The sole inhabitant of Europe’s highest and most isolated village has revealed that it is a powerful sense of duty that keeps him living there.
Irakl Khvedaguridze, 84, is the only licensed doctor in the remote Tusheti region of Georgia, which covers approximately 380 square miles.
While everyone left his village, Bochorna, Irakl was left with his faithful horse, Bichola, as his only companion throughout the year.
In a YouTube documentary made by filmmakers yes theoryThe octogenarian explains how he is dedicated to keeping the last remains of life alive in the mountains.
When asked if he has ever thought about leaving Bochorna, located 2,200 meters above sea level, he replies: “You also have to think about the well-being of others.”
Irakli Khvedaguridze, 84, is the only licensed doctor in the remote Tusheti region of Georgia, which covers approximately 380 square miles.
While everyone left his village, Bochorna, Irakl was left with his faithful horse, Bichola, serving as his only companion throughout the year.
In a YouTube documentary by director Yes Theory, the octogenarian explains how he is dedicated to keeping the last remains of life alive in the mountains.
When asked if he has ever thought about leaving Bochorna, located 2,200 meters above sea level, he replies: “You also have to think about the well-being of others.”
‘I’m going to help people who are sick. Even when I’m sick, I put on my hat and get on the horse.’
Tusheti has been inhabited for thousands of years and the main industry is sheep farming.
However, as traditions steadily disappear, many people have left the mountainous region.
According to the Georgia Travel GuideThere are 40 deserted towns and 10 very sparsely populated towns.
Of the communities that remain, most only have one or two full-time residents like Bochorna.
Most villagers leave Tusheti at the end of September, as conditions during winter at altitude can be brutal, with temperatures falling well below freezing and more than two meters of snow lasting for months at a time.
However, Irakli remains in his simple farm in Bochorna with the wood stove lit so he can respond to any emergency call.
The dedicated doctor was born in the elevated town and in a 2022 interview with National Geographicexplained the control that the old enclave exercises over him.
He told the publication: ‘My father, my grandfather, all my ancestors were born here. This area belonged to us.
In another short film about his life called Irakli’s Lantern, Irakli reveals that when he was in first grade in 1949, he remembers nine families who lived in Bochorna but who over time have disappeared and even his own children have left in search of better lifestyles. more modern.
Irakli left home to study medicine in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, and then got his first job in a hospital in another part of the country.
However, when the previous doctor serving Bochorna and the Tusheti region left in 1979, he began doing rotations and moved there full-time in 2009 instead of retiring.
Speaking about what the future holds for Georgia’s mountain communities, Irakli says in the new YouTube documentary that it’s “going in the wrong direction.”
And he continues: ‘The lifestyle (has) changed. Nobody wants to work in the towns anymore.
“If this continues, there will be no more winter tourism either.”
Tusheti and the villages in the region have been inhabited for thousands of years, with the main industry being sheep farming.
Irakli left home to study medicine in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, and then got his first job in a hospital in another part of the country.
Turning to what the future holds for Georgia’s mountain communities, Irakli says in the new YouTube documentary that it’s “going in a bad direction.”
Irakli, who is partially blind, does not say if anyone is planned to replace him.
Yes Theory filmmaker Thomas Brag says, “Part of me hopes that younger generations will see the beauty here and reverse what seems to be the inevitable demise of towns like these.”
Irakli says the hardest thing about his job and being in such a remote place is that “when you have a very sick patient, you want to help but you can’t.”
He reveals: ‘I’ve had a few cases like that. A 14-year-old boy’s palm was cut in half; There was blood everywhere, gushing like a fountain from the artery.
“We were holding his palm very tightly to stop the bleeding and thank God, Shamila, the pilot, flew up immediately and took the boy away.
“For me it was very important when you want to help a dying child but you can’t.”
Irakli, who is partially blind, does not say whether anyone is prepared to replace him.
After sharing some wine and food with the Yes Theory camera crew, the doctor accompanies them to a church next to his house.
In the stone structure, which dates back to the 19th century, light some candles and say some prayers “for the glory of my family.”
After saying goodbye to him, the Yes Theory team heads to a few more villages in the area, traveling treacherous roads as they go.
In a ruined town they find a couple who lives alone.
They explain that their son is a pilot, so he occasionally helps them transport supplies, but they are mostly self-sufficient.
After exploring the dwindling Georgian communities, Thomas Brag, a member of the Yes Theory team, concludes: “Part of me hopes that some of us, the younger generations, will see the beauty that is here and reverse what currently seems to be the inevitable disappearance of towns like these.
‘But maybe it’s just that I cling to a romantic vision of what life must be like in places like these. Time is inevitable and it can be a desperate quest to try to resist it.’
