Today I thought I would teach the “Hokey Pokey” to the kids who were studying English and to help them learn body parts in English I would have a handout for them them to write the words on. The school has a computer lab so I was able to find a simple body diagram online and then print it out. I was only able to print one copy but then they said I could use the Xerox to make photocopies. I guess they only have one Xerox in the entire school because when we went to make copies the ink cartridge was out and they didn’t have any alternate suggestions for us. I was a little disappointed but then decided since I did have one copy I would just trace it by hand to make multiple copies. It took a while but I did it! The kids had a lot of fun learning the body parts but when I gathered them in a circle to try to teach the “Hokey Pokey” they were getting a little confused! I think it was a little more complicated for them than I imagined, but at least they made an effort to try to learn!
As usual my day with the kids was a lot of fun and I know I’m really going to miss them when I leave. It’s been such a joy to be a part of their lives, even for such a short time.
After church today my host family and I went for lunch at a place called Nikola which is basically a Georgian style Luby’s with a buffet line. I don’t do well at places like this, especially when I’m hungry because I end up getting way too much food and always want at least two desserts! The food was delicious and for this one meal I paid close to $13 Lari. That is really expensive when you consider I normally don’t pay more than $1.50 for something I eat outside of the house, such as khachapuri (cheese bread) or lobio (pastry with bean paste).
Before lunch we tried to go to Turtle Lake, an area of the city that is supposed to be absolutely beautiful, but as we headed up the mountain area where it is located the streets were blocked off for a Grand Prix race. Who would have thought that Georgia was into car racing?! It definitely never crossed my mind!
So after making alternate plans to eat in a different neighborhood we decided to go to Keti’s sister’s house who lived close by. On the way over there I decided I wanted to buy cake for a small birthday celebration because it just didn’t feel right to not have cake for my birthday (even though it was already two days after my birthday). We found a market that had a variety of different cakes so Keti helped me choose a few different kinds. The cakes were already cut into slices so we were able to buy a few different kinds instead of having to buy one large cake. I didn’t find any candles but thought maybe we could find something at Keti’s sister’s house to use. When we got there Keti’s sister’s her niece found a birthday candle in the shape of a #1. I thought it was perfect and could symbolize the “1” in “30” (me turning 31!). So finally, after my pity party on Friday I had birthday cake at last with a candle I could blow out and make a wish on! I felt my birthday was now complete!
http://www.youtube.com/user/G3Adventures
Keti’s sister owns a bread shop downstairs from their apartment and when we were leaving I asked if we could go inside so I could take a look at how they made the bread. It was a really interesting process to see!
Last week I told my host parents I wanted to treat their kids to some type of fun activity, something they choose to do. Their daughter is ten and their son seven, and they both had different ideas of what they wanted to do. One idea was McDonald’s (all the kids here love the place!), another idea was the Botanical Gardens, and another the Tbilisi Zoo. I of course was all for McDonald’s because it was indoors, the other two would be in the freezing (to me at least) Georgian temperatures! In the morning they decided McDonald’s was their chose (to my relief!) and we headed out the door. When we got to the bus stop they changed their mind and decided they wanted to go to the Zoo. At first I was disappointed because I would have rather been inside, but then I realized what a beautiful day it really was and how much warmer it felt than the last few days. So off we went to the city zoo and in retrospect that was definitely the best decision since it’s an experience I’ll remember much more than watching the kids play at McDonald’s.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention that before we got to the zoo we spent about forty-five minutes trying to get the remainder of my AmEx Traveler’s Checks cashed. We went to four different banks before finding one that would actually cash them, then that process took close to half an hour. Let me tell you, it was a huge ordeal! While I was in Turkey I made the mistake of taking out a lot of cash (Turkish Lira) from the Citibank ATM thinking I would save myself money by not being charged a 3% ATM fee in Georgia. I even went online while in Ghana to see the exchange rate between the Dollar and Georgian Lari verses the Turkish Lira and Georgian Lari. The conversion website I used was apparently not updated since the war or just wasn’t working right altogether, but when I arrived to Georgia the exchange rate was 1.41 for the Dollar and .51 for the Turkish Lira. That meant I was LOSING money and BIG TIME! I was not a happy camper. I had about $300 Dollars left from Ghana, plus $150 in Traveler’s Checks so after my first exchange I decided I would try to stretch my Dollars as much as possible. Luckily (at least for my situation) the Dollar has gone up and is now at a 1.65 exchange rate, stretching my money even further. The only problem now is that I’m stuck with a large sum of Turkish Lira that I hope can be exchanged for a decent rate when I’m back in Istanbul for the day on my way back to the States.
Okay, so back to the zoo! When we first arrived (after only paying .50 tetri per ticket if you can believe that for zoo admission!) I saw a Baskin Robbins and even though it was still a little cold outside, I just had to have ice cream! We all got the same flavor, vanilla with peanuts and caramel, and I opted to splurge for a waffle cone for .40 tetri extra. When we finished our ice cream the kids got popcorn and then we made our way from one zoo animal to the next, starting with bears and ending with elephants. My favorite animal is a giraffe but this zoo didn’t have any, and actually I have mixed feelings about zoos in general. I think they’re great for kids to be able to see animals that they would otherwise never see, but part of me feels these animals belong in their natural habitat, not locked up in cages. I won’t get into this debate here though because I really did enjoy my day with the kids and seeing their excitement when they saw each animal. This zoo was a lot like a circus too. They have lots of different rides and games you have to buy tickets for but the only one the kids were interested in was the Ferris Wheel. Cartuna, a family friend, also joined us with her adorable five year old nephew for the last half of our time at the zoo.
After the Ferris Wheel I decided to pay $10 Lari (US$6) to have a black and white portrait drawn of myself by the zoo artist. I thought it would be a nice keepsake to have from my time in Georgia, as well as a remembrance of the [G3] Mission.
After the zoo we went to a local cafe and had a bite to eat and my plan was to go home and change before I met Jenni at the Tbilisi Opera House for Swan Lake but I simply just ran out of time. I was a little concerned because I was in jeans and we had seats in the lower level, and even though my host mom kept reassuring me I looked fine, I personally just didn’t feel comfortable. So in-between eating she and Cartuna took me to a few different second hand stores in search of a skirt. I finally found one that was sort of my size (everything was super big on me) but then there was the problem of my sneakers. Wearing a skirt with Puma’s just didn’t look very classy. Then we decided that maybe we should start looking for trousers instead, but again everything was twice my size! When I was about to give up my host mom found a pair of khaki corduroy’s from J. Crew that fit perfectly, even in length. This was the winner! When I was reaching for my wallet my host mom and Cartuna quickly handed the shop keeper $10 Lari and told me this was their birthday present for me. I thought it was such a sweet gesture and I appreciated their effort to think about my birthday, especially since I had such a pity party for myself last night!
After changing into my new pants we went back to the cafe where we left the kids and finished eating, then they walked me to the Opera House to meet Jenni. I was so happy to be going to a ballet, especially Swan Lake! It brought back so many memories of my years in ballet, especially of my senior year in high school when my dance school performed Swan Lake and I was given a solo. I have to say, I really miss performing in front of an audience, and even though I was taking a ballet class in NYC it’s still not that same as being part of a dance team that performs. Maybe that’s something I should look into when I get back to NYC?!
I had the most delightful day! That is until I tried getting home by public transportation…
I have no idea what it is about me and public transportation in this city but I waited for just about an hour for bus number 46 to get home and it never showed up. Fortunately I stopped in the Marriott hotel on my way to the bus stop and picked up three Georgian newspapers (written and published for English speakers) so that was at least a good distraction while I was waiting. But then my fingers and toes began to ache because I was so cold and I was frustrated because I didn’t know of any other bus that I could take, except for number 33 and then switch to a Marshrutka (minibus) by the football stadium. Of course as luck would have it I let a number 33 pass me by when I first arrived to the bus stop and hadn’t seen another one since. I was so annoyed at this point and I would have taken a taxi (there were plenty of those) if I would of had the notebook that had my home address in it. This past week I finally found a new purse size notebook to replace the worn out one I had been carrying around for over a year. I looked for a new one in Ghana but never found one small enough to fit in my purse so I got creative and cut small pieces of recycled paper and stapled them into the back of the notebook. Ya, it was pretty bad to say the least!
