These children were born in a cave-like basement with rats and keep living there. Not in a well-maintained basement, but in a real basement with rats. We can worry about other people’s children who are hiding in basements from a brutal war, and not notice our children in front of our face on our land… We cry and weep, worrying about the lives of children who can die from a bullet, and we don’t want to hear anything about those who die of cold and hunger in peacetime in Georgia.

No matter how hard their mom tries to explain to them that happiness is not only in material well-being, that a man does not live by bread alone, three-year-old Nia, five-year-old Nika and ten-year-old Roma no longer believe in these stories.

There are five hungry children and sick retired parents. Lali will go crazy soon! It is only her task to think for seven people. What to think about first? Her mom needs a sixth surgery on her hernia repair, and she has no idea where to get the money for that. She needs to give back the 200 GEL that she owed at the store – otherwise, they will not give her food anymore. Twins Nino and Tsiako (5 years old) cry and ask to take them to the kindergarten. But they have no clothes and shoes, so they have to stay at home.

The roof of their house is overgrown with moss, there are cracks in the walls, and the cracks are so huge that the boogeyman can get through them and scare the kids. “When the wind blows, he whistles from there like this: “Fuuu-fuuu”. Mom says if we don’t behave well, he will take us away,” – five-year-old Barbara says and points to the cracks in the wall. She and her seven-year-old brother Papuna try to be good children, they do not cry when their mother cannot give them food. But little Elene, who will soon turn two years old, cries all the time… The children are afraid because of that: what if the boogeyman does not make out who was crying, and will take them all? What will mom do then? What will they do without her?

A warmly wrapped child sits by the old creaky table, on a broken chair, in a pile of old and torn clothes, and picks up breadcrumbs with his tiny fingers, swallowing them greedily. Not a single crumb must fall down. They are worth their weight in gold! She sniffs her piece of bread, then puts it to her cheek, as if she had never tasted anything more delicious than bread. And so it is, only instant soup from the store is tastier than bread. But it is expensive – it costs 70 tetri!

“I will become the Hulk, and then let’s see how they won’t lend us toys! I will beat everyone who offends me and my brothers! I will get huge muscles,” – Malkhaz is indignant.
The neighbor children in the yard did not let him ride a bicycle again. And they did not lend a car with a remote control to his brother. He just wanted to hold it. They never break anything. And the “bad” children said: “You must have your own toys!” But 6-year-old Ramaz, 5-year-old Malkhaz, and 3-year-old Grigol not only have no toys – but they sometimes do not even have a piece of bread to eat.