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A Town in the City for 30 000 IDPs

December 23, 2010
Shorena Latatia

In accordance to the state strategy about IDPs, in spring of 2011 about 30 000 IDPs will be settled in the territory of Maltakva, in Poti. The IDP families will be resettled to Poti from various regions of the Western Georgia. It is unclear what measures the government will take to prevent worsening of the economical situation of the IDPs by mass resettlement.

IDPs are also employed on the ongoing construction in Poti and the experts positively evaluate this fact. Mzevari Adamia - representative of one of the building companies “Sani”, which work on the construction in Poti, said that about 200 people are employed in the company and 80 of them are IDPs.

“I learned about the construction from TV and left my application in the building company; then they called me. The salary is good; I earn 800-900 sometimes even 1000 GEL per month,” said an IDP from Abkhazia Valeri Karchava in his interview with the Human Rights Center.

The press-center of the Poti City Hall coordinated the employment of workers and announced vacancies; then they sent the submitted applications to the building companies. However, the reality shows that similar small-scaled initiatives are not enough.

“Settlement of 30 000 IDPs in the city with the population of 54 000 is construction of a new town in it. The point is that a free industrial zone is being established in Poti. So, many vacant places shall be created there and IDPs shall be employed too. To tell the truth, we have not seen any significant movements yet. Settlement of IDPs is likely to start long before the industrial zone is enough developed to employ them,” said the head of the non-governmental organization Argomedia Irakli Apsnadze.

The IDPs and Poti residents have meager information about ongoing process. “Poti residents were not properly informed about planned settlement of IDPs and of course it is problem. Similar big projects need preliminary discussion with both IDP society (for whom the settlement is being constructed) and for the Poti population too. The purpose of the radio and television is to inform IDPs throughout the year.”

There are 25 collective centers in Poti; 16 of them were already rehabilitated and at the moment they are being privatized. “According to the latest data, there are 70 304 IDPs in Poti; 2 200 of them live in collective centers and other 5 000 people live in private sector. The IDPs living in damaged or rented accommodations or shelter their relatives will be lodged into the new settlement,’ said the head of the department for healthcare, social welfare and IDP issues at the Poti City Hall Violeta Chamadze.

Hotel Kolkheti in Poti is one of the compact settlements of IDPs where people from Abkhazia have been living for many years already. The situation in this building is very hard. During the rain water leaks into the building; most IDPs do not have individual toilets that creates inadequate living conditions and anti-sanitary for the inhabitants.

“We have lived in such unbearable conditions for 17 years. This building has never been rehabilitated. We have heard rumors that after the constructions finish, they plan to resettle us there but nobody has informed us about it officially,” said IDP from Abkhazia Eteri Karaia.

“IDPs should have right to choose. According to my information, in many places they are made ultimatum. If an IDP refuses to move into a concrete settlement, the Ministry of Refugees removes them from the list of state beneficiaries,” said Irakli Apsanidze.

The Poti Mayor Vakhtang Lemonjava is optimistic about settlement of 30 000 IDPs in the city. “We have seen for the last few years that the government does its best to improve living conditions for the IDPs. We witness this dynamics every day and we work in this direction. We decided to call the settlement a New District like it is in Sokhumi because of our nostalgia.”

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