The situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Georgia, particularly those from North Ossetia and Abkhazia, remains dire. Hundreds of thousands of individuals, many of whom were displaced in the 1990s following the violent conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, continue to live in an enduring state of uncertainty. A significant number of these IDPs reside in collective centers, makeshift shelters that were intended to be temporary but have become long-term homes for many families. These centers, often converted from schools, factories, or other public buildings, are overcrowded and in a deplorable state. Poor insulation, lack of sanitation, and structural decay are widespread, making life extremely difficult.
For those displaced from North Ossetia, especially following the 2008 war, the conditions have remained similarly grim. The temporary housing solutions promised after their displacement have failed to materialize into permanent, adequate living spaces. Many continue to live in squalid conditions, unable to find better opportunities or access necessary services. The situation is exacerbated by limited social integration and a lack of legal recognition, as many of these IDPs live in a legal and social limbo, with no clear path to citizenship or stable livelihoods.
This prolonged displacement has created a cycle of poverty, mental health issues, and social exclusion, affecting multiple generations. Despite the passage of time, the Georgian government and international organizations have struggled to find sustainable solutions for this marginalized group, leaving them to grapple with inadequate housing and bleak prospects for the future.
Displaced children enjoying playing with water during the summer heat. Settlement for IDPs from nearby South Ossetia, Gori, Georgia. August 2016
Anaklia, Black Sea resort in Samegrelo, Georgia, July 2014
Collective Centre for IDP's in an abandonned Spa resort, Tskaltubo, Georgia, July 2014
People of Mingrelia in a Zugdidi collective centre, Georgia, October 2013
Collective centre vested at an abandoned elite sport complex, Khobi in Samegrelo, Georgia, March 2014
School No 5, Zugdidi city, Georgia, October 2013
Summer holiday, Tskaltubo IDP collective centre, Georgia, July 2014
Indoor sports room, school No 23 in Zugdidi, Georgia, October 2013
Formerly a kolkhoz for tea processing, nowadays a collective centre for IDPs from Abkhazia, Ingiri village. Georgia, March 2014
Interior of a former hotel complex in Tskaltubo used as an IDP collective centre since the mid nineties, Georgia, July 2014
Priest in the Zugdidi gardens, Georgia. March 2014
Outdoor sport class, Zugdidi, October 2013 Samegrelo is a region in Georgia bordering the disputed territory of Abkhazia. The region was affected by the war between Georgia and Abkhazia in the beginning of the nineties and has absorbed large numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Twenty years after being displaced, IDPs in general, and in particular those living in collective centres, still face serious socio-economic problems and live in dire conditions with inadequate employment opportunities.
Zugdidi, school No 23 for internally displaced children, hosted in abandoned administrative buildings of a nearby factory, Georgia, October 2013
Sports field of a school for IDPs, Zugdidi, Georgia, March 2014
Collective centre for IDPs of Abkhazia, Zugdidi, October 2013
When every space counts, collective centre in Zugdidi, Samegrelo, Georgia, October 2013
Collective centre for IDPs. Residents living in limbo for the past twenty years, Zugdidi, Georgia, October 2013
War damaged house still awaiting repair 8 years after the war. Border area between South Ossetia and Georgia, August 2016
Collective centre for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in abandoned factory buildings. Hundreds of families still live in collective centres since the 1992-93 war between Georgia and Abkhazia, October 2013
Passing time. Collective centre in office buildings, Zugdidi, Georgia, October 2013
Sorting hazelnut at a processing plant in Zugdidi. Hazelnut has become a main source of income for the region of Samegrelo after tea production was abandoned gradually. Georgia, March 2014
Zugdidi, Samegrelo region bordering Abkhazia, Georgia, March 2014
IDP from Abkhazia living in a collective centre established in the office buildings of a Soviet collective farm. Ingiri village in the Samegrelo region, Georgia, March 2014
IDP centre in Ingiri, Samegrelo region, Georgia, March 2014
Collective centre for IDP's from Abkhazia, Tskaltubo in Georgia, July 2014
Collective centre Banja in Tskaltubo, Georgia, July 2014
Most residents have been living for the past 20 years in collective centres waiting to be re-settled in appropriate housing. Tskaltubo, Georgia, July 2014
Collective centre for IDP's in a former soviet spa and hotel complex, Tskaltubo, Georgia, July 2014
Balcony of a once luxury spa complext during the Soviet times, for the past 20 years used as a collective centre for IDP's, Imereti region in Georgia, July 2014
Small clinic, collective centre for IDP's of Abkhazia, Ingiri near Zugdidi, Georgia, July 2014
Temporary solution, border village 5 kilometres away from the break-away capital of South Ossetia. Gori region, Georgia, August 2016
IDP from South Ossetia in a border village only 5 kilometres away from Thskinvali the self proclaimed capital of South Ossetia. Rural Gori, Georgia, August 2016
IDP settlement for Georgians from South Ossetia in old buildings in a state of decay. Gori, Georgia, August 2016
Hardware market, Zugdidi the main city of Samegrelo, Georgia, October 2013
Onion harvest, rural Gori, Georgia, August 2016
Administrative building of a factory transformed into a collective centre twenty years ago, Zugdidi, Georgia, October 2013
Tskaltubo collective centre for IDP's from Abkhazia, Imereti region in Georgia, July 2014
