Immigrants Finally Talking About Georgia

Hey, members of Philadelphia’s Russian community — previously afraid to speak out, apparently — is finally getting it together. They held a protest yesterday at Independence Mall, and KYW 1060 recaps a bunch of protest quotes:

• “Hospitals are swamped, they’re flooded with people. That’s what we need right now. We need to reconstruct, rebuild and get Russia out.”
• “In Ossetia in Tskinvali they’re still burning the houses down completely!”
• “They do not care about any standards of normal society!”
• “There are people calling in radio stations saying they’re hiding in the basements!”
• “There’s killing killing and killing! Killing and blood is their weapon! That’s the only thing!”
• “We just want to live in a normal, democratic world! That’s what we want! We do not want to live in the jungle.”

See, that’s a better description of this war than you’ll get from a TV news report, and it’s done by people at Independence Mall. Let’s hope Vladmir Putin — clearly, listening to KYW 1060 on his drive home — didn’t recognize any of those voices.

Pro-Georgia Rally on Independence Mall [KYW 1060]

Frightened Northeast Philadelphians Not Offering Opinion On Russian Affairs

What do our friendly Russian residents in Northeast Philadelphia think about the whole Russia-invades-Georgia thing going on right now overseas?

Well, this one dude is pretty clear it’s all Putin’s fault, according to KYW 1060. But everybody else is just too scared to talk:

“We don’t have enough information to have complete judgment about the conflict.”

“I think that both sides are currently being misinformed by the media so it’s very difficult to make any sort of informed decision.”

Some people simply didn’t want to give any opinion: One man said, if I agree with the Russians, the Georgians will get me; if I agree with the Georgians, the Russians will get me.

By far the smartest opinion ever offered to a news station here in Philly, no doubt.

Russia-Georgia Conflict Stirs Strong Feelings in Locals With Ties [KYW 1060]