How can we help the inhabitants of South Ossetia and asylum seekers in North Ossetia?
On the conclusions of a trip to the RNO Alania and South Ossetia by representatives of Memorial Human Rights Centre’s “Migrants Rights” Network.
Visual report comprising shots made during the trip
Asylum seekers in Republic of North Ossetia-Alania.
The migrants arriving in RNO-Alania after the events of August 2008 can be divided into two categories – those who temporarily left the territory of South Ossetia and refugees from the interior regions of Georgia.
At the time of the August events there were 33 392 people registered in the first category, now there remain some 1043. These, for the most part, are old people and children. In the main, they settled in Pigorodny region, where they have relatives and friends. South Ossetians settled there before several times and the place is familiar to them. It is likely that they will soon return to South Ossetia. They all lived and live in the private sector, as the places of compact settlement (MKP) are occupied by people forcibly displaced from the central regions of Georgia in 1992.
The second category are refugees from the interior regions of Georgia. The Federal Migration Service of RNO-Alania is accepting applications for refugee status from both “old” and “new” asylum seekers from Georgia. The “New refugees”, as they call them, are leaving Georgia because of pressure from local inhabitants, fights and insults which some of them have experienced in recent times. No small part is played by fear that the situation will get worse. “Old” refugees are those who arrived long before the august events but who could not legalise their stay and receive status of forced migrants. Now they have firmly decided to never to return to Georgia. The Federal Migration Service gives out blue certificates to all applicants on the application being examined on merit. In order to speed up this work staff from other migration services in other regions have been sent to Vladikavkaz. From the beginning of August to 30 September 706 applications were accepted, 402 from people who arrived during and after the armed conflict, and 304 from those who arrived before the conflict. Of these 494 are ethnic Ossetians, 105 are Georgian – members of mixed families, 47 are Azerbajanis, 27 Armenians, 26 Russians, 3 Assyrians, one Yezidi and one Chuvash, Moldovan and Abkhaz. 331 people have Georgian passports, 29 USSR passports; 3 – South Ossetian passports, 201 are without documents. 52 applicants give the reason for applying for asylum refusal to serve in the Georgian army, 4 are deserters. A full table is attached.
Applicants for refugee status live in the private sector and do not apply for material help. More likely, they are not offered this, as it does not come under the responsibility of FMS.
The list of FMS interviews is full until mid-October. Applicants also need medical examinations, and this will require help from outside. There are as yet no final decisions on recognition or refusal of refugee status on applications submitted in this period. The result of many cases will depend on the political situation, and political orders from Moscow. But the position of the head of the Department of FMS for RNO-Alania Totraz Abubeevich Kornaev is this: “They all need to be legalised – there is nowhere for them to go”. This opinion is supported by the staff who believe that all the refugees have come to stay with relatives.
RNO Alania is literally suffocating from the number of refugees and forced migrants arriving on its territory for many years running, and their unsolved housing problems. Today in RNO-Alania there are 14 thousand officially registered forced migrants arriving from central Georgian regions in recent year. (At first they were given refugee status and after accepting Russian citizenship those of them who were not able to get established were given the status of forced migrants). According to the minister of Nationality issues Teimuraz Kasaev, there are another 10 thousand former refugees who did not receive status but who are also in need of housing. The Republic receives one state accommodation certificate for a family per year, - the waiting list will last for 4,5 thousand years.
This situation was discussed recently at the meeting between Dmitry Medvedev and Mansurov and Dmitry Kozak. On 16 July 2008 talks were held with the Chairman of the RF Government A.D. Zhukov, where the Ministry for the regions and the Ministry of Finance were given the task of solving the issue of accommodation issues for recognised forced migrants.
Next a letter came from the Russian government saying that there were not sufficient funds in the budget to help forced migrants. RNO-Alania is a subsidized republic, about 50% of its budget is made up of subsidies RNO-Alania will not be able to sort out this problem on its own.
The situation of those who are housed in the 54 places of compact settlement is highly unsatisfactory, the buildings are a fire hazard, and sanitary regulations are not observed.
