Chechen Story in Georgian

A neighbor of Said and Madina is washing dishes in the yard. She did not notice my photographer and I open the iron gate. The neighbor shakes the soupy hands and calls out:
- Said, somebody is looking for you…
We are climbing up the narrow steps. The door of badly painted house is open:
- Umar, shame on you! Are you meeting guests without panties? – Madina asks her little two-year-old son.
“I did not expect you to be so young girls,” Says Madina, - “do not be afraid, boys has just returned from kindergarten and house is upside down,” - Madina is dressing Umar with one hand and is brushing blond hear of Abu-Bakar with another one (and why I always thought Chechens were brunettes?)
- Said, the guests have come, Madina calls her husband…
Abu-Bakar likes photo-camera so much that he does not notice anything around him, and is looking in the zoom lens. Umar seems did not like us and he is hanging on his mom’s neck.

- Hey, Abu-bakar, do you like girls? – Said enters the room, - he loves girls, Said says and pats the head of his three-year-old Abu-Bakar…

Madina with long dress and yellow kerchief has beautiful eyes. And not only eyes, she is so beautiful, that I am really surprised. And if somebody asks me, why I liked Said, I would say, I have never seen such an honest smile… It was my impression on that day, though they might be different too. One more thing- Said has blue eyes.

Forty-two-year-old Said and twenty-six-year-old Madina are Chechen refugees. They have lived in Tbilisi during five years and now they are growing up their two sons – Abu-Bakar and Umar. Madina graduated from dentist faculty of the Grigol Robakidze University, last year and now is taking post-graduate course in “Dent Iver”.

Before Tbilisi there was Pankisi, before Pankisi – there was Chechnya and the war…

“On 24 December of 1999 I arrived in Georgia with my mother,” – says Said. “We came from Shatili. I do not like to recall that period of my life. Some people did not want to let us in Georgia; they took us in Kazbegi and wanted to hand us in to Russians. But some NGOs helped us, they  took us to Akhmeta and with other Chechens we began our new life in Pankisi. Soon mother left for Grozno, because my father was there. I began working in the Pankisi School. I was teaching History. There I met my Madina.”

Madina came to Georgia seven years ago. Her parents also remianed in Grozno and now life without them is difficult for her. With the support of the UN, Madina entered the dentist faculty at Grigol Robakidze University “Alma Mater” in 2001: “I graduated from the University last year. At present, I attend post graduate courses. I have practices till October, after that I have to pass exam and I hope I will receive a license. Fortunately, refugee program of UN pays for my education. Georgian lecturers always supported me.  They did everything to assist me to receive proper education. I have never felt that I am a refugee. I do not know what I would do after October. I do not see any perspectives to get a job. I want to learn more about my profession. It will be excellent, if I attend trainings and seminars. This is important for my professional development.  Said will always support me to achieve success. He always helped me and will always help in future, I am sure,” says Madina.

“I understand Georgian language, but I cannot talk,” Madina worries,”Everybody around us knows Russian language and that is why I do not know Georgian yet.”

Madina also worries that they still live in obscure situation: “We do not know what waits us in future. Maybe we will stay here, maybe we will leave for our homeland, or maybe we will move to another country. It does not depend on us. We do not choose.”

Nowadays Said does not work. Though, he has attended a lot of training and seminars on the issues of conflict and now he participates in the documentary film festival on conflict issues as a conflict expert: “It is difficult to find job in Tbilisi. Locals also have this problem. Besides this, in last years we also had another problem: we could not leave our sons to anybody. Our parents live in Chechnya. Madina had to learn, that is why, I was looking after boys.  Now the boys are going to kindergarten and because of this, life has become easier. I hope that soon I will find job.”

During the conversation, Madina and Said look into each other’s eyes. They are talking, laughing, telling stories, and they are looking into each other’s eyes. It must be the fault of love, I think…

Madina remembers the years when she was a student and when she was looking after her sons only with the help of her husband: “It was too difficult. I had a lot of subjects to learn. Children were little. You know, that it is great responsibility to have children. Sometimes I was sitting and thinking to interrupt learning and to look only after family. I thought that I would not be able to do everything alone, though, I have found power, which helped to grow up children and besides this, to continue studying. I was studying during nights, sometimes I was sleeping on the books, but I did not leave study. Now, I have quite enough spare time and I am going to learn the English language, as you know, everybody needs to know state language.”

Said is happy for not having any problems with Georgians because of his nationality: “I do not know, maybe God helps us. Only very good people meet us. At first, we had little problems: when neighbors heard that Chechens lived in their neighborhood, they were looking at us in fear, but later, when they understood that we were ordinary people, with ordinary life, they began to treat us in different way. I remember, once when we were moving to a new flat, neighbors were coming to say good-bye to us. Some of them said they had different opinion about Chechens, before meeting us. We have a lot of friends in Georgia.”

Said and Madina have similar opinions: “We will leave only for our homeland. We do not want to go to any other European country. Georgia, for us, for Chechens, is more familiar than another country. We have only one problem – it is obscure situation, we do not know, what we should expect tomorrow. We understand that nobody needs us here. We cannot return to Chechnya because of terrible situation. We cannot live in such inhuman regime. We are patriots of our country. We want to leave in our homeland, we dream of it, but we will not be able to live in Putin’s regime.”

As Madina says, it was not difficult for her to begin new life here, in Georgia: “We have a lot of similar traditions. It would be rather difficult for us to live abroad. Maybe we would have better economic situation, but it would not be easy to adopt with their culture and traditions. Sometimes I think that Georgians are ours. I am sure, that it will be difficult to live without Georgians in the future. I have learnt about your nation only after my arrival here. I had such a feeling that I had lived here during whole life. Of course, I miss my country, I want to return there, but here in Georgia, I feel myself at home.”

“Our family traditions, hospitality are similar,” says Said who adds: “I think, I have quite modern opinions, but besides that, I know that we would not forget our traditions. You cannot go to your own mother without invitation in Europe, but here, in Caucasus, the hospitality is above all other customs. We have to do everything to maintain our background.”

Madina’s and Said dream to return to their house… and “we want our sons to grow up real patriots.”

Let’s continue relations, says Madina to me. I have a lot of friends whose names are Nino. In my book for telephone numbers I have Nino big, Nino little, Nino Blond, Nino brunette and now I will add Nino Journalist…Then she asked about my life …

Before leaving, Said found a fiancé for my photographer, He is Georgian, his name is Giorgi, he is a really good boy and I will say that you have big and very kind eyes, Said says …

Said and Madina wondered who would read this article?... I do not know who will read it; may be those people who think that Chechens are only refugees, terrorists and have great problems…

And I should admit that in my mind, Chechen woman was always associated with Shahid woman and I should also admit that I would never imagine Chechen man with blue eyes…

Nino Tarkhnishvili