Interview place, date:Aug 14, 2008 6:42 PM
Interviewer organization:vollunteer journalist
Respondent:woman
Story code:0084. I left three days ago. There was terrible shooting. We arrived to village Eredvi and it was also attacked. We were trying to get out of there with a car and save ourselves. Some were leaving by foot. We did not care about bringing anything with us from home. My husband remained in the forest. We all sobbed for him because thought that he died but apparently he hid and then fell into a ditch and survived.
Afterwards my mother-in-law died and my son received psychological shock from watching these horrible things. He hid in the forest and refused to come with us. That's how he is now.
First there was shellfire and afterwards the tanks came in.
All the villages and the houses are destroyed.
One Russian told us to leave immediately because they would build a new town there.
Showing posts with label Kekhvi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kekhvi. Show all posts
Friday, August 15, 2008
Kekhvi
Interview place,date: Aug 14, 2008 8:49 PM
Interviewer organization:vollunteer journalist
Respondent:woman,64 years
Story code:0083
We left our village Kekhvi, situated above Tskhinvali, on August 9 at 3 o'clock. We expected all to calm down. When we saw the airplanes we thought they were of Georgian side. There was no police, no statement or warning to leave the gorge. We stayed in the informational vacuum for 4 days. And then the bombings started, horrible continuous bombings on 8th and 9th , it was terrible. It was the Russian airplane with red stars. They shot not only from the airplanes but from all weapons at their disposal. The shootings were continuous, they shot non-stop. Then the situation deteriorated and grew into the demolition. The civilian buildings are destroyed. They mainly targeted the populated areas.
My son helped me walking, I had both legs operated. The bombs were chasing, we would lie on the ground and then with operated legs it was difficult for me to stand up. We managed to pass and in the area controlled by Georgians, we came across Chechens. They were Chechens. Chechens controlled our territories. They happily accompanied us with words "Thank God you left home". They accompanied us and we left. We needed an asylum. No one responded.
We walked to the Eredvi forest and the bus arrived. Apparently the bus was sent by our government. Our Parliament took care of taking us from the region. My house is destroyed. I had the picture of Saakashvili, thus who would leave my home untouched. We left crawling from the cellar. We were yet home when the house was hit. I don't know what happened afterwards. We walked for three hours. It was night when we arrived in Tbilisi.
Tsriakho was the place where ours stood. There were Chechens, they spoke on the different language. This language was nor Georgian, neither Ossetian, I can speak Ossetian. They did no harm to us but they took away everything costly. They took cars.
There are corps laying in the yards in my village and there is nobody to help. They bomb civilians. Our boys helped us and they just watched. When the airplane passed and did not bomb we presumed they were Georgians.
They robbed me in Tskhinvali. I had a house that they took. We moved to the village and were forced to leave again. My ancestors lived there. We leaved very well together, Georgians and Ossetians. There were mixed families. Why did they got us involved in the politics. Now I assert to all and demand my life back.
My son has marvelous friends, the Ossetians. My heart is with my son and his Ossetian friends. This tragedy is about politics, right? We have nothing to do with it. During the war we met one Ossetian family who became our friends. They further baptized my grandson. They came to the church to our place and they baptized him there. They called my son that they wanted to baptize his son.
Our gorge consists of 9 villages. If anyone was in trouble we stood by each other. We kept our gorge up to now. Have you seen our gorge? It is so beautiful that anyone who visits it does not want to leave.
My son was forced to leave home in Tkhinvali and became an IDP. He was forced to leave long ago. He is living outside home for so long and only thing he managed is to pay the tuition fee for his son. He could not purchase anything. Now he has two more sons. We lost a child in Gori. We got him back only today. The child is 13. He was accompanied by his grandmother. We have no news about her. Sometimes I would faint from the grievance sometimes his mother. He was lost for 5 days.
They took away our belongings in Tskhinvali. Once we started from the very beginning and here it starts again. The people who arrived after us bring this news. There still are people left. We cannot contact them for two days now.. There is no news.
