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Akhalgori District Met New Year Without Merriment

January 10, 2014
Mari Otarashvili, Akhalgori

Empty streets, district abandoned by local inhabitants and public servants, locked shops – New Year Holidays passed calmly in Akhalgori district. Neither large Happy New Year banner (in Ossetian language) in the district center neither New Year Tree in the park managed to create holiday environment in the district.

Most locals travelled to Tserovani IDP settlement before December 31. Although local residents can easily live in Akhalgori district, they prefer to meet New Year outside the district in the IDP settlement. However, unlike previous years, several people decided to stay in Akhalgori on the holidays. “It does not make any difference for me where I will eat Satsivi and chocolate?! Being in my house is the most important for me! I always wonder why people run to Tserovani?! Will not New Year come here too? It would be better if we all meet the New Year together here. They ran to Tserovani but then they claim it is their homeland. If they think it is their home, why do they run away from here then?!” a local Ossetian woman asked.
  
It is noteworthy that most Akhalgori residents say “I am traveling to Georgia” when they are going to Tbilisi from Akhalgori. It is neither irony nor result of oppression. Apparently they involuntarily say it. “We have lived separately for so many years. 2008 war completely isolated us from there. Saakashvili’s government made us put up with this situation; they isolated us from the rest of Georgia like lepers because we stayed here; we preferred to stay here to displacement… Now, when we travel to the territory controlled by Georgian authorized, we have feeling that we are traveling to a different country. Not only feeling but everything is really different!” a local resident said smiling.

On January 1st, neither organizations nor shops worked in Akhalgori district; Akhalgori-Tbilisi mini-bus was not running either. However, de facto border was not closed and people could easily travel by ordinary cars.

Shops trading with Russian products traded very well on the New Year Eve. “They bought all good Russian chocolates and took to Tserovani,” a local shop-assistant said. Surprisingly, Russian soldiers, who are dislocated on the de-facto border and fourth Russian military base, purchased a lot of Georgian chocolates. “Maybe because it is new for them. By the way they like it; they buy other Georgian products too,” the shop assistant said.

Reportedly, children in Akhalgori received many new year presents from Tskhinvali. “Twice more presents arrived in Akhalgori,” a teacher of the Georgian school in Akhalgori district said. However, children said part of presents did not reach addressees. Last year absolutely every child received present last New Year, now only the pupils of primary schools received presents.

Akhalgori residents complain that local children did not receive even Happy New Year cards from Tbilisi not to say anything about presents. 

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