Aug 18, 2008 5:30 am US/Eastern
Georgian Journey Cut Short In London For N.J. Dad
Joseph Evans Makes Desperate Plea To U.S. Government Exclusively To CBS 2
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Joseph Evans was unable to complete his journey to Georgia to rescue his two daughters.
CBS
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Monmouth County, N.J., sisters Ashley, left, 7. and Sophia Evans, 3, became trapped in the Republic of Georgia when Russian troops invaded in August 2008 while they were visiting their grandparents.
CBS
Heartbroken and sleep deprived, Joseph Evans walked off of an airplane at JFK airport, after he made a desperate attempt to go into the former Soviet republic of Georgia and rescue his daughters who are trapped in the war-torn country.
He was turned back in London and unable to complete his journey to rescue his daughters Ashley and Sophia.
"I told them in London you're going to send me back to the USA without my daughters," the emotional father told CBS 2 HD. "I got to the UK and they shut me down. They put a flare on my passport with a travel restriction and put me in a puppy chow compound."
The U.S. State department said it cannot comment on this case, but that it is "working around the clock toward a diplomatic solution and to confirm the safety of Americans and to quickly and safely help get them out."
Seven-year-old Ashley and her 3-year-old sister Sophia have been trapped on their grandparents' farm in Chiatura since the fighting began.
The girls' uncle Beso Tsutskiridze, who left the U.S. last week and is now with them in Chiatura told CBS 2 HD "they understand Georgian now. They know it's war." He added at "nighttime, we are scared."
Tsutskiridze says he and a group of men have banded together to protect the village from insurgents who are getting closer:
"I want help," he said. "Today I'm okay, but I don't know [about] tomorrow."
He also told CBS 2 HD he dodged bullets as he made his way to Chiatura. ''They shot me because I was in the forest. They shot me and I ran," he said.
"George Bush, you have two daughters - do something. Do it now," Joseph Evans screamed.
His sisters say U.S. officials believe the girls are safe staying put and that she has faith in the government's decision, but Evans disagrees and wants a military rescue:
"I am not getting federal assistance from my country. They deserve more than to wait in a blown-out warzone," he said.
The girls and their uncle would have to make it to the U.S. embassy in Tbilisi in order to get on an American convoy out of Georgia.
Right now, the only road to the capital runs through a town that is at the center of the fighting. The girls' uncle said he is in close contact with the U.S. embassy and will stay put until it gets too dangerous to do so.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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