Life of Deported Meskhetians in Imereti Region

In Imereti in the small village of Ianeti, there is a small district which is known as the Ninth District among villagers. In the Ninth District 32 families continue to practice an old-way of life and have poor contact with the surrounding villagers.

They are deported Meskhetians who were resettled from Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan in 1982-83. The hard-working Meskhetians returned to grow crops, start cattle farms, and eventually grew accustomed to the strange land.

“Initially, the life was not as difficult for us as it is now. At that time, the collective farms were still operating, and we were actively employed there. We looked after cattle and had good relations with local people. Today, our life has become worse. We do not leave our houses and yard and never meet other villagers,” said Alikhan Chkheidze.

He and his many other neighbors have many problems because they live in isolation from the local people. He thinks that if they had contacts with them, their life would be easier. They would have information about the local authority, their goals and priorities. They would be able to bring to the attention of the local authority their ideas. Their district is ten kilometers away from the village, and it is nearly impossible to walk there. The bus has not run in the Ninth District for several years. The Meskhetians have some problems concerning territorial arrangement. They are registered in the village of Ianeti in the Samtredia district, but the territory where they live belongs to the Tskaltubo district.   Consequently, they are unsure who they should petition to have their problems resolved.

Although deported Meskhetians say that their historical homeland is Georgia, they cannot speak Georgian well. The language they use is a mix of Georgian-Russian-Armenian. They are Muslims and refuse to convert into Christianity.

Any disputes in the family are settled by men. Women are busy with housework only, and they generally cannot express their opinions. Moreover, the men do not allow the women out of the house. Even at school, only fathers go to meet the teachers of their children.

As for the school, ethnic Meskhetians say the continued operation of the school has been under debate since the Rose Revolution. Local people are concerned about what will happen to the school. “Although the place is called a school, it has much more significance for local people than one can imagine. It is a cultural-educational place where Meskhetians gather often. They have nowhere else to go for entertainment. There is no longer a cultural house nor place to play sports. The next village is too far, and the bus no longer runs,” said Lamzira Tavadze, a teacher at Ianeti Public School # 2.

In 1980s the school was built specifically for the Meskhetians in the Ninth District of Ianeti. There are 29 pupils in it at present and fifteen people are employed to teach them. including school administrators. However, employees have not received their salary in three months.

“2000 lari is necessary to pay the teachers’ salaries. We collect only 850 lari with vouchers. Thus, we constantly have problems regarding the salaries. In March, we hardly managed to pay teachers for January. The Educational Ministry needs to pay more money than is transferred through vouchers… Next year, the school is likely to be closed. They have already brought a bus to the Ianeti Public School # 1, which will transport students from Ninth District,” said Lamzira Tevzadze.

Meskhetians have only one reply to that proposal— they will refuse to send their children to school in the village. “We would not let our little girls go to another village and sit at the desk with strange boys. We would prefer our daughters were illiterate and remain at home…” However, the only place where the children could go to learn to speak Georgian is the school in Ianeti.

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi