Freedom is more important to me than anything, so if tomorrow someone bans me from the streets, I don't want to live in this country anymore, said Tamuna Kuchaleishvili, a resident of Tbilisi, one of the protesters in the country's capital. Georgia, on Saturday.
This 31-year-old is participating in thousands of anti-government demonstrations that have been going on in the capital of Georgia for several days. He noted that the protesters do not have specific demands. – Personally, I want the current government to be overthrown, I do not recognize it. But most of them want to show the world that we are here, there are many of us, we have a loud voice, he said.
He also expressed hope that over time a leader will emerge from among the demonstrators to lead the Georgians. “If we sleep on the couch, the leader will not come,” he said. He added that sometimes there is no one to listen to the people at the rallies, and the demonstrators do not have a strategy.
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“These are people who consider themselves Europeans”
When asked who would argue with him, he singled out four age groups. – Most of all, the elderly and retirees are those who are not satisfied with the government (from “Georgian Dream for Russia – ed.) that has been in place for 12 years. In this group, there are also disappointed people who voted for this party in the hope of change. but it turned out that it is worse than the previous ruling parties, said Kuchaleishvili.
Protests in Georgia PAP/EPA/DAVID MDZINARISHVILI
The woman noted that today's 50-year-old generation is missing. According to him, they are probably motivated by the fear of losing their jobs if they participate in the protests.
This interlocutor assumed that the young people had experience in demonstrations for thirty years. – These are people who consider themselves Europeans. I call myself European, but I emphasize that I am from the Caucasus and I am Georgian. I am definitely not Asian or Russian, Kuchaleishvili admitted. He explained that this generation is characterized by attachment to the idea of freedom. – If tomorrow someone bans me from the street, I don't want to live in this country anymore, – she emphasized.
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Georgia said that it is very difficult to describe the younger generation. – It should be said that many representatives of the younger generation grew up without a mother, – he said. Kuchaleishvili explained that in the 1990s and in the early years of the 21st century, Georgian women went to Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Israel en masse to earn money.
Protests in Georgia PAP/EPA/DAVID MDZINARISHVILI
– In the upbringing of these young people, there was no place for tenderness, love and maternal warmth. I once heard a comment that this generation is not afraid of anything and has cold blood, he added. According to him, this generation “definitely feels European, they feel their freedom”.
“That's why we survive”
Demonstrators usually whistle and used fireworks for the first time on Friday night. As Kuchaleishvili admitted, the protesters are no longer carrying banners. – People chant the slogan “Blessed, Georgia!” they say that it is called “Long live Georgia!” can also be translated. Georgians dream of victory every day, and that's why we survived to this extent, he said.
Citizens took to the streets of several cities in protest on Thursday after the Prime Minister of Georgia announced that the government would suspend negotiations on the country's membership in the European Union until 2028. It was like that on Friday and Saturday.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/DAVID MDZINARISHVILI
