When Vanati Secondary School officially re-opened on 20 September, Georgian and Russian peacekeepers brandished Kalashnikovs outside the school to protect children against Beslan-type events. A Russian BMP-1 armored infantry combat vehicle, stood ominously in the school yard. Local residents garnished the BMP with roses, symbolic not only of their hopes for peace but of the failed Rose Revolution, which the Georgian government had wished to witness in South Ossetia. As it turns out, families were not reassured by the military presence.

“Scared” was the only thing one Vanati student, aged 12, could say when asked how she felt about returning to school. “It’s all a big show!” “Tamriko Kristiashvili, a mother with two children studying at Tamarasheni Secondary School exclaimed on the first day of school. She felt the government was conducting an “official” school opening, in front of the media, in order to show both Ossetians and Georgians that the situation was under control. “There is no serious studying in this environment. How can they study?” Indeed, after the Vanati School was “officially” opened by the governor, a priest, and teachers, and gifts of textbooks had been passed out, teachers quietly announced to each class that the school would remain closed until the following Monday “to complete reconstruction”. Teachers reported that approximately half of the students had not shown up for the opening ceremony.

In Tamarasheni, no classes were held on the first day either. Moreover, Tamarasheni teachers and parents were confused about where classes would be held once they commenced. Parents did not want children to study in the secondary school, which stands on the front-line with Tskhinvali, is surrounded by trenches, and was heavily shelled throughout the conflict. Families reported that daily shooting could be heard around the school. Finally, teachers decided to conduct classes in the neighboring kindergarten, also damaged from the conflict, but better sheltered from Tskhinvali by houses and trees. All over Georgia the first day of school had been postponed to coincide with the 20 September start date set by President Saakashvili for Georgian schools in South Ossetia—schools normally open on 1 September. Consequently, the local government was under great pressure to meet this date.

A main concern on families’ minds is how to survive the coming winter. Many houses are windowless; others have damaged roofs or gaping holes in their walls. Some are unlivable or entirely destroyed. Because of the summer conflict, families were not able to tend to their fields and conserve for the winter. Many will have to rely on humanitarian aid deliveries, and their primary concern is that heating fuel is scarce. Families cannot go into the woods to cut down trees for the winter for fear of armed Ossetians attacking them, or stepping on landmines. Without heating, they don’t see how they can remain in their homes.

Despite government promises since mid-August that the reconstruction funds would “soon arrive”, Gela Zaziashvili, a deputy governor, explained that the money, amounting to approximately $215,000, was not transferred to the local budget until 28 September. At the same time, there appears to be pressure for Georgian families to stay in South Ossetia. Zaziashvili said “the government must be sure the families don’t use the money to buy houses elsewhere. If they leave these villages, Dmenisi villagers [from the local Ossetian village that allegedly shelled Vanati] will come to live here. These people must stay here to live.”

“We should do something so the children do not leave. If we go, the Ossetians will take over the place,” Julietta Khaduri, the Vanati school director, explained. The Tamarasheni school director, Liana Bortsuadze, remarked, “We will stay here to teach as long as there is one child coming.... We are here to keep the parents and children from leaving…. The children who studied here are now defending our villages. The students now studying here will be the next generation defending our villages.”

All villagers do not share his point of view. According to the deputy director of Tamarasheni Secondary School “Everyone who can is arranging to live elsewhere during the winter. Those who have second homes or can stay with relatives are doing so.” According to school records, Tamarasheni Secondary School had 148 students initially registered for the school year, but by the end of the first week of classes only 108 remained registered. (The director noted that this was highly unusual and that no student had left the school in the course of the previous school year.) Teachers worry that more students will move if their families do not receive reconstruction assistance soon.

There are rumors that students from the conflict zone attempting to enter schools outside of South Ossetia, for instance in Gori or Tbilisi, are being turned away. Parents are concerned that the government is trying to prevent families from evacuating South Ossetia. In Tamarasheni, school teachers pointed out one student who was rejected from school in Gori. Nobody could explain why.

Meanwhile, Rustavi 2, a major pro-government media station on September 20 reported that Schools Re-open in South Ossetian Conflict Zone: “Studies have begun in all the schools in the South Ossetian conflict zone. The Didi and Patara Liakvi valleys are at a full peace…. Vanati was the hottest spot a short time ago. During the hostilities the building of the school was damaged considerably, however today over 120 students entered the newly-refurbished school.” Clearly, the accusation that this is all “a big show” is plausible.