Georgia

Blog Post:  Posted September 6, 2008, 9:05 pm by Nino Giorgadze

Uncertainty Prevails

Country: Georgia

Topics: Conflict & War, Displacement, Emergencies

The number of displaced people in Gori's tent camp has swelled to more than 1,700 people. Thankfully, the flow of humanitarian supplies and other assistance is keeping pace with new arrivals.

Today Mercy Corps, alongside two of our colleague non-governmental organisations here, delivered hygiene items and sleeping bags to camp residents. We heard many stories as we distributed supplies to displaced people.

Nodar Muradashvili is from the village of Garejvari in Gori district. His house was robbed and attacked by Ossetians during the height of the conflict. The windows of the house were broken and two heads of cattle were stolen. These cattle were the only source of income for the family.

Muradashvili and his wife have lived here in the tent camp for two weeks in a so-called two-room tent. Earlier in the day, another displaced family moved into the tent with them.

Gulnazi Giunashvili is from the village of Karaleti, where Russian troops have set up one of their checkpoints. She feels unsafe to return home right now, despite the opening of the village to residents. Giunashvili and her child are waiting here in the camp for the withdrawal of Russian troops. Just like thousands of camp residents who were — and are — her neighbors, she is unsure when she'll return home.

Meanwhile, everyone here wants to get back to work. During the day, residents go out to search for jobs at construction sites. They seek employment with cleaning services. But there aren't enough jobs to go around.

And so they wait.

Posted September 4, 2008 by Roger Burks

Behind the Lines

Country: Georgia

Topics: Emergencies, Economic Development

Nearly a month after hostilities erupted that forced almost 160,000 people from their homes, thousands of Georgian families are still displaced. Most of them cannot return to their houses — or even their villages — because of the wreckage, military positions and ethnic tensions. And now, as the warm summer months come quickly to an end, there are concerns about lack of shelter for frigid winter.

Mercy Corps has been responding to the needs of Georgian families since the crisis began. We were among the first agencies to reach the war-devastated city of Gori and are currently the only international non-governmental organisation conducting operations behind Russian military lines. So far, we've delivered emergency food rations and hygiene supplies to more than 10,000 displaced people. This includes distributions to nearly every camp and public building where families are taking refuge in Gori.

You can help us show that the world hasn't forgotten about them, even as the headlines have faded.

Because of the widespread damage — apartment buildings destroyed, farms pillaged, homes looted and burned — there are real uncertainties about what families will do. Enormous needs for food and other critical supplies remain. In the coming days, we will also distribute cots, mattresses, sleeping bags and blankets to camps and shelters.

Mercy Corps Senior Programme Officer Rich Ormond is on the ground in Georgia, and took some time to answer some questions about the current situation and our team's work.

Q: What are you seeing right now?

Rich Ormond: There is relative calm. Russian forces have pulled back to positions north of Gori, just outside of South Ossetia. The movement of displaced families seems to be decreasing now, as most of them have determined where they're going to take refuge for now. These families are, however, living in either tent camps or public buildings in and around Gori. And these places are overcrowded.

What is an average camp like?

They're changing by the day. The first camp that sprang up now has more than 1,400 people. Since our first visit, a second camp has been started. Families are living in tents, but have access to reasonable services — hot meals, clean water and latrines — that have been provided by our colleague agencies and the local government.

The families that are taking shelter in public buildings are in much worse shape. In some places, there are 40 families — or more — living in a space with only one toilet.

How are things in the security buffer zone behind Russian military lines?

Those in the buffer zone are mostly people who stayed behind through the fighting — including the elderly and infirmed. There have also been a significant number of men who have returned to collect the harvest, since this is their source of income. However, there's a lot of unexploded ammunition and mines in these farms and villages, and so people are scared. There's also violence against ethnic Georgians and looting within the buffer zones. Families there are relying on Russian troops for their security.

