Gaëlle Le Pavic (United Nations University | Universiteit Gent)
Abstract
In 1993 Abkhazia parted from Georgia, only gaining very limited recognition from Russia together with Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru in 2008. Since then, the borderization of the Georgian – Abkhaz borderland spanning over the district of Gal(i) on the Abkhaz controlled-side and the district of Zugdidi on the Georgian controlled-side, has only increased. This process of borderization has a significant impact on the daily lives of people living in the borderland, in particular in their access to social services. Russia’s war in Ukraine is currently reactivating the Abkhaz – Georgian de facto border with important social consequences for people living on both sides, especially for those inhabiting the borderland. Based on a qualitative methodology encompassing (online) interviews, (visual) ethnography and observations in multiple sites along the de facto border, this presentation aims to analyse the social consequences of the de facto Abkhaz-Georgian border in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine. The results show that the crossing of the de facto border is tightening, impacting in particular the inhabitants of the Gal(i) district, whose majority is Migrelian, an ethnic Georgian subgroup. While many Russians are arriving in Georgia, mainly to escape the (partial) mobilization, many Georgians are empathizing with Ukrainians, remembering the Russo-Georgian 2008 war and the Abkhazian-Georgian war of 1992-1993. Last but not least, the Abkhaz majority is not supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine and is trying to contain Russia’s clout in Abkhazia, while rejecting the Georgian rhetoric of Abkhazia being occupied by Russia.
Biografie
Gaëlle is a PhD student at the United Nations University (UNU-CRIS) and the University of Ghent in Belgium. Her research topic focuses on access to social services in situations of regional separatism. Her research studies the role of civil society organisations in facilitating this access within and across borders without (full) legal recognition, or de facto borders. The two cases she studies are Abkhazia and Transnistria, two de facto states that seceded respectively from Georgia and Moldova in the 1990s. Gaëlle is also an active member of the Centre for the Social Study of Migration and Refugees (CESSMIR).
Previously, Gaëlle worked as a researcher at the Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy at Ghent University. She was involved in two Horizon 2020 research projects: RefugeeWellSchool, which aims to improve the well-being of refugees in schools, and InHere, which stands for inclusive holistic care for refugees and migrant victims of sexual violence in Belgium, Ireland and the UK. In recent years, Gaëlle was project manager at the Development Office of the College of Europe (Bruges) and, before that, at the French Embassy in Croatia.