UNICEF Says Georgia's Displaced Children Head Back To School | Voice of America - English
The United Nations Children's Fund says all children displaced by last month's war between Georgia and Russia will be back in school by October 1. UNICEF says they will join thousands of other children who began their school year on September 15.
There were around 30,000 displaced childrenwhen the United Nations Children's Fund began its back to schoolcampaign in Georgia a few weeks ago. Since then, the situation hasstabilized and most of the children and their families have returned tothe homes they fled during the brief war. However, Georgianauthorities say some 10,000 children are not yet able to return totheir homes and remain displaced. UNICEF Communications Officer RobertCohen says the authorities are making it possible for all of thesechildren to go back to school by October 1. But he says theywill face some temporary inconveniences. "Out of 180 schools inTbilisi, there are 77 which have not yet opened for classes becauseIDPs [Internally Displaced People] are still living in them or becauserepairs are being made," said Cohen. "The students from theseschools are being integrated into other schools, usually through asecond shift system. Most of the IDPs who were being sheltered inschools have been moved into kindergartens or other accommodations," headded. And this, says Cohen, creates other problems. He saysall kindergartens in the capital, Tbilisi, are occupied by IDPs. Sothe authorities, he notes, are faced with the dilemma of needing toopen kindergartens while ensuring decent living conditions for homelesspeople. "The government is now constructing housing for IDPs indifferent areas of Georgia and according to the plan, by December firstall IDPs should have housing," said Cohen. "As these accommodationsbecome ready, the kindergartens will resume." Cohen says thesituation for children in villages in the so-called buffer zone northof the town of Gori is not as promising. The buffer zone is a strip ofland that lies on the border between Georgia and its breakaway regionof South Ossetia. Russian troops remain stationed in that area. UNICEF aid workers who were able to visit villages there report schooling has not yet begun because conditions are still unsafe. Cohensays UNICEF has distributed school supplies and recreation kits for26,000 children. He says the agency is developing mine-risk educationprograms to make children aware of the dangers of land mines and otherunexploded munitions. Cohen says surveys among displacedchildren show many are severely traumatized by the war. He saysteachers in Gori and Tbilisi have been given crisis psychology trainingto detect symptoms of stress among children.