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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Khatuna Giorgadze   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, August 14, 2008 Fear and sorrow in Puget Sound area for Georgia Local immigrants from the former Soviet Union gather to protest the invasion. By Katya Yefimova Herald Writer EVERETT -- For those affected by the conflict between Russia and Georgia, it may not always be easy to tell right from wrong. For Tatyana Ogorodnik, it was easy enough to know how she feels. "Compassion for the people who got hurt, and sorrow for the people who go to such extreme measures," said Ogorodnik, of Everett, who came to the United States from Ukraine about a dozen years ago. For her, it's not some distant news event, but a matter of concern for people living in countries that were once one and the same under the USSR. "I could have been in their place," she said. "People choose their path themselves and the innocent end up suffering because of somebody's conflict." Russian military forces on Aug. 8 invaded the country of Georgia after the Georgian government attacked the separatist region of South Ossetia -- a small province adjacent to the Georgian territory and populated by Russian citizens. Georgia is a pro-western nation of about 4.6 million and used to be part of the Soviet Union. The conflict has left thousands of people in Georgia dead, wounded or displaced. In America, it left Georgian immigrants worried about their loved ones. "My heart is breaking apart when I talk to my family in Georgia. We are worried every day, every hour. Every Georgian in the world is worried right now," said Khatuna Giorgadze of Seattle. Giorgadze said being thousands of miles away from Georgia while her family and friends are in danger has been very difficult. "It's terrible when you don't have the capacity to do anything to help these people. All I can think about now is people who lost their loved ones and were left without a home. I can't concentrate on anything except the news," she said in Russian. Giorgadze said she needed to do something. With other members of the Georgian community, she helped her husband, Archil Kublashvili, organize a protest Monday. Almost 40 people gathered in front of the Russian Consulate General in Downtown Seattle holding anti-war signs and Georgian flags. "Georgians are peaceful people. We just wanted to be heard and express our protest, and the public reacted very well," Kublashvili said in Russian. He said Russian and Ukrainian families were picketing together with their Georgian friends. Only one man came up to the group cursing and shouting, he said. Kublashvili is a native of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia -- and one among many cities bombed by the Russian military forces. The raid damaged several jet planes and a plant in the vicinity but the infrastructure was intact, Kublashvili said. He said his and Giorgadze's families are safe. As sudden as it was, Kublashvili said he was hardly surprised by the attack, as the situation with Russia had been tense for years. "It was a well-orchestrated effort. I felt great anger and mourned the dead. But the central emotion was still anger at what Russia was doing," he said. Kublashvili said he hopes for a better tomorrow. Regardless of what tomorrow may bring, for him and Giorgadze the pain will stay long after the dead are buried and the tanks are gone. Reporter Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452 or kyefimova@heraldnet.com

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