For some people in my country, it is not difficult anymore, to imagine going to sleep in their own country and waking up on an occupied territory. Project shows how the Russian occupation affects peoples’ daily lives in the villages along the so-called “border” and IDPs who have suffered along the way.
In 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian-backed separatists in the Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, started a war to claim independence from Georgia. Up to 300,000 Georgians were displaced. These figures have only increased since the so-called “Five Day War” between Russia and Georgia in 2008 and up to 20% of Georgian territory is now under Russian occupation.
Since 2011 Russian armed forces pursue the policy of so-called “borderization” - installation of artificial barriers along the occupation line. As the topic of Russian occupation and the shifting of de-facto borders moves deeper, more territories gather behind the barbed-wire fences, leaving the local community without land, harvest and even own houses; dividing families and communities, preventing people-to-people contact; blocking the access to agricultural lands, to water, to religious sites and cemeteries; Moreover, kidnapping of local residents for "illegal border crossing" by Russian FSB has become almost a common practice: since the start of the "borderization" more than 1000 people have been detained.
Families across the occupation line have to deal with violation of human rights on daily basis.
“Creeping Borders” was produced with the support of Magnum Foundation as part of the Photography and Social Justice Fellowship.