High drama in the Georgian kitchen
Not our hostel, but a sign of some cracks in the system.
What an afternoon! Last night I posted that I chatted with a bunch of Georgian men in our hostel in Tbilisi.
Turns out they aren’t Georgian, but Iranian. There about 10 of them, including a couple with an 11-year-old boy. No one has enough English or Arabic to explain why they have been in Georgian for a month. Job hunting? Seeking to immigrate? I know they aren’t happy in Iran.
But all hell broke loose in the kitchen this afternoon. We’re not sure exactly what happened, but this is a best guess. A double room was freed-up in the hostel. The couple started for it, but a few of the fellows had their eyes on it too.
In no time there were near fisticuffs. They all seemed to arrive in the kitchen at once. Flinging around packed suitcases, shouting, pushing, shoving, crying, swearing and accusing (I’m sure).
My truck mates and I sat in stunned, but mesmerised, silence while the woman running the hostel tried to calm the situation. ‘Go outside,’ she ordered, but they ignored her.
In the end, our tour leader Lu raced outside and managed to summon the cops (almost a story in its own right). That was hours ago.
We’re not sure what’s going on now. The Iranian couple are sitting in the kitchen. They may be moving to another place. The Iranian men are nowhere to be seen. The cops are still here—taking a statement from Eamon, our newest truck companion, regarding his missing camera.
The cops want to search the place and everyone’s belongings. Eamon doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. We’ve all told him he doesn’t owe anyone anything, but someone owes him his camera.
He’s wavering. The hostel manager fully supports having a complete investigation. She said, more or less, ‘everyone wants to know who did it’.
With apologies to Megan, this is way better than Truck Cluedo. I’ll keep you posted.
News flash
I hear more cops will be here soon to carry out a thorough investigation.
Where to next? 
Be careful. The situation sounds explosive. In the late 70s I spend four years teaching Iranians. Picked up a little Farsi, and a lot of respect for just how smart my students were. Hope all is well.
Jim
LikeLike
Awaiting your next report with great interest! Sounds like a pretty volatile morning Peggy. I hope that Eamon’s camera turns up somewhere.
LikeLike
No word on the camera and Eamon has decided NOT to let the police do a search.
LikeLike