Marianna

Good day to you! That is a Pontian Greek from ex-Soviet Georgia speaking. I with my family live in Edtikilisa village in Tsalka region of Kvemo Kartli of Georgia. I want to say that nowadays Pontian Greeks' living in Georgia became an embarrassment! My forefathers came to this land from Turkey already two centuries ago! Nowadays, on a no-objection basis of Georgian authority, Pontian Greeks are being gradually driven away from these lands by native Georgian Svans. They force us to leave by every possible means – arsons of our houses, kill the cattle, apply moral and physical coercion upon us, commit assaults to robbery. Once there even was a murder! This being so, there is no sense to appeal to Georgian police or authorities! They either don't listen or menace with a confinement! But why? Is it because we want justice and protection from assaults by “indigene Georgians” ? Many of us give up and emigrate out of Georgia as they begin to fear for their life seriously. Only some two years ago here were some 200 Pontian Greeks in this village, but now only 50 of them are still here. From what is happening in this country we conclude that Georgia's authority would like to get rid of us, ethnical minorities. They want us get away to vacate the lands to be peopled by Svans and Mingrelians. As far as that may be known to me, Georgian authority follows such policy in regard to all ethnic minorities of Georgia, which can be proved by recent events in South Ossetia.