Caritas Georgia head: 'We are being torn apart' amid political upheaval, protests

(OSV News) -- The head of a Catholic humanitarian agency told OSV News the nation of Georgia is "being torn apart" after the ruling party suspended European Union membership talks -- and "the poor will remain hungry," she warned.

"All the people are in shock, in panic," said Anahit Mkhoyan, director of Caritas Georgia. "They don't know how they can organize their lives in Georgia anymore. They don't know if they want to live in Georgia anymore."

Tens of thousands have taken to the streets of Georgia's cities in nightly protests over the past several days, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced Nov. 28 the nation would suspend its talks on joining the EU until the end of 2028, citing "blackmail and manipulation" from some of the union's politicians.

Kobakhidze and his party, Georgian Dream, have been accused by both citizens and outside observers of pursuing a Moscow-facing path for the nation, which gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The EU and the U.S. have called for an investigation into Georgia's October parliamentary election, in which Kobakhidze and his party claimed a landslide victory despite multiple reports of voter intimidation and ballot stuffing.

Kobakhidze's government has seen a number of resignations amid the protests, with Western nations denouncing the nation's increasingly authoritarian shift.

An estimated 80% of Georgians are in favor of EU membership, with the nation's constitution specifying the goal of "full integration" into both the EU and NATO.

Kobakhidze's announcement of the suspension -- which he later denied -- was seen as "stopping the country entirely" on its journey to the EU, said Mkhoyan.

"Basically, people understood that it is not (the end of) 2028. It is never," she said.

Georgia's President Salome Zourabichvili has staunchly advocated for EU integration -- and for the protesters, against whom police have used water cannons, tear gas and physical violence. Several dozen journalists have been attacked by police, beaten or pepper sprayed, the BBC reported, with some requiring hospital care.

Mkhoyan told OSV News that she feared for her staff, who have been participating in the nightly protests "because it is their political will."

"The demonstrations are generally being held in the evening time," she explained. "So they participate, and yes, I'm afraid for my staff."

During one "pretty violent" protest, Mkhoyan said, she felt "my heart was stopping for a minute."

Other members of Mkhoyan's team have actually left the country under the current government's turn toward Russia.

"I'm losing staff who have decided not to live in Georgia," she said, adding that "the geopolitical situation which currently exists brings a lot of unclear situations (with) our partners."

That uncertainty compounds the impact of Georgia's "Transparency of Foreign Influence" law, backed by the ruling party and approved in May, which specifies that organizations, activist groups and media outlets receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad must register with Georgia's government as "agents of foreign influence."

Days after the law was approved, Mkhoyan issued a statement of concern, saying the measure risked "jeopardizing the provision of services to the beneficiaries who need them the most."

Previously, Mkhoyan told OSV News that Caritas Georgia -- founded in 1994, and part of Caritas Internationalis, the universal Catholic Church's global federation of humanitarian organizations -- was Georgia's largest social services provider.

"We provide safe shelter and basic necessities (nutrition, healthcare, household needs) and promote education and employment," she said in her May 16 statement. "In addition to directly assisting vulnerable individuals, we have been promoting, developing, and strengthening rural communities for years. Furthermore, we promptly respond to disasters caused by natural and human conflicts."

That work can only be accomplished with funding primarily from "organizations in the EU and the United States," she said in her statement.

Speaking to OSV News Nov. 29, Mkhoyan said she didn't know "how the fundraising efforts were going to be" moving forward.

"We don't know what to expect from this entire thing," she said. "We're still working, doing our day-to-day work, but all our planning efforts are stopping, because we don't know how to plan. The day-to-day services, which are provided for the most part to the most vulnerable people -- we still have budgets for that, because those were planned a couple of years ago."

Mkhoyan said that "for the next six months, we will be secure," but "we have to plan to understand what is next, and that part is the dangerous part."

She said that "(Georgians) struggle for their rights and they go to the end, to get what is necessary."

Mkhoyan lamented that Western nations have been "passive" regarding Georgia's situation.
"They do not understand what is happening," she said. "(Georgia) really needs assistance from the side of the West, which should be more active."

The foreign agent law, the EU talks suspension, the government crackdown on protests and the contested election results all stand to endanger not only Caritas Georgia, but those it serves, she said.

"The worst thing about this is (that) we feel no one cares … the final point is that the poor will remain hungry," said Mkhoyan.