By Irakli Gedenidze/Associated Press
New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith met today with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili as the congressman sought to bring home two young girls stuck there -- even as the girls' family worried over Russian troops only miles away.
Reached on the phone in Georgia, Smith said he was meeting with anyone he could -- Georgian officials, U.S. officials, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and contacts in the Russian State Duma he knows through his work on refugee issues.
"This could break open any second," Smith (R-4th Dist.) said. "We're trying every tool. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with diplomats and others. I keep stressing to the Russians that there are American children who are trapped."
Smith has been trying to get the Russians to open up a humanitarian corridor that would allow 7-year-old Ashley and 3-year-old Sophia Evans of Howell, Monmouth County, to leave western Georgia, as well as others stuck in the region.
The Evans girls were visiting their maternal grandparents when Russian troops invaded Georgia two weeks ago. Russian checkpoints have blocked their paths to escape.
Their parents -- Joseph Evans of Howell and his Georgian-born wife, Tea-h -- have been trying to get their daughters out of the country. Joseph Evans was on a plane to Georgia today, a Smith spokeswoman said.
Tea-h Evans' brother, Beso Tsutskiridze, flew to Armenia from New Jersey last week, crossed the border and made his way on foot around Russian troop positions to get to his parents' farm in the western village of Chiatura.
Reached on his parents' cell phone earlier today, Tsutskiridze said he -- like other men in the area -- was staying awake through the night so he could rush his parents and nieces into nearby woods if Russian troops arrived.
The Russians, he said, have been getting closer each day.
"They are really close to us," he said. "Yesterday, it was like 20 to 25 miles from us. Now it's 10 miles -- 10 to 15 miles. The Russian president says every day, 'We're moving. We're moving.' They are not moving -- they come inside (toward) us."
Smith said he spoke on the phone with Ashley Evans early this week.
"We started talking, and she goes, 'You know, I'm really scared and I just want to come home.' And I said, 'well, just have faith and know that your parents are doing everything they can to help you, and they're a whole lot of us who really care about you,'" Smith said.
This Associated Press article was published on Aug. 20, 2008, and can be found on numerous news sites, including: