Stories Untold - Return of Georgian Migrants: Tinatin Kevkhishvili

I am a widow and I have one child, aged 14, so I decided to go to Greece. I went there on the basis on invitation letter in 2018 and then I decided to stay there for work; I only stayed for 4 months. The name of the restaurant where I worked as a singer was “Pirosmani”, but my desire to come back home was too strong. Although my child and my mother were with me in Greece, I still wanted to return and live in Georgia. Athens is like little Georgia in fact, many Georgians live there. With their help, I heard about this programme, then I drew up a business plan and this helped me a lot. With IOM’s support I bought my equipment, which made it easier for me to find a job.

Unfortunately, my profession is not appreciated in Georgia at all, yet I still prefer to be in my country than somewhere far away. I am currently working in one of the restaurant in Tbilisi and I am planning to record my own songs. I am living with that aspiration.
 

Photo: Dina Oganova