So anyway, my home address was in this old notebook and I had forgotten to get my host mom to write it into the new notebook (it’s written in Georgian) and I had no idea how to tell a taxi driver where I lived. On top of that I forgot to bring the phone that my host parents let me borrow so I couldn’t even call them to have them tell a taxi driver where to go. I knew exactly how to get home, I just didn’t know how to communicate that to the driver. I finally decided I would walk to the end of Rustaveli Street where the Marshrutkas route ends and begins and take the number 41. When I finally reached this area there were no Marshrutkas to be found anywhere! It was after 10pm so my initial thought was that they must stop running early on the weekends but I couldn’t understand why. I was starting to run out of options on what to do but then I remembered I could walk to the bus stop across the street from the Philharmonic and pray that either a 46 or 33 bus would finally show up. I picked up my pace and hoped for the best.
About a block away from the bus stop a 33 passed me by and I began to run like I’ve never ran before. There was no way I was going to miss this bus and thank God I made it just in time! From the 33 I knew I needed to take a Marshrutka or bus 46 to get home and I was worried about both of these options. I hadn’t seen a Marshrutka since I left the Opera House and bus 46 seemed to be non-existent at this time. I took 33 as far as I could until it turned up a street in a direction I didn’t need to go and as soon as I got off a 46 passed me. Go figure!! I tried to flag down the bus but since it’s a city bus they only stop at designated stops, unlike Marshrutkas which will stop anywhere. At that point I lost it and broke down in tears. On top of freezing to death I was both hungry and tired, not to mention that I felt extremely hopeless.
I tried asking a few people if they spoke English but to no avail found no one. One lady who sat next to me on bus 33 kept talking to me in Georgian, then switched to Russian thinking I might understand her then. In English I kept telling her I didn’t speak either Georgian or Russian but she wouldn’t give up. She would stop talking for about thirty seconds and then start talking again. I appreciate her effort in trying to help but it was only making it worse! I haven’t mastered all of my Georgian phrases (which also happened to be written down in my old notebook; AKA “backpacker’s blackberry”!) and in my state of mind I couldn’t even attempt to conjure up “I don’t speak Georgian” in Georgian.
When I reached the next bus stop (where the 46 just left from) I had two options; 1) wait to see if a Marshrutka would finally appear, or 2) forget about public transportation altogether and just walk home. I wasn’t happy about either option but felt it would be better for me to just start walking home and if a Marshrutka happened to appear then I could hop on wherever I was at that time. I looked up at the sky and thought God must be trying to teach me something from this experience so I should suck it up and stop feeling sorry for myself. I began repeating “Tibet in training, Tibet in training!”, the phrase I use to calm myself down in what I find to be physically or emotionally difficult situations…this is because one of my long term goals is to go on a trek in Tibet. As I began my walk from the bus stop I happened to turn around and right before my eyes was a number 6 Marshrutka! Praise GOD! I ran back as fast as I could and climbed into the minibus with a huge smile on my face, and exactly two hours after I left the Opera House I was home. What an adventure!
At 12 o’clock today I attended a Press Conference at the Public Defender’s office with ICCN staff. The topic was “Freedom of Speech” within the media, where they addressed the problem of public news stations being controlled by the current government. This obviously goes against the ideas and principals of a true Democracy, which the Georgian people strive for their government to be, and this has been a concern for Georgians since November 7, 2007 when a peaceful rally in Tbilisi turned violent. Little news was distributed on what really happened that day, and the news station that attempted to broadcast footage was shut down and equipment destroyed. Then soon after the station director mysteriously died. There has been a lot of controversy since that incident and this Press Conference was in response to the one year anniversary of November 7th.
