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“Disgraceful Present”: People Are Made of Fun by Vouchers

October 29, 2007

“You have received presidential subsidy vouchers,” read a note some Georgians received last week. The President considered the situation teachers face alongside that of pensioners and socially excluded people, sending two vouchers of fifty lari to each group. Voucher holders will be able to use these to pay for electricity and gas until July 1.

Despite the present, society did not exactly appreciate the initiative. With a background of sharply increasing prices on goods, many feel the President is making fun of their situation and have responded to the initiative with anger. Teachers were particularly angry. The Human Rights Center’s Kutaisi Office recorded the remarks of some of the “grateful” people.

Aleksandre Basiladze, teacher: “It is a proverb that one should not check the present. I am not going to return the voucher but I cannot be very grateful to the government. When these public officials were coming into office, they made us thousands of promises. One of the priorities in their objectives was the education field. Nevertheless, today, instead keeping their promises, they give us a few humble presents and, in doing so, try to make people blind. Instead of increasing teachers’ salaries, they have reduced them and left these people without any income.”

Zhora Bochorishvili, pensioner: “It is a ridiculous story. I am a lonely old man and my only income is my pension. What can I buy with 48 lari? I cannot even approach the market with that money. Why do I need a gas voucher? What shall I cook on it when I can afford to buy only bread with my pension. However, I can use the electricity because I will warm my house by it in winter. But how long will it last? It is a shame; they are making fun of elderly people.”

Leila Bakradze, teacher: “There are three retired people and two teachers in our family. I wonder what I will do with all those vouchers. It is an enticement for people and the government pretends that they are concerned about people. In fact, the government hates the people. A loaf of bread costs almost one lari. Prices on all essential products have increased. As for meat, there are people who have not bought it for a long time. We did not want such generous presents. They should have been more human and we would have been much more grateful.”

Zina Abramia, socially excluded person: “In order to get enough points at the Social Agency to be granted the allowance, my son and I spent nights in the agency. We failed our first two attempts but now we have at last received it. Anyway, it is not enough to live on. In the past, I traded in the market. Since they forced out the traders from the market, however, they have left us without food. Saakashvili should have created work places for us and employed us. We will work hard and my son and I will not have to beg for an allowance.”

Marina Jajanidze, teacher: “Have you ever seen people being laughed at so much? The government granted teachers and socially excluded people similar allowances. Can a person full of enthusiasm work for four hours a day and receive only forty lari as a salary? How can that money be enough for a person while a loaf of bread costs 70 tetri and the salt costs one lari? The whole country is starving and the President is giving out disgraceful presents instead finding the solution to the terrible situation in our country.”

Tengiz Shavlakadze, retired person: “We could somehow manage to live without those vouchers if living conditions were normal. I hate going out in the street because I see so many gloomy faces there. I am sure that the heads of many families cannot sleep at night, thinking about how to feed their children. Who cares about their vouchers and fifty lari they have apportioned from the millions they receive as credit. We do not need that money; let them return our sons and daughters to their previous jobs.”

Lili Shubitidze, teacher: “Will we warm ourselves with those vouchers only for a little time. What can we do about other products of necessity? How can we buy bread and sugar? Winter is coming and if our child gets ill how will we be able to buy extremely expensive medicines? Can you see how they treat us like retired people? Do they think that teachers are as disabled as retired people? Thus, everything is evident…”

Residents of other towns in Georgia have voiced similar opinions regarding the situation as those found in Kutaisi. The articles published on our web portal obviously demonstrate the general situation. Human Rights Center intends to continue asking people similar questions in future.

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

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