Ghost Town of Gori
source: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,571823,00.html
-
-
- unclepete
- added this
The war is over but people are still afraid. The Georgian town of Gori which came under attack from the Russian air force has become a ghost town. But slowly refugees are making their way back home.
The market square in Gori feels like a ghost town. The silver statue of Stalin that stands in the center of the square glows in the mid-day sun. The Soviet leader was born here, and he is still a symbol of the old empire. There is even a museum honoring the brutal dictator -- right in the heart of Georgia, a country that has been at war with its overpowering Russian neighbors for days. Yet ironically, the huge Stalin statue was left undamaged by this war.
Shards of glass are strewn all over the pavement, as are pieces of the buildings torn apart by the force of the explosions of Russian bombs and artillery fire. The square is dotted with small craters from the impact of the grenades. Cars have been riddled with bullets. Tanks have left their imprints in the tarmac. There are even a few left behind on the road into Gori.
There are thousands of holes in the walls of the buildings. Residents claim the Russian fighter jets swept into the city at a low altitude -- and from the looks of things, that really did happen. But did Russian tanks really roll into the town, as the Georgians claimed? No one who lives here will admit to having seen this. If they are to be believed, the Georgian army had already pulled out two days ago -- or even fled.
(continued at link)
The market square in Gori feels like a ghost town. The silver statue of Stalin that stands in the center of the square glows in the mid-day sun. The Soviet leader was born here, and he is still a symbol of the old empire. There is even a museum honoring the brutal dictator -- right in the heart of Georgia, a country that has been at war with its overpowering Russian neighbors for days. Yet ironically, the huge Stalin statue was left undamaged by this war.
Shards of glass are strewn all over the pavement, as are pieces of the buildings torn apart by the force of the explosions of Russian bombs and artillery fire. The square is dotted with small craters from the impact of the grenades. Cars have been riddled with bullets. Tanks have left their imprints in the tarmac. There are even a few left behind on the road into Gori.
There are thousands of holes in the walls of the buildings. Residents claim the Russian fighter jets swept into the city at a low altitude -- and from the looks of things, that really did happen. But did Russian tanks really roll into the town, as the Georgians claimed? No one who lives here will admit to having seen this. If they are to be believed, the Georgian army had already pulled out two days ago -- or even fled.
(continued at link)
