TED Talks Daily - A lens on Georgia's survival in the shadow of a superpower | Daro Sulakauri

Episode Date: October 28, 2024

"Georgia is not heard or seen in the world, and many don't even know the location of the country," says TED Fellow and photographer Daro Sulakauri. Through her striking photographs of life in the shadows of Russian occupation, she uses her camera to create a living archive of her home country and defend against the erasure of its borders, culture and history.

TED Audio Collective. You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hu. Today's talk is from our brand new batch of 2024 TED Fellows Films. TED's fellowship supports a network of global innovators, and we are so excited to share their work with you. Today, we'd like you to meet photojournalist Daro Sulakori.

She helps the rest of the world understand the reality of war and occupation in a powerful and resonant way. She makes the case for why all of us all over the globe need to understand the humans involved in global conflicts and how better understanding can lead to positive change. After we hear from Dara, stick around for her conversation with TED Fellows Program Director Lily James Olds. It's all coming up after the break. Support for this show comes from Airbnb. If you know me, you know I love staying in Airbnbs when I travel. They make my family feel most at home when we're away from home. As we settled down at our Airbnb during a recent vacation to Palm Springs, I pictured my own home sitting empty.

Wouldn't it be smart and better put to use welcoming a family like mine by hosting it on Airbnb. It feels like the practical thing to do, and with the extra income, I could save up for renovations to make the space even more inviting for ourselves and for future guests. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.ca slash host. And now, our TED Talk of the day. It's very confusing and unsettling to wake up our TED Talk of the day. officially redrawn by the occupied forces. Your bedroom is now located in a different country, where your living room and kitchen are still in the country where you fell asleep.

The borders are not marked, so you might end up being kidnapped or detained by the Russian-backed forces. Is that a reality for many, many people? It is a reality for many people in Georgia. In fact, about 20% of Georgia is occupied by Russia. Georgia is not heard or seen in the world, and many don't even know the location of the country.

It's important to know what is going on today in Georgia, because, yeah, it happens in one region, but you never know when it's going to happen in your country or in your region. So we have to pay more attention. My name is Dara Sula Gaudi. I'm a Georgian photojournalist. I started taking pictures when I was 14.

I was talking with my camera. It was like an intermediary of me expressing myself. I had like a turning point when I did my first photo project on Chechen refugees. My great-grandmother was a Chechen woman and I was always told stories about her. And during the time there was the stereotype on Chechens in Georgia that they were all like criminals and terrorists, and I wanted to destroy the stereotype. When I finished the story, I got emails from people saying that, thank you for showing Chechens in a different way.

So I think that was the moment I realized what power photography had and how it can really change consciousness in people and let them think differently. From that moment I concentrated on stories in my country that touched on taboo topics such as early marriages and conditions faced by mine workers, stories about minorities, post-Soviet healthcare system that created a pandemic of stolen babies, and how conflict with Russia led to the surreal border dynamics I described earlier. There's so many topics to cover in Georgia, and I feel like it's not been covered.

By photographing these topics and talking about it, the dialogue starts, and I think from this dialogue, the change comes. One journey, I documented a 14-year-old boy telling the story about how he had to cross the occupied border onto the Russian-controlled territory to visit his ill grandmother and kind of risking his life. And I went with him on this one trip

that took us four hours to crawl, walk, hide, and cross the irrigation canals. We had to hide from both Russian-backed militants and also Georgian border police. It's really dangerous for especially journalists because they don't know where the border is. I could not make any mistakes or I would be detained by the Russian-backed militants.

He symbolized for me our people's resilience because he loves his grandmother so much. He kind of killed the fear in him and took this road. I think it matters to not just be a photographer who goes there and leaves and never comes back, but to actually have this connection with the people. It's not just a story that's told by a photographer, but it's a story that's told by the people who live in Georgia. It's like an archive that will let the future generation also understand what it was like

to live close to the occupied territories. The Soviet Union tried to demolish our identity, but they couldn't manage because our roots are very strong, like traditions and culture and language. So I think it's very important to tell the story of my people. I want this to be heard. That was Daro Sulakori, a 2024 TED Fellow. Stick around after the break to hear Daro go deeper into her work. And now a special conversation between TED Fellow Daro Sulakori

and TED Fellows Program Director Lily James Olds. Hi, Daro. It's so great to get to talk to you today. Well, Lily, yes. Thank you so much for inviting me to have this talk with you. Let's just dive in. So many photojournalists go somewhere else to photograph, you know, away from their homes. What do you bring by photographing the place that is home to you and that you know so intimately? Photographing my own home, Georgia, allows me to tell stories from a more deeply personal and empathetic perspective.