After the Conference I met up with Jenni (my American friend) and a few Georgians and we took a forty-five minute bus ride to Public School No. 40 which is a site for IDP families (internally displaced persons). When the war first broke out there were about a hundred families in this school, but now there are only thirteen remaining. These are families from South Ossetia who have no homes to go back to because they were completely destroyed during the war. We met in one family’s room and whoever else wanted to join us came over as well. We talked with them (of course I had someone translating for me), played UNO (which they love!), and just listened to their concerns.
We also engaged them in an activity of writing down or drawing the things they were most burdened about. We played music as they thought about these things and and put them down on paper. After about ten minutes we told them they could share what was on their heart if they felt led to do so. At that moment I looked around and noticed that three of the women were in tears. They began to share their fears, their grievances, and expressed their lack of hope from getting out of their current situation. All they had was gone and the government was slow at providing financial assistance or coming up with solutions for permanent housing. These people no longer have jobs to go back to either since businesses were destroyed, and new jobs are hard to find during these economic hard times. Most of the families also lived on farms so they were able to sustain themselves with their crops, but now they no longer have this option. After they were finished with this exercise they were each given an envelope to put their note or drawing inside, then on front of the envelope they wrote a verse from the Bible, Matthew 11:28, which says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” We encouraged them to continue adding any future concerns to this envelope, and when doing so that they remember God is always with them and they do not have carry such heavy burdens on their own. God is there to help them, even through the most difficult situations. I know it’s sometimes hard to see the face of God during such trying times, but for the most part these people still believe in a loving God. I was so touched when I heard that one of the ladies had requested a new Bible since hers was left behind during the evacuation from her village, and she wanted to continue studying and meditating on God’s Word because this gave her strength when hope was starting to fade.
This is still an operating school and only the second floor (out of four floors) is being used to house IDPs. These classrooms, which they call home, have small electric heaters which are also used to cook on, they have beds that are made from boards lined with mattress pads and propped up on chairs, and have clothes lines hanging in the corridors to dry their laundry.
We finished our visit around 5pm and from there I went with Jenni to eat lobio and apple cake, then we went to a few shops on Rustaveli Street, including an English Bookstore and a jewelry store where I bought a new silver chain for my cross pendant and shamrock medallion. My original chain somehow broke last week while I was sleeping. I never take this necklace off so it was probably more than ready to retire!
At 7pm I went with Jenni to her Georgian folk dance studio and stayed for a bit to watch the class before hers. By 7:30pm I was heading home and it hit me that it was my birthday. I was another year older but I felt I had lived enough life to equal at least two years! I thought I would be okay with just ignoring my birthday this year (especially since last year, my 30th, was such a disaster when I relied on others to plan my party), but the moment I was alone and not distracted with various things, I began to wish that I would have at least organized a small celebration. I ended up getting stuck on the bus because of a traffic accident, which made it even worse thinking that I was spending my birthday in traffic. I was looking around at everyone, wondering if it might be someone else’s birthday, and like me they were spending it alone on a bus. I was definitely beginning to feel sorry for myself and thought the least I could do is buy myself a bottle of wine and a piece of cake with a candle to blow out and make a wish. Unfortunately since it took me TWO hours to get home (because of this traffic accident and having to transfer to a different bus) the super market by my house was closed. I was completely bummed. I know it may seem a bit selfish considering my whole vision of [G3] is to give back, but at that moment I felt I had given so much of myself in the last 3 months that I just wished that part of this day could have been about me. Don’t get me wrong, I love planning and doing things for others (I consider it one of my gifts), but I have come to realize that my birthday is the one day that I wish someone else would plan something for me. Is just one day out of the entire year too much to ask! Okay, I suppose I should stop now before I express too many more emotions….
