South Ossetia has reached its goal, having passed through great trials, - SANA agency correspondent
This week there was a press tour to South Ossetia for the media from Syria and Iran. IA '' Res '' has published an interview with a member of the press tour, correspondent of the Moscow bureau of the SANA agency Adam Hanna.
- You`ve been in South Ossetia for several days, did your expectations from what you have seen come true?
- It was important for us to see the real situation in South Ossetia, and we were convinced that the Republic had recovered after the terrible aggression of August 2008, life goes forward, and the South Ossetian people have the opportunity to work, build and develop.
We have noticed that people are walking along the streets with a smile on their face, and this is the most important thing.
- What is the news you`ve learned about the Republic?
- We were told about the development of your state, about the war of Georgia against the South Ossetian people, about the genocide that people of South Ossetia were subjected to in different years. We did not know that the confrontation between South Ossetia and Georgia was going on since the collapse of the USSR, and the Republic was periodically subjected to shelling, peaceful people were killed ... You achieved your goal after going through great trials.
- When were you planning your trip, what was the most interesting thing for you as a journalist?
- The Ossetian people, of course, with the help of Russia, forced Georgia to peace in 2008. And we wanted to see the peaceful life of the South Ossetian people, the process of recovery. Seeing with your own eyes is a completely different perspective of the problem, compared to the information that some media publish. We realized that the people were able to take the path of development, and I think that in the future South Ossetia will have great success.
- How do you see the development of relations between the media representatives of Syria and South Ossetia?
- I think we should combine an action plan. And this work should be enshrined in various treaties and cooperation agreements. Our agency SANA cooperates with information agencies RIA Novosti, ITAR-TASS and others; we can also conclude an agreement at the official level with South Ossetian news agencies. Cooperation is always important, there must be a feedback. It needs an official proposal from the leaders of news agencies of South Ossetia.
- In what conditions our colleagues - journalists work in Syria?
- In heaviest conditions ... It is necessary to leave both on the front line, and on the line of contact with terrorist groups. Moreover, the Americans do not allow our media to fully perform their professional functions. More than 35 Syrian journalists have died in Syria during these war years, fulfilling their professional duty.
Now the situation has become a bit calmer, and it is already easier and safer for journalists to work.
- Ossetians live in Syria, do you know them?
- I am from the east of the country, from the city of Haseki. Two of my friends are Ossetians. There are many diasporas of the Caucasian nations in Syria, but we call them by one name - the Circassians. At the same time, we know that they are all different nationalities. Many of them already consider themselves Syrians. But they all preserved their culture and traditions. Ossetians gather on the days of major national holidays and celebrate them widely. Syrian television always shows the holidays of the people, living in Syria.
- What do you think is common between the Syrian and Ossetian peoples?
- I would note the similarity of character. Although similarity may be the result of assimilation. The influence of different cultures on each other is a natural process of life.
We were walking along the streets of Tskhinval and decided to go to the store. Of course, we did not know the road, and asked a young girl. She was talking on the phone, and at the same time answered us in Ossetian, showing gestures how to go to the store. And I want to note, we all understood these gestures. This, too, is probably a kind of similarity between peoples of different nationalities.
