize to them for my government’s actions, to tell them that we stand with them. Today only in Belarus and Russia the rally participants are getting arrested for supporting Ukraine, and now in Georgia as well. If our government does not change in time, our country will disappear from the map completely.
Georgia doesn’t have any resources to impose any sanctions on anyone, no one expected that from us. The only responsibility was to have correct and healthy positions in all the statements and to not embarrass ourselves. First of all, we should’ve let in Ukrainian refugees (not many of them would come here anyway, in Europe they automatically get 1-year long documents) in order to express our support. There should be a visa requirement for citizens of Russia. It is unacceptable to let them into our country taking all the dangers into account. Terrorist Putin has always started wars with neighboring countries with the pretext of protecting Russians, that is a well-known fact.
I’m not only hoping for, but I am confident in Ukraine’s victory. I would even say that they have already won. Through great sacrifices it is defeating the world’s greatest monster. Ukrainian people are the ones that make me so optimistic. I am jealous of their bravery, unity and attitude. Every oppositional leader is supporting Zelensky and everyone is fighting together. People are stopping the tanks with bare hands, making Molotov cocktails, volunteering. I can name lots of other details that give me grounds for such positivity.
