Top 10 cities I visited

I visited the border with an aid group during the height of Russia’s 1999 onslaught on Chechen land and people. For many refugees, fleeing their homes through the rugged and dangerous Caucasus mountains and into Georgia was the only hope for survival and medical attention. Our team was sent to provide aid, assess the refugee situation, and investigate into building a mobile clinic at the border – before more innocent lives were lost in the perilous journey.

We left Tblisi – the Georgian capital – on a cold and dark November night in an old Lada, along with my guide, the driver and a photographer. During the day, Russian helicopters attacked anyone seeing crossing the border, so the night journey was our only hope. Not much of an option though – trecking the 16,000 ft. icy snow-capped mountains in absolute darkness, through a slippery and dangerous “road” that was shut down since the Soviet era, and under the watchful eye of Russian copters was not exactly a cruiseship tour. Our car slipped and slid through the mountains, often getting stuck in snow which we had to push ourselves out of. That wasn’t much fun, given the fact the roads were barely wide enough for one car, let alone extra feet which could easily fall of the cliff and plunge below. At one time, amazed at the driver’s uncanny ability to navigate this near impossible path, I asked him how many times he had done this before. He mentioned a few times, the last time with his own car. When I asked what happened to it, he pointed down to the bottom and muttered some prayer for his beloved auto. Needless to say, I used up most of my prayers during the 12 hour treck, clenching my hands into my guide’s thighs and arms at every crucial turn and slip.

Our arrival at the border and meeting the mostly women and children refugees made the trip well worth every skipped heartbeat. In spite of their dire situation, they welcomed us into their cramped homes which housed around ten families. An old couple, after telling us their story of oppression under both Soviet and Russian rule, brought out their china dishes for the first time in a decade to serve us bread and water. I met beautiful little children who had not seen their fathers or brothers and were left to fend for themselves. One boy, not more than 10, was treading the icy hills carrying a 7 foot tree trunk on his tiny shoulder to provide heat for his family’s home.

Our trip back was equally adventurous; we met a vanload of women and children on the way who, in their haste to cross the border, had met with tragedy. The front of the van was hanging off the cliff when we arrived, so we helped them pull the van back on course with the help of my driver’s excellent maneuvering skills. It was absolute madness that innocent civilians were forced to cope with such hazardous conditions, while the world stood watching. The trip opened my eyes as to what conflicts can bring about on normal civilians, and the need for the world to do something about it. Setting up much needed mobile clinics and providing basic food and shelter, however much appreciated, could have been the least we could do. Awareness and political activism is just as crucial in such conflicts, which continue to plague our world today.

Before we embarked on the trip to the mountains a day earlier, our driver had stopped by a shop to buy a flatbread, the size of a 10 inch pizza. He cut it into four pieces, and handed each one of us a share. “This will be your only food for the next 48 hours, so ration it well,” he said. Through the entire journey, I can assure you, that one quarter piece of bread filled up my stomach like no other food ever, and gave me the mental and physical strength to carry out such a remarkable trip. It is only when we learn to live on so little and face our greatest challenges and fears, that we realize how much we take for granted in this life.

The memory of this wonderful land and the warmth of the Chechen people will forever remain in my heart. And while the conflict continues to this day, I’m reminded not to forget their struggle.