Today I spent the afternoon at the ICCN office (International Center on Conflict & Negotiation) meeting various staff members and hearing about their different research projects on Human Rights, Gender Equality, Domestic Violence, Minorities in Georgia, including religious minorities and IDPs (internally displaced persons). ICCN is a an independent, not-for-profit and non-partisan peace-making, research and training institution. The organization was founded in 1994 with financial support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and received organizational support from the Center for International Security and Arms Control of Stanford University. ICCN continues to be a leading NGO in the Caucasus and has experience in research and analysis, including regional security studies, sociological surveys and public opinion polling. They also “train trainers” in a number of fields, work with public diplomacy efforts across conflict zones, as well as participate in cross-border activities, peace campaigning and media & publishing activities.
While I was there I was asked by one of the directors if I would be interested in writing a religious and political article about America’s new President-Elect. Politics in Georgia are closely tied to the Church and she said that Georgians are intrigued with how such a powerful nation, the US, views religion in the realm of politics. Many Georgians feel that government should not be dictated by the religious views of a President or Parliament, and that government should be separate from religion. They have witnessed a lot of hypocrisy within the government; politicians claiming to be religious Christians, yet living in such a way that does not demonstrate the values of a Christian. I gladly accepted the offer to write this article, so right away the director and I began to brainstorm on questions in which she felt Georgians most wanted the answers to and then I sent an email to my entire gmail contact list hoping to get as many responses as possible. The four questions we came up with are:
1. From a religious perspective how do you view Obama?
2. Do you feel Americans have a clear understanding of Obama’s religious views, whether he is a Christian, Muslim or Atheist, and do you feel this is important for his role as the President of the United States?
3. Can you think of examples, either positive or negative, on how religion or religious decisions affected US & World Politics?
4. How do you think the rest of the world views an African-American President and what message do you think it sends?
It’s definitely going to be interesting to see all the various responses I get!
Today I assisted the Beteli Center kitchen staff with preparing the noon meal for IDPs, as well as the elderly who live in the Assisted Living wing. None of the ladies were able to speak English so they would grab my hand and take me where they needed me to be, then they would show me a visual example of what I needed to do. I started with shredding carrots, then moved to chopping onions until my eyes started watering so bad that I couldn’t even see clearly and was moved to peeling garlic! From garlic I went to slicing bread to then setting the tables. When I was finished with that one of the kitchen ladies took me to a small table in the kitchen and quickly served me soup and a chicken & rice dish (the same food that was being prepared for the people of the Beteli Center). At 12:30pm people began coming into the dining hall and as the kitchen staff filled bowls and plates with food I would serve the people. The elderly were particularly curious as to who I was and kept wanting to speak Russian to me! Unfortunately the only word I understand in Russian is “thank you”. They all wanted to hug and kiss on me which was very sweet. I felt like I had just inherited twenty or so new grandparents!
In the afternoon I met Jenni (my new American friend) at a Street Children’s Project in the center of Tbilisi. This program focuses on children who live on the streets of Tbilisi and beg for money. They are known in society as Gypsies and this lifestyle of living on the streets, begging for money has gone from one generation to the next. The program is trying to teach these children that there is another way of life and that they can break this generational cycle through education. They come Monday through Thursday, are served a hot meal, and participate in various activities that the staff prepares. They have dramas, singing, art projects, are taught both Georgian and English (they have their own dialect in which they speak to each other in) and our taught basic math skill. I had to laugh (although it shouldn’t be seen as funny) when I was told that singing and math were their best subjects because they sing songs on the streets to get money, and then they count and divide the money they receive amongst themselves.
The kids leave the project at 6pm so shortly after that Jenni, her Georgian friend Deanna and I made our way to the Orthodox Church, Sameba Cathedral. The original purpose for going was to buy a silver ring that I’ve been wanting, but when we got there the church was filled with hundreds of people and news cameras everywhere. What we didn’t realize was that the Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate (civil name Irakli George Gudushauri-Shiolashvili), was there for a special prayer service. He had just returned that afternoon from a heart surgery in Germany and Orthodox from all over came to pray for him. Although it was very crowded and a bit chaotic, I’m glad we happened to stumble upon this prayer service and now I can say that I’ve seen the Patriarch in person! Not that it’s impressive to anyone other than me (expect maybe the other Orthodox in this country who have never seen him) but I have to say it was pretty cool!
