”I lost my house in Sukhumi 25 years ago, then I fought in vain for a one-room apartment, but all the fights failed. Sometimes I think they’re not going to give me a place to live because of my age, they’re probably waiting for me to die. ”Ghuda Khufenia, an 85-year-old single pensioner and IDP from Abkhazia, talks about the problems he faced after the war in Abkhazia, far from Sokhumi in the city of Kutaisi.”

“We all remember the bloody summer of 1993, the memories we had when we left home. We knew we would not be able to return to our old way of life, but before we returned to our homeland, we hoped for a clean house and food. Unfortunately, as time went on, our hopes were disappointed. ” According to him, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees from Georgia in Kutaisi, in 1997, offered a temporary living space that did not meet the required living standards.

A single pensioner of 85, refugee from Abkhazia – Ghuda Khupenia – has faced and dealt with a lot of problems on his long journey from Sokhumi to Kutaisi. As he says, the Ministry offered him a short-term place to stay which didn’t meet the standards of normal housing:

“I, my niece, his wife and a small kid – us four all lived in a 1-bedroom apartment. This home has no sustainable roof, parts of it fall out when it’s windy, and when it rains the whole apartment gets wet. There’s no bathrooms so it’s very unsanitary ” As stated by Khupenia, he often wrote different statement to ask for a change of his and his family’s placement. However, that along with his many asks of financial help were merely met with unresolved promises. Despite all of his disappointment he is not planning on giving up any time soon;

“I was promised at least 10 times that I’s be the next on the waiting list. But that was never realized. Then I moved to my relatives’ for a few months because living in that apartment was worsening my health. Social agent came to check my place right then when I was not home. They took off my points – from 6 to 2. Sometimes I think, because of my age they are not even planning to provide a place for me any longer. Maybe they are waiting on my death.”

Who is a refugee? A person forced to leave behind his/her place of residence and move to, in case of our country, another territory of Georgia. Georgian refugees (or the refugees from any other background, for that matter) could have made the hard decision for several reasons, to wit: their or their family member’s life was in danger, there’s an “inside” conflict or basic human rights are abused constantly. Anyone who is eligible for the above-mentioned definition, can fall within the scope of the term “refugee”.

The government tries to lend that helping hand to the refugees. For example, they pay social support– Ever since the year 2014, each refugee has been taking 45 Laris. Also, in some specific cases, the government gives out pensions. Refugees use 50% off discount on public transportation. However, the most important thing for refugees is to have a home – they all try to get a home. This, I turn calls for another procedure. Ever since the year 2013, places of residence have been under privatization for the refugees. First they put refugees in census, then they see the living space, after that they grade these home with a 10 point system. The bigger the number for the house, the higher the owner’s name comes up on the waiting’s list.

According to the latest information after the Georgian-Russian War of August 2008, added 26000 people to the summed number.

As Ghuda says he found a man with an identical history. This woman is Eka Lagvilava, she lives in Poti, is over 80 years old, and is desperately waiting for her home. Promises are diverse here as well. “The story of dropping points is very similar to my case. Six points out of ten have been scored so far after the last check. ”

We contacted Eka Lagvilava, who confirmed the information and added that the social worker came to her after Eka’s health deteriorated. “All the neighbors knew how sick I was for the last 3 months, everyone was thinking, including me, that I would not be able to live for a long time. During that time, the girl from the social agency visited me. Two weeks later, I found out that I had lost four points.”

About  this issue, we tried to contact the social worker who had worked on the case, but she  did not answer our questions.

We talked to independent expert Lali Shengelia about Ghuda Khupenia’s problem. She said a similar problem plagues many IDPs. “There are 12,714 IDPs in Kutaisi without a house, consider that every second Mr. Ghuda has a similar problem. Here is a large bureaucratic circle that unfortunately defends itself by law. In the case of Mr. Ghuda, his transition has complicated the case. The ministry considered that it already had an alternative space and was hiding it. As the expert says, they appealed the decision of the commission. We take photos of the house, which clearly shows the state of the emergency. We also have letters from neighbors where it is written that Khufenia change houses from time to time. ” The house is damp, which has seriously damaged his health, so he is sometimes in Batumi with his nephew and sometimes in Zugdidi. ” After the statement, Ghuda’s scores were increased, but he is still at the bottom of the list. “I have known this case since the very first days. Mr. Ghuda’s condition is getting worse. We think that the case will be slowed down,” said Lali Shengelia, an independent expert and employee of the Sukhumi Foundation.

The First Secretary of the Minister of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia – Grigol Giorgadze – says that, he constantly cooperates with refugees and rest of Georgia’s population. He agrees, that there are still many unhappy and unsatisfied with their current or inexistent accommodation. However, as said by Giorgadze, him and his colleagues are actively working on betterment of the situation and solving this problem for good.”In 2010-2011, aiming betterment of refugees place of settlement in hazardous building in Batumi, Poti and Tskaltubo”

Problems of the refugees are not limited, the main question is, when will this problem be solved for good? No one can answer, however. 59% are still on the never-ending waiting list for a home.