Representatives of the authorities of RNO-Alania are discussing solutions to this problem by building housing for the forced migrants and refugees in South Ossetia. Òhere is land and refugees – peasants and wine-makers, would quickly find their feet on the land, cultivating grape vines. However the authorities in RNO-Alania understand that this will not be welcomed with joy by the South Ossetians where many inhabitants have been left without housing and who are waiting for housing to be built for them.
In order to solve the problems of refugees and forced migrants in RNO-Alania it is necessary to find funds for building or find suitable accommodation for them.
Refugees in RNO-Alania have other problems as well, but they could solve these themselves if they had a roof over their heads. There is a serious likelihood that all available funds will be directed to helping the inhabitants of South Ossetia and that obligations towards refugees and forced migrants will be forgotten.
Some short interviews with asylum seekers.
1. Kozunova Maro Vladiminorvna dob 1953; arrived from village of Agara Karelsky region of Georgia in RNO-A in 2000. Her husband died in 2003, she has a USSR passport, her son Vepkia Papuashivili is a Georgian citizen. Her husband was a Chuban and he arrived to work in Sunzhu. After his death she worked on a farm. Now she is afraid to return. She had medical insurance only until 2002.
2. Beteev Levan Anzorovich, arrived from Tbilisi to Ardon on 8 August 2008, there were permanent fights, insults towards him and his 21 year old sister former classmates persecuted them. It has now become intolerable. They left the flat and everything. The family is staying with relatives but feel uncomfortable living with others for so long – but they need a roof over their heads. Levan has begun working on a building site.
3. Djangobekova Nadia Yukimovna, dob, 1956 .ð., husband Dioev and two children 10 and 12 years old, arrived in Vladikavkaz from Tbilisi on 24 August. They left because of fear for their children who were suffering insults. The children now study in school in Georgian, later they will go to a Russian school. They have nothing, no school uniform.
4. Tibelashvili Gogiya Vasilevich, dob 1941, Tsiala Ilinoichna 1939 dob, their daughter Nazibrula dob 1978. Arrived in August from village of Osiauri Khashursky region where they were all born. The father worked on a farm, the daughter worked in a shop. They first arrived in Tskinvali and on 11 August to Vladikavkaz to relatives in the village of Lokomotiv. They lived well until 1991 when the father was badly beaten up.
The situation in South Ossetia.
The first surprising thing was that, in contrast with other “hotspots”, there is no tense, cautious attitude towards Russians. On the contrary, the inhabitants permanently expressed their kindness to us. The soldiers were calm and did not check our documents and the car at every opportunity. In the villages people rushed to hug and thank us for our help. Apart from that, there is a lack of the unbridled animosity between Ossetians and Georgians, many of whom are still in South Ossetia and not wishing to leave. Until August 2008 Ossetians freely travelled to Georgia. According to the people of South Ossetia, Ossetians could get medical treatment in Tblisi, and go to the seaside free of charge. Their relatives in Tiblisi put them on the lists for holidays. But, as one person said, “We went to the seaside, but weren’t bought off by this”. They continued to look towards Russia. Apart from this, Ossetians were accepted into Georgian universities as priority students. It was claimed, that if Ossetians were not found for the places then Georgians changed their surnames and studied in place of the Ossetians.
The legal system in South Ossetia is under-developed. It is being developed in a similar manner to Russian legislation. If a local law is missing then a Russian analogue is applied.
90% of people have RF passports; everyone tries to get Russian passports in order to move freely. Those with South Ossetian passports are not allowed to travel to RF. Only during the conflict were the borders open to everyone – as people threatened the border guards.
Since the August events the population of S.Ossetia sees its only help and support in Russia. However, the question of what role Russia itself had in creating just such a situation is beyond the scope of this article.
According to external estimates about 20-30% of the housing has been destroyed in Tskinvali. There are streets which are totally destroyed (Telman street) but there are also parts of the town which have almost been untouched.
According to a senior legal advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia Murat Kuzmich Dahinoev, about 500 homes were completely destroyed, and 400 badly damaged. The reconstruction of the town is progressing intensively and many schools have already re-opened. The authorities of south Ossetia set the task of “finding a roof for everyone before the frosts” (winter).
