Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

People Complain About Violated Human Rights in Kutaisi

April 10, 2007

uflebebib.gif

“Human rights are violated everywhere and every time,” said people from Kutaisi and their words are proved by concrete facts. Ordinary people speak more about violated rights than representatives of the local authority. The latter consider that everything happens legally in their town as well as in the whole country. And if somebody calls upon the people to defend their rights, representatives of the authority blame him for violating the human rights.

Human Rights Center’s Kutaisi office carried out poll which covered representatives of all layers from the society. The poll showed that 90 % of society is seriously concerned about human rights situation. Some of them gave a very short answer on the question “what do you think, what kind of situation is regarding the human rights in Kutaisi?’ and they said “very hard”. However, there were some people who spoke much about the problem and proved their opinion with concrete facts.

Fifty-two years old Giorgi Gignadze, an economist: “Let us speak directly, do we protect human rights in our country at all? Do people know about their rights? I do not think they do. However I think they’d rather not have an idea about their rights because they would never protect them. There is a real ordeal in our country and nobody worries about the situation. Moreover, I think it is convenient situation for public workers to commit many illicit things. I am a young man and I can do everything with the experience I have. I have worked at the car factory for many years but today I am unemployed. One fine day they arrived and told me I was reduced from the work without any motivation. I could not protect myself and prove that I was right and I could still work. You can make conclusions from the fact yourself.”

Thirty years old Mzia Nemsitsveradze, a teacher: “I can comment on the situation regarding my profession. Our rights are violated because the Ministry of Education and Science has enacted the law that absolutely ignores teachers’ opinions. Thus, nobody cares about our opinions. The pupils are granted with large amount of rights and we cannot handle them. They have right to do almost everything. The teacher has no right to rebuke a pupil. There was one occasion when a pupil slapped a teacher for having rebuked him at the lesson. After the incident, the teacher, a fifty-five-year-old professional teacher left the job. She did so for having been insulted. Today that woman is unemployed.”
 
Thirty-seven-year-old Marina Urushadze, a saleswoman: “I observe the facts of human rights violation everywhere. In the morning when I leave house I do not know whether I would return home alive or not; whether everything would be all right at home when I come back. They kill young people and instead punishing the murderers, criminals are protected. You should remember the fact when a patrol policeman killed nineteen-year-old boy in front of his house and left him on the place. The policeman approved himself by saying that the killed boy was robbing a cellar. If he had caught him during robbery why did he run away? He should have remained at the place and declared the fact. However, he ran away and now he lives as a right man. The mother of the killed boy has been demanding the punishment of the killer in vain. She has held protest demonstrations, made statements on TV but nothing has changed. There are many similar facts. I am mother and am not sure that my child will be safe.”

Seventy-one year old Bondo Gunia, an IDP from Abkhazia: “What rights do we have? -Nothing. We have lost our estates and we dream of our home-land. Today they are arguing us about the one-room flat we reside in. We were lodged into those flats by the government itself. We do not demand anything. We want them to leave us alone and let us die peacefully. We would not endure being internally displaced once more. Where should we go then? They are giving us so little money in exchange of our flats that we would not buy any flat with it and they know it quite well. They attack us-unless we leave the hotel they would force us out from the place.  I have neither child nor grandchild to go to. Whom should I go with my sick wife? Nobody should doubt that they would really force us out from the building when they wish. Nobody will protect us. They would say on TV that such a terrible fact happened and everything will end at it.”

Fifty-six-year-old Izolda Ergemlidze, a musician: “In 2004 I was forced to leave the musical school because of the director and since that time I have been trying to prove my truth. I claim that my former boss was a criminal but nobody believes me. We have exposed the woman in her financial machinations and in many other crimes in vain. She still keeps to her position and goes on her impudent activities. Do you know why she is so free in her illegal activities? Because the Imereti Regional Governor has appointed to her position and she is sure that nobody would punish her for her behavior. Yesterday she did not like me and fired me from the job; tomorrow another employee would share my fate and I am sure similar situation would never have an end. It would always be very difficult to prove the truth. Today, nobody cares about the truth of mine and of many other people like me.”

Twenty-one-year-old Mamuka Giorgadze, a student: “Human rights are violated everywhere and in every field. Such situation is not only in our town, but in the whole country. Unfortunately nobody tries to improve the situation. Teachers complain about small salaries, doctors are threatened to have their hospitals closed, street traders have their stalls broken and kicked away from the place… What else can I say? Tomorrow the worse might happen, because people keep silence. I do not remember the local people complained about any problem seriously. I do not know why they have no reaction. They might be afraid of something. To tell the truth I am afraid of that fear most of all.”

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

News