Reports
26 years - IDPs awaiting decent living conditions
06.12.2019

26 years have passed since the conflict of Abkhazia. Despite this, the state has so far failed to provide decent living conditions for all IDPs. Part of the IDPs scattered in different regions continue to live in non-residential buildings. Consequently, they do not have household communications. They have one room with the functions of a bedroom, living room and shower, while toilets, almost in all similar facilities, are communal. Teens, pensioners and middle-aged people fully depend on the good faith of the apartment distribution system. Because of this, they have a sense of injustice. They told us that living spaces were long ago received by the families who lived in better conditions. They say that the authorities should help all IDPs, but they should take into account “where and in what conditions the IDPs live".

The village of Shamgona, Zugdidi municipality

Shamgona is a settlement near the occupation line. We have visited two compact settlements of IDPs in Shamgona. None of the buildings are residential. One of them is a former kindergarten and the other one is a building of administrative category.

According to the locals, currently 7 families live in the former administrative building. The building has no potable water, natural gas or bath. The IDPs share a toilet located in the yard.

The families we have spoken to say that they have lived in this building for more than 25 years and are in the "queue for apartments". All the respondents we’ve interviewed request apartments. They say that scores are granted to the families in an unknown and obscure manner and that the “Ministry of IDPs” promises them to provide housing every election year. According to the recent promise, families living in the mentioned building will be provided housing in 2020. However, the IDPs are not hopeful about the promise.

Citizen K.Ch. says that she and her family have been living in the former administrative building of Shamgona village for 26 years. She fetches water from the yard every day, "takes a bath" in the room and uses a shared toilet, which is "extremely unsanitary." The family requests an apartment from the state. K.Ch. explains that she wants to live in decent conditions for at least one day before passing away – without seeing rain leaking in her house or wind blowing through the window.

“We have one room for everything - living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom. This cannot be called a life. We have been asking for housing for years. The commission has come and seen our situation several times, but nothing changes. Does anybody need a house more than us?!“, - K.Ch. says.

K.J., an IDP from Abkhazia, lives in similar conditions. His social assistance was reduced by GEL 10 this year. He says that his single-member family has not acquired anything and he does not know why his scores were changed. He told us that he had been living in one room under unbearable conditions for years. He is waiting for an apartment from the state, but he does not know when he will receive it. So he relies on the wood heater and cellophanes filling the corners of his window this winter.

IDP G.A. is suffering from various chronic diseases. Due to the difficult living conditions, he has repeatedly applied to the state for housing. IDP N.A.'s family has also been waiting for an apartment for 26 years.

The second facility we visited was a former kindergarten of the village, where IDPs from Abkhazia are living. M.G.’s family consists of four members, one of whom is minor. "If you look underneath this linoleum, you will see what we have instead of the floor. This building is very old, the wall is wet and damp. We have a shared toilet and we have to live in such difficult conditions. We have been asking for an apartment for several years now. Sometimes they grant us five points, sometimes three and sometimes six. I don't know how they grant us the scores,” said M.G., who lives in the former kindergartener of the village of Shamgona.

M.G., M.Z. and N.N.’s families have been waiting for houses from the state for many years in vain. Damaged floor, water leaking from the roof, dampness in every room, wooden doors and windows that can't withstand the wind or cold - this is the daily, hard reality of the IDPs living here.

The Democracy Research Institute has sent questions to the Ministry of IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia about both IDP facilities. The organization continues to work on this issue, and with the resources at its disposal, seeks to improve the living conditions of IDPs living along the occupation line.

The document was prepared by the Democracy Research Institute (DRI) within the framework of „Supporting Human Rights Protection at Front Line”- a project financially supported by the European Endowment for Democracy (EED).