When we finally got to the gift shop area of the church I found the exact ring I wanted, but unfortunately not the exact size I needed. They were all too big but I figured since I was only paying $7 Lari (US$4.25) for the ring I could probably afford to pay to have it resized once I get back to the States. The ring has the Georgian cross in the center with inscriptions on both sides of the band that say something to the affect of “you have been saved by God’s mercy”. It’s an absolutely beautiful ring and I thought it would be a perfect souvenir from Georgia.
By 8pm I was heading to the Old City, Mtkheta, for dinner with my host family and other Georgian friends. They were welcoming an American guest, a registered family psychologist, who recently arrived and was planning to spend almost two weeks in Georgia giving seminars. As usual it was a typical Georgian feast…way too much food and more than enough wine to go around and around, and of course with multiple toasts! I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home!
My house mom put me in touch with a fellow American, Jenni, who is a staff member of YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and she invited me to dinner tonight at her staff leader’s house. It was nice meeting other Americans here in Georgia (although I seem to find them everywhere I go!). They made spaghetti and had all sorts of yummy desserts; chocolates, cake and ice cream! I don’t remember the last time I had spaghetti. It was absolutely delicious, so much so that I had to get seconds. Italian food seems to be hard to find here. There are tons of pastas in the local markets, but I can’t seem to find pasta sauce anywhere unless I go to Goodwill, the super expensive super market for foreigners (which I think is where the YWAM leader got her pasta sauce). I could always make it from scratch but the tomatoes in Georgia are going out of season now.
It unfortunately took me two hours, a Marshrutka (minibus), a public bus, a taxi and walking up a hill to get to the dinner tonight. I was indeed a little frustrated and in hind sight I wish I would have taken a taxi from the very beginning. I got turned around and ended up taking public transportation in a the opposite direction of where I needed to go. Needless to say I did take a taxi home and it only took me twenty minutes and $7 Lari (US $4.25). Can’t beat that!
Today I went to work with my host mom who is involved in a public school project which is a partnership between UNICEF and World Vision. This project is in six public schools (K-12) in Tbilisi and has set up a classroom for IDP children (internally displaced persons).
Once these students are finished with their regular classes they come to the World Vision classroom where they first get help with their homework and then break into groups by age to work on specific activities. Since there is a language barrier for me I focused on arts & crafts and games with the kids; doing art therapy, building clay models of various things, assembling puzzles, etc. A few of the older kids know a limited amount of English so it was fun for them to hear me talk and see how much they could understand, especially with my American accent!
Throughout the day other kids and teachers stopped by the classroom to check it out since they’ve heard so many positive things about it. I have to say it is one of the nicest classrooms in the entire school. This school, and many others from what I’ve seen, are in desperate need of repair and maintenance. Unfortunately the government just isn’t keen on allocating very much money towards education or educational facilities. But once World Vision was given a classroom in each of the six schools they repainted, installed new carpet, ordered curtains for the windows, bought all new furniture, an electric heater, and a stereo. They have also supplied all the IDP kids with school books, notebooks, games, art supplies, etc.
I have honestly been shocked to see what bad shape these schools are in, but then I remembered how a lot of places in the world don’t even have school buildings for children to go to, so at least the general population of Georgian children do have a place to go to for an education. The concrete stairs are falling apart, the wooden floors throughout the corridors are missing planks, paint is chipping off the walls, there is hardly any electricity in the common areas (especially corridors), there is no heat (it’s freezing everywhere in the school) and the toilets are latrines (holes in the ground that you have to hover over if you’re a woman). One good thing is that lunch is provided at no cost to the children, and when I joined the kids for lunch today it felt like I was going to someone’s home and not a school cafeteria. The food is cooked in large pots and poured into plastic bins, then the kitchen staff (and sometimes teachers) serve the kids and even give them seconds if they want more.
