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Tragic History of a Large Family

November 8, 2006

garibi_bavshvebi.gifMeri Markoidze passed away at the pregnancy of the ninth child. She could not feed her child and decided to get rid of him through drinking iodine. Seven children, who remained under father's care, live in incredible situation. Children do not have proper meal and they cannot receive education either.

The ruins, which is called a house is situated one kilometer away from the village. The so-called house has neither windows not door nor floor. Eight members of the Markoidzes live there: father - Dato Markoidze and children - Ketino, Imeda, Merabi, Muradi, Nazi, Asmati and Maradi. Elder daughter Nargizi lives in the next village with her husband. Second daughter Ketino is fifteen and the youngest Maradi is nine-month-old.

Maradi cannot walk and crawls on the floor. Worms use to creep out of the floor. "Children constantly crawl on the floor and warms get on them. We are lucky that snakes do not appear there,"-said Ketino. All of them are illiterate, since they have not been at school at all.

"If they go to school they should have some clothes on. Now they drive cattle for 2-3 lari a day. Who has time to go to school?"-said unhappy Dato Markoidze.

Meri Markoidze died in March. She kept her pregnancy in secret from her relatives too. However, when her protuberant abdomen was evident, she asked Fati Markoidze, her sister-in-law for help. 

'Poor woman deceived everyone, even her husband. It was too late when she told me the truth. She decided to abort the child, but I did not have money to help her either. Having heard about the fact, her husband Dato went crazy. He promised to sell a caw to raise money for abort. Meri was sorry for the caw, they had hardly bought. That's why she lied to her husband and drank iodine; it resulted into her death,"-retold Fati Markoidze.

Dato Markoidze, the widower can not make any comments on his wife's death.

Dato and Meri Markoidzes got married twenty-two years ago in the village of Zanavi, Adigeni District. A that time none of them could have ever imagined that their life would become so hard. 

"I worked at the shop and earned good money when I got married. We both dreamt about many children. But now my dream of youth has turned into my torture. Police detained me for violations at the shop and I served nine years at prison. When I was out, there was tense situation in the country. Plots had already been distributed to inhabitants and we moved here in 1993," told Dato Markoidze to us.

The family, left without plots and house, settled into the old firm building. Living far from the village caused many problems for them.

"Several years ago my eleven-year-old son died. Nail pierced into his sole. It was winter and we could not take him to hospital in the town. After sunset we are afraid of going out. Wolves use to come down from the forest near our house. Last year they nearly ate my child,"-said head of the family.

Adjarian people live in Zanavi. They have moved from Khulo District here. Total eighty-five impoverished families receive only thirty-five lari a month; the Markoidzes are among them.

"How can I live on thirty-five lari? Though I work hard, I can not earn anything. Father Dimitri [provost of the Khule Monastery] supported our family. He was the first to bring toys to my children,"-said Dato Markoidze.

The family has a caw and a goat, thus their only food is milk.

"I have fed children with milk for two days. Yesterday we had bread too, the neighbor gave it to us," said the elder daughter Ketino who has not been at school since her mother died.

"How could I go to school, I was to take care of them,"-she said.

Every child in the family has its duty: Ketino should look after the family and younger children; others fetch wood from the forest. Their house needs fire all the time since it has no windows and a door.

Soon it is winter and the head of the family is afraid. If it is heavy snow, cracked walls will certainly fall down.

Gulo Kokhodze, Adigeni

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