TSKALTUBO

Tskaltubo is a city located in the subtropical province of Imereti in Western Georgia. Due to its mild climate and the springs containing "water of immortality", first the Georgians and then the Soviets decided to build spas and resorts here.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union a civil war broke out in the break-away region of Abkhazia, bordering on Imereti. Abkhazians, backed by militias and the Russians, were fighting ethnic Georgians. Atrocities on both sides occurred and in the end thousands of ethnic Georgians were forced to leave Abkhazia in 1993. A wave of refugees came into Georgia with barely anything more than their clothes. People were looking for shelter and around 9000 settled down in the abandoned and dilapidated spa buildings and hotels around town. In the beginning the IDPs (internally displaced persons) were promised they could soon return home but as of today no one has been able to. The Russians are still occupying Abkhazia and keeping it hostage.

I visited the city a few times and met with refugees. People are desperate since they are cut off from their homeland and treated as second-hand citizens by the other Georgians. Georgia has had a tourism boom since the late 2010s. This, again, also attracted more and more Russian tourists. Georgia, during the Soviet times, was always one of the Russians’ favorite holiday destinations. Now we have a situation where Russian tourists visit the spas and get their massages and medical treatments by refugees from a part of land they are occupying.

One day I stumbled over a situation; I was walking around one of the spa hotel buildings. A lot of young people were all dressed up and posing for photographers they had hired. It appeared they were high school graduates celebrating the end of their school time. It was a surreal but hopeful moment amidst the sight of broken down buildings and hardship.