In Georgia, close to the homeland... hoping to return home 

1 year has passed since the start of the crushing, imperial war by Russia in Ukraine. After full-scale military attacks, more than 7 million Ukrainians had to leave their homeland and their place of residence. Ukrainian refugees mostly move to countries that offer effective social programs and support for refugees. Part of the refugees also entered Georgia. However, the government of Georgia still lacks a unified and effective strategy and policy to help them.

A number of quantitative and qualitative studies, as well as our interviews with Ukrainian refugees and representatives of humanitarian organizations, show that Ukrainian refugees in Georgia face a number of challenges. Among them, challenges related to housing, access to information about state support programs, access to health services and employment. It must be said that the majority of Ukrainians living in Georgia at the moment are women, children and the elderly, which makes them twice as vulnerable. 

The Social Justice presents a document in which the legal status of Ukrainian refugees in Georgia is reviewed. 

• Number and social experiences of Ukrainian refugees in Georgia

From February 24, 2022 to September 30, 2022, 134,256 Ukrainians crossed the border of Georgia, however, only a small part of them stayed here. According to the data of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR), as of December 2022, there are 25,402 Ukrainian refugees in Georgia. Unfortunately, the state does not have official statistics on Ukrainian refugees entering, leaving and staying here in Georgia. According to World Vision[2], 94% of the refugees are Ukrainian citizens, half of them came from the regions of eastern Ukraine, which the Ukrainian government no longer controls. In addition to the fact that the refugees who came here bear the severe trauma of war and of losing their family members, relatives, their homes, they also have the experience of passing through "filtration camps" on the territory of Russia and have serious health problems. 49% of the refugees entered Georgia from the Darial valley through Russia.[3]

Initially, refugee families were coming to Georgia. The gender balance of male and female refugees was almost equal. However, a large part of the men left Georgia, and today the majority of the refugees are women, children and elderly people. As of July 2022, 62% of Ukrainian refugees were women. Among them, there is a large number of persons with disabilities, chronic and oncological diseases. More precisely, according to World Vision[4], 68% of Ukrainian refugees had to be separated from their family members, 24% have the status of a disabled person or have other serious chronic disease, and 29% have documentation problems.That is why the Ukrainian refugees remaining in Georgia are twice as vulnerable, which is essential for the state to take into account during policy planning. [5]

69% of refugees in Georgia have higher education and mostly know Ukrainian and Russian languages. Most of them (84%) have work experience. However, in Georgia, only 20% of them are employed with the help of friends and acquaintances, and 58% express their interest in employment [6], although there is no special state aid program in this regard.  

Unfortunately, even after 1 year after the war, one of the important challenges for Ukrainian refugees living in Georgia is still awareness about the scarce services available here. 43% of Ukrainian refugees interviewed by World Vision say that they do not understand the social programs provided for refugees. Uncertainty and vagueness about health services are particularly problematic. [1]

• Challenges related to housing

A number of studies conducted with Ukrainian refugees living in Georgia show that the most difficult challenge for Ukrainian refugees is related to housing. [7]

Initially, the Georgian government housed Ukrainian refugees in hotels for several months, although there were limitations. Only women and children were accommodated. Also, they were often told that they did not have a place for 2 days and had to wait on the street. Moreover, those who were provided with housing, were not provided with basic necessities. In July, this aid was also stopped and they had to leave the hotels. Later, a 300 GEL financial assistance program was launched for families, with an additional 45 GEL per person. However, it must be said that many of the refugees, including those who were not involved in the government's housing program in the March-July 2022 period, or who entered Georgia after July 15, cannot benefit from the governmental financial assistance program.Consequently, those Ukrainians who rented accommodation with their own resources or lived with their acquaintances during this period cannot receive this state assistance at all, which points to the fragmentation and injustice of the policy.

