My story is like an oriental melodrama where I am the main character.

I was still a schoolgirl when I met my Indian husband on one of the British forums. Soon enough, discussing various global issues with young people around the world was replaced by personal correspondence. For years we hadn’t even seen what the other looked like, we used to talk about so many things and got so used to each other that every morning, as soon as I opened my eyes, I would check my inbox with excitement.

I realized that something unusual was happening to me, however I could not admit it to myself. Student life, new people, new challenges, disappointments, first job, independence – our online relationship has endured it all. Seven years later the two adults decided to join our lives.

Our first meeting at the airport and first days that we spent together in Tbilisi were unusual – a combination of fear and joy. Despite many obstacles, we got married in a religious ceremony. We were both well aware that this would be a difficult path to happiness, full of obstacles, stereotypes, hatred and xenophobia… We were lucky to have both of our families receive the news well, because as you might know, in Georgia and in India, society is mostly sceptical of international families. In my case, my brother, who always supported us, played a big role in helping us raise our parents’ awareness and dissolve the stigma of “what will the neighbours/relatives think”.

Negative attitude of people towards our relationship intensified the difficult period of getting to know each other. My relatives were surprised with my decision. As they said, they could not understand why a successful girl like me would ever connect her life with a man of Asian origin. We have become objects of oppression in public transport on multiple occasions. I could hardly hold my tears back upon returning home. It was hard for him to find a job, but we overcame this thanks to his tireless work. Today he is very successful in his field.

We already have two children. We teach them main life values ​​and try to raise them as decent human beings. During this time, the attitude of strangers towards my husband has also changed significantly. I will not even say anything about how well he is respected by our acquaintances and relatives. I realized that the negativity came from the lack of knowledge. I realized that almost every human being had a potential to change that attitude with love. Despite many cultural or religious differences, both nations have a lot in common. We respect each other’s traditions and culture. We both love diversity.

I think of our story, I think I’m in a romantic tale. It is very rare for a man to give up on everyone and everything for the woman he loves, without even showing the sadness caused by separation. Through his patience, hard work, culture and love my husband has managed to show everyone how strong true feelings are. It is thanks to him that these people no longer think that a Georgian or even a European son-in-law is “better” than an Asian one. They no longer think that your skin colour makes you different. They no longer think that integrating cultures is impossible. They do not think that any religion is superior and that oppressing the minority is acceptable.