Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

Khevischala –20 years without electricity

August 19, 2010
Kakheti Information Center

“When you pass the village Matani, there is a turn that goes up. But you will not be able to drive by car. Walking would be hard as well. It is probably more than 4 kilometers from the main road and the path is very hard,” – told us the taxi driver when we asked him to show us the way to Khevischala in Akhmeta auto station. We passed Matani, took the turn, passed several meters, crossed the river twice, but could not do it third time. It was too deep. Then we started walking, but we could not see any houses. We met a shepherd. He was resting in the shadow. He asked us: Who are you, what do you want in that village?

We wanted to find out, see and reveal how people live in the village where there has not been electricity for 20 years now and the medical ambulance brigade cannot even reach it.

A young boy met us at the entrance of village with 2 other children. They were herding swine. We started talking to them.

-    Are you journalists? How did you come here? Who brought you here? What do you want? – questioned us Giorgi.

-    We want to conduct reportage about how you live and what problems you have.

-    Oh, we have problems more than enough. What can be a bigger problem than not having electricity in the 21st century? This river is attacking us too. It floods during the rain and takes up the whole road. Then nobody fixes the destroyed road and we are like prisoners in our own village. Let’s go in, I’ll call the people and they’ll talk to you.

-    Who are these people, Giorgi? – asked the grandmother who passed the street.

-    Journalists, the journalist, - said Giorgi.

Grandmother stopped for a minute and started thinking, and then she asked: journalists? How did you come here?

-    We want to know how you live, what difficulties you have.

-    God bless you, son. Every time we came to Akhmeta, we were told in the city to call the journalists. We called, but nobody came. We don’t have electricity, no road, everybody who could leave, left, with their children. Some of us who stayed have grandchildren, but they can’t even read and write.

-    Is there no kindergarten here?

-    They don’t even provide electricity for us, who’s going to build the kindergarten?

Then we went in the village.

-    Aunt Maguli, aung Maguli! Come out, we have guests. Giorgi called his villagers to come out in the street.

“This village is inhabited by people from Pshavi. This is our meeting place. When the moon comes out, we come here under this nut-tree and listen to the radio. We have not had electricity for 20 years now. Watching TV is a big dream for us,” – said 68 year old Simon Davitashvili.

18 people gathered under the nut-tree. “This is the whole village. People who left want to come back, sometimes they visit their homes, but there’s nothing in this village and nobody pays any attention,” – noted 64 year old Dariko Genjadze.

-    Did you address the deputy major?

-    Who is deputy?

-    Petre Tsiskarishvili

-    I don’t know son. At the time of election, they come up, bring the boxes and tell us to circle number 5. Last time when we went to the governor and told him not to come here for elections if they don’t provide us with electricity. Do you know what they said? Your 10 votes don’t mean anything and if you are not clever, you’ll lose all that you have, he said. What do we have? What has he given us?”

-    “Not too long ago our neighbor got robbed. She needed doctor’s help, but the ambulance refused to come. The road is not normal. 5000 lari was provided for the village. Three trucks brought stones taken out of valley and threw onto the ground. If they had given us this money, we would have done better job. Where is the road? There is no transportation. We get our bags and walk on foot. If someone gets sick and needs a doctor, that tractor is a substitute for the ambulance. Giorgi puts us there and takes us to Akhmeta,” – said Maguli Davitashvili.

Tamro Khutsurauli: “That kid is 6 years old and she’s never seen a cartoon. She has not even seen an electrified lamp. We are in a very hard situation, son. In the winter we can’t even go anywhere for 6 months. If we are out of flour, we grind the maize flour and eat it. We are not asking for anything but electricity.”

We spent 4 hours in Khevischala. We left the village in the evening. We met the assistant of Akhmeta municipality governor Vaja Nasyidashvili. The governor himself could not meet us. The assistant assured us that in the frameworks of the assistance program, the pathway to Khevischala was repaired and the cars don’t have any problem getting there.

“As for the electricity, that is the business of the so-called “Kakheti energy distribution.” They think that since only several families live in the village, it’s not worthy for spending serious money on the electricity, and it would not be a priority,” – stated the assistant of Akhmeta governor.

News