ah, around the world, more than 300000000 people are seeking refuge we ask why? because no one should have to flee. make up your own mind. d, w. for mines. no khaki puppy touched, be li tends to his cattle outside his village on pastures that have been steadily shrinking since the south, the sea, she and region definitively broke away from georgia in 2008 godaddy's land is now divided by a new border heavily guarded by russian troops who locals fear i'm the russians arrested me here just recently. oh, shoot. like in the day came all the way up to there and chased me this way. i said

we're stupid. it could then gama wicked. russia has been effectively in control of south lucy. she has since 2008 and has steadily shifted the border further into georgia territory. the government in tbilisi seems powerless to take action. so david, cassava and the men, and as citizens patrol group set out to stop what they say is the creeping annexation of their country order. the throttle is from mission after the war in 2008 to go. russia occupied 20 percent of our country, that that by itself is a lot, but it didn't, and there we've been losing more and more territory ever since. i'll go to that gaudy ah, yes, david cassava is actually in the tourism business. but a number of years ago, he began conducting daily patrols of this disputed border area. he set up civilian

defense unit to prevent the seizure of george and land with the use of fences like this one. i struggled scribbled, oh, sorry r holly. this is new. barbed wire. the russians installed it about 6 weeks ago. dom up sie arc. they did it specifically to stop us bringing deliveries and other help here. god, that all the bushes over were though wearable. the mobile, the group come to this fence every week or 2, or around my volume or it's david from that color. we're by the fence. okay, we'll wait for you here. her little girl. good. file. yeah. lives on the other side of the divide, in the self proclaimed republic of south se shya, russian military intervention in 2008 secure to the regions break from georgia. malia is now effectively fenced in, and david cuts are of our points to another injustice. sugar the red line is the

south o c psion administrative boundary it while we're here by the blue dot. so the fence has no business here that we've had 7000 hector's of land taken from us. in addition to the areas we lost during the war collier vanish, bailey and her husband refused to take south lucy. she in citizenship. they insisted on continuing to live on their land in a personal protest against the occupation. but since the death of her husband mal, your strength has been failing. my relatives say i should live to their place. otto, aurora? no, you have to stay where you are. doctor, we'll take care of you and do everything we can. well, it matters. we've brought along a few things for you while you're logged on. i'd rather serve. thanks the russian south, se she and border authorities rarely allow the 90 year old's relatives to visit her

. here to the george and civilian patrol group helps out with food and medication. easy, so, so be at ubs thought she acknowledges the importance of her being there. yeah. and fighting for is horrible because it is a fight. you know, the laws for 16 percent of the disputed border has already been fortified by russian southie. she enforces with barbed wire and fences. villages have been divided and people separated from their fields as well as from their friends and relatives. georgia is a multi ethnic state during the soviet era, both of those c sheehan and that kazi and minorities had autonomy, territories inside george's borders. after the collapse of communism and the soviet union, they declared their independence. but with georgia insisting that they remain part of the country, a series of violent conflicts broke out in the early 19 ninety's. moscow backed the

separatist movements from the outset in 2008 fighting escalated into an open war between russia and georgia. to day the regents of south, the sienna kasha are effectively under russian control, with an estimated 20000 soldiers stationed there. according to georgia estimates, georgia state security services monitor their side of the occupation line, turning a blind eye to the activities of the civilian patrol groups, provided they don't lead to open conflict with the other side. but just days earlier, the volunteers had been denied access to the high security zone surrounding the border village of a tootsie. i'm glad him over the bar. ah mission else it did the of the conduct can only mean one thing. he said the, the average rate, we're not supposed to see what's happening there. hold syllabus broad. so she, so we counted phone the public health issue that says about the bus autumn. he was on this for a myriad of if were denied entry again today. ah,

what hold responsible will make her own way to a touchy though what train exhibit they come to stop us hobbled ah, a some supporter which i already got. what should have been, any one wishing to pass through the security zone requires permission at one of the many check points along the occupation line. the citizens patrol group are denied entry again. cassava has always given the george and authorities advanced notice of his groups movements. now he threatened to take matters into his own hands are mutated. i've just sent a message to my contact, former southern saying that our deal with the security services is over, or maybe done trin walker to live. and his threat is effective. a few minutes later, they get the all clear and are permitted to continue their journey to potosi.

