IDPs, Kutaisi, Imereti Region, Georgia
IDP Collective Centre, Kutaisi, Imereti Region, Republic of Georgia © Onnik Krikorian / NKTA 2007
As part of the work shot for the Newport Kutaisi Association it only seemed natural to visit two collective centers inhabited by ethnic Georgians displaced during fighting in Abkhazia in the early 1990s for background contextual shots to illustrate the social situation in Georgia’s second largest city. Having shot a lot of work on IDPs and refugees in Armenia, it was interesting to do something similar in Georgia, and not least because the Urban Institute is operating a voucher system modeled after one implemented in Armenia’s second largest city, Gyumri.
Based on the highly successful USAID Armenia Housing Purchase Voucher Program implemented by the Urban Institute from 2000- 2005 for households displaced from the 1988 Earthquake, The U.S. Department of State BPRM awarded a Cooperative Agreement to UI to pilot a similar voucher program to provide permanent shelter to families displaced from the civil conflicts in Georgia in the early 1990’s. Kutaisi, Georgia’s second largest city, was selected as the venue because of its high concentration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia. The pilot is testing the concept in the local context and demonstrating the approach to all stakeholders, including the Government of Georgia and the donor community, to inform a broader national housing strategy and to garner support for a potential roll-out of a larger program.
According to Andy Golda, Head of the IDP Housing Voucher Pilot Project, there are 4,000 IDP families in Kutaisi mainly living in collective centers such as kindergartens, hotels and other abandoned or partly-used buildings. A few of the portraits of children from IDP families are above and below.
IDP Collective Centres, Kutaisi, Imereti Region, Republic of Georgia © Onnik Krikorian / NKTA 2007
THESE PHOTOS ARE POIGNANT AND FOR ME AND AWAKEN ALL THE FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS I EXPERIENCE WHEN I VISITED TBLISI AND KUTAISI WITH EVERYCHILD.
YOU HAVE CAPTURED EVERYTHING IN THESE IMAGES - HOW BEAUTIFUL THESE CHILDREN ARE AND HOW THEY NEED OUR HELP.
THANK YOU SO MUCH ONNICK
SONIA
Comment by SONIA FISHER — March 14, 2007 @ 10:52 pm
Nice photos…
Comment by Garo — March 15, 2007 @ 4:24 am
You’re back to b/w?
Comment by IDontHaveAGun — March 15, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Well, for this work, yes. The organization the pics are for requested it, in fact, which really made me happy coz I love b/w.
Actually, would love to shoot the election period in b/w, but I think the general audience wants colour.
Anyway, this work nearly wasn’t in b/w thanks to the absence of fresh film in Yerevan and Tbilisi, but Garo over at Notes from Hairenik saved the day.
Thanks again, Garo.
Comment by Onnik — March 15, 2007 @ 11:36 pm
Newport Kutaisi Association’s grateful thanks to Garo too. Am a B/W enthusiast too. These are iconic pics and deserve to be seen widely. Certainly going to do our bit here in SouthWales UK
Comment by Catherine Philpott — March 22, 2007 @ 7:37 pm