Murder comes with hazelnut harvest
By Irakli Lagvilava
ZUGDIDI, Georgia - The Georgians of southern Abkhazia depend on the hazelnut
harvest for their income, but they fear this year's high prices will encourage
the robbers who have long preyed on them. Abkhazia The Gali region, the nearest
part of Abkhazia to Georgia proper, is almost entirely inhabited by ethnic
Georgians. They accuse the government in the pro-Russia breakaway territory's
capital Sukhumi of not protecting them and say their villages are an easy
target for criminals keen for easy profit.
"We all feel defenseless. Last year in my village, someone was robbed almost
every week. I then, happily, avoided this, but who knows what awaits me now?"
said Lamara, a resident of the village of Repi. "But not bringing in the
harvest is impossible. It is
the only source of income for my whole family."
The villagers said thefts had already started this year, and three families
were robbed in the village of Saberio in just one night. The robbers took the
hazelnut crop as well as money and valuables.
Last year, the maximum price growers could get for their hazelnuts was around
30 tetri (about 20 US cents) a kilogram. This year, the price has risen to 2.20
lari, (US$1.30), and could rise as high as four lari by winter. This makes
theft potentially even more profitable than it was.
"The high price of nuts is, in a way, a relief for farmers. My family of seven
people lives only from this. Two children study at university and I pay for
their study with money I raise from selling hazelnuts. But in another way, the
high price brings a great risk," said Valeri Akobia, a resident of the village
of Tagiloni.
"Someone can come to my home and take the harvest. Who knows how many people
have already been killed in such incidents. Our source of income is also a
threat to our lives."
Abkhazia's disputed status complicates any attempt to investigate the
incidents. Georgian officials, at a meeting on August 11 between
representatives of Russia, Abkhazia, Georgia, the United Nations and the
European Union, suggested holding joint investigations, but were rebuffed by
the Abkhazians.
"The Georgian side suggested having joint trips into the Gali region of
Abkhazia and the Zugdidi region of Georgia in connection with joint
investigations. However we think there is no need for this," said Ruslan
Kishmaria, the Abkhazian president's envoy in the Gali region.
"We said that on the territory of the Gali region, representatives of Abkhazia
and Russia will conduct investigations, while on the territory of Georgia,
representatives of Georgia and the European Union will do so. And
representatives of the United Nations, visiting both Abkhazia and Georgia, can
coordinate the investigations."
Russia, which has a veto in the Security Council, blocked a new mandate for the
UN observers' team in Abkhazia in June. This has complicated attempts to
investigate the crimes committed against the farmers, according to Tornike
Kilanava, who represents the Georgian governments' Gali administration "in
exile".
"We, together with international organizations, are attempting to create
mechanisms of defense for the local population, since the lives of the people
living there come under threat almost every day. Real control over this
territory is necessary. It turns out that this is hard to do, especially since
the Abkhaz side does not allow EU observers onto their territory," he said.
Russia last year recognized Abkhazian independence, but so far only Nicaragua
has joined it in doing so. The rest of the world backs the Georgian claim that
Abkhazia is a rebel province. As such, the Gali region with its ethnic Georgian
population, is in a particularly tense position.
Abkhaz journalists do not venture into the Georgian villages, and Georgian
journalists cannot work in Abkhazia. The Institute for War and Peace Reporting
(IWPR) interviewed Georgians who crossed the bridge out of Abkhazia, or spoke
to Georgians inside Abkhazia by telephone.
There are no accurate figures for the number of people killed during the
harvest season, but the villagers said it was probably about 30-40 a year. Most
of the villagers IWPR spoke to were unconcerned by the political dispute, and
just wish someone would step in to ensure their security.
"It would be good if we had Georgian police, but if that is not possible, then
their nationality is already not important," said a 50-year-old resident of the
village of Nabakevi who asked not to be named. "We are just tired of living in
constant fear. No one is troubling themselves with fighting these bandits.
Therefore, anyone who wants to can get into our homes. They take the nuts and,
if there's even the smallest resistance, they kill people. Months never pass
without someone getting killed."
As if the security situation was not enough, villagers are also concerned by
the Abkhazian government's decision to hand control of the border - which is
formed here by the River Inguri - to Russian troops. The farmers fear this may
make it hard to transport their nuts to the neighboring Zugdidi region, where
the price is higher than it is in Abkhazia itself.
"As soon as the Russians started to control the border, it became harder to
pass into the Zugdidi region. The Russians closed all the crossings across the
River Inguri, apart from the central bridge, where they toughened controls.
Anyone who wants to get to Zugdidi has to go five times further by a roundabout
route," said Naria Agumava, a resident of the village of Otobaia.
"There are those who ford the river, but that is dangerous. The water level can
rise at any time. Taking all this into account, taking our nuts for sale in
Zugdidi will probably be much harder."
All the same, the villagers had no choice but to stay in their homes, said one
of Agumava's neighbors who asked not to be named.
"I have nowhere to go. I would rather live in fear than move to Zugdidi and
live as a refugee without work, depending on the government. There is no other
option for me. I need to feed my family and if I'm lucky and I keep my harvest,
then all will be well."
Irakli Lagvilava is an IWPR contributor in Zugdidi.
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