S. Ossetia expats fear for wartorn homeland
By MARC KILCHLING, SUN MEDIA
Members of Toronto's Ossetian community spent an anxious day waiting for news of relatives back home as the fighting in their homeland continues to take its toll on civilians.
"I haven't heard anything from my relatives since a cellphone call on Friday," said Konstantin Pliev.
"The last thing (my cousin) told me was that the Georgians would be there in two hours and he wasn't sure whether he would be alive."
Pliev immigrated to Canada 21/2 years ago but still has an 80-year-old aunt, along with a few cousins in Tskhinvali, the capital of the disputed Ossetian region of Georgia and the scene of some of the fiercest fighting between Russian and Georgian forces.
"They have no water or power and all communications seem to be broken down. I'm hoping the problem is that with the power out they haven't been able to charge their phone rather than something else," Pliev said.
ETHNIC CLEANSING
He watched TV reports of the conflict all day hoping for a ceasefire but fearing the Georgian army may be working to ethnically cleanse the region to solidify control.
"This is the third episode of genocide by the Georgians. The Russians are trying to support us with their peacekeepers," he said.
Ruslan Koutchiev is a director with the Canadian Ossetian Association and he also has been closely following the situation.
"I'm concerned over the reliability of Western media as they're all located in Georgia," he said.
"For centuries there were never problems between Ossetians and Georgians. Georgians live in North Ossetia (part of Russia) with no problems," he said.
According to reports from relatives back in his hometown of Alagir, he said Georgian troops have thrown grenades into basements where civilians have been hiding out.
