Georgian villages five years after the war

There is still barbed wire as far as the eye can see on the Russian-proclaimed border to South Ossetia. This wall goes right through the village of Didi Hurvaleti, in the Gori district. Initially the village belonged completely to Georgia. Last year, Russian border troops erected a barbed-wire fence right through the settlement.

Valya Vanishvili now lives on the "Russian" side. One day this Georgian retiree was cut off from her neighbors in her village Didi Hurvaleti. She doesn’t dare to move back to the Georgian side. But she can’t buy food from the supermarket, because Georgian Lari aren’t accepted on the Russian side. To get by, she has friends from the Georgian side sneak food over the border.

Here we see a cow that has wandered across the border to the Russian side, where soldiers inspect anyone looking to cross. It can be difficult for Georgian farmers to get their animals back, because each act of trespassing can lead to arrest and a fine. This year alone, some 100 people have been arrested.

Near the village of Dizi in the Gori district a fence has been erected that is over four kilometers (2.5 miles) long. And it continues to get longer. The government in Tbilisi rejects the new border, which at times can extend up to 300 meters beyond South Ossetia. This is where the "Republic of Ossetia" begins - a breakaway region recognized by Russia, but not by the international community.

In principle, anyone is allowed to view the demarcation of Georgia's so-called "administrative border." One must simply inform the Georgian interior ministry beforehand. Also, all visitors to the border must be accompanied by a local police officer.

The city of Gori is located around 30 kilometers from the administrative border, away from the barbed wire. Gori was badly damaged in the 2008 war, but the city has now been rebuilt and attracts many tourists.

Along the road between Gori and Tbilisi there are houses with red and blue roofs. These are the settlements for the people displaced during the war. One of them is Shavshvebi, home to 560 displaced people who were forced from their villages. Nearly 25,000 people fled their homes during the conflict. More than half remain displaced.

Galina Kelechsayeva lives in Shavshvebi. She was forced to leave her village of Didi Liachvi. But she refuses to give up hope: "I am confident that we will return home someday. We've all lost something, but we're still alive.

Manana Betshetshiladse (left) has been paying regular visits to Shavshvebi with her "mobile supermarket" for years. She's on a first name basis with several of her customers. One of them is Sidonia Gotshashvili, who lives alone. Her home village of Chejti was burned to the ground after the war. Her son was taken captive and abused by the Russians. He died later in a car accident.

Nasi Beruashvili is from Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia. During the first Georgian-Ossetian conflict in the 1990s she was forced to flee to the village of Eredvi, where she stayed until 2008. Then she was forced out again, this time to Shavshvebi. After 22 years of displacement, she has given up hope of ever returning to her original home.