Stories Untold - Return of Georgian Migrants: Tsiuri Gordeladze

I am a housewife, a widow. I have three children and a grandchild and we all live together, I am a pensioner. When I was in Athens I was looking after an elderly person. I stayed there for 8 months only. Not knowing a language was a big discomfort for me. I didn’t understand what the person wanted, what I had to do. I was not young either. I started to have health problems, diabetes, high blood pressure. I couldn’t not take it and came back. I was helping my big family with what I earned. My best memory from being away is the end of each month, when was I receiving my salary and sending it back to my family. That was my first experience abroad. It was interesting for me to see at my old age, what the life was like outside my village. However, for me there is no better place than the place where I was born and raised. I came back in August 2019. If a family does not have cattle in the village, the family is hungry – they say. I bought cows with the help of IOM programme, then I sold one cow and bought a pig. I now have eight piglets, a calf and up to 200 chicks. I sell eggs, milk, cheese. The assistance was very important for my family. We have been better off financially since I came back. The only thing I wish for is for my children to have jobs in the future and be able to support the family.
 

Photo: Dina Oganova