A LEADING Georgian churchman this week described the situation in his country as “appalling”, despite some signs of a Russian withdrawal.Archbishop Malkhaz Songulashvili, of the Georgian Evangelical Baptist Church, returned to Georgia on Sunday to reports of looting and rape by Russian troops.
He said that the Georgian people feel “humiliated and devastated” by the situation, and he believed many displaced people could die if they did not receive food and shelter before winter.
“I cannot believe what I am seeing on TV footage: Russian soldiers are plundering villages and taking truckloads of goods, even people’s clothes. They’re taking everything, and there are reports of rape, and people being kidnapped for ransom, by South Ossetians backed by Russian troops.”
The Archbishop estimates that about 60,000 people have fled to the capital Tbilisi, where they are being housed in hospitals and schools, often with little medical or food supplies.
“After the service at the Baptist Peace Cathedral in Tbilisi on Sunday, I met people from South Ossetia who have fled here, who have no food to eat. Their elderly family members have not been able to leave the region and some have been abused or killed. The picture is absolutely dreadful, it’s like a medieval war with devastating effects.”
In the town of Gori, where Archbishop Songulashvili grew up and his father was a minister in a church, he said people were living through “days of confusion” as families split up, and one church member was injured by a bomb.
About 40 displaced families are staying in the Baptist church’s unfinished centre in Tbilisi, which was funded by contributions from Norwich and Wakefield Cathedrals and the diocese of Oxford.
The Archbishop called for Christian leaders to keep up the pressure on their governments to call for Russian troops to withdraw, and paid tribute to the support he had received from Christians in the UK.
“The longer Russian troops stay, the more difficult it will be to see peace here.”
The Baptist Church of Georgia’s charity, the Betheli Humanitarian Association, has set up an emergency fund to provide food, shelter, blankets, and fuel to those displaced by the conflict.
Donations to the appeal can be sent to St Michael’s, Cornmarket Street, Oxford OX1 3EY, marked “Georgia Humanitarian Relief”, and cheques made payable to “St Michael at the North Gate”.
For Gift Aid, cheques need a name and address on the back.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sacerdos
(Source: CT)