Mercy Corps is currently the only international non-governmental organisation doing work in the buffer zone. We've developed a rapport with Russian posts that allow us to gain access and move around in these areas. As a result, we've been conducting assessments of isolated villages and delivering hygiene supplies to families who've stayed there.

What are Mercy Corps' plans for the next few weeks?

We are continuing to focus on the immediate needs of displaced families, but will also focus on restoring economic livelihoods. One way we're planning on doing this is by distributing vouchers worth one month's salary to families. That way, they can buy the supplies they need while putting money back into local economies. We hope that will help stimulate recovery.

The relief phase is ending; now we need to work with families on their transition to returning home.

With your help, we can help displaced families weather the current conflict and begin rebuilding their lives. Please make an immediate contribution to our Emergency Response Fund.

Blog Post:  Posted August 31, 2008, 8:50 pm by Nino Giorgadze

Beyond Russian Checkpoints

Country: Georgia

Topics: Conflict & War, Displacement, Emergencies

Today was the first time since the conflict that Mercy Corps staff entered the Georgian villages beyond the checkpoints of Russian peacekeeping soldiers. We did not have any problems passing through the Russian checkpoints, which are set up at the entrance of the Variani village, Gori district.

These villages were almost empty of population during the fighting and immediate aftermath, but since August 27, people have begun returning to their villages little by little. However, most of those living here now are elderly people and men — those who weren't able to leave in the first place and, now, those returning to see if their homes, farms and livestock are still here.

As soon as we arrived in Variani, we called the population to gather in the village centre to distribute humanitarian supplies, mostly hygiene kits that contain household cleaning and health supplies.

According to villagers, we're the first group to arrive here with aid; none of the non-governmental or governmental agencies have visited them, and families are trying to survive using their own supplies. However, the issue of how long these supplies last depends on the unpredictability of the Russian military presence here.

It is widely known that this village is heavily mined. As a result, villagers cannot enter fields or orchards to harvest the summer crops. Tons of fruit and vegetables are spoiling on the trees or in the fields, and it isn't possible to supply goods to the shops.

Families' livelihoods and the local economy are both in grave danger here.

Blog Post:  Posted August 30, 2008, 7:45 pm by Nino Giorgadze

Tent Camp Population More than Doubles

Country: Georgia

The catastrophic rise of displaced people is evident: now the population at Gori's tent camp has exceeded 1,400 people, more than double what it was just three days ago. Mercy Corps' emergency team continues to supply them with much-needed food and hygiene items.

Today, an American senator named Bob Corker visited Gori and took some time participating in a Mercy Corps at a public school housing nearly 100 IDPs. Mercy Corps is collaborating with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help Georgia's conflict-affected population. Senator Corker talked to the IDPs and got familiar with the hard situation here. Many of these families have just finished their first week here.

Blog Post:  Posted August 27, 2008, 8:30 pm by Nino Giorgadze

Life in Tent #16

Country: Georgia

Topics: Conflict & War, Displacement, Emergencies

The kindergartens and public schools of Gori town continue to fill up with dozens of displaced people from war-torn areas. Today, we provided hygiene supplies and food for six days to those taking refuge at all the kindergartens in the town, as well as the 625 people in the tent camp here.

Many of those at the tent camp know for sure that they have lost everything in their houses and villages; not even a single thing was saved.

Zaza Kareli, a displaced man from Tkviavi village here in Gori district, is now living in Tent #16 with his family. They fled from the first bombardment of their village, even though paramilitary soldiers took their car from them. On their way — walking several miles on foot — they encountered many soldiers, some of whom gestured threateningly. The Kareli family eventually managed to arrive near this place by hitching a ride with the first car that would stop for them.

There is only one bed — used by Kareli's child — in this tent, and a little backpack with some items left from a previous humanitarian aid distribution.

Blog Post:  Posted August 26, 2008, 7:00 pm by Nino Giorgadze

Shelter in a Kindergarten

Country: Georgia

After Russian troops left the city of Gori, internally displaced persons (IDPs) from across the conflict zone began streaming into town. At first, they were accommodated at various offices and public buildings around the city, and then reassigned to kindergartens and various other schools on August 24. In addition, a tent camp was set up here to handle the overflow of families returning from the nation's capital, Tbilisi.

Most of the displaced families come from villages located around Tskhinvali, the main city of the occupied region of South Ossetia. They don't yet have any information about their houses and family members that stayed.

These displaced people had to flee the violence quickly; as a result, they could not take any documents with them, such as ID cards. They are unsure where to go and what to do next. They do not have critical supplies such as mattresses, blankets and bed sheets and, because of the violent ordeal that they've endured, they're distrustful of almost everyone.

The number of displaced people is rising by the hour here in Gori. Many are suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, and are in desperate need of psychological counselling.

According to the local government data, no food or supplies had been delivered to those taking shelter at Kindergarten #8 in Gori. That changed today, when Mercy Corps supplied 100 displaced people with a three-day supply of food and hygiene supplies as well.

Posted August 21, 2008

What Would You Take With You?

Country: Georgia

Topics: Emergencies

Imagine having just a few minutes to gather belongings from your home. Armed men stand on your doorstep, making it clear that you can only take what you can carry — and your time is running out. What would you take?

Once you walk out that door, you are uncertain whether you will see your home, or even your town, ever again. Everything you cannot take with you — family heirlooms, photo albums and other keepsakes — will most likely be lost forever.

You keep glancing over your shoulder as you're loaded into a vehicle, then driven away from the only place you've ever lived. You will have to start over. But how?

That's the reality for thousands of people in war-torn Georgia. Mercy Corps is helping them survive their current displacement while preparing to help them recover and rebuild from their ordeal. The numbers are staggering — almost 160,000 people have been driven from their homes.

Will you stand with them in their time of greatest need?

Yesterday, our team visited 21 elderly Georgians in the besieged city of Gori — which has, by estimates, seen 90 percent of its population flee to other parts of Georgia. They hailed from nine different villages in the disputed region of South Ossetia, and were evacuated to Gori by a group of Russian soldiers, carrying meagre belongings that they'd collected immediately before their houses were set aflame.

These senior citizens are being housed temporarily in a bomb-damaged kindergarten building. They are hoping to be transported to Georgia's capital, Tblisi, where they can join the younger members of their families who fled the onslaught of conflict. Many of them, however, have lost contact with relatives and are uncertain what to do. They have been forced from homes where their families have lived for generations — even centuries.

They are scared and in urgent need of food, clothing and bedding.

You can help. Mercy Corps, which has been in Georgia since 2000, is delivering food and other critical supplies to families, children and the elderly in some of the country's most hard-hit areas, including Gori and badly damaged villages on its outskirts. But, with more displaced people arriving every day, the needs continue to grow.

Imagine how it feels to wonder if you can ever return home again. Georgia's displaced families have endured a lifetime of misery and uncertainty in just a few days. Please help us show them kindness and support when they need it most.

Programme Details

Mercy Corps has distributed food and other critical supplies to approximately 4,000 people in displacement camps and war-torn areas in and around Gori and Georgia's capital, Tblisi. The food packages include basic supplies like buckwheat, sugar, rice and baby food. We've also distributed hygiene kits in the same areas, and are currently expanding our work to deliver shelter and household items.

"Right now the critical need is relief," said Jim White, Mercy Corps' vice-president of programme operations. "But as the fighting subsides and displaced people return home, we will focus on longer-term recovery — of housing, schools, and livelihoods — and then on reconciliation among people on all sides of this conflict."

Fighting started after months of heightened tensions in the semi-autonomous region of South Ossetia. The fighting escalated when Russia sent troops and tanks into the area. Although a cease-fire is currently in place, there are reports of continued violence and looting, and inter-ethnic tensions are running high.

