Several twelve Ukrainian citizens are waiting to enter Georgia at the Daria checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border. They come from east Ukraine, which is occupied by Russia. They were imprisoned there, and now they were deported abroad by Russia. However, due to the ongoing war, they cannot enter Ukraine directly. That's why they're trying to return to their country through Georgia. However, Georgian borderers refused to enter. They must wait unknown how long under unhygienic conditions at the border crossing.
Maria Belkina is the head of Volunteers Tbilisi organization, who assists Ukrainian refugees. According to her, there were 32 people at the border crossing point on 2 July. More and more are expected to arrive due to the fact that the Russian authorities have begun to deport more and more Ukrainians from the occupied territories. “People are forced to sleep for 2 or 3 shifts due to the fact that there are only 17 sleeping places,” says Belkina in a conversation with DW. According to her, Ukrainians are kept in an unfinished part of the Georgian checkpoint that resembles a basement.
Georgia tightens policy
Georgian border officials have only late begun to require a current proof of citizenship from all Ukrainians who want to enter the country – even if they have a valid Ukrainian passport. However, the vast majority of deported Ukrainians do not have the appropriate documents. Most of them were released from Russian detention without documents.
According to volunteers, the fresh regulations practically paralyzed the Ukrainians' entry into Georgia. – While previously people with passports were passed and the remainder had to wait, now everyone is detained, even those who have documents," says Belkina. The Georgian authorities have not yet explained why they have introduced fresh rules towards Ukrainian citizens. Aid workers fishy that this is related to the planned adoption of the fresh migration law. The fresh law is intended to let refusal of entry or deportation of foreigners without giving a reason.
The Only Way to Freedom
According to Maria Belkina, Russian authorities do not talk about mass deportations of Ukrainians. They are formally released from prison after the conviction is concluded and then transferred to the migration service. Then a removal order is usually issued – frequently without the anticipation of appeal or waiting for a lawyer's call.
The problem is that most deportees are incapable to present crucial Ukrainian passports or Russian documents. For specified Ukrainians deported from Russia Georgia was for a long time the only safe way out of their situation. “Until recently, it was the only state border that accepted people with only a release certificate and alleged identity card: a part of paper with a photograph and oral confirmation from a cellmate,” says Belkina.
Other countries refuse to accept people who virtually only have "paper scraps in their hands". Georgia, on the another hand, has allowed humanitarian entry in fresh years even with specified identification. But seemingly now it's to be stopped.
What do the authorities know and how can we help?
Georgian authorities do not comment on the situation at the border. “We have not received a single answer from the authorities in 2 years, although we regularly address them,” Belkina complains. According to volunteers, the authorities do not aid people on the border either. Volunteers Tbilisi and its partners supply Ukrainians with food, water, medicines and everyday items. They besides supply legal assistance. According to them, the detainees were initially not given anything to eat or drink. Conservations given by border services have expired. In addition, any Ukrainians waiting for the border crossing had wellness problems.
Former Ukrainian prisoners who had to wait a long time to enter the country were detained on the Georgian border. According to Medusa, a Russian emigration media portal based in the capital of Latvia, Riga, in late August 2023, Georgian authorities refused to enter six erstwhile Ukrainian prisoners. The Ukrainians spent 10 days on a checkpoint. In October 2023, 7 erstwhile Ukrainian prisoners were held there for 14 days.
Now, however, for the first time so many people were detained at the same time. Ukrainians who were stuck on the border besides reported that erstwhile they were on their way to Georgia, Russian police tried to recruit them for the army. It is unclear how long they will gotta stay at the border. It is besides unknown where they are to go unless they are admitted to Georgia.