Aniko Chkhetia is an IDP from Abkhazia living alone in Tbilisi. For the last 22 years of solitude, Aniko has remarkably developed a strong spirit and resistance to the trauma she experienced after losing her husband and an only daughter. Still, solitude has become her own inner home – flashbacks from the past still remains a struggle.
authors
Tamta Utiashvili
Tamta Utiashvili is a last year MA student of multimedia journalism at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA). She holds BA degree in European Studies and worked for non governmental organizations. Previously Tamta studied piano performance for 11 years. After enrolling GIPA she has greatly become interested in documentary photography and filmmaking - she continues working in these directions.
Author's stories
The Grace of Solitude
Lela Gaburi, the only doctor of Barisakho dispensary, serves 250 patients from 34 villages of Khevsureti. However due to obsolete infrastructure, the lack of human resources, patients’ skepticism, and the absence of an ambulance, her work gets more complex. Moreover, the whole picture gets worse during the winter… At this stage, two times a month, Lela hosts a sonographer who performs ultrasound studies of the local population for free. Although the doctor had to spend only one day in Barisakho, together with the local doctor, he experienced several above-mentioned issues during his short stay.
Perception
In the 1950’s, Dano’s family temporarily moved into Tianeti municipality. Here she met a Khevsurian Christian boy, named Irakli. The couple fell in love and soon after got married in 1953. Dano currently lives in her home village of Omalo, in Pankisi Gorge, where she returned to in 1995. The return was not easy; her daily life is still rife with struggle and challenge. Her hard work, kindness and sincere heart, have gained esteem from locals. However, her independent persona is still unusual for the Kists. With her bold independence, she still keeps a personal approach toward various issues. Yet still, Dano finds that the heart is the greatest determination above anything else.