Ethnic Minorities in Ninotsminda Suffer from Extremely Poor Living Conditions

You can easily guess that there had been some institution here before. Later we found out, there was a music school here. In the building, without windows and doors, there lives five-member family of Galoianis: single mother, three children and a grandchild.

The ruins of the former music school and at present the living place of Galoianis is located near the central street. The house has no yard. Fragments of baby carriage and dirty buckets are scattered near the house. A woman is sitting in front of the entrance, she is holding a baby. She is uncommunicative. She is looking at us from a distance. You can guess that she does not trust us.

22 year old Vartanush Galoian has a little baby, Armenia. After her birth, father abandoned them. Vartanush does not work: “I am feeding baby with breast. But I do not know what will happen in the future”, - says Vartanush.

Mother of Vartanush is not at home. She and her two children are in the city: “They will help somebody and will bring some bread”, - adds Vartanush.

According to her, their family does not receive any assistance from the government. In the region of Ninotsminda, more then 6,000 families registered in the state agency of social assistance and employment, but only 250 families receive the assistance. Family of Galoianis is not among them.

In the similar situation are sisters Nazik and Degdzanik Grigorians. With the help of kind neighbors and little pension, they are still alive. They have also registered in the state agency of social assistance and employment last year, though they could not manage to be involved in the list of assistance program.

“My husband died in the World War II. After his death I live alone. I have no children. I was gathering cones in the forest to warm the room, but now because of my poor health conditions I can not do this any more. Some people came from the Social agency, they saw my living conditions, but nothing has changed after their visit”, - says Nazik Grigorian.

Chinar Kakoiani also was waiting for some assistance from the government, but without any result: “My pension is not enough even for my medicine. I had been operated twice and I cannot walk. I wanted to take blood test, but they demanded money for it. I have no money and I guess, because of that, I will die”.

The representatives of the Ninotsminda social agency do not agree with the pretensions of the locals: “Such kind of families can visit our agency again. We will check their living conditions and they will receive assistance without any problems”, - declares in the agency.

Gulo Kokhodze, Ninotsminda