My home-town, in which I have been living till now, became 61 this year. The anniversary of Rustavi, so called “Rustavkalakoba”, is being actively celebrated during the last few years. The very first celebration which I remember very well and in which I somehow got involved, was in 1998 when Rustavi became 50 years old. In August 2008 it turned 60, however the military conflict between Russia and Georgia, the Russian aggression and a pain caused by those severe events made people forget about the anniversary of their home-town. This year “Rustavkalakoba” was celebrated grandiosely – different cultural events and sport activities were organized, some social troubles and difficulties were overcome, but unemployment - the main problem of the town - is still remaining unsolved.
It is important to be mentioned that although modern Rustavi is only 61 years old officially, its existence is dated from ancient times which gives an additional historical value to the town. With the strong intention to find out more about the historical background of Rustavi and better understand the youth-related problems and perspectives of it, I decided to refer to Liana Gugunishvili – the historian who shared many fascinating details on the above mentioned and other interesting issues:
Liana Gugunishvili:
Rustavi is the biggest town in the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia. It is situated at the 350 m. altitude and is divided into two parts by the river Mtkvari. The population of Rustavi is 116 384. There are two main contradicting viewpoints regarding the origination of the town among historians: according to the first one, it was established in the 4th century BC, which is supported by some ancient transcripts, whereas based on the historical evidences obtained through the archeological excavations, it was founded in the 4th century AC.
At the different stages of its historical development, the town Rustavi had different names. The first name of it was “Wostankalaki” (the city of prince). It was meant to be a residence of young royals. The town was ruled by the King Trdat from the Revian’s dynasty. He was a grandson of Mirian - the first Georgian orthodox king. The name Rustavi is also thought to be introduced by the King Trdat in the 4th century. The third name of Rustavi “Nagebi” was introduced in 18th century.
In 1265, as a result of the military invasion of the Mongolian Beka-Khan into Goergia, Rustavi got almost completely destroyed. The process of restoration of the town started in 1948 and Rustavi was given back its previous place of the map.
Among the current difficulties of the town, the unemployment is the most actual and problematic. The majority of the population is working in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, which is as far as 27 cm from Rustavi.
As for the youth-related problems, there are no youth educational and entertainment centres existing in Rustavi, which would make it possible for local youngsters to have an additional source for gaining informal and non formal education. Only a very limited number of young people are socially active due to their involvement in the projects and programmes initiated by the local non governmental youth organizations.
During the last 2 years the situation in Rustavi changed significantly. Many infrastructural problems have been solved – the roads have been restored and the water pipes repaired; in addition to this, the central streets have been decorated and the learning conditions for school children improved. Although the economical development was disturbed due to the Russian-Georgian war in August, which was very depressing for the residents of Rustavi, the positive changes are becoming more and more obvious.
I would really like to whish to the European youth many good friends, a big success, peace and happiness.
Centre of Social Servicse is actively involved in Rustavi’s social life and takes care of social problems in the city. I visited Mr. Nodar Khizanishvili - Head of the Centre in Rustavi, to talk about the social problems of here:
Nodar Khizanishvili:
”Our Agency basically works in 3 main directions such as: registration-evaluation of the socially unprotected families, definition of rating scores and provision of support to those families which meet the settled criteria. We try to support the families financially as well as through such important services as health insurance and tax incentives. There are 12 000 families registered in the city at the given moment and nearly 3000 poor families re receiving financial aid. The second direction of our service includes provision of pensions. There are nearly 18000 pensioners in the city. In addition to this, we have a service addressed to children living in Rustavi. This section was added to our centre in 2009 and the main mission of it is to react upon the problems related to the children’s care.
Giorgi Gergauli:
In your opinion, what is the main problem, which makes Rustavi’s development so slow and inconstant?
Nodar Khizanishvili:
I think, it is a problem of unemployment first of all, which results in other problems. The fact that people do not have permanent work causes other social problems of course. This problem would be partially overcome even if only one person per family could have a permanent job. Rustavi does not have agricultural potential and for this reason the social situation here is much more difficult than in rural parts of Georgia; however I still think that Rustavi is taking the right direction for its further development and I hope that every possible action will be taken in the future for the wellbeing of our home-town.
Giorgi Gergauli
What do you think makes young people leave Georgia and go to Europe? What is the most attracting in Europe for them?
Nodar Khizanishvili:
Europe is the best place for receiving proper education and in my opinion this is the main attractive factor for Georgian young people to go there. Those who have experience of studying in Europe, have more opportunities to get employed here. Many young people in Georgia also go to Europe to solve their financial problems because they are not sure they can earn their life through working by their own profession in Georgia. They just feel responsibility for their future and want to reach at least some level of financial independence.
Giorgi Gergauli:
Rustavi has turned 61. What would you like to wish to our home-town?
Nodar Khizanishvili:
I would really love to see Rustavi much more beautiful and attractive than it is at the moment. I also think that it is very important for the town to have well the centres for entertainment with appropriate supporting infrastructure. I believe it would attract not only the local people – Rustavi residents - but also tourists because more entertainment brings more money.
The reform of education system is running in Rustavi quite successfully as well as in the whole Georgia. The Resource Centre of Ministry of Education of Georgia in Rustavi is taking an active part in the development of the sphere of education in Rustavi, which was the main topic of my conversation with Marina Ugulava - the Head of the Educational Resource Centre in Rustavi.
Giorgi Gergauli:
How would you evaluate the process of realization of the educational reform in Rustavi? Are there any considerable changes in the mentality and capabilities of local young people? Are they becoming more creative and responsible? How well do you think they use the available resources?
Marina Ugulava:
The reform of education is going really well in Rustavi. I am systematically visiting schools and attending classes and I can say that the difference between the way children were taught several years ago and they are educated now is enormous. For example, while attending one of the lessons I understood that the information regarding one of the Georgian royals I was given when I was a child was extremely subjective and very negative. I observed that the children who were attending the class had an opportunity to receive the whole information on that person, they could see the facts from different perspectives, discuss different aspects and come up with their own unique viewpoint on the studied material. This is part of our reform of educational system, which does not allow anymore hiding information from the pupils and trying to dominate with the most widely spread attitudes to the given facts. The result of such approach is obvious because I am meeting the pupils who can work in teams and individually very fruitfully almost every day.
Giorgi Gergauli:
What would you say about Rustavi in general? Did the Resource Centre somehow participate in celebration of 61st anniversary?
Marina Ugulava:
Yes, the Resource Centre actively participated in the events devoted to the Rustavi’s 61st anniversary. I find this year’s celebration beautiful and very successful. Nowadays we are preparing the Festival of Friendship, which will be held in December of the current year. During the festival, each school will present one of the neighbouring countries. This is an educational project, which is very important I think, because from my perspective we should know our neighbours better, being able at least to say “hello” on their language is a sign of respect and appreciation.
As for Rustavi, before I came here, I had heard that people in Rustavi were very talented, mobilized, well prepared and able to work in a team. This was something that really attracted me. By the achievements in our sphere Rustavi has always been the first and unique. Of course, the war in August was a big shock for everybody here, it brought a huge pain. Rustavi lost many young people in the war and now everyone here is tying to keep the memory of those who died by giving their names to the streets and exhibiting their photos in the halls of the schools they were studying in.
Giorgi Gergauli:
What would you like to whish to Georgian and European youth?
Marina Ugulava:
I really want Austrians to get to know Georgia much better. Georgia is a very small on the map, but we can be interesting for Europeans with our culture and traditions. I would be really happy if I could see young people who try to read, think and understand more and more. I wish to all of them health, happiness, luck and all the best.
November, 2009
South Caucasus A Part Of Europe - Media Project
Interkulturelles Zentrum, Austria
Translate By GooGliKa
Translate By GooGliKa
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