The Sky Is the Ceiling; the Ground Is the Floor; the Air, Walls

The Egzarianis, a family with four children, has spent six nights in the yard of a former electric-mechanical factory. The family lived in the factory building together with 200 more impoverished families for three years. Having been exiled from the building, they were left in the street.

Nine-year-old Kristine and Mary cannot go to school. They have lived in the street together with their mother Natela Egzariani for six days already.  “I am a single mother with four children. I did not have a house and found shelter in the old factory building. But now I am left in the street. I have sent two little children to my relatives. I could not send the older daughters anywhere,” said Natela Egzariani.

There is a bed, wardrobe and several chairs in the yard of the old factory near the central highway to the Batumi market. They have mattresses and a cupboard with other furniture. The Egzarianis get warm near the fire set by their neighbors. They cook dinner there too. “We have bought herrings and we are going to fry them. We have our meals here and we also sleep here. We have nowhere to go. They ordered me to empty the room in the building, saying it was the law. So I obeyed them and left the room. However, nobody cares about my children who might become victims of this situation.”

Inhabitants of the old factory learned about the exile ten days before the evacuation. Everything happened within five days. 200 families of ecological migrants, IDPs and socially excluded families resided in the factory. Several days ago most of the families found alternative lodging for themselves. Those who could not find any shelter stayed in the yard. “I get a wage of 100 lari a month. Shall I pay with that money for the rent? If I do, how shall I be able to feed my children? Does not my child deserve to get proper food and go to school? We lived without electricity and water for three years. Our president always speaks about our future. What future does he speak about? We do not have it; neither do these children. Look at what they are wearing and what they are eating,” said Khatuna Diasamidze.

Nadia Bolkvadze lives in the yard too. She lived in the factory with her husband and seven-year-old grandchild for three years. She willfully lodged in the building after her house was destroyed by a landslide in the village of Khulo. On January 5 she was introduced with the court verdict saying that her family was to leave the shelter. “I have brought up my grandchild in this cold but we were lucky to have at least a ceiling. Now, where can I go? I am a sixty-year-old woman and I have a cancer. The child is an orphan whom I brought up… I urge everyone who can assist us, give us a room, please…”

Seven-year-old Tamuna does not know where her grandmother will take her or how long she will have to live in the street. However, she is happy to leave the factory. “My teacher promised to find a flat for me, but she could not. I am happy to leave the place, it was cold here and we had no TV set either.”
Only Tamaz Tsetskhladze’s family with three children moved to a flat from the factory building. One of his sons, Jaba, is ill with cerebral palsy. He is deaf and dumb and mentally disabled. A private firm granted them with a flat. Other families applied to the local Administrative Board and City Hall for help.

The Local Administrative Board has not discussed their appeals yet. Representative of the Press Service Department of the City Hall said that it is not clear what the Administrative Board will decide regarding the problem. However, the state is not responsible to assist socially excluded families, the representative said.

The families, living in the yard, are going to stay on the place until alternative lodgings are found for them. There is no institution in the Adjara region which is responsible to find a shelter for homeless people. There are no buildings where they can spend nights. “Nobody arrived here to see our problems. Officials from the City Hall might have visited us and given some money for food. At least they should have aided us in some way,” said Natela Egzariani.

Tamaz Lomidze, director for the factory, said that the families should have gotten ready for the exile long before and have found an accommodation too. “They lived in the factory illegally. Before the building was purchased, a trial was held and they should have considered that they would be evicted. The government assisted them for three years and let them stay here. They are poor homeless families but the government has no obligations to them.”

The area of that factory was sold for half a million USD. A Ukrainian investor bought it and is going to open four enterprises on the place in the future.

Sofo Zhghenti, Batumi