Nino Tsereteli, aged 36
We left the village Achabeti on 8th of August, 2008 at 6 o'clock in the evening. We left by the car of our neighbor. Out of the sudden they told us to evacuate. The people were escaping and calling as to leave with them. They were shouting about the approaching army. The bombings started on 8th. There are Russian checkpoints nearby our village. They were shooting from Russian checkpoints.
Interviewer organization:vollunteer journalist
Respondent:woman,64 years
Story code:0083
We left our village Kekhvi, situated above Tskhinvali, on August 9 at 3 o'clock. We expected all to calm down. When we saw the airplanes we thought they were of Georgian side. There was no police, no statement or warning to leave the gorge. We stayed in the informational vacuum for 4 days. And then the bombings started, horrible continuous bombings on 8th and 9th , it was terrible. It was the Russian airplane with red stars. They shot not only from the airplanes but from all weapons at their disposal. The shootings were continuous, they shot non-stop. Then the situation deteriorated and grew into the demolition. The civilian buildings are destroyed. They mainly targeted the populated areas.
My son helped me walking, I had both legs operated. The bombs were chasing, we would lie on the ground and then with operated legs it was difficult for me to stand up. We managed to pass and in the area controlled by Georgians, we came across Chechens. They were Chechens. Chechens controlled our territories. They happily accompanied us with words "Thank God you left home". They accompanied us and we left. We needed an asylum. No one responded.
We walked to the Eredvi forest and the bus arrived. Apparently the bus was sent by our government. Our Parliament took care of taking us from the region. My house is destroyed. I had the picture of Saakashvili, thus who would leave my home untouched. We left crawling from the cellar. We were yet home when the house was hit. I don't know what happened afterwards. We walked for three hours. It was night when we arrived in Tbilisi.
Tsriakho was the place where ours stood. There were Chechens, they spoke on the different language. This language was nor Georgian, neither Ossetian, I can speak Ossetian. They did no harm to us but they took away everything costly. They took cars.
There are corps laying in the yards in my village and there is nobody to help. They bomb civilians. Our boys helped us and they just watched. When the airplane passed and did not bomb we presumed they were Georgians.
They robbed me in Tskhinvali. I had a house that they took. We moved to the village and were forced to leave again. My ancestors lived there. We leaved very well together, Georgians and Ossetians. There were mixed families. Why did they got us involved in the politics. Now I assert to all and demand my life back.
My son has marvelous friends, the Ossetians. My heart is with my son and his Ossetian friends. This tragedy is about politics, right? We have nothing to do with it. During the war we met one Ossetian family who became our friends. They further baptized my grandson. They came to the church to our place and they baptized him there. They called my son that they wanted to baptize his son.
Our gorge consists of 9 villages. If anyone was in trouble we stood by each other. We kept our gorge up to now. Have you seen our gorge? It is so beautiful that anyone who visits it does not want to leave.
My son was forced to leave home in Tkhinvali and became an IDP. He was forced to leave long ago. He is living outside home for so long and only thing he managed is to pay the tuition fee for his son. He could not purchase anything. Now he has two more sons. We lost a child in Gori. We got him back only today. The child is 13. He was accompanied by his grandmother. We have no news about her. Sometimes I would faint from the grievance sometimes his mother. He was lost for 5 days.
They took away our belongings in Tskhinvali. Once we started from the very beginning and here it starts again. The people who arrived after us bring this news. There still are people left. We cannot contact them for two days now.. There is no news.
Nino Tsereteli, aged 36
We left the village Achabeti on 8th of August, 2008 at 6 o'clock in the evening. We left by the car of our neighbor. Out of the sudden they told us to evacuate. The people were escaping and calling as to leave with them. They were shouting about the approaching army. The bombings started on 8th. There are Russian checkpoints nearby our village. They were shooting from Russian checkpoints.
Kekhvi
Interview place,date: Aug 14, 2008 9:08 PM
Interviewer organization:vollunteer journalist
Respondent:woman 70 years
Story code:0082
I am from Kekhvi village. I ran away from the village and came on foot to Gori. At the evening we were hiding at somebody's place and at 7 p.m. guys rushed into the house screaming out "hurry up… hurry up..." so we ran away. I was so scared, I do not remember which day it was…
I could not take anything with me; I left even passports and everything. We were four women and two boys walking along the road. We were running through gardens, swamps, corn fields, trying to avoid major roads. I was wearing the same shoes as I am now. My feet were swollen and I took off my shoes...
