“We Will Rather Stay Here and Protect Akhalgori District, Than Live in Tserovani and Be Busy only with Clapping for Saakashvili”
June 28, 2010
Mari Otarashvili, Akhalgori
Abandoned roads covered with grass… locked houses and emptiness all around… once noisy Akhalgori district is now empty and sad. Although you will not see military vehicles in the area, you will face such a silence in the streets of Akhalgori that you might be even get scared.
An official of Akhalgori district de-facto administration is not surprised with empty streets and does not consider any of Akhalgori district residents to be an IDP. “We have not forced anybody out and do not do it now either. Just the opposite, we ask everybody to return and live here happily. Ask those who still live here, have we done anything wrong to them?! They also know that we will not do any harm to them. But the policy of Georgia is to demonstrate to the entire world that people were evicted from Akhalgori district. They built the bee-houses in Tserovani village in a record time for that purpose; soon the settlement will turn into a military town.”
“Initially, in August of 2008, when the armed conflict was on in the country and Russian tanks almost entered Tbilisi, nobody remembered about Akhalgori. You cannot imagine what situation we were in. We were running in different directions. Now, when the situation has calmed down, some of us returned back. It is very difficult to live in Tserovani. There we seem to have everything but in fact we have nothing. Most people are afraid to come here. In addition to that, Saakashvili’s government wants it and… they live in Tserovani,” regretted a resident of Akhalgori.
There are 3 schools in Akhalgori but only two schools will work in 2010-2011 school year. “The number of school-children is very little. There are only 70 children in three schools so one school will be closed. Who took children from the district is guilty in it; their children now study in Tserovani School. One day they will regret for it,” complained a local teacher.
A teacher gets salary of 8 000 – 12 000 rubles (480-720 GEL) per month. The children have nothing to entertain with in the district. Only TV-set! Parents are grateful to the youth palace. “If this organization were not here, what should we do? My both children go there. They learn dress-making, embroidering, and various handicraft. They organize various events; go on outings… I am not exaggerating the situation. If not this palace, our children would grow up in complete isolation.”
The youth palace occupies little space – three rooms in the building of nursery school. The rooms are decorated. The walls are full of handicrafts of the children: embroidery, clay souvenirs, various jewelry, paintings… you will remember one painting most of all – a building looking like a cottage in Tserovani settlement is painted on the entire paper; a snake is showing up behind the cottage and moves its tongue… I recalled last summer… residents of Tserovani settlement said that snakes were crawling out of the toilets in the heat.
The director of the youth palace has lower salary than school directors – 7 300 rubles (app. 438 GEL) ; the leaders of course receive 2 800-3 900 rubles (app 168 -234 GEL) according to their experience. 45 pupils go to the youth palace. The courses are free.
The shops also work in Akhalgori district. You can see products from Tbilisi and Russia which is brought to the district via Tskhinvali. The prices are equal to the rest of Georgia. You can buy food with Georgian lari and Russian rubles.
The restaurant also worked which is mostly visited by soldiers. Currently, the restaurant is temporarily closed. Locals say it is closed for reconstruction.
The former building of the district council shall also be reconstructed; the de-facto government shall move there from the building of forest department.
De-facto militia of South Ossetia permanently patrols by white “Niva” and jeeps.
Locals, as well as local officials, use Georgian mobile telecom “Magti” together with Russian MegaPhone. “We have many relatives in Tbilisi and in Tskhinvali. So, we need both,” explained Akhalgori residents. One of them regretted. “Akhalgori is already lost; it is obvious! You will see; we, ordinary people will live here at least for 15 years like little camels stuck between Russians and Georgians or between the politics of Georgian and Ossetian sides. 20 years have passed since we lost Abkhazia and what then?! Do you see any perspective to gain the region back?! No!!! We have lost Akhalgori district too. We do not hope Georgian side will get it back in near future. So, why should we abandon this land where we were brought up?! We will rather stay here and protect Akhalgori than sit in Tserovani and clap for Saakashvili.”
You will see Russian military equipment and vehicles and soldiers at the administrative border and on the military base in the village of Kanchaveti. Only few people hope that this administrative building will not turn into a state border.
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