Valentine Kesayeva, a representative of the Ossetian diaspora in France (International non-profit association «Renaissance Sandzidzan» «Revival"):
The tragic events of August 2008 are still alive in my memory. Then we were grieving, were suffering very much, we wanted to help, not even physically, but to support morally. We were grieving every moment, doing everything possible for people to hear the truth, what was really going on.
The hardest thing was to break through the informational background, which prevailed in Europe. European media did not broadcast the truth, and the Georgian side was very well prepared, there was the information war, so all the population of Europe was on the side of Georgia. The ordinary Frenchmen could only see what they saw on TV. They took it at face value and naturally took the side of Georgia. They expressed their view that it was impossible to separate the old ancestral territory of Ossetia from Georgia. Naturally we were very annoyed because it was impossible to bring the truth to the people, we are not so many.
When we in Europe began to carry out our activities related to the events in South Ossetia, many public figures were surprised by the situation - when they first learned the truth.
Nevertheless, our protest led to some result - we were already being received by the authorities, they wanted to hear our opinion about those events- the opinion of ordinary people who were worried about their Republic, their homeland.
People in Europe only then learnt who the Ossetians were, about South Ossetia and North Ossetia. Now we must develop relationships with other countries, cultural ties. The activities of diaspora play an active role, because our events are often attended by the French. They have learnt more about us - our unique culture and traditions, and I must say that they like it.
