Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia
The Second International Conference on PTSD for Veterans and Victims of War was held 8-11 November 2000 in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia. The purpose of this conference was to further the work of the Tbilisi I Conference that took place in July 1999. The focus of the conference is to educate, to exchange ideas and to establish strong relationships with the International community for mutual support and aid.
There were approximately 125
conference participants registered for the Tbilisi II Conference. Most of the participants were Georgian
veterans and victims of the war in Afghanistan and the civil war with the breakaway
province of Abkhasia. There exists in
Tbilisi between 15-20 different Veterans organizations and each one of these
sent a delegation to the conference.
Other delegations came from
Azerbaijan (4 Veterans); Armenia (1 woman Victim of War); Chechnya (2
Veterans); Krasnodar [Russian Federation] (1 Veteran); Romania (2 WWII
Veterans), and; United States (1 Vietnam Veteran).
The Chechen veterans have
become refugees because of the war.
They now make their home in Baku, Azerbaijan and have started a Veterans
organization of Chechen veterans there coordinating communication with all
Chechens who have had to leave their homeland because of the war.
A delegation of five from
Tuzla, Bosnia was to participate in this conference but was unable to procure
the necessary entrance visas in time to participate. However, they did submit their research papers for publication.
Every presenter submitted
their papers beforehand and they were translated into three languages: Russian,
English and Georgian. The lectures were
conducted in Russian and Georgian with simultaneous translation provided.
The topics that were covered
were:
1)
the plight of disabled veterans;
2)
the lack of compensation and pensions for war veterans
and invalids;
3)
the lack of adequate medical care and availability of
prescription drugs for disabled veterans;
4)
the lack of psychological treatment for war veterans
and lack of credibility of PTSD as a diagnosable psychological disorder;
5)
the care and support of war widows and orphans;
6)
the rights and benefits due to citizen-soldiers
(non-military) who fought in the civil wars of their respective nations.
7)
the role of government to provide adequate funding to
care for the needs of their nation’s veterans.
8)
the plight of refugees and IDP’s (internally displaced
persons) – ability to find employment, adequate housing and the desire to
return to their homeland.
The first two days of the
conference were spent listening to the formal presentations of the topics that
I have already listed above. Each
presentation went into detail about the desperate need of a people struggling
to find a better quality of life for their families and children. There is extreme poverty in the CIS nations
and this became evident when, during the conference the electricity would be
shut off unannounced by the government and remain turned off for days because
of the lack of adequate power sources.
Much of the conference was conducted by candlelight and kerosene lamps
and heaters.
People adapt and have
adjusted to this pattern and do not even bat an eye when the power is shut
off. It was an education for me to
visit this part of the world in November when it is cold and what we take for
granted here in America, is a luxury in the Caucasus.
On the third day of the
Conference, a meeting was held that provided interaction for the conference
presenters with representatives of all the Georgian veteran organizations. We listened intently about their problems
and their needs in order to attain a better quality of live. In response we offered suggestions on how
to press their government officials to respond to their needs. We also offered models that have achieved
success in other nations, e.g. in Azerbaijan they were able to get their
government to respond after a peaceful public rally and hunger strike in front
of the Parliament buildings.
Also, on the third day, we
invited the print and broadcast media for a Press Conference. We told them what the purpose and mission
of the conference was and what outcomes we hoped to achieve as a result of
it. This press conference went on for
over two hours.
On the fourth day of the
conference, a delegation of thirty IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) from
Abkhasia came to share some of their struggles and hopes for a better
life. These IDP’s are Georgian citizens
who lived in Abkhasia prior to the civil war when they forced out of their
homeland and Abkhasia broke off relations with Georgia. Then they formed an illicit government. Many of their problems are the same problems
with the added burden of lack of adequate housing and employment for these
desperate people.
The rest of the fourth day
was spent drafting a resolution that could be signed by all participating
organizations and international delegations.
This resolution is intended to be presented to their representative
government officials and the media in order that the concerns of all war
veterans and victims of war can be addressed to the proper authorities.
We, the participants of the
Tbilisi International Conference gathered once again [8-11 November 2000] in
order to announce that any expression of military aggression is not an
acceptable solution to any conflict. We
represent all regions of the Caucasus nations (Armenia; Azerbaijan; Chechnya;
Georgia) including delegations from Romania, the Russian Federation and the
United States of America. We have come
here in peace to exchange ideas and information but foremost our agenda has
been to promotion of reconciliation and healing of all survivors of war.
As we enter the Third
Millennium, we wish to declare a Millennium of Peace, which was the theme of
this year’s conference. However, we
know that there is no peace in the Caucasus region. There is an ongoing was in Chechnya at this time. It has received attention throughout the
world. We strongly recommend and urge
the Russian and Chechen leaders to end this deadly war and to bring about a
peaceful resolution of this conflict.
The Chechen people have a right to the land and to return to their homes
with their families to live in peace and harmony.
The conference members speak
with one voice when we declare that legislation must either be drafted or
revised to meet the pressing needs of all veterans of war, invalids and other
victims of war. Their rights and
benefits must be protected and restored to them. We encourage governments to put into place mechanisms, which will
assure that legislation is adhered to and enforced.
