Conflict in Georgia leaves thousands of children displaced and vulnerable
Tbilisi, Georgia, 21 August 2008 – Children of different ages played in the yard of a Tbilisi kindergarten. More than 24 hours had passed since they left the conflict zone around South Ossetia, and some of them were still afraid to enter the building. Giorgi Djebisashvili, 4, was being baptized in church of the city of Gori when bombs fell nearby. When the christening finished and the father came outside with both of his children, fire surrounded the church and the air was filled with the sound of explosions. “We wanted our mother to be with us,” recalled Giorgi’s older sister, Nino. “Father rapidly pushed us towards the car and we moved off. From then I do not remember anything.” ‘Like a miracle to me’ The mother of the two children, Zinaida Djebisashvili, was at home in Medvriskhevi village watching the news on TV and waiting for her family to arrive. The newscast said Gori was under fire and the church, located near a military base, had been bombed. “I came out and started screaming and calling out to the neighbors to help me. I was almost sure that I would never see my husband and children alive,” Ms. Djebisashvili said with tears in her eyes. “Soon my husband’s car appeared, and that was like a miracle to me. Then military helicopters appeared above our village and shelling began in our place too. So we fled to Tbilisi.” The Djebisashvili family settled into a temporary shelter set up at a kindergarten in the Ponichala district of Tbilisi.
Flash appeal for the displaced Nearly 160,000 people, many of them children and women, have been displaced as a result of the recent conflict in and around South Ossetia, Georgia. Many others have been killed and wounded. UNICEF is still very concerned over lack of humanitarian access to affected areas. The organization has launched a flash appeal for $6.5 million to aid displaced children and families. In Georgia, most of the estimated 128,600 displaced have been accommodated in 170 temporary facilities such as kindergartens, schools, and public and government buildings. However, many lack toilets, potable water and electricity. UNICEF has distributed nutritional and hygiene supplies and water-purification tablets to more than 4,000 people in the troubled region. In addition, UNICEF is planning to airlift School-in-a-Box and recreation kits, basic family kits, and water and sanitation materials for approximately 6,000 families. In the Russian Federation, another 30,000 people – 80 per cent of them women and children – have crossed the border into North Ossetia and other regions. The Russian Emergency Response Ministry, EMERCOM, has been supporting the emergency needs of the displaced in 56 centres.
Crisis response Related links Displaced mothers and children get help at UNICEF-supported breastfeeding centre Two families face the future – in Tbilisi, Georgia, and North Ossetia, Russian Federation UNICEF to Spend $1.45 Million Assisting Displaced People from South Ossetia, Georgia Nearly 40,000 children in need of urgent assistance in Georgia Children affected by conflict are in need of psychosocial assistance in North Ossetia Conflict in Georgia leaves thousands of children displaced and vulnerable UNICEF, WFP deliver water, food and hygiene kits to residents of conflicted affected town in Georgia UNICEF responds to immediate needs of displaced children and women in Georgia Concern for thousands of children and women in need in Georgia and Russia |
