Solidarity Among the Blossoms in Kako Papa’s Garden
(Photos by Giorgi Aladashvili of Radio Liberty)
Red Tulips in Kako Papa’s garden blossomed in spectacular red just as the state of emergency was declared in Georgia. Trade in bazaars, like the Navtlugi Bazaar in Tbilisi where Kako Papa sells his flowers, was banned due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Kako Papa is a farmer in Eastern Kakheti region. My thousands of tulips will die, he thought. This extraordinary God-given beauty will wither. Georgians will be poorer because they won’t see them. And I will be poorer because my grandson and I can’t sell them.
Grounded in Kakheti, Kako Papa agonized with a heavy heart as his tulips matured. In every blossom, he saw the sparkle of hope for someone whose day during these dark times needed the powerful splash of color residing on every stem.
Social media propelled Kako Papa’s story about his hardship beyond Kakheti, where it touched the hearts of thousands of people ready to extend a hand in solidarity. Kako Papa always believed in power of solidarity, but the response was beyond his imagination. It was, simply, enormous. And it made a difference.
The resulting social media campaign exceeded all expectations and hopes. It raised more than enough to cover all of the Kako Papa’s losses, in fact two times that amount. This solves half my problem, thought Kako Papa, but the other half is just as important. The beauty of my flowers must somehow radiate to other hearts. They must bring joy.
Where better to bring joy than to hospitals? Activist took the initiative to deliver hundreds of Kako Papa’s tulips that would never see a marketplace to hospitals with the message: “Dear doctors! We are proud of you. Our life is in your hands.”
And the hospitals bloomed. Doctors smiled. And sick patients smiled. And, one must believe, Kako Papa’s tulips smiled back.
And Kako Papa was thankful. Solidarity—Georgian solidarity—was a strong as ever. It may be, he thought, that “hope dies last,” but hope will not die so long as my tulips bring joy and happiness and all those smiles.
(A video version of this story from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty may be found at https://www.rferl.org/a/hope-blooms-amid-pandemic-as-georgians-save-tulip-seller-from-ruin/30540111.html)