Mercy Corps has worked in Georgia since 2000. Our programmes support rural development by helping farm families increase production, gain access to financing and form farmer groups that help families connect to markets and information. Mercy Corps has also helped cultivate young leaders working to build an inclusive, multi-ethnic society in Georgia.

Mercy Corps was on the verge of launching a new programme in South Ossetia aimed at increasing interaction between ethnic Ossetian and Georgian youth when the conflict began.

With your help, we can help displaced families weather the current conflict and begin rebuilding their lives. Please make an immediate contribution to our Georgia Crisis Fund.

Posted August 11, 2008

Relief for Georgia's Displaced Families

Country: Georgia

Topics: Emergencies

Brutal fighting has driven at least 158,000 Georgians from their homes. Mercy Corps is responding to the needs of Georgia's displaced people with distributions of food and critical supplies to hundreds of families around the cities of Tblisi and Gori.

You can help us rush critical assistance to those affected by the region's worst violence in years.

"Civilians are the innocent victims caught in the middle of this conflict," said Randy Martin, director of Mercy Corps' Global Emergency Operations team. "Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, and are in desperate need of basics like shelter, food and fuel."

Mercy Corps has distributed food to hundreds of people in displacement camps around Georgia's capital, Tblisi. These food packages include basic supplies like buckwheat, sugar, rice and baby food. We are also planning to distribute hygiene kits in the same camps over the coming days, as well as expanding our work to deliver shelter and household items.

On August 18, a Mercy Corps emergency response team made it through Russian checkpoints into the besieged city of Gori. Our staff, who are now beginning operations in the area, report seeing damage to buildings and hearing from local citizens about their needs for food, water and hygiene items. Our emergency response team is currently negotiating permission to distribute hygiene kits and women's supplies to nearly 600 households in villages just outside of Gori.

"Right now the critical need is relief," said Jim White, Mercy Corps' vice-president of programme operations. "But as the fighting subsides and displaced people return home, we will focus on longer-term recovery — of housing, schools, and livelihoods — and then on reconciliation among people on all sides of this conflict."

Fighting started after months of heightened tensions in the semi-autonomous region of South Ossetia. The fighting escalated when Russia sent troops and tanks into the area. Although a cease-fire is currently in place, there are reports of continued violence and looting, and inter-ethnic tensions are running high.

Mercy Corps has worked in Georgia since 2000. Our programmes support rural development by helping farm families increase production, gain access to financing and form farmer groups that help families connect to markets and information. Mercy Corps has also helped cultivate young leaders working to build an inclusive, multi-ethnic society in Georgia.

Mercy Corps was on the verge of launching a new programme in South Ossetia aimed at increasing interaction between ethnic Ossetian and Georgian youth when the conflict began.

With your help, we can help displaced families weather the current conflict and begin rebuilding their lives. Please make an immediate contribution to our Emergency Response.

Posted May 5, 2006 by Nicholas Low

School Brings Hope to Georgian Village

Country: Georgia

Topics: Education, Economic Development, Children

Although it lies only 30 minutes away from Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, life in the tiny village of Sovkhoz Samgorski is worlds away. The countryside around this village, home to about 100 families, is dotted with abandoned and dilapidated Soviet-era concrete buildings. The past is often bleak so, consequently, the village's 22-room schoolhouse has become the focus of the community - and a hopeful symbol of its future.

Sitting at the desk in her modest office, school director Manana Tabatadze is aware of the optimism surrounding her workplace. In the 24 years that she has been the school's director, she has seen sweeping changes - some good and some bad.

In Soviet times, children would come from surrounding towns to study at the school, drawn by the good reputation that it had. Later, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, everything literally fell apart.

"Don't even ask how things were from 1991 to 2003," Manana says. "It was a very bad time."

The lines supplying natural gas to the town corroded and fell to pieces, and although the power lines remained intact, there was no electricity. In 1998, most of the 40 year-old schoolhouse burned down in an accident, and for the next five years the students were all crammed into the four remaining rooms. Water leaked through the roof whenever it rained.