oh okay, we're off. you go 1st, i'll follow lawless room olivia, let us show you that. oh no, that fine. guy with the men sat off again, followed by george in state security personnel. the civilians suspect of further border encroachment in a tote see information they believe their escorts purposefully withheld from them. 20 minutes later, they discover a new border sign. the russian military are nowhere to be seen, but a new demarcation line is also in place. along with a freshly ploughed field. ah, hans, or something on there will they call it to firebreak? see no dula she on. but by digging the structural to allegedly protect the fields from fire, so they've also drawn a new line of occupation. cars. oh, go puts. i answered the means of border fence. they originally erected must be 50

or 60 meters away. you want that would be great. and this new borderline is more than a kilometer long, whereby that means they've taken over several 100 hector's of land. what's his houses? so she unit r is keybo r a movie mil to pick up the repeat. this is all new god, the movie, the new you see it with the naked eye here. that the symbol local, but they've crossed the original demarcation line. they set up hill through visit the road. they've done their work along the whole line. well then disappeared. army bloodsaw arg, that's what our government is hiding. our kids again, i isic or that's why we weren't allowed to come here, though a cold term to use some for hot or some hillier. the new border shift is a set back for the men in 2018. they managed to prevent the erection of a fence at this very spot and their patrol group, when fans across georgia,

the older controls of the old quote thrown out ago. we stood up to the russians, what boulder that we told them we wouldn't let him through and that they'd have to shoot us 1st or after that. we lived here the whole year. well, that meant facing the russians. they saw we were here and couldn't do anything ever pursued our good but the george in government relented under pressure law, reduced its over 19th 2019. that was a day of shame for our government screen. just look at this video of the sorts they sent police officers to stand between us and the russians ourselves and created the ideal working conditions for the russians. in the process of shop europe, arnold, i only got the exam with why

the georgia government found itself in an unenviable position. and it pains to avoid open conflict with a militarily superior opponent. louder pitcher loudy and tom tug wattsey work for state security monitoring the george inside of the occupation line . there is no longer any contact between tbilisi entered valley. the capital of the self proclaimed republic of south asia almost daily. the 2 witnessed offences on the south association. border changing from one to cctv cameras was the 3rd mobile one the relief. if a go closer then operation forces might appear on the ground. will that stay my the lego illegal tain. erin,

who goes so it closer to the division. since the turn of the millennium, georgia has been drawing closer to both nato and the you in russia's eyes. this constitutes a security risk from within it declared sphere of influence. moscow has spent 2 decades trying to hinder george's growing affiliation with the west. ah, without the help of international partners, georgia can do almost nothing to oppose russia's expansionist policy. formal diplomatic relations between moscow in tbilisi have been suspended since 2008. but on the economic front, georgia remains heavily dependent on russia, especially when it comes to energy, infrastructure and tourism. the george and authorities are therefore eager to focus on de escalation,

deputy foreign affairs minister lasha their sally explains the situation. they are doing this inside of the so former administrative lying. but the thing is that it, sir, indiana could be said just plain lay and they're going give portion by portion just to hear it as a supplemental for oh, liberty, john josiah and all this 3 got to be crazy. so i've been wanting to meet with you already. soccer tal. georgia has 2 other writing principles, lenovo, territorial integrity and european as well as you are atlantic integration also for the rockets. the warsaw, the russian federation is trying to make us renounce one or the other psalms harald, this is easy. that's an existential threat to georgia tech tools, 3 small dishes among supper. so we have no room to compromise and not much room to negotiate. a particle money would be stress has a little bow. frank griffin, our fear is that the russian federation will keep trying to bully georgia little mazda club carmel peters, soccer toys,

the bottle david cassava and his team are now on their way to. to please see most of the men live in the capital with their families. and work in various professions, they spend as much of their free time as possible on the patrols which are funded by donations with on their way home. they hear some surprising news. ah, with that quote long, shall we go. we need to go there and take a look at the situation as well, so we can maximize public exposure and response. oh, we want these people released as soon as possible, russell pamela mm. here in the border region, someone is arrested every 2 or 3 days. charged with illegally crossing the border

cow herd. her goby puppy tash really has already been detained 3 times by russian forces. on 2 occasions he was released again after a few hours. but the other time he ended up spending 2 months in the south, the sea, she and jail schermer could agree the hungry cattle did not recognize the invisible line of occupation. of course. so these assistant, ilya desperately tries to drive them back. don't remember, why would you have to let them go into the ravine and she oh, i missed the russians arrested me. he had just recently died both shoes like they came all the way up to this and chased me this way. more than i said will. sybil couldn't go wicked. this entire stretch of land belonged to us, georgians, morally, de, and the russians took it from us. you see the lines there along the forest that marks

