News and Features

EUMM goes to school

24.12.2008
EUMM patrols regularly visit schools in the villages they pass during their patrols. The aim of these visits is to make contact with the local population and explain why EUMM is in Georgia and what our mandate is.

Especially, the children have suffered from August hostilities. They know far too well for their age what tanks and weapons look like. EUMM monitors want them to know EUMM and that – despite our sometimes massive looking vehicles - we are unarmed and come as help and friend.

From 19 November to 26 December, EUMM organized a drawing competition with seven schools in the area north of Tbilisi near Akhalgori. Special attention was paid to schools where internally displaced persons or Ossetian children are learning. The following schools participated:

- KVEMO CHALA
- MCHADIJVARI
- LAMISKANA
- ANTIM IVIREANU SCHOOL IN TBILISI,
- MUKHRANI SCHOOL NO 1
- MUKHRANI SCHOOL NO 2
- MUKHRANI SCHOOL NO 3

Children aged between 9 and 17 years participated.

On 23 December, the Head of EUMM, Ambassador Hansjörg Haber, visited the school in Kvemo Chala, to discuss with the children their paintings and distribute the prizes. This school is where the first presentation of the public information outreach programme on the work of EUMM started last November. The school is located one and a half kilometres from the South Ossetian administrative boundary line (ABL), and it has 233 students from 6 to 17 years old, including six students from South Ossetia, and one that has to cross the ABL everyday to go to school.

We were amazed by the results of the drawing contest. The children’s imagination and the quality of the paintings were stunning.

Therefore, we decided to display at least the best pictures on our webpage


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