We are left into oblivion: Deutsche Welle raises problems Armenians are facing in Georgia

Five years have now passed since the Russian military base in the Georgian town of Akhalkalaki - mostly populated by Armenians - was removed to Armenia leaving more than a thousand jobless. The Georgian authorities promised to find jobs for all of them … but they failed in doing so as no single employee of that former Russian military base has found a job with the help of the Georgian authorities, reports Deutsche Welle.

According to the source, some were promised jobs at a national army unit that would be deployed on the same site, but never did the Georgian troops arrive in Akhalkalaki.

According to Hakob Khanoyan, who worked in the Russian military base for about 30 years, only about 30 former employees of this base managed to find a job, and due their own efforts. Some had to leave their native town in quest of job, while hundreds are still waiting for the Georgian authorities to keep their promise.

"We were promised that our potatoes and other agricultural produces would be bought for the Georgian military, but have not seen them yet. We are simply left into oblivion," said Mr Khanoyan.

In his words those who worked in that military base are now having problems with retirement and social benefits. It turns out that if one worked with Russians, who are considered as occupants in Georgia, then they should go and ask for retirement and social benefits from the Russians. The only hopes in this case are the remittances they receive from their relatives working in Russia, Armenia and other CIS countries.

Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Nalbandov told Deultsche Welle that the problems the Armenians are facing in the Samtskhe-Javakheti are common to all the country. But the local Armenians say that the Georgians do not have problems with the study of their native language and history at the national schools for example - a problem the Armenian community is having there.

Another problem the Armenians are facing in Georgia is integrating into the local community. More than 90 per cent of the populations in Samtskhe-Javakheti are Armenians who do not know the state language - Georgian.

Armenians in Akhalkalaki say that the Georgian authorities do not deliberately solve the many problems the Armenians are facing there. They point to the example of Shirak Torosyan, an MP of the Armenian National Assembly, who is denied entry to Georgia simply for publicly speaking about the problems the Armenian-speaking regions of Georgia are facing now.