their territory. they say little garden, where do you says so we have to constantly wonder what exactly belongs to us georgians. how far are we allowed to go, roddy? i'll get us up and back. there is our cemetery chalk next to the conifers. by that path. any zaden, all right, we can't visit the graves of ancestors any more now, did you not? bye double. the village pastures have shrunk since the break away of south se shya, but the border has yet to be fortified here. so it's invisible, even for the herders. they still don't know exactly where they can send their cattle to greys. oh lordy, we now have just 16 cows. we used to have a 100. i collect her, but if we brought a 100 animals to graze, he now degrass would all be gone in a day or so. people sold their cattle and did i mention how many cows we lose here? last year it was 4 and 8 the year before i missed remitted, i got to go to wash rooney. let them go to the water cooler. go through. there's

a small river down in the valley. perilously close to the demarcation line. the herders can either stay back and risk losing their cattle to the other side or across the line and face the prospect of arrest and a hefty fine imposed by the occupying forces. little gordon, in government, those what, what are we supposed to do if they can keep on moving or what we need to get them back? who i, we're afraid, but the cows need water and there's not enough in the village and it's killing us all morning valued. i as he walked through a door, practically every family in karbala has been affected by arrests. the men in the village share the cattle hurting duties. goldie's wife, irma, where he is, every time it's his turn to go out on to the pastures. marano mac, i don't want anybody to get captured by the enemy. the last time he was arrested, they dragged him away by force. so gum will you have these? uh huh. at 5 pm, gaki safely ushers all the cows back into the village were including the 2 that are

his own. i'm glad to see you back safely. come and sit with me. id goggan. irma 1st met in sheen valley. she's a c sheehan and he's georgian, ethnically mixed. couples are not uncommon in the region. and this couple don't brook any discrimination. holly hall muscle armor, shackleton middleton. i wouldn't allow anyone to say anything bad about her called roland. actually nobody does that as intimate. there is no such thing here at ashley. it's been 13 years since emma last saw her family back in sheen valley and the conflict between georgia and south sea shya has been going on for at least a century with war crimes ethnic cleansing and acts of forced displacement committed by both sides. the couple experienced the war in 2008 1st hand

will shamore never said the gun, nothing was damaged when the russians came in here, like you and an o horse, i rob is to set a pity doesher. the full though the house was shaking from the roar of the tanks, passing by. i saw a shrubbery, but there was damage or talk to her what it was, was russia more? dot oversaw, but they didn't harm anybody. go or insult them about other we see a lot of georgians. don't want to have anything to do with the i see sions anymore and vice versa. that's how it is. now, the villages along the demarcation line are known locally as she, she so natalie zones, a fear emigration rates are high. local people feel the government has already given up on their communities. meanwhile, david cats or other and his patrol group have arrived in the border village of erik nettie. the latest arrest incident has already drawn attention. the local press are

waiting for cats or rather the go to interview partner when it comes to the occupation unfocused, who's got available in formative rights. now, stories are circulating that say are citizens crossed the occupation line and were arrested buckler, but in front of 80 percent of cases involved the occupiers seizing people from territory controlled by also local people to run training not to be of it's no coincidence that these interviews are conducted right next to the check point in ag, nettie. this is where those who have been arrested are usually handed back to the georgian authorities. often after lengthy negotiations, apparently there from the refugee settlement in kara, letty to topple shell. hm. not from the village of the universe. yeah. right. they live in the refugee settlement, which is where the patrol group are now headed in order to find the families of the

men arrested. the settlement was built after the 2008 war to house refugees fleeing the chin valley region. de la daisy at, aren't there any stores here where we could ask and many more, it says many mart. let's try there. one thing we want, you know, cuts her alone makes inquiries live and it turns out the shopkeeper does know one of the families by her grandmother that wrong with with so let's see if we can locate them. they live somewhere around here. oh, cool. it's horrible. and so their inquiries continue. this driver immediately recognizes cats or ever and is happy to help. after being told the address, the volunteer patrol man finds the family's home. hello, sorry to disturb. have you been contacted about to find mr. commander? no, i haven't. are nobody's been in touch. oh no, my heart's been racing morning working that so the near term of the done with. it

was only when i went to the store this morning that i found out about their arrest . april april. what will happen to my son dillon palmer, i was in the amber little garden mccoy, the accused of having crossed a border of which i doubt how is that because it's really not easy to do there because of the fence or from you. miss me a little you can always reach me on my phone showing that we do everything we can do to help was horrible. all right, thank you so much. my little david cats or other has known you information, but he knows how these arrests usually progress. at home, miss oak, but sir bye taken to a military base and then transferred out. they have to pay a fine that's determined to court. the whole process takes 2 or 3 days. and during that time they're held in prison. i only the local, the basic line is equivalent to 25 heroes. a considerable sum for people here. and

it can be a lot more. but here to the patrol group tries to help out. as a long day draws to a close, the men drive home. to please see is a city of over a 1000000 inhabitants. despite the ongoing conflict with the countries powerful neighbor, the georgia capital attract large numbers of tourists from russia. providing a welcome boost to the local economy. david cats are of our lives in the outskirts of the city, with his wife and their 3 children. the family are among those whose livelihoods depend on tourism. david and his wife, sophia, catch a pulitzer organized extreme kayaking in canoe tours before becoming an activist. he was a popular actor in t v presenter in georgia. what is now known for being in the political spotlight? his border patrols have changed the lives of every one in his family.

