It was time to return to my roots, the real ones, the UK, after an absence of more than 12 years. My uncle’s funeral in Dorset, south England, had been the last reason. I went alone. This time, too, I had to leave my wife in Tbilisi. But not by choice: she was denied a UK visa. This, despite our hostess’s address being identical to that of our last visit together in 2010; showing a bank statement for my wife, and our translated/notarized marriage certificate; AND having been married to me, a Brit, since 2009! I couldn’t even get an audience with the current ambassador. So off I went, fuming, alone. Things clearly have changed in Albion. I based myself in Dorset and also visited Cambridge for the first time, as well as Shropshire (via Birmingham and Bristol). Spring was in full glory of greens and flowers.
Along with catching up with many British friends, most of whom are older than me and thus close to or even well past retirement age, I saw a Georgian fellow I’ve been friends with for about 20 years. He has lived and worked in the UK for longer than a decade, but his English remains rudimentary. He has moved nearly once per year on average. At least his current flat is on an Underground line which connects directly with Heathrow Airport, so, most convenient for my flight back to Georgia.
He has sublet his apartment to several other Georgians, one per room, and I met them all, along with others of his countrymen. He even showed me an outpost of the Georgian Orthodox Church, built Catholic in the 19th century and then bought by Georgians for their own use in 2010. They were about to celebrate Orthodox Easter, and congratulated me (and Lali, whom they know from our Facebook videos).
Later, at a small supra, I remembered that this is the first Easter any living Georgians will have had without a Patriarch, as the new one has still to be chosen. I toasted the successor, whoever he will be, which will soon be made known.
The thing all the Georgians I met had in common was that, while grateful for the work opportunities the UK provides them, they are indeed Not Home. For them, quite conservative to a man, Britain is a scarily liberal place, with its sexual and religious freedoms quite wide-spectrum compared to Georgia. Now, some of you might think that Sakartvelo could use quite a lot more of the same. I reserve my opinion. But to these Georgians, the UK has gone too far. I suppose one of their biggest concerns is Islam: maybe not too surprising, considering how many times this religion has swept over Georgia and put it to the sword over plenty of centuries.
But there is also the separation from family that most of these diaspora Georgians feel. One of them couldn’t (or chose not to) return to Tbilisi for his own wife’s funeral, knowing that doing so would prevent him ever from going back to the UK. Another has school-age children in Tbilisi, growing up without him. They are working to provide for their families, but separated from them by a gulf which will turn out to be one-way if they ever traverse it.
For a couple of days, my main Georgian friend showed me around London, in which I have never lived, and hardly know. Tower Bridge, Greenwich, Trafalgar Square, the Shard and Cucumber, St James’s Park, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral and more. The irony of this tour-guiding process was not lost on us: I also promised to show him the Svaneti he has never seen when he finally does return! We must have done nearly 10 miles each day on foot.
Then I said goodbye, and made my way to Heathrow to fly out, suitcase stuffed with elderflower cordial, Marmite, a few books, a map of Flint county in North Wales from 1610 with my village of Hanmer on it (!), gifts for Lali, and more. A bittersweet trip, for me and those I left behind.
BLOG by Tony Hanmer
Tony Hanmer has lived in Georgia since 1999, in Svaneti since 2007, and been a weekly writer and photographer for GT since early 2011. He runs the “Svaneti Renaissance” Facebook group, now with over 2000 members, at www.facebook.com/groups/SvanetiRenaissance/
He and his wife also run their own guest house in Etseri: www.facebook.com/hanmer.house.svaneti
