Choice of Georgian Residents of Gali District – Life in Fear or Homeless Displacement

Eka Mchedlidze

Bela – an IDP from Abkhazia currently lives in Samegrelo region. After the war, she had not visited her native region. This summer, she managed to travel to Abkhazia for the first time. Bela initially visited her burnt and ruined house and then stayed with her relatives in the neighboring village. Bela visited Achigvara with her two underage children. She hoped she would not face any problems because of her Megrelian origin in Abkhazia.

There was less aggression towards Megrelian and Georgian residents of Gali district in Abkhazia. Separatists acknowledged the necessity of local population in this territory. Nowadays, Gali district is like a plantation which is cultivated by Georgian people and the harvest goes to other people.

Bela said every village in Gali district is controlled by a small group of people. For example, Achegvara village is controlled by four-five people. Apparently, such an important responsibility is imposed not only on ethnic Abkhaz but any other person who can be trusted. The head of the group is ethnic Turkish – Gombe Potskhoogli. This person is a mediator between the local population and the de-facto government. The group executes the orders of the authority – controls the lives of the local residents and informs them about the innovations which are related only with them.

For example, the houses, which were abandoned during the war, were to be sold based on the order of the de-facto authority. But, strangers were unlikely to buy houses in the villages. So, Gombe Potskhoogli offered the locals to purchase the properties of their relatives and close people. A house was sold in Achigvara for 4 000 USD this summer. The house was purchased by a parent of the former owner of the house. The person purchased the house of his son for the second time. Nobody knows where the money goes. Generally, the population lacks information and people act in accordance to the directives of the groups because of their stymied situation.

The main occupation of the population is trading. They sell their harvest of nuts and tangerine to Abkhaz, Russian and Armenian people directly from their houses; of course their price is lower than market prices of fruit. Their trading is controlled all the time. Nobody allows them to earn much money. So, trading is not a business for anyone. They just earn enough money to live on and purchase food products for the families. As for purchasers, they sell the fruit in Russia at ten times more price.

The abandoned plots are more profitable which should be cultivated. The local Georgian population cultivates those plots but give the harvest to the above-mentioned groups completely. In fact, it is tribute for the personal security and food.

“If you do not want to be killed and your harvest destroyed, you should take part in the cultivation of the plots and getting harvest. You must not leave even one nut on the ground. People have to work under gun-threat. However, they have already got used to similar life. The head of the group always has gun with him. It is kind of a guarantee for his security particularly in plantations and forests. People think these people are ordinary, armed robbers,” said our respondent.

People know that prison cannot be broken from the outside; there is always somebody who opens the locked door from inside. That means, there are some spies in the villages who inform the groups about the activities of their neighbors; the people know who those spies are but cannot do anything because of fear. For example, the robbers learned from the spies that Vazha and Tina Esartias sold a pig in the market and next day the robbers attacked them; killed them and took the money. The population could not do anything. Abkhazian militia has not investigated the accident and the offenders are not punished either.

It is strange, why ethnic Georgian population does not leave the district if the robbers attack them and have to endure serfdom. We asked Bela who was also surprised by the fact but later explained the situation herself. “They cannot abandon their houses because they know they will have to live in the street across the Enguri River. They see how most part of IDPs live here – discriminated and abandoned. Those, who were adroit, started trading but other burn themselves because of poverty.”

Today, many Georgian people cross the so-called border without problems and return back. They have Georgian passports and get allowances of the government of Georgia (the de-facto government of Abkhazia also has information about it). They contact their relatives across the Enguri River and can also travel to the territory controlled by the Georgian government to purchase products for the family. Finally, they enjoy freedom until the de-facto government of Abkhazia gives it to them. Besides that, they can abandon the life under threat of gun. Despite that, they do not leave houses in Achigvara and Barghebi because nobody knows what is better for ordinary people – to live in their houses in fear or to live in freedom in the terrible compact settlement from where the government permanently forces the IDPs out.