On 2 October Luzhkov arrived and founded the Moscow quarter. The Governor of Ulyansk Sergey Morozov promised to rebuild the schools and churches. But the accommodation is more important. There is not enough housing and the winter is approaching. Temporarily sending the children away is not being proposed, because, as Dzhinoev explains, “children need to be at home so the men defend the homes”.
In South Ossetia every inhabitant receives 1000 roubles help from the local authorities, pensioners receive up to 3000 roubles, and those whose homes were completely destroyed receive up to 50 000 roubles. The rest receive building materials. But obtaining the money and the building materials is not easy. First you write an application, then a commission visit, make a decision, and then you go to the mayor’s office and wait your turn. No one knows when this will be, so people just wait. There is a lot of humanitarian aid. Very good tents and food parcels came from the Russian Orthodox Church, warm clothing from the RF Emergency Aid Ministry. However, people noticed that these were badly distributed and also that they contained out of date products and poor quality products. This is not blamed on Russians. People say “They gave their lives for us”.
Dzhinoev thinks that for South Ossetia being recognised by Russia is more important than international recognition. For South Ossetia the important thing is not the legal situation but the transparency of relations with its brothers – with RNO-Alania. Dzhinoev says that Georgians living in Tsikinvali fought with the Osetians “there is no animosity between them”. In answer to the question of the possibility for Georgians to return to South Ossetia he says “South Ossetia is obliged by international law to allow people to return if they have not stained themselves”.
The question remains about the meaning of his words– is it a declaration or description of the official position on the real return of the Georgian population.
The Situation in places where Georgians live differs. Here are two examples.
The burned Georgian village - Nizhnee Avnevi.
Of 400 homes only 2 have remained whole, where mixed families live who stayed in the village. The Georgians left on 7 August, the houses were looted and burned by Ossetians on 11 August. Ossetian women from Verkhenego Avnevi (Ossetian settlement) guarded the two untouched houses. One of the local people, Anna, showed us the house of the remaining inhabitants of the village Zalina Bestaeva and Durmshikhan Sekturashvili. According to Anna and Zalina the village lived harmoniously until the war, they worked with the cattle together. Zalina and Durmshikhan have been married for 49 years – she is 66 and he is 68. They have two daughters, 8 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. One of their daughters is married to a Georgian, the other to an Ossetian. In 1992 their only son was shot by a former friend on the way home from the village of Khtagurovo. In the beginning of August Zalina and her daughter’s family went to Tbilisi. But she returned after a few days to her husband, as he refused to leave the house. In their house now they have no electricity, water or gas. The mobile phone works, which the old couple use to talk to their daughters and grand children. Their grandchildren miss their grandfather terribly. At the beginning of the conflict the Ossetians took him but a Russian soldier convinced them to let him go and gave him some tinned meat and a gas cooker, which Zalina still cooks on at the moment. Their daughter’s house was burnt down but they would be ready to come back if they are allowed to. They would first of all live with Zalina and then rebuild their home.
At present, the younger generations of Zalina and Durmshikhan’s family are attending nursery school in Tbilisi. There is no salary, nor promise of housing, but the young children have already gone back to school.
It is unlikely that this large family will be able to return in the near future. Around the village wander dodgy-looking looters – like alcoholics. They could pose a danger, especially for children.
As a farewell gift Zalina gave us a large packet of grapes. This was the most touching visit of our trip.
The second family was also a mixed family; the father was a Georgian and the wife an Ossetian. The head of the house – a farmer, self-respecting man, was in a deep depression. It was harder for him than for Zalina and her husband to survive recent events. Perhaps this is because Zalina and Durmshikhan deeply and sincerely believe in the next New World, where they will be reunited with their dead son, and they will all be happy again.
Village of Archneti – mixed population.
In the village there are 20 Georgian and 40 Ossetian families who live harmoniously and defend each other. Many of the inhabitants, including Ossetians, have Georgian passports. The Georgians were not given South Ossetian passports. As we entered the village a Georgian couple was selling string beans. In this and other villages where there was no conflict between Ossetians and Georgians, they do not like to talk to visitors. In 1991 the Georgians defended their Ossetians from Gamsakhurdi’s troops, and later their neighbours defended them. The same thing happened this August. The Georgians selling string beans said that they have Georgian passports because they were not given S.Ossetian passports. Their grown up children live in Georgia but they themselves want to live in their own village and are not planning to leave.
