8 internally displaced families gifted new homes

Eight internally displaced families from Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions have received new apartments today in central Georgian town of Gori.

Sozar Subari, Georgia’s Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees, personally gave the keys to their new owners.

These families had been living in poor conditions in different public buildings in Gori for years. Some of them used to live in a kindergarten while others lived in an old hotel building and a social home meant for financially challenged families.

Subari said that now that these families have been given new homes, their old shelters will return to their primary function – the social house will accommodate those below the poverty line while the hotel will be handed to an investor.

Sozar Subari, Georgia’s Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, helps the families move in. Photo: Ministry's press office.

Later this year the construction of a new, eight-store building is planned to finish where 480 other internally displaced families will receive flats.

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.