Response to Connor Schratz
In his article “GEORGIAN REFUGEES SEEK HELP AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY”
CONNOR SCHRATZ commits some factual errors. Anyone familiar with the problem will deem them completely outlandish (not to say provocative).
The number of refugees — presumably the author means ‘Georgians’ [recte Kartvelians, the cover-term for Georgians, Mingrelians, Laz and Svans] — mentioned in the article cannot be correct. Let us carry out an analysis.
According to the article, ‘400,000 citizens, either internally displaced or foreign refugees, have demanded a right of return’. But were there ever 400,000 Kartvelian residents of Abkhazia? Consider the picture from the last Soviet census of 1989:
| Year | 'Georgians' | Abkhaz | Armenians | Russians | Greeks | Total | ||||||
| 1989 Census | 45.7% (239,872) | 17.8% (93,267) | 14.6% (76,541) | 14.3% (74,913) | 2.8% (14,664) | 525,061 |
[N.B. the vast majority of the so-called ‘Georgian’ population of Abkhazia in 1989 were actually Mingrelians]
In his next paragraph, the author asserts that “the Abkhaz quickly began persecuting Georgians within their borders, a large number of whom supported Georgia during the 1992-1993 war.” In truth, however, it was the ‘Georgians’ who were persecuting the Abkhazians. This is a fact established in 1993 by none other than Amnesty International.
The author goes on to ‘inform’ his readers: “Thousands of Georgians were killed or expelled into other regions, like Tskhinvali and South Ossetia. In the end, about 75% of the Georgians in Abkhazia were killed or displaced”.
Our author is perhaps confused about local geography if he thinks that ‘thousands of Georgians were killed or expelled into other regions like Tskhinvali and South Ossetia’. He should consult a map to realise that South Ossetia, with its capital Tskhinval, is a region far too far removed from Abkhazia for anyone seriously to believe that Georgians could flee there from Abkhazia. Now, let’s do some calculations. If 400,000 Kartvelians is accurate, then 75 percent of that figure produces 300,000 killed or displaced. And if 300,000 (75%) were killed, then we get 100,000 left to become refugees seeking a return. But, if 300,000 (75%) left, then the figure of 400,000 cannot be correct for the original total of Kartvelians. Bearing in mind the factual data from the 1989 Soviet census, these figures simply do not add up...
Consider now: “Abkhazia, a region in Western Georgia, comprised [recte populated] primarily by ethnic Abkhaz and Russians”. But Abkhazia also incorporated Armenians, and it can be easily seen in the above census that they outnumbered the Russian population.
In addition, in the Gal District of Abkhazia, approximately 60,000 refugees have spontaneously returned to farm their lands. This fact has been mentioned in official sources, e.g. 25 April 2005 http://reliefweb.int/node/172118
The survey was carried out by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) in conjunction with Conciliation Resources, with the financial support of the European Union’s Instrument for Stability. This policy-brief is based on the findings of a survey conducted in June 2010 among one thousand refugees from Abkhazia, displaced as a result of the 1992-93 war. The survey provides insight into so-called IDPs’ attitudes to displacement, return, conflict resolution and justice.
A quarter of refugees have been back to Abkhazia since first suffering displacement. The largely Mingrelian-inhabited Gal Region naturally accounts for a majority of these visits: 64% of displacees from Gal have been back. The ability regularly to visit Abkhazia is an important consideration for 85% of respondents. A majority cited maintaining a dwelling (58%) and visiting graves and cemeteries (55%) as the most pressing reasons to visit in case they could not return permanently. Refugees tend to focus on the right of return, often without realizing the extent to which Abkhazia has changed in the intervening years, or analyzing what conditions would have to be fulfilled for them to be able to exercise that right. The survey attempted to tease out what proportion would consider return to Abkhazia and under what conditions. 85% are only ready to consider returning if Georgia reestablishes control over Abkhazia. 87% say they would consider returning to Abkhazia permanently if Abkhazia reintegrates with Georgia; only 9% would consider return if Abkhazia remains outside of Georgia’s jurisdiction. Given these figures, refugee projections for whether and in what time-frames Abkhazia might reintegrate are an important indicator of their own understanding of how probable return might or might not be. 26% believe that Abkhazia will be reintegrated in the next 10 years; 11% expect significantly longer time-frames; 14% say never. 49% say they do not know. Nearly two thirds think the chances of Abkhazia becoming an integral part of Georgia have decreased since the 2008 conflict (as compared to 39% of the general population of Georgia).
ALLS Media Monitoring Team,
Sukhum, Abkhazia
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