Reporters file scores of reports after taking part in IWPR-organised visit to war-damaged villages.
By IWPR staff (17-Sep-09)
IWPR's Tbilisi office took 64 journalists from Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan to see areas damaged by the 2008 Russia-Georgian war, resulting in more than 80 reports in the three countries' newspapers, television and radio.
In July and August, the journalists visited 12 villages outside South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two breakaway regions that Russia recognised as independent after the war. They met more than 50 officials and aid workers, as well as refugees from South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
"When we were entering the war-damaged villages, dozens of people came to meet us. They told us stories that have not been covered in the press. I am very grateful to IWPR that we had an opportunity to go into the conflict zones," said Anna Tutberidze, a journalist from Interpressnews news agency.
"The national broadcaster is focused on the Gori district only. During the mission I found out that the district of Kareli was also harmed. We visited villages damaged by the war. The population of these villages did not receive any humanitarian aid as the place is not identified as a conflict zone.
"From what I saw the main obstacle is an information vacuum between local government and the people. Most refugees are unaware of their rights."
Within the framework of the mission, the journalists visited two villages in the Gori district that were badly damaged in the war together with several refugee settlements in Kareli.
The Georgian government does not recognise the new borders, and because of this, the people living in these villages have been left without attention and humanitarian aid.
"The population in these villages lives in constant danger," said Irakli Lagvilava, a journalist from the Samegrelo region.
Giorgi Avaliani, deputy governor of the Shida Kartli region, prepared a special report for the mission's journalists explaining the projects implemented by the local government to rehabilitate the region.
"The mission organised by IWPR gave an opportunity for journalists to visit the region and provide unbiased coverage of the crucial issues," he said.
Next stop was Ergneti which was also badly damaged. The journalists saw bombed houses and interviewed the local population.
"I knew that Ergneti was severely bombed but to see it with own eyes was a shocking experience," said Leyla Suleymanova from Azerbaijan.
Many of the people still living there told the journalists that they had received compensation from the government and the Danish Refugee Council but were still struggling. The Georgian government paid each house owner 15,000 US dollars but the majority said that it was not enough to rebuild their destroyed houses.
They said they still experienced shooting from the South Ossetian militia and that life in Ergneti had worsened severely since the war.
"Everything has stopped working here. We don't have any electricity or water. Our houses are totally damaged. What can we do?" one old woman asked the journalists.
Ergneti is only four kilometres from Tskhinvali, the administrative centre of South Ossetia. The village was home to around 150 families before the war. More than 100 houses were gutted by the fighting, and all of them were looted. Only 23 families have returned to the village.
"It was a horrific experience to see Ergneti. It is very important that we don't forget about the people living in war zones," said Vahan Ishkhanian from Armenia who visited the Shida Kartli region at the end of July.
"I think that we as journalists have an obligation to visit areas like this and write about it."
On August 13, the journalists managed to enter Perevi, a Georgian village in the Sachkhere District that has been controlled by Russian and Ossetian forces since last August.
This was the first time since the conflict that a group of journalists has been permitted to enter the village, which has been off-limits to anyone but its residents and subject to a 9 pm curfew imposed by the Russian army.
Before the war, Perevi and several neighbouring villages were controlled by Tbilisi, but in the aftermath of the fighting the line of control moved several kilometres deeper into Georgia proper.
Georgian media outlets sometimes report from Perevi, but are reduced to interviewing local residents down the phone, which is not enough to create a clear picture of the situation in the village.
"Until now, I've received information about the Perevi village from national broadcasters. The IWPR mission has given me a chance not only to approach the village's borders, but also to enter it and talk to the people who live there," Tutberidze said.
"I guess I am lucky to have been able to do so, since precious few possess a real picture of the situation in the territories lost as a result of the war."
Giorgi Siradze of the Guria News newspaper said, "I got a series of exclusive stories in Perevi. Meeting with these people, who are not allowed to move freely about their home village, talking to them was very interesting."
The trip was not without tensions, but went smoothly.
"I must confess that I was scared when the Russian and Ossetian militaries stopped us to check our documents, though I knew all steps had been taken to ensure our security. I was scared, but not for a single second have I regretted going to Perevi, where I collected information I couldn't have ever learnt from any news outlet," said Lasha Zarginava, a journalist from Poti.
On July 14-15, IWPR took the journalists to the villages of Khurcha, Pakhulani and Ganmukhuri, which all lie near the de facto border between Georgia and Abkhazia.
Much of Abkhazia's border with Georgia is made up of the Inguri river, but these three villages are situated right at the mouth of the river, where the border veers away from the bank. They have no natural barrier between them and the breakaway state.
They are still considered to be part of Georgia, and there are Georgian checkpoints in each of them. But despite the presence of the Georgian military in the villages, Abkhaz militiamen are known to be frequent visitors there.
"Almost every day national broadcasters report robberies, killings and acts of arson in Khurcha, Pakhulani or Ganmukhuri. When there, I was surprised to see no houses burnt down and hear the locals say that no acts of brigandage had taken place there since the August war," said Lado Bichashvili, from the television and radio company Trialeti.
"But there, like everywhere else in the border area, people cannot help feeling tense. Further development of the situation remains difficult to predict, and we did not see anything intended to protect civilians in the whole region."
Paata Gotsiridze from the TV company Sakartvelo echoed his words.
"If a new armed conflict broke out, the locals would have no one to rely on for ensuring their safety except for themselves," he said.
In Ganmukhuri, the journalists visited the so-called Camp of Patriots, a camp built by the Georgian government for young people to enjoy themselves by the seaside, which has been repaired after being burned to the ground during the August war.
"I liked the rehabilitated camp, as well as Ganmukhuri's new modern beach very much," said journalist Tamar Shonia from Zugdidi. "Just like before the war, there are crowds of people having fun there. But, there is no one there to ensure the safety of the holidaymakers."
During the mission, the journalists met with Zaza Gorozia, governor of the Samegrelo-Zemom Svaneti Region.
"Up to 15 journalists from Georgia's different regions took part in the meeting, which is a fact I set great store by," said the governor afterwards. "When we speak, it is mostly to national broadcasters, and rarely do we a have chance to communicate with regional journalists."
The missions were organised as part of a project supported by the British Foreign Office and the European Commission.
