Khatuna Bachakashvili grabbed my arm. She hugged me. She said, “Do not forget me — you are my guardian angel.”
That was three years ago, when I was part of a Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley envoy — along with 150 other Jewish federation professionals and volunteers — that traveled to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
I know it’s hard for many people to feel connected to what has transpired in Georgia and South Ossetia this month. The names are hard to pronounce, the places are as far afield as imaginable. Georgia is probably not even on your list of places to visit before you die.
But if you have followed along, even from afar, even at a glance, you know that Russia and Georgia have been fighting — with Russia getting the better of the conflict. And if you have read related articles in the Jewish press, you know that members of our extended Jewish family in the diaspora have been caught in the crossfire.
Among them is Khatuna, a striking 38-year-old Jewish widow who hosted me in one of her boarding rooms in July 2005. Her husband died in an industrial accident when their children were babies. She was then subject to the devaluation of her widow’s pension during the collapse of the economic system with the fall of the Soviet Union.
During my visit, Khatuna was stuck between two generations, not wanting to leave her aging parents behind in Georgia but hoping for a better life for her two children. So she sent her children, Eteri (then 15) and Iosef (then 14), to study in a Jewish Agency program in Israel. Meanwhile, she garnered her widow’s stipend from the government, which barely covered the rent.
We came bearing gifts — federation donations that were used to provide food packages and increase her standard of living. While the gifts went far, it’s time we give again. People like Khatuna are depending on us to care about them.
I know that we are bombarded with daily requests for aid to disaster areas. Just these past few months, you have been bombarded with requests to assist others in Israel, Myanmar, China and Darfur.
How can we differentiate between requests — if there is any need to differentiate? How can we determine when to unplug the piggy bank?
For me, it comes down to having a personal connection, of having a woman desperately grab my arm and say, “Do not forget me.” So, of course, I was rattled when the recent conflict in the breakaway republic of South Ossetia spilled into Gori, a Georgian city about 50 miles from Tbilisi.
Georgia, which was emancipated during the fall of the Soviet Union, is a fiercely proud country cornered between the Black Sea, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey. Having been conquered by Mongols, Turks and Russians, the country has a policy of being welcoming but wary. The national monument is a woman carrying a wine bowl and a sword — if you come as a friend, you get wined and dined; if you come as a foe, you face the sword.
Since the Middle Ages, Jews have lived in relative peace in this small Eastern European country. Tbilisi is home to several synagogues; its Sephardic synagogue celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2005.
But it’s not so safe these days.
With bombs falling on Gori, the city’s Jews were evacuated to safety in Tbilisi by the American Joint Distribution Committee. From there, many were moved to Israel by the Jewish Agency. One man made aliyah with his wife and two small boys, saying that he was used to toasting to peace in Israel — now in Israel he will toast to peace in Georgia.
The Jewish aid community is still canvassing Gori trying to convince stalwart Jews to seek the relative safety in Tbilisi — though even there they must deal with the psychological and economic instability of war and its fallout.
But as Russian forces refuse to retreat from South Ossetia and tensions in the region continue to be strained, one thing is clear: We need to be vigilant in our efforts to support this Jewish community. Whether they stay in Tbilisi or move to Israel, these refugees will need to rebuild their lives. They will depend on our help.
Arielle Hendel is the chief development officer of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley. To learn more about the federation’s fundraising efforts for Georgia, go to www.jvalley.org.