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The Leader is Always Right
Lideri Khoveltvis Martalia
Salome Jashi / Georgia / 2010 / 43 min.
Summer camps financed by the president in Georgia seem to offer lessons in nationalism, hatred and obedience. Since 2005, these camps have been attended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls. The programme is clear: to cultivate a "love of the nation" among children. This primarily means developing animosity towards Russia, which has been interfering with the country's autonomy. The camp leaders remind their charges of the injustices that occurred to them during the conflict in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Uniforms with the Georgian state symbol, flags on the cabins, ideological slogans and the rule that "the leader is always right" are all things that serve to remind each boy and girl of the past and to demand vengeance. Suggestive lectures and plays exert emotional pressure and strengthen the desire for revenge among these "foot soldiers." According to them, blood can only be repaid with blood. A stark future is outlined when the children leave the camp with a clear idea of what "patriotism" means. Director Salome Jashi show how conflict can never end, if it is fed by fervent nationalism.
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