European Union foreign affairs ministers gathering on December 16 to discuss Georgia should call for an independent investigation into the country’s clampdown on peaceful anti-government protests, now in their second week. EU ministers should also sanction officials responsible for violent abuses against protesters.

The heavy-handed government response to protests, amid the country’s political and constitutional crisis, risks plunging Georgia further into a human rights crisis.

Nationwide, tens of thousands are protesting the government’s decision to abandon Georgia’s EU accession. This decision violates Georgia’s constitution, which enshrines full EU integration as a goal for the Georgian state. It also transgresses the will of some 80 percent of Georgia’s population.

The pivot by the government comes one month after disputed October 26 parliamentary elections that kept the country’s ruling party in power, but which local observers and Georgia’s president claimed were marred by massive vote-rigging. It also follows the adoption of repressive legislation targeting civil society and independent media.

The government responded to the protests with teargas, water cannons, and rubber bullets. Police beat, chased down, and detained largely peaceful protesters. Riot police, as well as violent mobs presumably associated with authorities, have beaten opposition media and independent journalists and interfered with media coverage. Several hundred protesters have been arrested on various misdemeanor and criminal charges. Many reported beatings and ill-treatment in detention; dozens required hospitalization.

Despite domestic and international pressure, the government is intensifying the crackdown.

The EU has deplored authorities’ repressive actions, but it’s time for decisive steps. The EU should seek independent investigations into the post-election violence by experts from the Council of Europe and the United Nations, calling on them to examine the unlawful use of force, arbitrary detention, and the mounting evidence of ill-treatment and torture.

Additionally, EU member states should muster the consensus to use the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime to sanction officials responsible for authorizing and carrying out beatings and violence against Georgia’s protesters. The EU should also consider imposing Schengen visa requirements for Georgian government officials and diplomats. Sanctioning authorities should happen in parallel with stepped-up, flexible democracy support for civil society and media.

As the Georgian people look to the EU in their aspirations, EU leaders should show them more than moral support. Concrete and decisive steps are needed to prevent Georgia’s human rights crisis from further escalating.

WINDER, Ga. – A blanket, a toothbrush, a bag to hold your belongings – these are all simple things many people might take for granted.

One organization in Winder is making sure children of all ages have those basic needs met, and a little extra, particularly children experiencing trauma or a crisis.

“We all need that comfort. No matter how old we are. When trauma or crisis knocks on our door, a stuffed animal, a blanket can go a long way, no matter the age,” Misty Manus said.

Manus is the executive director of Adventure Bags. The nonprofit provides backpacks filled with comfort items, hygiene products, books, and more for children in need. Manus, a former foster parent, started with the organization as a volunteer.

“That’s actually how I got involved with Adventure Bags was through making donations of stuffed animals. And so I fell in love with their mission,” Manus said.

That mission started back in 2011. Tracey McMahon, the chairman of the board for the organization, was called to escort three children back to Georgia from Los Angeles for her job at the Department of Family and Children Services.

“All their stuff that they had – whatever they had with them when they went to Los Angeles was all in individual black trash bags,” she said.

McMahon helped get each child a backpack and filled it with all the essentials to go back home. She saw the difference those bags made for the kids.

“I saw such a proud happy moment. These kids had been through so much instability and whatever else was going on in their little lives, and she was proud to walk through the airport,” McMahon said.

She told her mom, Debbie Gori, about it, and she started Adventure Bags. It was her passion that she made sure was carried on.

“Before she passed away she said ‘You and Misty have got to keep this going,’” McMahon said.

And they have. Together with a small team of volunteers and help from big partners including PetSmart and Bombas, they have served more than 51,000 children across every county in the state.

“So we partner with agencies across the state of Georgia –  agencies such as DFACS, first responders, domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, agencies that provide a direct service to children in crisis,” Manus said.

This year they expanded even more, sending backpacks to Georgia children impacted by Hurricane Helene. When tragedy struck at home, they had bags for the students at Apalachee High School.

“To be able to see their reaction – those kids pulling out those blankets and wrapping them around them or pulling out those stuffed animals and just hugging them,” Manus said.

Each bag is stuffed with care and typically inspected by Linda Morrison, the head volunteer.

“I’m kind of picky about the bags and the way that they get packed. So we always want to make sure that the books go in first so the child has a flat surface against their back, and the stuffed animal goes in last because that’s the first thing we want them to see,” Morrison said.

It’s a hug from a team who is thinking of every child and making sure they have what they need during some of the most difficult times, and zipped up with a little extra love.

“It just warms your heart to see that you are making a difference,” Manus said.

And their efforts have grown so much. Adventure Bags has outgrown its current space. The nonprofit is now hoping to move into what they call its forever home, with enough room to store all of the goods to fill even more bags in the future. If you want to learn more about their organization or how you can get involved, you can visit their website here.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – President-elect Donald Trump has promised a crackdown at the southern border with a widespread deportation plan.

Gigi Pedereza is the director of the Latino Community Foundation of Georgia. She said right now there is a lot of uncertainty from the Latino community in Georgia. Some people are fearful of the plan, while others doubt it will come to fruition.

“There is a lot of fear from some folks and some other folks think nothing is going to happen You have these competing thoughts,” Pedereza said. “What we know is that he has run on this platform. He’s the president-elect and we are expecting there will be changes in immigration. We don’t know how sweeping, how fast, and how that will be implemented, but at this point, it is very concerning. We have already seen hate crimes, we’ve seen physical attacks, and we know folks have received threatening text messages.”

Most of Georgia’s police departments and sheriff’s offices don’t have the power to enforce federal immigration laws.

According to the Georgia Sheriff’s Association (GSA), only a handful of Georgia law enforcement agencies are a part of the 287(g) Program, which can deputize state officers to act as federal immigration agents.

Law enforcement can detain an illegal immigrant if they commit a crime, but the GSA said that often doesn’t lead to deportation.

Last year, the General Assembly passed the Track Act, which requires county jails to report the immigration status of every inmate.

The GSA said despite the mandatory reporting, the majority of immigrants are released after serving their sentences before they can be taken into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Pedereza said she’s working with churches and schools to make sure people in the immigrant community are aware of their legal rights.

“I’ve been in a couple of meetings where some of the administrators are concerned about already seeing drops in attendance from children because the parents are afraid, because the kids, when they are in high school, they are afraid of going to school, coming back, and not finding their parents,” said Pedereza.

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