In ghostly Gori, cries of anguish slice the air

Gori: The streets of Gori, Stalin's birthplace, are scattered by burnt out hulks of tanks and military vehicles. It is ghostly, but not silent. Screams, cries of anguish, shrill demands in high pitched tones for revenge and to account blame to Georgia slice the air. And accusations of atrocities.

The Russian troops and Chechen irregulars are not in Gori town centre but they are outside. Their presence is a reminder to the people of Gori that Georgia is a country under the heel of occupation.

It is a supreme irony that a statue in Gori represents the man who slammed the iron curtain shut across Europe is now located in a city itself under de facto occupation.

The emotional driving force of the Russian military is apparent, they are bent on making sure that Georgia is no longer a viable state under its present leadership.

"Georgia beautiful", one Russian soldier said in halting English.

Nowhere to go

But in Gori families look for remnants, mementoes of a previous life, one that they had as recently as last week. Pots and pans are the most prized items to salvage, anything to allow water to be boiled and any food to be cooked.

Refugees have nowhere to go, but those with their wits still about them know that feeding their families is the main priority.

More than 10,000 people used to live here but most have fled. Groups of five or six, families with women and children try to survive another night somewhere in the rubble.

There is real anger here directed at western journalists.

"We will keep you with us, you will feel what we feel," one refugee shouted at me. The threats are born of despair and anger and weariness.

,,Who will look after us", another asked, and they threw their hands up as if in response.

As refugees take to the Tbilisi highway, they know that Gori, where a man who divided Europe was born, is now a symbol of a new international crisis.