Speechless.

SPEECHLESS - Heinrich Boell Foundation South Caucasus

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Directed and edited by Salomé Jashi
Produced by Sakdoc Film and Artefact Production

The 2008 Georgian War resulted in the deaths of several hundred people and expulsion of tens of thousands from South Ossetia. Is there a way to show the tragedy of families that lost their loved ones, of thousands of people forced to leave their homes, of soldiers from the battlefield, and children who cannot comprehend the situation? Salomé Jashi answers this question in a way that leaves few apathetic, though the horrors of war are never visible on the screen. Her short film makes the audience witness a tragedy it never sees.

The legacy of the August War after 10 years: human’s burden

After 10 years of 2008 August War, the Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian relations have entered a long-term deadlock. Today, taking into account an extremely tensed geopolitical and regional context, working on conflict transformation in the South Caucasus has become more difficult. This situation threatens the existing possibilities for dialogue between the conflict sides and further deepens the process of isolation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In this regard, we asked Giorgi Kanashvili, an expert in conflicts, to analyze the aftermath events of 2008 August War and their impact on the Georgian-Abkhaz and Georgian-Ossetian relations. Together with an analytical article, we present you an interview with civic activist Tamar Mearakishvili from Alkhagori as well as two multimedia materials: photoproject “A House Divided” by photojournalist Daro Sulakauri and film “Speechless” directed by Salome Jashi. Through these materials, we want to remind our readers the burden of war’s legacy, which changes the everyday lives of people and up until now weights on people across both sides of the border that was drawn as a result of hostilities.