johnnyharris
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VIDEO: The invasion Russia doesn’t want you to know about.
🕑 Added 2024-09-26 12:01:01 +0000 UTCA note from the Editor:
Editing a video is a fascinating and often terrifying experience. And that’s not because it requires us to sift through hours and hours of footage, dig through mountains of archive and procure visual evidence for everything we are trying to communicate in our stories - though that is true too, of course. The real challenge lies in the fundamental requirement of developing deep empathy for the people whose stories we tell and in honoring the lived, often existentially-challenging experiences they are confronted with on a daily basis.
I think in international affairs and politics we too often focus on peculiar complexities of situations while forgetting that for some people that’s just the backdrop of their truly terrifying reality; a real possibility that their basic freedoms and democratic rights are being taken away from them. In some ways that’s an almost more terrifying thought than never having had these rights in the first place.
One of the first stories I ever worked on in my career as a journalist and video producer was covering Hong Kong’s protest movement in the summer and fall of 2019 for the Washington Post. I still often find myself thinking about the many young Hong Kongers I interviewed and how clear-eyed they were about their government’s not-so-subtle attempts at eroding democratic principles and freedoms. And how determined they were to not go down without a fight.
So when Johnny asked me to edit this story about a young group of determined Georgians fighting not just against a questionable new law, but for a future that aligns with the democratic values and beliefs that they were brought up on, I was immediately excited. Just as was the case in Hong Kong, these Georgians grew up in the shadow of a giant, non-democratic superpower that could take their democratic freedoms away from them at any moment. And just like the people of Hong Kong, Georgians had the optimism and courage to flood their streets, demanding a better future.
And while I may never truly understand what it feels like to go out on the street and demand more of my government, I hope that this story and how we brought it alive in the edit can provide at least a small glimpse into the reality of these people, helping you empathize with their struggle and hopes for a democratic future. After all, it may be cliche to say, but is true nonetheless: Democracy is hard to come by, and once it’s there, must be fought for to be kept alive.
~ Paji
Comments
Benjamin
i don‘t like this particular video. it completly ignores the history of the two occupied regions „South Ossetia“ and „Abkhazia“. im not an expert, but only a quick read through the wikipedia pages of those two regions, paints quite a diffrent picture. what happened here johnny? normally i really enjoy the content of the channel, but this one creates some question marks…
Michael Ghukasyan
Thank you for the powerful and informative video. Since you're in the region, I suggest also visiting Armenia. Last September, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive that forced over 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee Nagorno-Karabakh, creating a severe humanitarian crisis that hasn’t received the international attention it deserves. The Armenian government is taking significant steps to move away from Russia and closer to the US and EU, while Azerbaijan is strengthening its ties with Russia. Public opinion in Armenia has shifted dramatically, with many feeling betrayed by Russia's inaction, and the displaced individuals are facing immense personal challenges as they rebuild their lives. I think these topics are worth covering. I live in Armenia and will be happy to help you.
Luka Macharadze
While I appreciate the effort, it's a very one sided video and possibly propaganda piece for the upcoming US backed coup that's about to take place after the election here in Georgia. It seems even more odd coming from your team when you've investigated US backed coups around the world. Before watching it, I thought you'd cover all bases and not just what the US and its sponsored proxy NGO and media want. I'm not saying this was an intentional propaganda piece sponsored by the US government, it can just be due to sheer ignorance or biases, but you could've done better by interviewing or at least showing the view of the silent majority by interviewing or chatting with their representatives.
@DaveRizz
Wow. Pretty amazing piece. And shocking, as I never really knew about the struggles of Georgia like this. I remember hearing about Russia invading Georgia, but really with no context. Just a little blip in the morning news. Thankful to get this level of detail this reporting provides. And scary to see the foreboding nature of Russia's black-list tactic spreading. And I definitely feel for the Georgian people. And can connect with their desire to stop being conquered and finally be allowed to embrace their Europeanness. They seem so relatable. Not anything foreign or "strange." Just like you or me. Wanting democracy and fairness. Feels pretty straight-forward to me. It all really makes me wonder how these dictators can possibly justify themselves? Not publicly, they obviously have their public justifications crafted & practiced; but I mean privately, in their own minds. How can Putin justify being such a horrible person to so many people he thinks are his countrymen? What is going on in his mind? I have trouble thinking of anyone as purely "evil" but through history, there seems to be these people that come to power that, from the outside, truly seem evil. That's a border I wouldn't mind seeing explored... the border between the on-the-ground reality of a dictatorship, and the internal machinations of a dictator's mind.
