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'The bear is awake. We need your help'
Daisy Ayliffe11 Aug 2008
Georgian expatriates living in London have called on Britain to provide humanitarian and military aid to their homeland.
About 100 protesters gathered outside the Russian embassy in Notting Hill, yesterday, to denounce the attacks into South Ossetia.
They waved flags, shouted chants and held banners reading, "Red Army get out from Georgia" and "We want peace".
A cavalcade of cars waving Georgian flags halted outside the embassy as protesters held up traffic on Notting Hill Gate.
Ia Mdzeluri, 33, a student from Rustavi near Gori, who now lives in Kilburn, said: "My 20-year-old nephew, Lasha Gogriciani, was killed two days ago during a Russian bomb attack. He was just walking down the street in Gori and he was killed. Everything was destroyed around him. The Russians are bombing peaceful cities. We are here today to support our fellow citizens. We cannot fight without European support. We want peace. The situation has to be stopped."
Levan Kozmava, 27, a student from the Abkhazia region who lives in Elephant and Castle, said: "I am most concerned about my uncle, Geno Mavgania. He is in the army and is in a war zone and I have not spoken to him. I am also worried about the rest of my family. The Russian government is attacking purely civilian targets."
Natia Telia, 32, a dental nurse from Tbilisi, who now lives in Elephant and Castle, said: "I cannot contact my family in Tbilisi, there are no communications, they say there is no electricity. We are a tiny country and thousands of our young civilians have been targeted by evil Russia. Russia wants Georgia without the Georgian people."
Otto Kipiani, 25, design manager, his wife Anne, 23, a student, and their five -month-old daughter Natalie are from Tbilisi but live in Bermondsey. Otto said: "We are very worried-It is very difficult for me to call my mum, Tsisana. She is just 15km from the border with South Ossetia and I cannot get through to her. She has been hearing bombs almost every hour - it is a very awful situation. We want Russia to leave us alone and give us our territory back. South Ossetia is Georgia. If I have to, I will return to Georgia to die for my country."
Paul Dvali, 27, an IT manager from Tbilisi who lives in Guildford, said: "I have family in Georgia and I am so worried for their safety. At night the authorities kept switching off the electricity to make it harder for the Russians to locate targets, but every time the electricity goes off my family are in a complete panic that they will be bombed. I am here today to call on the west to raise its voice to stop Russia."
Zaza Meshki, 35, from Tbilisi, is an engineer and chief editor of a Georgian magazine who lives in Greenwich. He said: "People have got together. We are all worried about or families. The bear has woken up. The West must apply pressure and support Georgia with humanitarian and military support. We need help. Russians are cruising into our territory; tomorrow they will invade other countries like Lithuania or Bulgaria."