When we reached Eredvi, they started bombardment again and two of our companion women from Kekhvi were killed. We could not even take care of their bodies as far as bombardment was so intensive (weeping).I felt bad and fell down into the mud, I could not get up and one Georgian policeman screamed out "wait for the woman, wait for her!" and they helped me to get out of the mud.
We were walking for the whole night and entered a Georgian village. One guy let us in to overnight. His family, wife and a chilled, was out and we spent the night there. He had no food so left the house, brought some potatoes and cooked for us.
Then we reached Gori on foot. It was almost 10 a.m. I tried to find my relatives in Gori but in vain. Later on I left for Tbilisi.
My husband is Georgian and he is still in Kekhvi. I do not know anything about him, whether he is alive of dead. They say houses had been burned to ashes. I do not know if my house is burned down or not. When we left the village all houses were ok, so I can not say anything… my children are here…
Interviewer organization:vollunteer journalist
Respondent:woman 70 years
Story code:0082
I am from Kekhvi village. I ran away from the village and came on foot to Gori. At the evening we were hiding at somebody's place and at 7 p.m. guys rushed into the house screaming out "hurry up… hurry up..." so we ran away. I was so scared, I do not remember which day it was…
I could not take anything with me; I left even passports and everything. We were four women and two boys walking along the road. We were running through gardens, swamps, corn fields, trying to avoid major roads. I was wearing the same shoes as I am now. My feet were swollen and I took off my shoes...
When we reached Eredvi, they started bombardment again and two of our companion women from Kekhvi were killed. We could not even take care of their bodies as far as bombardment was so intensive (weeping).I felt bad and fell down into the mud, I could not get up and one Georgian policeman screamed out "wait for the woman, wait for her!" and they helped me to get out of the mud.
We were walking for the whole night and entered a Georgian village. One guy let us in to overnight. His family, wife and a chilled, was out and we spent the night there. He had no food so left the house, brought some potatoes and cooked for us.
Then we reached Gori on foot. It was almost 10 a.m. I tried to find my relatives in Gori but in vain. Later on I left for Tbilisi.
My husband is Georgian and he is still in Kekhvi. I do not know anything about him, whether he is alive of dead. They say houses had been burned to ashes. I do not know if my house is burned down or not. When we left the village all houses were ok, so I can not say anything… my children are here…
Kekhvi
Interview place,date:Aug 14, 2008 10:52 PM
Interviewer organization:vollunteer journalist
Respondent:woman
Story code:0081
My husband and brother-in-law, both, are working in a police. Mamuka warned me about possible danger for the village and mobilization in police. I have three years old child, I took the child and went towards you. You were here and the child might be under danger, and shooting might damage the nervous system of the child. We left a little bit earlier, previous night they were shooting a lot and that's why we decided to leave next day.I do not remember the number. Later we moved into Karbi, village near Gori. I have a family over there, my parents are living there, but after marriage I was living in Kekhvi. But Russians bombed out Gori region as well, so we could not be safe even there. My parents also decided to leave the village and, all together, we moved to Tbilisi and stayed at my aunt's place (my father's sister). Later on we removed into rooms located in Bagebi district of Tbilisi. My brother – in –law survived, he was wearing a flak jacket, but still has some physical injuries. My mother-in-law was killed on her way to Tbilisi. She left last minute and the car was bombed out. I think there were five people sitting in the car, two of them died. One was my mother-in-law. They could not find the body of the second one at all. We buried her in Karbi.
We are getting diverse information; some people say our house does not exist anymore. But you know how they act generally: first they loot, and next burnt to ashes. People say they started from Kekhvi. I do not know, I really do not know, I did not see it personally.
