Tsiala Mikava

* 1939

Victim of forced relocation, Georgia
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    Georgian volunteers go to develop Kamir .. was written on the train

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    duration: 01:11
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    “Georgians go to develop Kamir”- was written on the train, it was only propaganda; later many people arrived from different regions to work but when they faced appalling conditions left again. We had no water; there was only one channel from Syr Darya River that was freezing in winter and people were skating on the ice. There was a hole in the broken ice and we drank water from that place, the water was clean in winter but in summer it was full of sand and we had to wait for many hours for the sand to set and water become clear

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    Stalin is dead

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    duration: 00:21
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    We all were there when Stalin died, everybody was crying, people of all nations despite that we were exiled by him, we still loved him, loved as a leader, when sitting in a train cab, we were singing songs of Beria and Stalin

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    Firstly Stalin exiled Georgians

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    duration: 00:42
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    They said, Stalin exiled Georgians firstly not to be blamed in nationalism, later people arrived from Belorussia, Ukraine, they were people like us, but the first flow of exiles was from Georgia. The real reason of these actions was that Kamir needed development.

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    Arrival in Pakhtaral

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    duration: 01:51
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    We arrived in Pakhtaral, They put us in trucks, each family separately or two families together, we were taken to the south towards Kirovi region and settled in a huge two floor kindergarten near cotton farming. We were all put together with our luggage – I don’t know how many people was there- but we were a lot. When my mom saw a stove she hugged it thinking it was warm, she was 6 month pregnant and felt very cold. But the stove was frozen cold. The same day, father together with his friend Bagrat Kvaratskhelia that had one month baby with him hired a big room and we moved there. We all started to live together in that room but at least the floor was warm.

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    Tbilisi, 10.05.2013

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I’m happy regardless of all that happened to me

Tsiala with husband
Tsiala with husband
photo: Provided by Tsiala herself
photo: Provided by Tsiala herself
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Tsiala was born in 1939, in Tsalendjikha region, village Lower Mazandara. In 1951, at the age of 12 she was, she was exiled to Kazakhstan together with family, the biggest challenge was lack of Russian language knowledge though soon she adapted herself to the conditions. During school holidays Tsiala has been working in the cotton farming and received salary. Although the family was together, Tsiala was dreaming to return to Georgia. In 1954 Tsiala, her 12 years old sister and 2 year brother were put into the train and sent to Georgia. She continued school in the native village Dranda, at the Russian section; later she chose Russian Langiage as her profession.   In  1990 Tsiala still had to displace from home due to war in Abkhazia, first she moved to Zugdidi and then to Tbilisi. Since 1944 Tsiala has been living in Tbilisi with her family

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