For anyone who has ever been to Abkhazia, the pot holed road from the Inguri Bride through the Gali region and up into Sukhum/i will be struck by the devastation of the 1992-1993/4 war*. Buildings, houses, villas, remain in ruins.
The Gali region, mostly inhabited by some 45,000 Georgian retournees will have to endure yet another crisis. The Georgians who live there are mostly farmers. Hazel nuts and citrus fruit are their cash crops. Farmers transport and sell their produce at the Zugdidi market across the border. When I left Abkhazia on July 8, the border had officially been closed. Georgian farmers rely on this market.
Without access their livelihoods are at stake. I heard numerous stories of how Russian peacekeepers would extort monies from these farmers at checkpoints. These Georgians are caught in the crossfire between Abkhazia and Georgia. Now that Georgia has lost hold of the region, the fate of the Georgians living in Abkhazia is even more uncertain.
Will Abkhazia increase its pressure on Georgians to renounce their citizenship? Or will the Georgians continue to suffer abuse from both Abkhazia and Georgia? The Georgians who have returned to this area have done so under insurmountable odds and they deserve greater international attention, aid, and security.
For those interested in this subject, I invite you to view a 2004 documentary (Abkhazia: one side of a conflict) about Georgians living in Abkhazia by the Georgian based Studio Re with the participation of journalists from Abkhazia.
*Correction. I had written 1993-1994. The war was 1992-1993 and a ceasefire was signed in 1994.
