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| Section The ICRC in Georgia
©ICRC/J. Barry
The tracing services of the ICRC provide a lifeline for relatives separated by conflict, even though restoring contact and tracing the missing can take time.
In August 2008 Georgian troops and Russian forces clashed for five days in South Ossetia (between Gori and Tskhinvali). Most of the tens of thousands of people displaced by the fighting have since returned to their places of origin. However, thousands who cannot return remain in settlements for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The ICRC, which has worked in Georgia since 1992, provides civilians affected by the 2008 hostilities and previous conflicts with emergency relief and support to regain self-sufficiency. It has helped the authorities to renovate collective centres for IDPs and to ensure access to water and electricity for vulnerable people in conflict-prone areas. In some areas, civilians are still at risk from unexploded munitions, which prevent them from resuming agricultural activities. The ICRC conducts information campaigns to reduce the risk, and supports physical rehabilitation services in Abkhazia and other areas of Georgia. The ICRC helps the Georgian, Abkhaz and South Ossetian administrations to shed light on the fate of people who went missing as a result of armed conflicts. The organization regularly visits prisons countrywide to monitor the treatment and conditions of detainees, and supports the authorities’ efforts to curb the spread of tuberculosis in prisons. The ICRC works to help the authorities to integrate international humanitarian law into national legislation and to have it put on the training agenda for the military and in schools and universities. It also assists the Georgian Red Cross in strengthening its legal base, managing ICRC-supported programmes and improving its emergency response capacities. Presence (2009): 141 staff members, including 24 expatriates Our world. Your move. in Georgia
Winter clothes bring warmth and colour to children’s day
Campaign page on icrc.org
Campaign portal: ourworld-yourmove.org
The year 2009 has great significance for the ICRC and the entire Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement: it marks the 150th anniversary of the battle of Solferino and the 60th anniversary of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. In observance of these anniversaries, the Movement has launched a campaign, Our world. Your move, to remind everyone of his or her individual responsibility to lessen human suffering.
Georgia is one of the countries being highlighted as part of the campaign. Following the armed conflict with Russia in 2008, many displaced and isolated families remain in need of help.  Key document10-8-2009 ICRC survey on the impact of armed conflict on civilians: views from GeorgiaTo raise awareness of the impact of armed conflict or other situations of armed violence on civilians, the ICRC has launched a vast research programme in eight of the most troubled countries in the world. These reports present the results of the survey in Georgia. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Report Includes PDF 6-8-2009 Georgia/South Ossetia: life on both sides of the administrative boundary lineOn both sides of the boundary, in South Ossetia as in Georgia, the battles that took place in the summer of 2008 left indelible scars. The enduring aftermath of the conflict is revealed by an elderly couple, cut off from their children and grandchildren, who now live 'on the other side' and a young widow determined to secure the future of her son. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Feature Includes Photo 6-8-2009 Georgia/South Ossetia: people forced to cope with lasting upheavalA year after Georgian and Russian forces clashed in Southern Caucasus, most of the tens of thousands of people forced to leave their homes have returned. Pascale Meige Wagner is ICRC's head of operations for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. As she explains, the fighting of summer 2008 continues to have a major impact on the people of the region. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Interview Includes Photo 6-8-2009 Georgia/South Ossetia: the long road to normalizationOne year after hostilities broke out between Georgia and Russia, the ICRC is focusing its humanitarian efforts on helping people regain secure and stable income and bringing aid to those who need it most. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Operational update Event2-7-2009 Our world. Your move. Events in Georgia.(The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Event Includes Photo Feature4-5-2009 South Ossetia: winter clothes bring warmth and colour to children’s day Since the conflict of August 2008, the ICRC has built up its presence in Georgia and South Ossetia in order to help people still suffering the consequences of the conflict. Sometimes, it’s as simple as delivering warm clothes to a school. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Feature Includes Photo 5-1-2009 Georgia: victims of conflict hope for a brighter year aheadAs Orthodox Christmas approaches in Central and Eastern Europe, many displaced and isolated families affected by the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia five months ago remain in need of help. For elderly people, like 60-year-old Nunu Doliashvili, the holiday season would have been very bleak indeed, were it not for some much-needed assistance from ICRC. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Feature Includes Photo 15-10-2008 Georgia: you can't put hope in a boxKakha Khasaia's career with the Red Cross spans 16 years during which he has done practically every job, from guard to head of office. Jessica Barry caught up with him at his base in Zugdidi. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Feature Includes Photo 7-10-2008 Georgia: 200,000 meals cooked in under three weeks.Thousands of displaced people in Gori cannot meet their basic needs. Even preparing meals has become a challenge to them. The Italian Red Cross offers them a lifeline. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Feature Includes Photo 1-10-2008 Georgia: the elderly hard-hit by conflictWhen conflict in Georgia drove thousands of people from their homes, those too old and weak to flee stayed behind, often isolated. Zoé Brabant, a member of the ICRC mobile health team that went into Gori to assist them, shares her experience. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Feature 26-9-2008 Georgia: portraits from TbilisiThe elderly are amongst the greatest casualties of the recent war in Georgia and South Ossetia, particularly because of the manner in which it has changed their lives irrevocably. The ICRC’s Jessica Barry has been talking to some of them. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Feature Includes Photo 24-9-2008 Georgia: portrait from ZugdidiMany people who fled conflict in Abkhazia in 1992-3 remain displaced in Western Georgia and are now being joined by families made homeless by the recent fighting. A visiting ICRC team, including Jessica Barry, has been checking on their wellbeing. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Feature Includes Photo 10-9-2008 Georgia: ICRC mobile clinic helps villagers with chronic diseases For people cut off from health services in remote villages affected by the conflict in Georgia and South Ossetia, the mobile clinic run by the Norwegian Red Cross and ICRC is a lifeline in more ways than one. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Feature 25-8-2008 Georgia: out in the villages life continues, but nothing is the sameMost able-bodied people having fled to safety, the elderly and infirm in isolated villages are left to fend for themselves. The ICRC is bringing them relief and helping those who have lost contact with family members restore it. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Feature Includes Photo Operational update20-3-2009 Western /Central Georgia and South Ossetia: helping the most vulnerableSix months after the end of hostilities between Georgia and Russia, the humanitarian situation for most of the affected populations has improved, although chronic problems remain. (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Operational update Includes Photo Photo Collection6-8-2009 Georgia/South Ossetia: the long road to recovery Nearly a year after the hostilities broke out, most internally displaced people have returned home. However, they remain vulnerable, in need of food and other essentials. A selection of photos taken as part of the Our world. Your move campaign by well-known VII photographer Antonin Kratochvil. (Info resources\Photos\Eastern Europe and Central Asia) Photo Collection Includes Photo 26-8-2008 Georgia/Russian Federation conflict: a selection of photos - 2 The following selection of photographs can be downloaded at high resolution. (Info resources\Photos\Eastern Europe and Central Asia) Photo Collection Includes Photo 19-8-2008 Georgia/Russian Federation conflict: a selection of photos - 1 The following selection of photographs can be downloaded at high resolution. (Info resources\Photos\Eastern Europe and Central Asia) Photo Collection Includes Photo Press article23-12-2008 Helping in Georgia The recent conflict in Georgia triggered a swift and steady humanitarian response from the Movement. These brief accounts from ICRC Tbilisi and Tskhinvali staff illustrate the early stages of assistance to the victims of the conflict. Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 3, 2008 (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Press article 30-4-2007 Georgia : A tale of three womenSince Georgia gained independence in 1991, thousands of families have been uprooted and torn apart by the tensions caused by the secessionist aspirations of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The stories of three women poignantly attest to the suffering these people have endured - Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 1, 2007 (The ICRC worldwide\Eastern Europe and Central Asia\Georgia) Press article Video Collection8-8-2009 “Tskhinvali? How do you pronounce that?” A comic-book report on South Ossetia, by Chappatte.Following a report on Lebanon as part of the “Our world. Your move.” campaign, cartoonist Chappatte visited South Ossetia last June. He portrays everyday life in the region a year after the fighting of summer 2008, the effects of which are still very much present. The report was published in Swiss daily Le Temps on 8 August 2009. (Info resources\Video) Video Collection 21-8-2008 Georgia: ICRC gets help to people caught up in conflictIn the first days of the emergency, hundreds of tonnes of food, blankets and sanitary supplies were flown into the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. During his 3 day visit to Georgia and the Russian Federation, ICRC President Jacob Kellenberger saw the difficult conditions for himself, and met some of the thousands of people displaced by fighting and in urgent need of assistance. (Info resources\Video) Video Collection Includes Video |
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