Interviewer organization:vollunteer journalist
Respondent:woman
Story code:0081
My husband and brother-in-law, both, are working in a police. Mamuka warned me about possible danger for the village and mobilization in police. I have three years old child, I took the child and went towards you. You were here and the child might be under danger, and shooting might damage the nervous system of the child. We left a little bit earlier, previous night they were shooting a lot and that's why we decided to leave next day.I do not remember the number. Later we moved into Karbi, village near Gori. I have a family over there, my parents are living there, but after marriage I was living in Kekhvi. But Russians bombed out Gori region as well, so we could not be safe even there. My parents also decided to leave the village and, all together, we moved to Tbilisi and stayed at my aunt's place (my father's sister). Later on we removed into rooms located in Bagebi district of Tbilisi. My brother – in –law survived, he was wearing a flak jacket, but still has some physical injuries. My mother-in-law was killed on her way to Tbilisi. She left last minute and the car was bombed out. I think there were five people sitting in the car, two of them died. One was my mother-in-law. They could not find the body of the second one at all. We buried her in Karbi.
We are getting diverse information; some people say our house does not exist anymore. But you know how they act generally: first they loot, and next burnt to ashes. People say they started from Kekhvi. I do not know, I really do not know, I did not see it personally.
Kekhvi
Interview plase,date:Aug 14, 2008 10:54 PM
Interviewer organization:vollunteer journalist
Respondent:woman, 75 years
Story code:0080
Olia Kakheladze, 75: "I had been working for 44 years as a teacher at Kekhvi secondary school. The escalation began in 1989. Often I witnessed the situations that when entering the class, the students were not paying any attention to me and looking into the windows.
When children what was going on, they would respond me that there was an explosion. My course of action was notifying the director of the school and accompanying children to their own residences. So it started and we had to endure living in such conditions. There were cases when the rockets even hit the school that prompted us to continue studying at rail cars. We never stopped working. We never left the gorge. So was it up to recently. We would never had left our home stays.
That day my son came home saying that he was relieved for three hours and went to sleep. I thought I would prepare some food and started preparing it. My son is military and they had a post in Gori.
Out of sudden other Georgians rushed into our house and demanded to empty the gorge. My son contacted his superior who also confirmed an immediate withdrawal. We sat into my son's car and departed with the other car ahead of us.
While on the way the other car was hit by so-called "gaubitsa" – mortar grenade and everyone died inside the car. We wrapped the bodies in some fabrics and buried nearby.
Then we left for Gori. I have a daughter there who is married to Gori resident. This child is also her. We planned to stay with her. That evening we noticed that militaries camped nearby. I can not say who they were, as they were launching grenades and there were explosions. We moved to the garden where we stayed up to 3 am. Then I contacted my son to take us away. He came and took us. Now we are here in this nightmare. We were 20 people in the family of one of our relatives. Which relative will be able to keep a group of 20 people? You see where we live, we have no conditions.
Interviewer organization:vollunteer journalist
Respondent:woman, 75 years
Story code:0080
Olia Kakheladze, 75: "I had been working for 44 years as a teacher at Kekhvi secondary school. The escalation began in 1989. Often I witnessed the situations that when entering the class, the students were not paying any attention to me and looking into the windows.
When children what was going on, they would respond me that there was an explosion. My course of action was notifying the director of the school and accompanying children to their own residences. So it started and we had to endure living in such conditions. There were cases when the rockets even hit the school that prompted us to continue studying at rail cars. We never stopped working. We never left the gorge. So was it up to recently. We would never had left our home stays.
That day my son came home saying that he was relieved for three hours and went to sleep. I thought I would prepare some food and started preparing it. My son is military and they had a post in Gori.
Out of sudden other Georgians rushed into our house and demanded to empty the gorge. My son contacted his superior who also confirmed an immediate withdrawal. We sat into my son's car and departed with the other car ahead of us.
While on the way the other car was hit by so-called "gaubitsa" – mortar grenade and everyone died inside the car. We wrapped the bodies in some fabrics and buried nearby.
Then we left for Gori. I have a daughter there who is married to Gori resident. This child is also her. We planned to stay with her. That evening we noticed that militaries camped nearby. I can not say who they were, as they were launching grenades and there were explosions. We moved to the garden where we stayed up to 3 am. Then I contacted my son to take us away. He came and took us. Now we are here in this nightmare. We were 20 people in the family of one of our relatives. Which relative will be able to keep a group of 20 people? You see where we live, we have no conditions.
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