We pledge our support to
work in greater collaboration with our respective governments, elected
officials and other NGO’s to assure that all survivors of war may enjoy a
better quality of life.
We ask our respective
governments and elected officials to pay particular attention to the physical
and psycho-social needs of invalids of war and family members of those killed
in war.
There are many veterans and
survivors of war in the Caucasus region that have been killed by hostile action
and are interred far away from their homelands. We urge all respective governments to work with each other for
the safe and peaceful return of these remains so that their families may bury
their loved ones with dignity and respect.
Additionally, there are many
soldiers and family members that are not accounted for and are believed to be
alive and held captive in enemy hands.
We strongly recommend and urge these governments to negotiate their immediate
release and safe passage back to their families and homeland.
Finally, the Conference
members have decided to establish an International Organization of War Veterans
and Victims of War. This new
organization will invited veterans groups from all nationals to join with us in
this collaborative work to promote healing and reconciliation from the adverse
effects of war and to promote the great work of peace in the world.
We will send this resolution
to all of our respective governments and elected officials as well as to the
United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
and all human rights organizations.
--signed by all members
of the Tbilisi II Conference on 11 November 2000
At the end of the conference,
I had several days before returning home to America. I accepted an invitation from the Azeri veterans to visit their
country. My Georgian hosts accompanied
me. I was particularly interested in
visiting the Karabakh Society for the Veterans of Nagorno-Karabakh. The war that Azerbaijan was involved in with
Armenia was over the disputed land of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region
that is currently under Armenian control.
Hundred of lives were lost in that war that unfortunately is not
over. The ride from Tbilisi to Baku was
an all-day endeavor and very interesting.
Baku is a beautiful city on the Caspian Sea. I only had enough time to spend one full day in Baku before
returning to Tbilisi for my return flight home. I was given the cook’s tour of the Karabakh Society and the work
that they are involved in for their veterans.
I had the opportunity to meet many of their disabled veterans since only
four had the means to attend the Tbilisi Conference.
I was also given a tour of
the Veterans cemetery. This is a solemn
place of repose for those who died in the Nagorno-Karabakh war with
Armenia. It is a sad place but also a
beautiful place of repose for the veterans and civilians killed in that
action. It is on a hill overlooking the
panorama of Baku and the Caspian Sea.
There is an eternal flame burning under a large arch-like monument at
one end of the cemetery. Also, there is
an impressive Mosque immediately next to the cemetery, which I was privileged
to visit and offer prayers.
Later in the day, I was
brought to the government offices and spoke with some print media people and
officials interested in the promotion of veterans’ benefits. Due to time constraints, I had to turn down
an opportunity to do a radio interview.
In the evening prior to
departing back to Tbilisi, I had an opportunity to speak at length with the
president of the Karabakh Society. We
pledged greater cooperation in our working together for the advancement of
their veterans’ quality of life. The
Azeri veterans have offered to host the next International Conference this year
to be held in Baku. The Georgian
coordinating committee has offered to help the Azeris with planning and
implementation.
This was a very powerful
experience and there is so much work to be done. The American experience of the Vietnam has so much to offer and
share with our younger veterans of more recent wars and conflicts. There is such a richness to meet people who
have experienced war and subsequently suffer from very similar consequences and
yet transcend language, culture and religious diversity.
I would like to close this
report with timely words from the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II’s 2001 World
Day of Peace message, entitled: “Dialogue Between Cultures for a
Civilization of Love and Peace.”
“In the past, cultural differences have often been a source of misunderstanding between peoples and the cause of conflicts and wars. Even now, sad to say, in different parts of the world, we are witnessing with growing alarm the aggressive claims of some cultures against others. In the long run, this situation can end in disastrous tensions and conflicts. At the very least, it can make more difficult the situation of those ethnic and cultural minorities living in a majority cultural context which is different from their own and prone to hostile and racist ways of thinking and acting”
“Individuals come to
maturity through receptive openness to others and through generous self-giving
to them; so, too, do cultures. Created
by people and at the service of people, they have to be perfected through
dialogue and communion, on the basis of original and fundamental unity of the
human family, as it came from the hands of God who ‘made
from one stock every nation of mankind.’ (Acts of the Apostles 17:26)”
“Dialogue leads to a recognition of diversity and open the mind to the mutual acceptance and genuine collaboration demanded by the human family’s basic vocation to unity. As such, dialogue is a privileged means for building the civilization of love and peace that my revered predecessor, Pope Paul VI, indicated as the ideal to inspire cultural, social, political and economic life in our time. At the beginning of the Third Millennium, it is urgent that the path of dialogue be proposed once again to a world marked by excessive conflict and violence, a world, at times, discouraged and incapable of seeing signs of hope and peace.
The recent statement of John
Paul II in his annual Urbi et Orbi message delivered on the World
Day of Peace really gives me the energy and impetus that the International
outreach by the National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers is in sync
with the important mission of promoting peace among nations and reconciliation
with former enemies.
FATHER PHILIP G. SALOIS, M.S.
President and Founder,
National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers
National Chaplain, Vietnam
Veterans of America