In total there are 14 mixed villages – 2 in Dzhavsky, (one – fully Georgian) and Tskinvalsky regions and 10 in Leninogrosky region. They were not touched.
About the same number of villages were burnt down.
Needs of the population.
Officials do not say much about the needs of the people. As a result, discussions on this theme with north and south Ossetian representatives of civil society allowed us to find out the kind of help that people and society needs.
Civil society is not well developed in S. Ossetia. Three state newspapers are published, and this is an exhaustive list of the current mass media. There are no civil structures able to defend the rights of the people.
The people we talked to asked for help in organising a Human Rights centre, and legal assistance for people to receive advice and support. They also said that it was important that an independent source of press was established.
An obvious need is the creation of employment and training of young people in, mainly, building professions. At present people from the Ministry of Emergency Aid, Special Building Company, Chechen and other firms) are working on the rebuilding while the local men sit without work.
Training in small business management, which we wanted to attract some inhabitants of South Ossetia to, is good for a small number of people. Whilst the legal vacuum continues, people do not need training in writing business plans but professions and materials to allow them to create and establish their own businesses: renovation of destroyed shops, cafes, and hairdressers.
It would be possible to organise sewing workshops, hairdressers, cafes. Men need to learn trades of plumbing and electrician. They need to be sent to the Russian Federation for training, and finances and living allowances are required for this.
It would be possible to establish small workshops, which, for example, produce doors and windows.
Assistance in establishing farms and building greenhouses is needed.
According to information received from officials 100 10-person tents will be needed with stoves and other equipment before the winter comes.
If Georgians begin, slowly, to return to their villages, then it will be very helpful if they get paid for rebuilding their own houses. In this case they will be able both to restore their own houses and support their families at the same time.
Legal consequences of RF acknowledging S. Ossetia and Abkhazia in relation to refugee status:
Accepting as a given the acknowledgment of Russia of South Ossetia and Abkhazia it is necessary to examine the legal situations of some of the inhabitants and citizens of Georgia who have immigrated to Russia.
1/refugees: Ossetians, Russians and others from internal regions of Georgia. etc): are unable to return for fear of persecution.
This category of people was described in the first section. The absolute majority of them are in RNO-Alania. According to the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the RF Law “In Refugees” those who left their homes because of the August 2008 events should be given refugee status as they are unable to return to their countries of origin for real fear of persecution on grounds of ethnicity.
2/ refugees – from interior regions of Georgia arriving before August conflict.
These people should be considered as “sur place” refugees (according to the 1951 Convention), meaning people who arrived in the country for various reasons but in connection with events are no longer able to return to their country of origin. This could be in relation not only to Ossetians, Russians and others, but also Georgians who have lived for many years in Russia who cannot return to Georgia for fear of discrimination and persecution.
3/ Georgians from S. Osetia and Abkhazia living in Russia and without Russian or Georgian citizenship. – After recognition by Russia of S.O and Abkhazia, Georgian cannot be considered as their country of origin, to which they cannot return to a part of. Their countries of origin are S. Osetia and Abkhazia. Eg. The case of an ethnic Georgian stateless person from Abkhazia must be examined in light of possible return to Abkhazia (not Georgia as a whole).
Therefore, when examining applications for asylum from ethnic Georgians from Abkhazia, Russian Federal Migration Services should only take into account the real possibility or impossibility of return to Abkhazia. The only possible conclusion is that such return is impossible.
4. Georgians from S.O and Abkhazia living for some time in Russia –
The applications for refugee status of these people should be examined with great care, taking into account that these citizens, on the whole, received citizenship in the Georgian embassy in Moscow. They never lived in the interior regions of Georgia and may fear persecution on arrival in their country of origin, which is now foreign to them.
It is also important to take into account that no forced migrant categories have housing in Georgia, they have weaker links with Georgia, and, conversely, stronger links with Russia.
Therefore, providing all the categories of forced migrants and refugees with legal status and then Russian citizenship would be a sensible way to avoid many years of problems of their legalisation and would be both in their interests and the interests of the Russian Government.
Svetlana Gannushkina
6 October 2008.