Gov’t gifts homes to 389 internally displaced families

The Georgian Government has gifted new homes to 389 internally displaced families from Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions.

Half of the gifted apartment and houses are in the capital of Tbilisi while the rest are in different cities and towns across Georgia, including Borjomi in the country’s central area, Poti and Zugdidi in the west of Georgia and Akhaltsikhe in southern Georgia.

"What’s more important, the process [of gifting homes to more families] is continuing”, said Sozar Subari, Georgia’s Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees.

He added almost 15,000 internally displaced families were gifted homes during the past three years.

These families had been living in poor conditions in different public buildings in Tbilisi and elsewhere for years.

Statistics showed there were up to 206,600 internally displaced persons (IDP) registered in Georgia by the end of 2013. These people came from either Tskhinvali region / South Ossetia or from Abkhazia, two Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions.

One of the main issues facing Georgian IDPs is access to adequate housing.