Overview

"The leader is always right" is the rule number one in the Patriotic Camps in Georgia, established in 2005. The camps have been attended by hundreds of thousands of teenagers and has been personally supported by Georgia's former president Mikheil Saakashvili. The programme here is clear: to cultivate a "love of the nation" among the youth. Uniforms with the Georgian state symbol, flags on the cabins, and ideological slogans - all remind each boy and girl of the troubled past of their country and motivate for vengeance. A stark future is outlined when the children leave the camp with a clear idea of what "patriotism" means.