Meet Dr. Patricia (Trish) Blair.
My Dad and I are Rotarians. A member of the Columbia South Rotary Club*, Columbia, Missouri, part of the district my father's club is in, is a medical doctor who was in Georgia running a camp for diabetic children when Russia invaded. The letter I published earlier, from student volunteer David Javakhadze, came to me via my Dad via Doctor Blair. She sent the students home & stayed to work as a trauma surgeon. She has been sending updates, which I have her permission to start publishing here.
One more straw into the mess that is Georgia - but a view from someone who is walking the walk, and not wasting her time talking.
I'm going to run these day by day as I got them, until we get caught up. This one is dated 22 August.
*This post was updated 29 August to correct which Rotary Club Dr. Blair belongs to - I assumed, from the context of my emails with Dad that Dr. Blair was a member of his club, which she is not.
My Dad and I are Rotarians. A member of the Columbia South Rotary Club*, Columbia, Missouri, part of the district my father's club is in, is a medical doctor who was in Georgia running a camp for diabetic children when Russia invaded. The letter I published earlier, from student volunteer David Javakhadze, came to me via my Dad via Doctor Blair. She sent the students home & stayed to work as a trauma surgeon. She has been sending updates, which I have her permission to start publishing here.
One more straw into the mess that is Georgia - but a view from someone who is walking the walk, and not wasting her time talking.
I'm going to run these day by day as I got them, until we get caught up. This one is dated 22 August.
August 22, 2008 5:40:08 PM CDT
Georgia gained its third Olympic gold medal in free style wrestling. Revazi indorashvili from Khakaki won the gold. Another special triumph was for Giorgi Gogshelidze of the occupied Georgian city of Gori won the bronze medal in men's freestyle wrestling. The medal count of 3 gold medal and 3 bronze bring great pride to the entire Georgian nation.
August 22, 2008 5:22:44 PM CDT
The strength, courage and resolve of the Georgian people is remarkable and deserves the respect of the world. The invasion purpose was to panic the people and overthrow their democratically elected president yet this small brave nation of about 5 million stood together and in the face of aggressive forces with hundreds of tanks violating this territory and only words coming from the world leaders, they held their course with resolution, even now the Russians are continuing to violate the cease fire agreement signed by the president of Russia. They have not withdrawn. Indications are that the Russian troops do not plan to honor the cease fire withdrawal back to the August 6th border.
The generosity of the Georgians to those of their citizens that have been displaced is also a lesson in humanity just as the Russian troops are providing the lesson on inhumanity and barbarian behavior.
Cautious optimism:
1.The Russian troops seem to be withdrawing from Gori after sending one last bomb into the city earlier today. The bridge in the southern Georgian city of Marnuli was also bombed. The exact damage unknown. This is the railway bridge to Armenia that provides a southern route access for food for Georgia.
Since August 7th the Gori road has been blocked by Russian troops cutting the country in half. Isolating the western part of Georgia, the Russians refused to open a humanitarian corridor to allow aid to reach the western part of Georgia.
Tonight the news is that five NATO nations ships with humanitarian aid are arriving in the Turkish Bosphorus straits. They will be entering the Black Sea which forms the western boarder of Georgia. These ships are carrying humanitarian aid to the western part of Georgia where Kutaisi the sister city of Columbia is located.
We all hope and pray that the morning will bring confirmation that at least some pull back of the troops has happened.
Trish
*This post was updated 29 August to correct which Rotary Club Dr. Blair belongs to - I assumed, from the context of my emails with Dad that Dr. Blair was a member of his club, which she is not.
you da man!!!!!
now that there is one fine Doctor who has got her head screwed on straight
Cindy McCain. She is headed to Georgia on a humanitarian mission.
The Phibian has it here.
http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2008/08/mccain-heading-to-georgia.html