I really enjoyed my time with the World Vision IDP kids. They are all so grateful to have this program because the adjustment into a new school has been difficult. They are considered “village kids” and not “city kids” so they are looked at differently. World Vision has provided a “safe place” of retreat for them and they are able to form bonds with other IDP kids who are in the same situation. This is only a two month program so I’m not quite sure what will happen with these kids once it’s over, but hopefully by that time they will feel more comfortable and adjusted to their new environment. We can only pray that they will be.
This morning the British Ambassador hosted a WWI remembrance for British soldiers who died in the war. Various people spoke, including the Bishop from the Georgian Evangelical Church and current British soldiers. There was also signing and placement of wreaths next to the headstone, and all this was being filmed by four of Georgia’s National TV stations! I was a little confused at first because this “cemetery” is in someone’s backyard, but later I found out that the burial site was found years after the war when some documents were discovered describing where the British soldiers were buried. The British Council then asked the family who lived in the house if they could place a headstone in their backyard. How interesting is that?!
After the ceremony the Ambassador invited everyone to his residence for a small reception. I was thrilled to be able to go to something like this! As soon as we walked through the front gate there were Georgian police officers guarding the property, and when we entered the house we were greeted by one of the house staff directing us where to put our coats. We then went downstairs and were greeted by more staff who handed us either hot tea, coffee or juice and directed us to the Parlor where there was a nice spread of both British and Georgian cuisine. There were all types of British officials, businessmen and philanthropists at the reception and I felt so honored to be there!
Today I went to the Beteli Center’s Soup Kitchen Project in Gori where a staff of about six feed up to 100 IDPs (internally displaced persons) daily. Families from all over the devastated areas of Gori come here to eat a free meal, and for most this is the only food they receive all day.
After spending a few hours at the Soup Kitchen we headed to one of the devastated areas of Gori and talked with many of the villagers who stayed in the region, even after their homes were bombed. The stories they told were full of emotion and it was hard for me to hold back my tears. Generations and generations of families have lived in these homes and a hand full of these villagers refused to leave what they had worked so hard to build. Even now with their homes in shambles, they refuse to leave. They told us stories that were absolutely heart wrenching. Many of the young girls and women were raped and there was nothing the men could do to stop it. The villagers who decided to stay after their homes were bombed gathered in one location during the day, and at night they slept in trenches in fear of the Russians or South Ossetian criminals finding them. One villager said that they were more fearful of the South Ossetian criminals than they were of the Russians because the Russian soldiers were giving them food and cigarettes. The man who told us this chain smoked the entire time we spoke to him so obviously anyone providing cigarettes was someone not to be feared!
Before meeting with the villagers we stopped at a refugee housing site where they are currently building 158 single-family homes, each having two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. In total there are 5,000 refugee homes being built by the government with the help of foreign aid and grants from the World Bank. They assume that five people will live in each home, housing a total of 25,000 IDPs. This will only house about a quarter of the current IDPs which means that the remaining will have to continue living in school buildings or facilities provided by non-governmental organizations. I am still unclear on how these 5,000 families will be chosen for the government built houses but as soon as I find out I’ll let you know. I know a few of you have already seen my video of the site and have mentioned that it is rather interesting to see such amazing homes being built for these IDPs instead of the usual Red Cross tents, but I have to believe that the reason for this is the extreme cold weather here (they would probably freeze to death in tents) and because of the amount of foreign aid they have received. There were rumors of corruption (as with any government) that the relief money was not being put to use and so before a thorough investigation could take place they started building these houses. Go figure! Another reason I think these homes are being built with a more permanence is because for most of these IDPs this will be their permanent home since they have nothing left to go back to, nor the money to buy a new home. Their livelihoods, not just their homes, have been taken away from them.