"At that time, nobody had any hope," Manana recalls.

Complete commitment

Because of its proximity to the important Tbilisi-Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, Sovkhoz Samgorski was chosen to be part of Mercy Corps' Community Investment Project - East (CIP-E), funded by the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Company and Southern Caucasus Pipeline (SCP) Company. Mercy Corps first came to Sovkhoz Samgorski in 2003 and held a town meeting that was attended by at least one member of every household in town.

"The people from Mercy Corps started talking about all of the things that would be done in our village, this and that. We all listened and nodded…and nobody believed that anything would happen," Manana says with a laugh.

Three years later, the results are tangible. After ten years without natural gas, new pipes were laid and run to every house, finally offering a fuel source that is cheaper than electricity or firewood. At the school, there is no trace of the fire that reduced most of it to rubble eight years ago. A photograph on Manana's desk shows a group of young girls painting the fence that runs around the schoolhouse. The picture was taken nearly three years ago, when the school was completely rebuilt with the help of community members, including the children.

Manana remembers one night when it started to rain on the new tin roofing, which had just been delivered. Afraid that the wet sheets of tin would rust together and be ruined, Manana and a group of older students came to the school to dry the tin.

"We stayed here all night to dry the roofing, listening to music. Those children were completely committed to this project," she says.

Infectious ambition

The biggest change in the community is within the children themselves. "They are more responsible, they want to study, and they stay after school to work on projects," Manana says proudly. "Most importantly, these children now have hope, and big ambitions for the future."

This ambition and hope seems to be infectious. Manana says that in Soviet times, people were given everything and would only think of themselves and how they could get ahead. Today, the people in Sovkhoz Samgorski are learning that it is more important to support the community and the community's future, the children.

The children here are being prepared for a future in which they will no longer simply be given everything they need. Manana and the school focus on instilling a sense of entrepreneurship and independence in the children.

"We are trying to help them find their own way," Manana says. She noted that three boys who showed an aptitude for building during the school renovation project are now working as carpenters, and a fourth is apprenticed to a mason.

A sustainable future

Sovkhoz Samgorski was formerly a collective poultry farm but it ended with the Soviet Union and today, as in most of rural Georgia, there are no jobs. Each family here owns a few cows, and they manage to scrape by selling milk, yogurt, cheese and meat in the larger towns and cities nearby. Teaching the children of this town how to survive in a jobless economy is essential.

The Mercy Corps project helped to purchase new calves to improve the herd, and introduced more efficient animal husbandry practices. Now some families are talking about opening a store together for selling dairy products in a larger town nearby. Meanwhile, the children are learning about the business of agriculture, and Manana hopes that a sustainable future will be available for them right here in Sovkhoz Samgori.

"They might not be rich, but they'll be able to make a living," she says.

When asked how the community will carry on in the future, Manana does not hesitate to answer. "We have gas now, the school has been rebuilt and our livestock has been improved," she explains. "Thanks to Mercy Corps, we have everything that we need for the future."

Posted May 4, 2005

Severe Flooding Destroys Communities in Georgia

Country: Georgia

After heavy, week-long rains at the end of April, many of Georgia's western, central and eastern districts are suffering from the worst flooding in decades. Although no causalities are yet reported, thousands of families have been displaced by heavy rains, high waters and landslides.

Throughout affected areas, houses have been destroyed, bridges washed out and vital croplands inundated by flood waters.

Mercy Corps is currently putting together a response to this widespread disaster.

Over 100 villages in remote, mountainous regions were damaged and more than 50 villages were cut off from access to main roads. Hundreds of people have been evacuated and thousands of hectares of farmland have been lost to the floods.

Georgian President Saakashvili, on a tour of the affected regions, estimated the total damage to farms, energy and water infrastructure, communication lines, bridges and roads to be as much as 10 million dollars.

It will take months for Georgia to recover from this catastrophe. Mercy Corps is ensuring that the needs of displaced Georgian families will be met.