Many of us are aware of the ongoing rallies in Tbilisi. The rallies have gained more and more protesters, gaining the attention of news channels and government officials, to the point where 8th November’s rally was broken up with water cannons. Many students from the GZAAT have attended these demon
strations and experienced them first hand, but the opinions are still divided about the protests. I’ve asked a few people from our school to answer some questions about the rallies; a lot of them didn’t answer back, because of it being a sensitive subject, but there were some interesting responses.
First, let's talk about the experiences of the students that went to the protests. All of them were asked about how the protesters adhered to the coronavirus regulations, like having masks on and keeping a fair amount of distance between each other, and they were also asked about the importance of making rallies in today's political situation. All who took the part in the protests from our school said that most of the people at the demonstrations wore masks and tried to avoid contact with other participants. However, some people wore masks improperly like sliding it down to the chin or getting rid of it altogether, but those were a few exceptions.
Most of the students in the GZAAT are under the age of 18, that’s why it is interesting to understand the motive behind us protesting with the people, who were the ones that took part in the elections. One of our juniors said that the reason she went to the protest was that, at this point, the process of elections was unacceptable and although she can not take part in the elections, it is important for all citizens to realize that defending their rights is their responsibility; she believes that the rallies can actually make a change and as long as there exists this chance of making a difference, she will do her best so that the future generations don’t have to fight for their freedom. Of course, she sees coronavirus as a big threat in this situation, but the severity of today's political situation gives everyone a sense of injustice, which causes so many people to take the matter into their own hands and make rallies in front of the parliament. Another junior adds that it was clear that the former ruling party tried to remain as a majority by rigging the elections and this one-party-rule is causing the country to regress. He also understands the standpoint of people, who didn’t go to the rally because of the corona, but the point of view of people who participate in them is also very important, as this will be a defining point in Georgia’s history. One of our school’s seniors, who is of voting age argues that the government is supposed to act according to the wishes of the governed people, which is not happening now; he thinks that the outside sponsors should see that the Georgian people care about their rights and thus the government won't be able to disregard their freedoms without repercussions.
On the other hand, we do have some students, who aren’t supportive of the ongoing protests. One of them suggested that the people from our school, who participate in the protests don’t really know what they are fighting for and are there mainly to see their friends. He also adds that people our age won't be able to do anything when the politicians call for dismantling the protests and also won’t have the courage to enter the parliament building to argue for their rights there, essentially making their presence at the rally useless. Another student adds that the rallies are very important, but the dangers of coronavirus outweigh the need for protests. As the hospitals are hitting their inpatient limits and the number of infected patients rises daily, it is in the interest of every citizen to minimize the risk of contracting the virus and this responsibility should be prioritized over personal interest.
In conclusion, it is good to see that the students of GZAAT are taking this important issue seriously and take their time to assess this conflicting situation, which is a complicated dilemma between taking precautions against a contagious virus that has been haunting us for almost a year and taking action against the systemic injustice that affects every one of our citizens.
Edited by: Mariam Khaduri
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