Makhniashvili Zeinab, village Vanati of Gori region
We arrived at half past six in the evening of August 10. We barely made it. The whole population was forced to leave the village. There was no military base in the proximity, nor were Georgian troops located in the village. They attacked the peaceful population, they threw bombs on peaceful civilians, and we had no means to defend ourselves. We were with bare hands. The bombs were flying right above our roofs. By fortunate chance we found a wagon car and soon it was filled with people and then we drove to the village Tkviavi. Then from Tkviavi somehow we managed to reach Gori. Once we arrived to Gori, the bombing attack started there. We barely made through that night... In the vicinity there was a train with about eighty wagons loaded with petroleum products. Close by were the youths, about the age of my children, I asked them to help me to climb on one of the wagons, in the hope to reach Tbilisi thereby. They lifted me and sat me on the wagon. On the way I was thinking if they bomb this train then I will die and nobody will find my corpse, even if they had blown just one wagon all the rest would follow the explosion. That is how we came to Tbilisi...
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State, medical department of border protection of Georgia. 14 Augsut 2008.
Gia Gurgenidze, 39 years old, from village Eredvi, Head of the finance and customs commission of the municipality.
The reason for my displacement is aggression of Russian troops in the region of Georgia in general. First the bombings began by Russian planes, and then followed the intervention of Russian military formations.
My father is wounded as a result of the bombings by the Russians. My house is bombed. 80% of the houses in Eredvi are completely destroyed. Heavy bombs were thrown onto peaceful civilians. There were no military formations on the territory of Eredvi. Three planes flew in and started to bomb villages. Four women and two men died. They were our neighbors. The bombings lasted for about 45 minutes, one by one the planes would fly toward us throw the bomb and fly away, and while one plane was turning back the next one would fly over and bomb us again. These were the planes from Russian air forces. They were visible, we could even see the pilots sitting in their cabins. When we stepped outside they would fire at us, my fellow villagers were wounded, mostly women and old people. They would follow us while we were moving and open their fire upon us.
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Katsitadze Eteri, from village Eredvi
I left my place of residence when the explosions have started from the side of Tskhinvali, then the bomb hit our village, it fell right into the yard and destroyed our whole garden and shattered all window glasses, however the house remained intact. We were in the basement of the house at that time, it was about 2 am, we spent the whole night there. The sounds of explosions started to lessen towards morning, but in the evening some huge explosions took place, as if tons of bombs hit the ground. Downward from our house, on the main raid, where our troops were located something really big exploded, five minutes later another explosion followed. Close to that place is the house where my daughter and her husband's family live, and the bomb hit their house as well. In a nutshell, all of the houses are destructed and ruined. I saw my husband running towards me, he had gone to our daughter to check if she was doing fine, he told me that two blocks were totally destructed and said that women shall leave the village. I don't even remember what day it was, I am so lost, I do not even know what day is today, I think it was Friday that day. My husband was telling other women as well to leave the village, but they would not listen, he forced me to leave anyways. We went downwards to the lower part of the village, and drove towards Gori villages with a minibus of our neighbor, the next day from there we went to Tbilisi.
Everybody from my daughter's family left the village as well. Bombs hit the whole village, the sound was terrible, my ears have calmed just now. None of our people remain in the village any more.
15-20 minutes after we left for Tbilisi, they bombed Gori.
Mainly the destruction occured as a result of bombings from the airplanes, apart from that fire came from heavy military technoclogy as well, I do not know their names or types for certain. They obliterated the results of our efforts and sweat, the gardens are flattened like an airport ground. We, the villagers had great hopes for the harvest from those gardens and now everything is so wiped out that I don't know...
Here, some spaces were allcated to us, and we recieve attention as well, but we prefer our delapidated houses, we still want to be there.
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Shorena Gagulishvili, city of Gori, Tsminatskali district.
I was not going to leave my city despite the bombing. But my husband called me, who is solder and told me to leave the city immediately. I left the home and run out of house together with the children. The city was being bombed and we were running without destination. When we were near the stadium my husband called again and told that it was dangerous zone. Then I started to search for a vehicle, then my brother-in-law called me, he lives in Kaspi. He told me to get to the station; he promised to come there through the mountains. I could find a ride until village until Khidistavi. There we saw an empty car, the driver was so kind that offered us to bring to any place for free. So we came to Kaspi and settled there. Later on we heard that Russian were coming for Kaspi as well, people told us that they were kidnapping women and taking as hostages. We were very scared and left for Tbilisi. We could hardly find a shelter in Tbilisi, most of the places here were packed with IDPs. I left two houses in Gori region, I left all my life there and now I live this miserable life.
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Man from Tskhinvali Region, August 17, 2008
I left there the day before yesterday (on August 14, 2008). When they starting attacking us I got in my car and drove here. I knew the way how to get here. I don't know how my house is. I did not even lock my house door. I just left my cattle and chicken there too. I did not expect the things to get this bad. Whole family, six of us left there.
Lady from Village Koshki, August 17, 2008
All I want to do is cry… it was horrible… we ran through farms… we got here on the 13th. .We walked to Tkviavi. Then a man from Kirbari picked us up on the road and drove us to Tbilisi.
When the airplanes started flying over us, first we laid down then we got up and ran away. My brother-in-law is still there and also there was one lady – Maria Chalauri, we don't know whether she survived or not. We don't know anything else.
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Lady from Tskhinvali, August 17, 2008
It is five of us from our family who left Tskhinvali. We don't know where to go, what to do…
We buried two bodies. We just got here yesterday morning. I have four children: three girls and one boy. They were still bombing when we left but our house was not burned yet. People were saying that the village must be evacuated. I do not know who said it first. We were in Gori already when they start bombing. My uncle was hit by the airplane bomb which ripped his leg off. We took him to Gori's Hospital but it was too late, he died there. Then we were carrying his body trying to get back to the village to properly bury him but they would not let us back so we had to bury him close by the road.
Kazaks are burning the village and torturing people. My father is still there. I don't know how he is going to be there.
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