poverty

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Georgia

Outcry in Georgia after two brothers perish in Zugdidi fire

by OC Media

•3 min read

Six-year-old twins were killed in a fire in the western Georgian city of Zugdidi on Monday night, sparking controversy and a debate over poverty and adequate social care in the country. According to an eyewitness, brothers Giorgi Gabunia and Gabriel Gabunia cried for help from a balcony on the sixth floor of a residential building, but firefighters were unable to reach them in time to save their lives. Preliminary reports suggest that the fire may have been sparked by a candle in the rented

Aspara farmlands under snow. Photo: Mzisa Khmaladze/OC Media.

Feature Stories

The disappearing villages of Samtskhe-Javakheti

by Mzisa Khmaladze

•5 min read

In Georgia’s southern Samtskhe-Javakheti region, many once populous villages are facing rapid abandonment, with their former inhabitants driven to leave by harsh environmental conditions and government neglect. For many years, one family remained resilient in the village of Aspara, nestled on the western shores of Lake Paravani, Georgia’s largest lake. Long after their neighbours had left, the Ispiryans stayed firm in one of 20 houses that remained standing in the village, with the ruins of 6

You can buy a bust of Stalin for ₾40 ($14) on the Samgori second-hand market. Photo: Sofi Mdivnishvili/OC Media.

Economy

In pictures | Struggle in the open-air: Tbilisi’s Navtlughi Bazaar

by Volodymyr Soboliev

•3 min read

The open-air bazaars of Tbilisi began with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, as newly-independent Georgia experienced political and economic turmoil. Having lost their jobs and homes, newly-destitute citizens began selling their possessions as hyperinflation decimated pensions and savings. At the Navtlughi Bazaar in Samgori, different nationalities congregate with the same objectives. Georgians, Russians, Armenians and Azeris work side by side without regard for ethnic ori

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s soaring food prices

by Gulnur Kazimova

•4 min read

A recent increase in food prices has left many in Azerbaijan reeling. As debate around the causes and possible solutions to the problem continue, it is the most vulnerable who are paying the biggest cost. ‘Everything increases in price while the salaries stay the same’, says Sahib Mammadov, a shopkeep from Ganja. Sahib earns ₼380 ($220) per month, and a recent spike in food prices means that, he, like thousands of his compatriots, has found his budgets stretched to the limit. ‘At the beg

Georgia

Teenage boy takes own life in Tbilisi following ‘psychological abuse’ by police

by OC Media

•5 min read

A 15-year old boy has died in hospital in Tbilisi after attempting to take his own life a week ago. Luka Siradze took his own life hours after being interrogated by police; two officers have so far been suspended and an investigation is underway. The teenager’s story shook Tbilisi after local rights group the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) claimed the boy attempted to take his own life in Tbilisi’s Dighomi District on 11 December after being subjected to ‘psychological abuse’ by

Abkhazia

200 IDP families occupy buildings in Tbilisi demanding housing

by OC Media

•3 min read

Over 200 families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Abkhazia and South Ossetia have occupied the flats of a private construction company in Tbilisi, refusing to move until the government provides them with housing. A number of neighbours protested against the IDPs, claiming they felt unsafe. The flats that IDP families have taken over in the Dirsi Residential Complex are set to be bought by the Ministry of IDPs as part of an IDP resettlement programme, ‘as soon as repair work is f

Georgia

In pictures | Tbilisi’s night bus — a shelter on wheels

by Tamuna Chkareuli

•2 min read

Two years ago, Tbilisi’s only night bus was introduced to connect the city centre with the airport. Now, it serves as overnight accommodation for the homeless. In February 2017, the Route 37 bus going between Tbilisi’s central Station Square to the airport started running 24/7. The traditional small yellow buses were switched to the larger, modern blue models complete with heating. The initiative was implemented by Tbilisi City Hall for tourists and locals not wishing to spend money on a