Coalition for IDPs Rights

IDPs spoiled by "attentive inattentiveness"

No water for drinking or irrigation, bad hygienic conditions, lack of food products, shortage of money and unemployment, these are only the part of problems that IDPs living in Shaumiani have to deal with.

Nona Samkharadze, Marneuli, Shaumiani

“We feel like being left in other, strange country and suffer from unemployment, we have already worked, but it is not stable and every day we spend doing nothing waiting if some new job appears. Waiting for the job keeps me from looking for it somewhere else,”- says resident of Shaumiani Vaja Nebieridze and he is not the exception, his words are shared by almost every IDPs in Shaumiani.

Now gathered together, IDPs discuss a new problem: the lack of drinking water. IDPs don’t even know to whom to complain. “They came, saw and said: it’s not our problem, Tbilisi created it and Tbilisi should take care of it”,  – said settlement resident  Archil Salamadze.  

Especially troubled seemed Tamuna Maisuradze for whom it’s impossible to keep her baby clean in such an environment. “I use wet napkins to clean my baby, no “pampers” or any means of hygiene, no one cares that I have two kids. Settlement children have been medically examined. It appears everyone has worms. Lack of water makes us live in dirt,” - says Tamuna Maisuradze.

Archil Salamadze has been employed by the water supply system from the first day he arrived to Shaumiani. He hoped to support the family with 250GEL-per- month, but have not been paid yet.
“Archil has to get up at 2 a.m. and fill the commune water reservoir, later he has to get up at 6 a.m. and launch water for the settlement. Archil Salamadze has been doing this for a year without pay.He doesn’t even know who must pay him,”- says Tristan Khachapuridze, IDP from Liakhvi.

IDPs in Shaumini don’t suffer from the lack of attention. They say not a day passes without a guest. They call it “attentive inattentiveness”. The last guest they hosted was the Minister of Correction and Legal Assistance of Georgia.
“The Minister asked if we had any juridical questions, but who cares about juridical questions when we are dying from starvation,”- says settlement dweller Tristan Khachapuridze.

“They give us hope, Elene Tevdoradze has visited us recently, she asked whether we are well or not.We nodded our heads. She took a bouquet of flowers and left. It’s good that they visit us but what do they bring us?”- says offened Archil Salamadze.

While Salamadze was talking, an ambulance car came into the settlement, though it was not a surprise for IDPs.
“Oh, we are bored with it, an ambulance comes here 16 times a day; people are sick; some have neuroses. Old people become ill all the time,”- explaned  IDP from Liakhvi Gorge Vaja Nebieridze.

If you come to  Shaumiani in Marneuli the first that you see are IDPs’ eyes full of wonder. When they see a new person, the only thing they want to know is if she/he brought some supplies.

IDPs been waiting for a help, but only the UN has supplied them systematically with macaroni, sugar, salt, vegetable oil, flour and beans.

“32 countries sent us dollars and euros, but we got nothing, where is that money anyway. They use our name to get the money. We haven’t seen meat for a year only macaroni and beans. Doesn’t this government have any sausage or meat? Can’t it supply us with eggplant, potato or cabbage? I had lot of boxes with fruits just before I left the village,”- says Natela Tedeluri with a heavy heart.

IDPs say that the only nutrition they have had for the last year is macaroni. If lucky they can exchange it for something else. The only way to get any soap or defergent is to exchange macaroni or beans for it.

“Some financial aid has been transferred to our credit cards but some people get it later and some don’t get it at all,”- says IDP from Liakhvi Tristan Khachapuridze.

IDPs still don’t receive monthly financial aid. Everytime they get to the city they check their cards to see if money have been transferred but it has happened only twice: once they received 108GEL ;the second time it was 30GEL.

“Some financial aid was also delivered today,  but my family didn’t get it. Other families got it. Financial aid is not for everybody. Insurance policies have been delivered to some, but not all,”- says IDP from Dzarstemi Marina Khetereli.

Only one dispensary works in Shaumiani, but the doctor comes only three times a week, as IDPs said the medicine has been delivered some days ago but the names are not known for them:
“The medicine comes but not the ones we need. We have insurance with Aldagi Insurance Company but don’t know how to use it, not every hospital accepts it,”- says Lia Patashuri.

Some months ago IDPs have been given a 25 hundredth arable land and seeding, but because there is not water, nothing grew. “Even grass doesn’t grow on this land. If the government helps us it’s good. If not, we’ll die from starvation,”- IDP say.

The war that broke out a year ago can't be remembered without bringing tears to IDP eyes. They still are not totally conscious what had happened then.

“Leaving the gorge we had hoped to be back in three days. We had left the village for several times before and returned very soon, some of us hid money at home being afraid of being robbed on the road, which I should be concerned about more my farmstead or cattle,”- says Natela Tedeluri with a heavy heart.

IDPs claim that they miss freedom. They don’t blame the government and are thankful for the shelter they have. They think that they have better conditions in comparison with IDPs from Abkhazia, “You come to this world only once and it is hard to spend it being IDP”,- say IDP from Shida Kartli and hope that all this is temporary.

While saying goodbye to us, they remembered another problem. A new academic year is coming and who will supply their kids with school books and clothing?

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