Even those Ukrainian refugees receiving this financial assistance are finding it difficult to rent apartments, as rent prices have skyrocketed in the cities. Renting an apartment in cities is especially important for refugee families because of their interest in providing education to their children (Ukrainian schools operate only in Tbilisi (2 schools) and Batumi (1 school)). Finding a rental apartment for refugees is also complicated by other factors. For example, some landlords do not want to rent apartments to Ukrainians, fearing that they may be granted refugee status and stay in their homes indefinitely. How long the financial support of the state will last also causes fears among the refugees. Currently, the program is valid until May 2023. In this regard, the difficult situation of the refugees is partly alleviated by certain financial assistance provided by various international organizations.

Housing is a basic social security for individuals and families, and it can also be a source of other vulnerabilities. Again, according to World Vision data[8], one fifth of Ukrainian refugees living in Georgia associate their main problem with proper housing. In addition, 35% state that they do not have money for basic needs, 19% do not have access to water and food, 16% do not have access to clothing and shoes, and 14% state that they do not have financial means for medical needs.  

• Documentation related challenges and statuses

In the first days of the beginning of the war, many Ukrainians entered Georgia without personal documents. This was an important decision taken by the state, however, today they cannot use the services offered by the state due to the lack of identity cards. At the same time, this reality complicates the possibility of continuing to stay legally in Georgia after 1 year.

The number of requests for refugee status (asylum) from Ukrainians in Georgia is insignificant. By December 2022, this number was about 500 people. This is mainly due to the uncertainty among Ukrainian refugees. Many (80%) expect that the war will end soon and they will return to their homeland.[9]

• Health services

From February 1 to November 1, 2022, all basic medical programs available to Georgian citizens will apply to Ukrainian refugees living regularly in Georgia. However, for other groups of refugees, these services are not available, placing a heavy financial burden on them. In addition, PMCG research shows[10] that often Ukrainian refugees are not aware of the medical services available to them.

The psychological condition of the refugees is also very difficult. Refugees need psycho-social support to overcome war trauma and integrate. Currently, some Ukrainians do not have access to information about the provision of such services at all, and may not even realize the need for it.

• Absence of a unified strategy

During the whole year, very significant support was felt from the civil society towards the Ukrainian refugees. Campaigns were organized to collect financial resources, many people gave Ukrainian refugees their homes and other spaces for accommodation, small family hotels gave discounts, basic necessities were collected: clothes, medicine, toys for children.  Common living spaces were created in Batumi, Tbilisi and Kakheti. Today, many international and local organizations, businesses and self-organized groups continue to support refugees.

Clearly, the efforts and social programs that the government extended to Ukrainian refugees were important. The efforts of international and humanitarian organizations in this direction are also invaluable. However, it is clear that the state does not have a unified action plan and policy that would sustainably, comprehensively and adequately respond to the basic needs of Ukrainian refugees living in Georgia. The lack of international humanitarian aid is also a challenge. In the 2023 UN Regional Refugee Response Plan, Georgia was not included among the states receiving Ukrainian refugees, which means that Georgia will receive a much smaller amount of international funds for humanitarian aid. 

• Our calls for action

Taking into account the above, the Social Justice Center calls on the Government of Georgia to: 

• Develop a unified and coordinated action plan for the support of Ukrainian refugees living in Georgia, which will be based on the research of their needs and consultations with international and local organizations working in this field, as well as with self-organized volunteer groups;  
• Create a unified information portal and a hotline, which will give Ukrainian refugees the opportunity to receive complete, unified and consolidated information in a language they understand. It is essential for this platform to have mechanisms for regular identification of the needs of Ukrainian refugees and referral to relevant agencies;
• Start producing statistics of Ukrainian refugees who entered, left and stayed here in Georgia. In addition, it is essential that the state should support especially those Ukrainians who have challenges related to identity documents and may face a problem in the coming months after the one-year period of legal stay in Georgia expires.
• Make the housing policy for Ukrainian refugees sustainable and take into account the needs and interests of a wider circle of refugees and the changed context in the real estate market;
• Make access to health services all-inclusive for Ukrainian refugees and address the specific needs of refugees, including psychosocial support and rehabilitation;  
• Promote the employment of Ukrainian refugees and create special opportunities for them in this regard;
• Strengthen the integration policy of Ukrainian refugees, especially at the level of educational institutions.
• Intensify work to secure international funding for Ukrainian refugee assistance programs.  

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