Shorena Latatia, Mukhrani-Tbilisi
IDP from Akhalgori district Ushangi Rusitashvili has been living in the abandoned farm in unbearable and extremely poor conditions for two years already. This shelter does not comply with minimal living standards but since Rustashvili has not received any financial compensation yet (10 000 USD), he has nowhere to go.
“I lived in the village of Doredkani in Akhalgori district before the armed conflict of August, 2008 and earned my living by cattle-breeding. When we fled from the village, I took my cattle with me. On the way I noticed an abandoned farm and asked the owner permission to live in it; since then I have been living here,” said Ushangi Rusitashvili.
Like other IDPs, he had to choose between the financial compensation and the cottage.
“My three sons and wife live in Tserovani settlement for IDPs. I applied for the financial compensation. Now I have 4 cows and about 30 sheep. So, naturally I could not live in the settlement with the cattle. They are the only source for the income in our family. If I sell them, I will die of starvation,” said Ushangi Rusitashvili.
The practice showed that the IDPs, who chose financial compensation instead cottages, are still waiting for the money.’
“I was told at the Akhalgori district administration that I am on the list but they do not know when the compensation will be distributed. The life here is getting worse day-by-day. The owner might soon ask me to leave the building. If they had given a compensation to me, I could have purchased a plot and built a little house on it,” said Ushangi Rusitashvili.
The Human Rights Center sent several letters to the ministry of IDPs from the occupied territories, accommodation and refugees. But the minsitry cannot name the exact date when the distribution of compensation will finish.
There are no water and sewerage systems in the farm where Rusitashvili lives now. So, there is complete anti-sanitary there. Polyethylene is stretched on the window-frames and the wind is blowing in the rooms as strongly as outside. Consequently, a little stove cannot warm the room for a long time.
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