West Georgia shelters about 180,000 displaced persons from Abkhazia, one of the Georgia’s richest regions that faced tremendous violence when it claimed independence in 1993. During the violent conflicts, around 40,000 persons fled from their homeland twice – first in 1993 and then again in May 1998. These internally displaced persons are destitute. These Abkhazians are not defined as refugees because they remain in their country of origin—Georgia. The majority of displaced Abkhazians reside in Zugdidi district, an area that borders on Abkhazia. They number about 120,000 persons in the Zugdidi district that itself has a population of 135,000 residents, meaning that there are as many displaced Abhazians as there are local residents there.

During the last eight years of the humanitarian emergency, almost all international organizations based in Georgia have focused their assistance on Zugdidi, the most densely populated district of displaced Abkhazians. Displaced and local people in Zugdidi enjoyed the greater part of this assistance and, consequently, have become the beneficiaries of development programs. In contrast, the displaced Abkhazians and local population in Samegrelo, West Georgia, have received a remarkably low percentage of Abkhazian assistance allocated for all of Georgia. For example, the residents of "Military Town," a former Soviet military base in the Senaki region, located only 45 kilometers from Zugdidi and sheltering approximately 3,000 displaced Abkhazians on only 90 hectares of land, has only benefited from small scale programs from a couple of aid agencies. The situation is similar in Khobi, Abasha, Martvili and other parts of Samegrelo.

It was only in 1999 that several international organizations started region-wide programs targeting the whole Samegrelo region. Apart from bringing assistance, these programs aim to reestablish broken economic links while maintaining the development balance between the various parts of the region. Displaced Abkhazians and other vulnerable groups have better chances of economic survival in Zugdidi than in other districts because the psychological conditions of displaced Abkhazians is better there. Displaced Abkhazians in rural areas are more independent, as they are involved in agriculture and able to feed themselves. Displaced Abkhazians in humanitarian relief camps are more sensitive to post-conflict stress, as they’re isolated and unable to integrate with local communities.

The majority of displaced Abkhazians dream of returning home and are psychologically depressed. Only a small percentage of them focus on resolving their employment problems and improving their living conditions. In order to avoid similar problems in the future, humanitarian aid agencies must first consider local needs and experiences of the various regions and avoid overlapping their activities. To ensure an equal distribution of assistance to targeted communities, they must do better advanced planning. They must pay more attention to those displaced Abkhazians in humanitarian relief camps and focus on integrating these individuals and families into the private sector.

Khatuna Murghulia is Editor-in-Chief of the Public Interest Protection League in Zugdidi, Georgia.