Because I know the culture, the history, and the nuances of the conflict here. And I have lived through many of the struggles myself. So my connection to the land and people, I feel like give me a unique insight and access to my country. And it's something that maybe outside journalists might not have. And I feel like I'm not just documenting events, but I'm telling stories of my own community. There's a deeper responsibility in it because it's not

just about getting the perfect photograph, but it's about being witness to something that affects me and my people directly. And what do you think people outside of Georgia can learn from your experience as a photojournalist there? You know, how can it shed light on what is happening in other parts of the world? Well, my work in Georgia highlights the global issue of the occupation and the shifting border and something that is still happening today. The ongoing conflict with Russia is a reminder of how fragile the nation's sovereignty can be and how ordinary people are often caught off in this crossfire of geopolitical power struggles.

You know, this isn't unique to Georgia, whether it's Ukraine, Palestine or other conflict zones, the struggle for territorial integrity and human rights is, I think, universal. And my story is one example, but it reflects more larger patterns that could be seen worldwide. Yeah, absolutely. And I'm curious, you mentioned that your projects touch on taboo topics. Can you tell us more about one of these topics? Yes, one very complicated and emotional topic that I'm covering today is the Georgia's black market baby trade.

For years, mothers across Georgia mourned children that were told that have died, but they discovered like decades later that their new births have been actually kidnapped and sold. So during this political and economic chaos that was in my country in the 90s and the beginning of 2000s, a black market baby trade happened and corrupt doctors, nurses, and all the people who were involved in this abduction of infants from mothers in hospital beds. And, you know, they sold them through an underground criminal adoption network. And they were telling mothers different versions

of what happened to the baby. So I want to bring one example of a story of twins, two sisters who were separated at birth. They were sold into two different families in two different cities in Georgia. And they found each other through TikTok video, which was pretty incredible. And their reunion kind of gave hope to countless families

that are still searching for their loved ones today. And the highlight of this story is a Facebook group called VedZep looking for their volunteer run initiative. They have reunited over 700 families using DNA tests and counting. And I know you've been doing this work for a long time in terms of that story. Where, if people want to learn more about that particular project, what's the best place for them to go to find that in your work? This is my ongoing investigative story. So I have not published it

yet. I think I have two cases that I want to finish and then it will be on my website, of course, and on other media. Yes. I can't wait to read that and look at all of that in depth. Such important work. You started this work so young, Doro. I think you said at the age of 14 was when you first picked up a camera. I'm wondering if there was a particular issue that catalyzed you into this work at such a young age. I feel like what really led me to take photos and tell my emotions and stories through photography was when I lived in the United States when I was nine years old. My family migrated there and after three or four years, we came back to Georgia. We returned. And it was still the 90s. And I had a very complicated issue with the language because I forgot a lot of Georgian. It kind of destroyed this

barrier of how I could communicate with the world. And I was a teenager. And I think it was the perfect time when I got, I found photography, you know, and I was a teenager and I think it was the perfect time when I got, I found photography, you know, and I started taking pictures of everything around me, which was pretty incredible and magic. That's really amazing at that age to have found something that you're still continuing today. So if someone listening is interested in diving deeper into these topics and your work, what resources would you recommend to them in terms of a book, a podcast, or something else? Well, I'd really, really encourage listeners to visit my website, shiftingborders.com. It serves as a virtual archive that is continuously updated with new content. And it really captures the real experiences of not only me, the photographer,

but from local residents through their letters. And the letters for me is the highlight of the website because it really holds a deep personal connection for me as well. As a child, when I lived in the United States, during that time I would receive letters from my friends and my grandparents from Georgia. And I couldn't wait to open those letters. And it really told the story of the time. And also the handwriting told the separate story. You know, it had this really emotional impact on me, and I really

wanted to put this in this project, in this website. Well, thank you so much, Doro. It's been such a treat to get to talk today. Thank you so much. I'm very grateful. Support for this show comes from Airbnb. If you know me, you know I love staying in Airbnbs when I travel. They make my family feel most at home when we're away from home. As we settled down at our Airbnb during a recent vacation to Palm Springs, I pictured my own home sitting empty. Wouldn't it be smart and better put to use welcoming a family like mine by hosting it on Airbnb? It feels like the practical thing to do, and with the extra income, I could save up for renovations to make the space even more inviting for ourselves and for future

guests. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at Airbnb.ca slash host. To learn more about the TED Fellows program and watch all the TED Fellows films, go to fellows.ted.com. And that's it for today. TED Talks Daily is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced and edited by our team, Martha Estefanos, Oliver Friedman, Brian Green, Autumn Thompson, and Alejandra Salazar.

It was mixed by Christopher Fazi-Bogan. Additional support from Emma Taubner and Daniela Balarezo. I'm Elise Hugh. I'll be back tomorrow with a fresh idea for your feed. Thanks for listening. Looking for a fun challenge to share with your friends and family?

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