Tata Akhalia-Dioskureli

Tata fled Abkhazia with her husband, two daughters, and two sons-in-law, eventually making their way to Tbilisi. The crush of refugees and lack of housing forced the six of them to share a single room in the Hotel Iveria for two years.

She says her life was a comfortable one in Abkhazia, where her family owned four homes. But she came to Tbilisi with nothing, and has had to rely on friends to provide the little flourishes that make her space in the hotel feel something like her old home. Delicate lace curtains separate her living space from her porch, flowers and photos hang on the walls.

A writer by trade, Tata found her muse in her lost Abkhazia, writing six books on the region. With names like "Abkhazia - My Pain," "Lord, Give Us Back Abkhazia!," "Our Pain - You Are Abkhazia!" there is no question of her desire for her former home. She has four more books in the works.

The addition of Dioskurelli to her surname is homage to Sokhumi, the Abkhazi capital where she grew up. Dioskuria is the city's historic name, Dioskureli means she is from Dioskuria. "My happiness ended when I left," she says.

NEXT »