IDP self-immolates in Tbilisi ‘over housing conditions’

IDP self-immolates in Tbilisi 'over housing conditions'

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An internally displaced person (IDP) from Abkhazia set himself on fire on Monday, reportedly after the government failed to provide him with adequate housing.

Footage of the incident, which has since been removed, was published on Facebook.

The incident reportedly took place in front of the IDP Agency.

Giga Benia, a journalist for BM.ge, told OC Media that the man remains in hospital with burns on 65% of his body.

‘He was asking for an apartment. He went to the [IDP] Agency and as far as I know, they refused him again, then he started swearing and poured gasoline on himself’, Benia said.

The IDP Agency has not issued an official statement on the incident, and did not respond to a request for comment.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs told OC Media that they had launched an investigation into the incident.

Lana Galdava, a member of the opposition Strong Georgia party, wrote on Facebook that the self-immolation was, according to information she had received, ‘preceded by a loud argument’. She also noted that the man appeared to be ‘middle aged’.

‘We know that the victim has been hospitalised with severe burns’, she posted.

This is not the first time that IDPs have resorted to radical means to demand housing.

In January 2022, Zurab Chichoshvili, an IDP from Abkhazia in his early 50s, reportedly jumped from the roof of a former sanatorium housing IDPs, dying instantly. The incident occurred amidst demands from him and other residents of the building for alternative housing.

Neighbours claim IDP jumped to his death over ‘unlivable’ housing in Tbilisi

Neighbours of a man who allegedly jumped from the roof of the building in which he resided have condemned what they labelled government spin over his death, accusing them of disrespecting him. Zurab Chichoshvili, an internally displaced person (IDP) in his early 50s, fell from the roof of a former…

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That year, Transparency International – Georgia, citing the Ministry for IDPs, reported that around 286,000 IDPs live in the country after being displaced by the conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, predominantly during the early 1990s and in 2008. The report also noted that the state had provided housing for only up to 50,000 displaced families.

The government has repeatedly come under fire for its failure to ensure adequate housing for IDPs dispersed throughout the territory under Georgia’s control.

Over the three decades since the first IDPs fled their homes, forms of dissent have included street rallies, threats to move back to Abkhazia and South Ossetia in protest, hunger strikes, and additional attempts at self-immolation.

Video | No Place to Live — IDPs in Georgia

After almost three decades since the war in Abkhazia, thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are still waiting for the government to provide them with homes. Why are they are still waiting?

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For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.