City Hall Cannot Find Accommodation for IDPs Evicted from Schools

Nona Suvariani, Tbilisi

In regard of upcoming school-term Georgian government started to empty the public schools from IDPs. The City Hall and district boards are looking for alternative spaces for them; though because restricted resources IDPs cannot offer proper living conditions. Dissatisfied IDPs try themselves to occupy empty buildings that often ends up with quarrel.

IDPs sheltering in the Tbilisi Public School 126 (Vazha-Pshavela Ave. 71) applied to the Human Rights Center on September 4. The police had demanded them to leave the building before school year. City Hall cannot find alternative space yet and IDPs were afraid of staying in the street.

22 families residing in Public School # 126 are from Tkviavi, Kekhvi, Tamarasheni and other villages. They cannot return to their families yet. Representatives of the City Hall got in touch with them only one week ago and offered to transport them to the tent-town in Gori. The IDPs did not accept the offer.

Neli Gugutishvili, an IDP: “We refused. How could we take our children to tents?! Soon it will be winter, cold; they are not supposed to take us there for two days only.”

Apparently, the district boards are in charge to find alternative space for IDPs. Khatuna Asatiani, chief-specialist of Vake-Saburtalo district board, reported to the Human Rights Center IDPs would not be evicted from the public school until alternative space is not found.

IDPs claim that officials from City Hall and district boards carry out secret negotiations with the director of the school and they cannot trust them. Thus, the IDPs started to seek for alternative space themselves and found the empty place in Sandro Euli Str. # 3. They discussed the issue with the employee of the office located in that building. However, the situation changed on the second day when IDPs tried to enter the building. The administration of the office severely resisted them.

On September 5 the IDPs, based on the agreement with one of the employees, decided to enter the building. The Human Rights Center attended the fact when Oleg Baramidze, the deputy director of the office, showed the IDPs those rooms where they could live. Having examined the rooms the IDPs got furious because there was rubbish everywhere; the windows were smashed. Oleg Baramidze claimed that in three days the space would get better. However, an official from the City Hall did not agree with Baramidze. Consequently, the administration of the office did their best to get rid of IDPs and not to allow them to occupy the floors where rooms were more comfortable.

With active involvement of the Human Rights Center and based on the demands of the official from the City Hall Givi Mindeli, the director of the office, allowed the IDPs to get into the building. When the IDPs were distributing the rooms in the building IDPs residing in Komarovi Public School approached the building. Although Irakli Kvaratskhelia, the official from the City Hall insisted that 2008-2009 school year was declared as Academic Year, seven IDPs did not leave the territory.

“I will not go from here; I will lie in the corridor! I have two children; if you do not let me stay here you first throw my children out from the window. We are hungry; they do not deliver bread to our school!” shouted the IDPs.

Finally, with the effort of the Human Rights Center those seven families also stayed in the building. Nevertheless, the fate of those people who could not find alternative space in Tbilisi is not settled yet. IDPs are calling the Human Rights Center from public schools and urge for help; they want to stay at schools that seems to be impossible if school year starts on September 15. However, it will be too difficult for city authority to find alternative space for IDPs.