Nana Pipiya commits self-immolation after meeting official from Georgian Refugees' Ministry

A participant of the refugees' protest action, who was an eyewitness of the incident, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that Nana Pipiya, who has committed self-immolation in Tbilisi, had long prepared the step, but finally decided to do it after her conversation with some official from the Ministry of Georgia on Refugees' Matters, who had invited her to go to Western Georgia and "eat grass there."

Nana Pipiya was a participant of the action of internally displaced persons (IDPs), who deployed a tent camp in Tbilisi in front of the Georgian Ministry of Refugees' Matters and Accommodation. Thanks to prompt actions of other protesters, who witnessed and reacted to Nana's self-immolation, she survived but was badly burned and brought to the hospital in critical condition.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by one of the refugees that the official from the above Ministry who talked to Pipiya offered her to move into some repaired cottage located in Potskho settlement, Western Georgia.

"She asked what to do there, as there are no jobs in Potskho, no conditions for agriculture, just grass. She was told right away: 'Then, eat grass!' She went out to us and burst into tears, said goodbye to everyone and seems to go away. But it turned out that she had everything prepared beforehand: she bought petrol and left him outside the gate of the Ministry yard," said Zurab Gvaramia.

As reported by Roin Gertshaliya, another refugee and protester, Nana Pipiya came up to him and asked: "Why are you standing here?" "I said that we were on hunger strike. She asked me, if it would give anything. I replied that I didn't know what to do. A suicide could be the only chance to make the Ministry moving. Then she said that if it would help others, she was ready to commit suicide; and she left. I thought she left, but suddenly she ran out of the gate all in flame," said the eyewitness.

Currently, Nana Pipiya is in the Tbilisi burn centre. According to Keti Targamadze, chief physician of the centre, she is in serious condition - 32 percent of her skin is burnt.

As stated by Gennady Kekelia, a refugee from Abkhazia and leader of the refugees' public organization, in the morning on October 28 the protest action outside the Ministry of Refugees' Matters and Accommodation would become still more broad-scaled.

Meanwhile the above Ministry gave its explanation on the attempt of self-immolation of Nana Pipiya, a refugee from Abkhazia: "The Ministry offered her residence in the countryside, but she rejected the offer. Unfortunately, it is physically impossible to provide residence in Tbilisi to all the refugees," the "Georgia Online" quotes a source from the Ministry.