Growing up, I actually— listening to some of the TV shows and then the Soviet propaganda,
what we realized was then, I actually thought, “How lucky I am to be born in the Soviet Union.”
I didn’t realize that there was any other way. It started with movies,
and it started with chewing gum, then we started realizing: “There could be another way that
can bring more welfare and more interesting life than what I’m having.”
In 1991, 1992, this was the toughest time for Georgia because it was a war in Abkhazia,
the recent government has collapsed, there was no gas, no electricity, people were just
begging in the streets, and another part was running with the machine guns in the streets.
Nobody thought that this country has any potential at that time.
Let me first say that I don’t think that immediately the shift was to democracy,
it was rather a shift to anarchy. Like, the first feeling was that everything is allowed now.
Because a lot of things collapsed and we were cold, and we were very often hungry,
we started thinking: “What needs to be done for this to change?”
It’s about creating the open society in the country, fostering the rule of law in
the country, and advancing human rights in the country.
During the transition, in the ’90s, George Soros understood the very unique features
of institutional development in the post-Soviet space, that institutions were not going to be created de novo,
overnight, but rather they are creatures of culture and they take a long time to develop and change.
I see a role for the foundation as it is: we provide a support for a better understanding
of reality, irrespective of power relations.
We have been out there, helping every startup in Georgia, almost every organization that
came to us with new ideas. The young people who were experimenting, disability rights,
LGBT rights, women rights—we always gave them this opportunity to start something new,
to experiment, to try the ideas.
Mr. Soros supported this a lot, with his investment in education, higher education,
supporting arts and culture, supporting legal aid. There were 16,000 projects supported by the foundation.
We need to help those individuals that really think of taking the country into the direction
of liberal democracy, and that’s an everyday work.
I’m director of Civitas Georgica. We are focused on local democracy
and development of rural territories. Open Society Foundations has contributed very much to strengthening
our organization. From the very beginning, the support was showing trust in us that was,
beside the financial, also the moral support.
And it is very difficult to work for human rights, and trying to promote human rights.
It was difficult and it continues to be difficult. However it’s part of the life.
It’s all about believing in your ideals, bright future of living in open society.
Georgian independence, and the capacity for Georgia to retain an open society will always
be challenged by the existence of imperial mentality in Russia.
The risk of Russia is very credible, and nothing saves us if they decide to come.
The only chance for us is to develop our society and to develop our institutions in a way that’s—
if people decide to fight, they really believe in what they fight for.
The issue that we have been working a lot on—it’s something that I think is very
key for Georgia—is Georgia’s European integration. The overall majority of Georgian population
support European integration of this country.
Going to the European court of human rights is very important. We select strategic cases,
cases that have the potential to change the law, policy, or practice, and if the court
rules in favor of us, then we have the tool to advocate for changes.
The society here has developed tremendously. So much that I’ve felt proud.
I think and I will stay optimist: we are moving forward, with difficulties, but we are.
Democratic values are part of our life and understanding that, we need to fight for it. We are trying
to reform ourself from inside, but not closing our society, and this is a difficult path
we are going through. And we are going, we are moving.