17:49, 24 December 2019

Refugees occupy ministry building in Georgia

Forced migrants at a building of the Ministry of Refugees, Labour, Health, and Social Affairs of Georgia. Photo by Beslan Kmuzov for the "Caucasian Knot"

Since September, internally displaced persons (IDPs), or forced migrants, have been conducting a protest rally at a building of the Ministry of Refugees, Labour, Health, and Social Affairs of Georgia, where they have arranged a sleeping corner for themselves. The protestors claim that the money allocated by the state for rented housing is not enough.

According to the Georgian authorities, since 2012, more than 16,000 IDP families have been granted housing. In total, Georgia registered more than 267,000 IDPs from Abkhazia and South Ossetia, who left their homes after the Georgian-Abkhaz war of 1992-1993 and the conflict with South Ossetia in 2008.

"For 97 days, we have been requesting a meeting with the minister to ensure that they will finally begin to solve our problems," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Mari, an IDP from Sukhumi.

"We have been living in other people's houses for 27 years. We have to spend our last money, and the state is not going to solve our problems," added Daro, a participant in the protest rally.

According to Mari, the amount of 300 laris, granted by the state to pay rented housing, is not enough.

"The money is enough only to pay for dilapidated housing for one or two persons, and if a family rents housing, then they need at least 500 laris," the woman noted.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 24, 2019 at 01:06 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Beslan Kmuzov

Source: CK correspondent