the agonies after his activity serve a greater purpose. so regardless of what happens, well, i'll stand by him as best i can. hook a chair with liberty. go reload, quatermain, let's walk it for is all. baton is what i'm doing now. is my mission in life. i finally found my purpose horrible. she raised herself and know what i was born to do all the romance of the morning or whatever. so. so with david cassava prepares to head back to the demarcation line. the 3 men recently detained have now been released surprisingly quickly. today's patrol will take his team close to a russian military base. with a team of e. u observers was sent to the region to monitor the ceasefire, negotiated between russia,

southeast asia and georgia in 2008. they patrol the demarcation line on a daily basis. their mission is to bring stability to the region and build up trust between the conflicting parties. when we go to the areas that we are patrolling, it is necessary to be very visible. it's a part of our mandate to be on the ground visible so that they can really see our prism, the e u team document everything they observe in the field. the resulting internal reports are sent to brussels and analysts and the various b u member states. this is sophia guzman from france. she and her colleagues are tasked to with recording any violations of international law along the border. although that's not all they do is not yet from belgium. explains what we also have a human effect of the monitoring. so how does security activities and developments influence the people living here in this area?

and we, we are monitored in human rights affects. the e. u mission has one major flaw. however, according to media spokeswoman gessner, an almond it is valid. we've in the internationally recognized for those of georgia, bertha, we are denied, i've says to up high zions of with this. yeah. the e u mission is therefore unable to say much about living conditions in the regions that broke away from georgia. communication across the border is minimal. in 2011 a hotline was set up to enable the 2 sides to report problems, and even conduct negotiations with the aim of the escalating tensions. around 300 individuals from all over the e. u, as well as from georgia, work for the mission. it's budget for the current 2 year period is approximately $45000000.00 euros.

russia has already set up 42 military bases across the region. moscow recognized the sovereignty of south se shya after the 2008 war. but the break away state remains heavily reliant on russia in economic terms. and the kremlin also exerts considerable influence on the south, the sea sion government, the anti occupational activists dispatch a drone to try and spy on any new plans to push the border further into georgia territory. turn the quote to turn was rob was buzzers were now watching movements at the base to see what they're up to. the arms of the ben. this is the morning shift thomasville bruce's. oh, so they're preparing to go out on patrol for promoting problem. what's your group number? russia is our enemy and more information improves our ability to fight them. so god,

that astorga some global to settle. i see there a truckload's in this stranger. they don't let a mental the men's activities are not without risk. their drone has already come under fire once, but they accept these risks and remain determined to resist as they see it. neither the georgia government nor the u mission has an effective plan for dealing with the encroaching russian occupation cuts or rather, and as men always decide spontaneously when and where they will, petrol to monitor the russian occupiers and their illegal encroachments. the men have to use the element of surprise. they often end up in precarious situations. pato, but can you get the camera and start recording? got a dog?

certainly they were more of them. at least 3. the driving off now. they pick a sub you albert. they thought we were locals, men, and that they might be able to rest us. a give is go with that, but they've split her guard room. david cats are of, i says his patrol group has prevented the erection of around 10 kilometers of border fence, at least putting a small dent in the creeping annexation of his country. oh, to live up, forgot withdrawals of stories, those little dis, its own day. we definitely will kick the russians out alone. i don't know when my le tour, but it will happen my and saw most oh ah,

a can europe do without russian gas. sheers over gas and oil supplies are soaring. as prices hit record ties. how can europe and it's dependent on russia? can the continent suddenly turn off the type of business special in 30 minutes on d w. oh, hello guys. this is the 77 percent the platform with, you know, on this channel. we're not afraid to talk to young people clearly have the solution . good future with the 77 percent every weekend on d w ah ah

ah, this is the w news live from berlin. ukraine rejects russia's proposal for humanitarian corridors, leading to russia and beller verse. while thousands are trying to flee to safety, many still trapped in russia, controlled areas, remain defiance and are met with gunfire. through my primary plan is to go home with my dad and say i'm back.