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Inhabitants of High Mountain Village Request Help

October 10, 2008

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

“ We have neither electricity nor a road. We can not even dream about the possibility of a supply of gas. We are in very difficult situation, and especially in winter and during the season when there are floods. When there is heavy rain the river Cheremis Khevi spins out of its banks and the only road connecting our village with the district is closed.  At that season of the year we are isolated with the rest of the world. We stock up wheat flour and other provisions during the summer so that we do not starve out during the winter,” says Tamar Iaganashvili, one of those living in the village of Cheremi.

The inhabitants of Cheremi village, Gurjaani District are asking for assistance. They say they have not received any electricity in the last 16 years. There is not even a shop or medical clinic in the village. In case of a medical emergency, ambulances can not access the village. Cheremi is shut because the road is almost totally destroyed. Even communication is a problem, as you can call only make a call from Cheremi with a cell phone when you climb up a small hill that is rather far from the village. The inhabitants of Cheremi say that they have often been promised help, and this was mostly during the pre-election period.  However, the promises are never kept. It is because of the terrible living conditions that the majority of the remaining 14 families are being forced to leave Cheremi Village in an effort to seek out better life elsewhere. 

The Cheremi village was first established by the King Vakhtang Gorgasali in the second half of the V century A.D. He gave the village to his son and Crown prince Dachi. Cheremi Eparchy was established in the same period of time. As a consequence of these events, Cheremi became the political and religions center of the Kakheti region. 

In 1984 an archeological expedition excavated the ruins of King Vakhtang Gorgasali (VI) palace. The historians consider that this palace has big historical importance. There are also other historical monuments in Cheremi that date back to the 5th century.

Despite historical and touristic importance of the village those from the Cheremi village continue to live in unbearable conditions. 90 houses out of a total of 100 are now abandoned.

“We have neither electricity nor a road. We can not even dream of having gas. We are now in a very difficult situation, which is especially the case in winter and when the river floods. The river Cheremis Khevi escapes its banks where there are heavy rains and floods the only road that connects our village with the district.  We are then isolated from the rest of the world. We stock up wheat flour and other provisions in the summer so that will not starve out during the winter,” says Tamar Iaganashvili, from the village of Cheremi.

They say even in very urgent medical problems ER cars can not reach the village for extremely damaged road. “We have problems regarding calling the emergency car as we can call on cell phone only from one place and this place is very far from the village,” states an inhabitant of Cheremi.

The villagers state that they had been promised to solve their problems many times. Giorgi Ghviniashvili, the present Kakheti Regional Governor promised the Cheremians to help three months ago when he was Gurjaani District single mandate MP for the Georgian Parliament. However, in the end he did not keep the promise.

 Giorgi Sibashvili, first deputy Kakheti regional governor:”We are aware of the problems existing in Cheremi. My belief is that special attention should be paid not only to this high mountainous village but also to other villages in Kakheti region.

-Why nothing has been done for supplying electricity to the inhabitants of Cheremi for 16 years?

-I assure you that when the wine season and harvest in the Kakheti region is over that the administration will put emphasis on the problem of solving not only the issue of electricity but other kinds of problems that the villages face.

- Mr. Giorgi as far as we know Ghviniashvili met the inhabitants of Cheremi several months ago. He promised that he would solve their problems. However, the Cheremians are still living under extremely difficult conditions.

-Giorgi Ghviniashvili was appointed the Kakheti Regional Governor at the beginning of September. In a few days the wine harvest started in the region. The government took the responsibility of supporting viticulture activities. The vintage will be over in a few days and as I have already mentioned we will find money for resolving the above-mentioned problems by all means.  

The local school is the only state institution in the village of Cheremi and only 4 pupils study.

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