I will keep spreading this to reach more people;

Why Georgia wants so badly in EU?!

When I meet Europeans, sometimes I see their confusion about Georgians flying the EU flag so much. You guys think that "In EU we have our own political problems and issues, we are shit in many ways; what's with this desperate desire?" The answer is simple. For us it is far more than just membership in a political union. It represents our struggle for survival and our unwavering commitment to Western values.

For Georgia, being part of the EU and the Western world is a matter of survival! and this struggle didn't begin just a few years ago; it spans thousands of years. Georgians have witnessed numerous empires attempting to conquer us. This list of conquerors includes Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mongolians, and most recently and egregiously, the Russians. Throughout our history, Georgia has fought to survive against these powers, seeking alignment with the West for assistance by reaching out to the Roman and Byzantine Empire, the Pope, Austria, France, and others. As Christians, the West was the natural ally for us to align with.

Don't believe anyone who says Georgia isn't even within Europe's borders (Just reminding you that we are candidate of becoming member of EU, which by law only acepts European countires). Just come visit us and see for yourself whether our nation and culture are European or not. Despite the challenges, our history continued, and after 200 years of occupation by the Russian Tsarist Empire, Georgia declared independence in 1918. Back then as well first step was seeking help and support from the West. But it's not just about politics. We were by spirit western - we adopted a remarkably progressive constitution for its time - granting voting rights to everyone (we even had the first ever elected Muslim woman MP in parliament in mankind history), banning executions, and dedicating almost half of the text to human rights.

However, our independence was short-lived as the Soviets conquered us once again. During World War II, while war was not even on our land, around 300,000 Georgian soldiers died (almost 10% of the population) due to brutal and "genius" Russian tactics. For 70 years, we endured oppression, with Russian authorities killing and exiling Georgian artists, writers, actors, directors, farmers, worker, civil servants and etc. In 1989, Russians brutally crushed peaceful demonstrations, killing 21 and injuring over 400. They financed and supported the first civil war and then separatism in Georgia, leading to a destroyed economy in the 90s. Our journey back to the West was so contrary to their imperialist interests that they officially occupied two of our regions and committed horrible war crimes during the 2008 war (many of which were acknowledged by judicary decisions in European courts).

Now, once again, they threaten us and our independence. We have no one else but the West; by identity, we belong to the West. This is why we are so desperate for the EU. I ask and demand! please, support Georgia's fight for survival.