Tbilisi, Georgia, July 2010

In the mosaic of people, languages and cultures of the Caucasus, Georgia is the most similar to Europe. If we add desire to reality, Georgia is already Europe. At the border I noticed the European Union flag waving next to the Georgian one. As this happened again, I went deep into the matter. “So what?”, was the answer I received from a ministerial officer to my “but you are not part of the Union”, “we live as if we were”. In fact the euro is easily spent everywhere, even with a tipsy taxi driver that didn’t get his change wrong by a cent, and the European Union offices in Tbilisi are big, very nice and full of life.

While waiting to enter the EU thou, Georgians experience two deep wounds. They are called Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It’s for this reason that Rondine has stopped off in Tbilisi during this friendship trip in the South Caucasus. The last stop of this great Caucasian Via Crucis is dated 8th of August 2008. The conflict, this time, was not with two separatist provinces, but directly with the Russians whose tanks reached the doors of the capital in a few hours while the rest of the world was delighted by the spectacular opening of the Beijing Olympic Games. And they remain there. Rondine’s students and volunteers remember those hot and agonizing hours two years ago, on the bus taking us from one meeting to another, from universities to ministries. Young students coming back to Italy hastily, during the night, while borders were closing and red lines where burning.

Preoccupation for “our kids” and their families at first, but then also for the bet on friendship which gives life to Rondine’s project. “Will we still be friends?” was the dominant question, babbled via ether between Rondine, Tbilisi, Sukhumi (capital of Abkhazia) and Rostov on Don, Moscow, Groznyy (capital of Chechnya) and also Magas (capital of Ingushetia). The microcosm of Rondine’s International Hall of Residence was distraught in that summer of 2008. The young Russians as “enemies” of the Chechens, the Ingush as “enemies” of Ossetic, Georgians as “enemies” of Abkhazes, for a moment found their selves with new fronts of enmity: Georgians with Russians, Chechen, Ingush and Ossetic, allied to Abkhazes in the new conflict, with Georgians.

Difficult talk for those who haven’t studied closely these phenomena. Easy and dramatic to understand how the destiny of people suddenly changes due to the decisions of others. In Rondine’s microcosm you can touch with hand the tragedy of war, the rupture of sincere friendship, the theft of one’s future. If we are here today it’s because those young students renewed their oath two years ago: they wouldn’t permit their friendship to be killed, they would invest with Rondine in their future and dare new dialogue and friendship gestures. This is how last year’s conference started, with 150 personalities invited from all the Caucasus and the Document in 14 points, today here in our hands. Hour by hour we are delivering it to everybody, simple people and ministers, professors and students, mothers and priests, enlightening hope and activating collaborations.

The EU-Georgia talks on the agreement on Georgia's associated membership to EU, held few days ago in Batumi, on the Black Sea, in the presence of Catherine Ashton, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, had a well visible empty seat: it was for Rondine, already in the Caucasus but not able to participate. “It was the only non-governmental organization to be invited” they reminded us affectionately. It’s a small sign of the trust and friendship relationship without which no bridge can be built. Only good intentions and rhetoric would remain.

Tbilisi is beautiful: the crown of mountains, the Mtkvari river that we cross again and again along great bridges with artistic iron railing in a 19th century shape. It has nothing of the old Soviet taste still in our eyes from Baku, Azerbaijan. Here you immediately perceive a strong cultural profile, an antique taste, a care for art. In the Rustaveli 19th century theatre, well kept, we meet many of Rondine’s friends, we see old faces, like the catholic bishop Giuseppe Pasotto, the families of our former students, their new work colleagues. It’s like a big family, it’s a touching celebration. The legendary Georgian toasts mix with music and dances: in the middle a five year old boy is dancing costumed, with a little dagger and that pride which is typical of Georgian people.

At night the power of suggestion grows thanks to the extended monument illumination. The medieval fortress, Georgian, Armenian and Catholic churches, the synagogue and the mosque make different admirable reflections of a single light. Nights don’t last long in the friendship trip of Rondine in the Southern Caucasus. In the morning, scattered in taxis, we hardly make it to the many meetings requested, all concrete intentions for collaboration. During the colloquium with the vice minister of Foreign Affairs, Aleqsandre Nalbantov, a professor sensitive to education issues, Rondine receives the Georgian commitment to increase scholarships for young students who want to go to Rondine. “This means we didn’t ruin them!” I conclude. A smile and a strong embrace seal the spirit of one only international family that, even if from far places, is answering in a different way to one of the worst education emergencies.

Franco Vaccari, president of the organization Rondine Cittadella della Pace