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Twelve Families living in the Village of Peria Face Danger of Staying Homeless

March 26, 2009

Maka Malakmadze, Batumi

The territory is on sale for the building of cableways and for the development of infrastructure

Twelve families, residents of a building on a former military base, have already been warned to leave their current accommodations. The residents urge for shelters. The Ministry of Finance and Economics of The Adjara Autonomous Republic do not state that they will provide the residents with alternative accommodations after the building is sold.

“We will not leave the building alive if no alternative shelter will be appointed to us. Where should I live if I become homeless, I’d rather die,” the residents stated.

The Inhabitants of the building on a former military base urge for help. The base is situated in the village of Peria, in Khelvachauri District. Twelve families live in the damaged building. The residents moved there in the 1990s based on a verbal agreement of the government at that time. They are eco-migrants basically from mountainous Adjara. Two families hold residence warrants issued by the military department; despite all that they were warned by police officers to leave the building as well.

“They came and demanded us to leave the flat; they said the territory had been sold. I have nowhere to go. I do not know where to live with my little child”, said one of the residents, Tinatin Jaiani.

Tamaz Fartenadze, a former resident of the building, said he holds a residence warrant and has the  right to live there; however he is not allowed to.”I have been living there for 15 years; I have been serving in the army for years and now they forced me to leave the place”, he said.

The residents stated that although the building is damaged, they have to live there, because they have nowhere else to go.”Since we have no other house, this building seems a palace to us. We prefer to live here rather than to become homeless in the street. We are forced to leave the building but we will not leave”, said the eco-migrants.

Reportedly, the territory is being sold to build a cableway in the area and for the development of the infrastructure.

As for the decision of the Ministry of Finance and Economics, we could not find out whether the Ministry is going to provide the twelve families with alternative accommodations after the building is sold. Henry Sanikidze, the head of the Department for property Management and Privatization within the Ministry of Finances and Economics of the Adjara Autonomous Republic, stated: “this building will be privatized. However, it is not settled yet whether it will be sold on an auction or through another method, we are still working on it.” But he did not say whether the families will be provided with houses if the building is sold.

We could not find the building on the list of privatized buildings on the official website of the Ministry of Finance and Economics of the Adjara Autonomous republic. According to the head of the Department of Property Management and Privatization, first of all the building should be empty and then it will be put on the list of privatized buildings.

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