Sadly, this is not the first time that Irina has had to flee her village of Niqosi, in South Ossetia, for
Tbilisi.
Nino Gvianishvili
At thirty-seven, she has already endured two conflicts and inevitably, the suffering that comes with them. Thousands of people caught up in this year’s conflict will have also been victims of the previous one, a civil war involving South Ossetia,
Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia back in the early nineties.I know that for my colleagues, family and friends, and people I have spoken with, it has brought back memories that we have tried to
bury along with those who were lost.As I sit with Irina in yet another kindergarten that is serving as a displaced shelter on the outskirts of Tbilisi, she tells me about the first time she
had to flee her home.“During the conflict in the 1990s, our house was damaged. We had to leave. For a while I stayed with my sister in Tbilisi. After the situation more or less calmed
down I went back to my village. On arrival, the scars of conflict marked not only the buildings but also our minds. Our house was seriously damaged. I remember spending nights wide awake thinking that
one day the damaged walls would fall on us. I applied several times to the local authority so that I could get it rehabilitated. They told me that my turn would come soon but that turn never
came.”On 8 August this year Irina had to flee again, this time with her husband and their three children.“It was terrifying. When the air strike started, people ran back
and forth trying to find transport to get out of the village. The shower of bombs that fell by my already damaged house made it crumble further. The walls are completely ruined and there are no
windows left.”Her two-year-old daughter stands by us. I can’t help but notice the sad look in her eyes as she stares in my direction. It is almost as if she is asking me “why
has all this happened to us?” There is also a tinge of anger that she wears on her face, as if she understands everything that her and her family members have been through despite her young
age.Irina looks distressed as she tells me: “We are still in a state of shock, my children have been traumatised and are stressed. My husband has had a nervous breakdown. He needs
serious psychological treatment. It has got to the stage where I am afraid to stay with him alone. He has lost control before and attacked me. He is unwell and needs help. ”Suddenly she
bursts into tears. Between her sobs she continues, ” I do not think we will be able to go home any time soon. So, I have started to accept our life as it is, praying to God that something will
change so that there is an end to our suffering.”She pauses, her mood slightly shifting. “I would never imagine that we would have received such support from the people around us
and from the director of the kindergarten. She looks after us as if we were her children - she is one of the kindest people I have ever met.”At least there can be one silver lining to
the dark cloud that is conflict. Solidarity.Oxfam International and its partner NGOs are currently assisting displaced people in Georgia who fled areas of conflict. Oxfam would
be prepared to help any civilians affected by the conflict, whether they are in Georgia, South Ossetia or North Ossetia, if granted safe access to assess the situation and if assistance were
needed. Russia has said it is managing relief operations in South and North Ossetia. More from the Oxfam Press Office at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/news
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana (L) chats with Hansjoerg Haber, Head of European Union Monitoring Mission, at the mission office in Tbilisi September 30, 2008. Solana said on Tuesday ...
