Lado Bitchashvili, Shida Kartli
Knolevi village is the last village within the jurisdiction of Georgian state in Kareli district. After 2008 Russian-Georgian armed conflict the village territory was divided by wire-fence. The plots of locals are now in the occupied territory. The number of people living in the village is reducing every day; the migration intensified since 2008 armed conflict. Several houses were burnt and destroyed in 2008; the war trace is still very vivid in the village.
“Our plots are now in the occupied territory; they moved the border sign post of the so called South Ossetia into the village territory. My plot is close to their sign post so I cannot cultivate it. They do not allow us to approach the border line closer than 100 meters,” said local Piran Pilishvili.
“The fence is close to my plot; Russians are standing on the other side. We, women cannot go to our plots alone because we are afraid,” said local Nora Asanidze.
Gasification works have finished in Knolevi; the infrastructure was assigned to Socar Georgia for management, The Company has already started installment of pipes and meters. Drinking water is still problem for the villagers. Kareli district governor said they plan to rehabilitate the drinking water system in Knolevi this year.
“As soon as the weather is improved, we will start working on the drinking water supply in Knolevi village. The central gas pipe line is already done and we are resolving locals’ problems eventually,” Kareli district governor Zaza Guliashvili said.
Majority of the village population receives social allowance. There is no kindergarten in the village. There is only primary school there and there are 20 pupils and 13 teachers in the school with nine grades. After the graduation of the primary school, pupils go to the public school in the neighboring village of Tseronisi.
In the frame of the EU funded project, several young people established a information-communication platform in Knolevi village; the project aims to promote defense of the rights of women and youth victimized during the conflict. One of the main purposes of the platform was to promote peacekeeping processes.
Knolevi village population urges the President and Government of Georgia to study their problems and help.