Abstract:
The presentation views the shared residences of displaced
people as a social divide, a boundary with the rest of society.
Despite the fact that the Abkhazia war took place over 30 years
ago, the housing crisis for those who were displaced persists. Some
of them continue to live in shared residences. The hotels operating
in the Soviet era became symbols of the traumas caused
by the loss of native homes. In the post-Soviet period, the spaces
associated with the Soviet luxury, in the form of hotels, were connected
to the theme of conflicts and IDPs. To discuss these issues, I will consider the Hotel “Sakartvelo”,
which is located in the most prestigious and convenient area
of the capital. A certain part of the population displaced from
Abkhazia still lives in the Hotel Sakartvelo. The Hotel “Sakartvelo”
enjoys a kind of “elite” status for the residents of Tbilisi and the
displaced population. Its elitism is determined by several factors,
one of which is that getting here required certain resources and a
circle of acquaintances. Second, it is the previous life experience
of the displaced people from Abkhazia, which distinguishes them
from the intellectual point of view.
IDPs from Abkhazia attempt to avoid attracting attention and
avoid interaction with the media as much as they can in light of
their tragic experiences. They make every effort to keep their hotel
existence as discreet and unnoticeable to the city as possible.
The Hotel Sakartvelo's structure is now considered a historical
monument. The building has a lot of business interest. Numerous
attempts to remove the IDPs from this building ended in vain precisely
because of its “elitism”. The formal owners of the building
oppress the IDPs living there as much as possible, not giving
them the opportunity to make repairs. They did not allow the replacement
of sewage pipes and the introduction of natural gas,
due to the fact that the building has the status of a monument.
Because of this, their daily life is becoming more and more unbearable.
Some of those who have a certain income and livelihood
are moving to a rented apartment, because living in a hotel has
become more expensive and inconvenient. Based on interviews
with its tenants and societal attitudes towards IDPs, I will talk
about the Hotel “Sakartvelo” as a residence for them that has distinct
social, cultural, and economic limitations.
On the example of the Hotel Sakartvelo as an IDP residency, I
will address the peculiarities of social boundaries for the displaced
population and what kind of reality the hotel's location and
status generate.
