Tamasi and his family ran for the forest when he learned Russian tanks were rolling towards his village north of Gori. After hiding in the shadows of the trees for more than a week, he finally accepted that they wouldn't be returning any time soon and fled to Tbilisi.

Now, living in a kindergarten in Georgia's capital and dependent on assistance from aid agencies, Tamasi is wondering when he will be reunited with those left behind in his village of Dzevera. The rural areas north of Gori are still largely inaccessible.

"We are not all here," he tells me, looking down at the ground with a sombre look. "Only half of us made it, the rest are still there".

I am told that one of his neighbours did not want to leave his home, preferring to hide in a large vessel traditionally used to store wine. In total, 21 people fled with Tamasi. In the kindergarten where he and his family are now staying, there are only 10.

"We did not think that we would have to be in the forest for very long. But after days passed, we realised we could not return home. With us we had but a few scraps of food and the clothes on our backs.

"As the days passed, some people did not have the energy or ability to carry on; they were either sick, disabled or old ... we would of course have carried them, but our group was made up of mostly children who we carried in our arms, what could we do? At first we insisted to stay with them. But after a while, we were conscious that we might be there for a long time and with literally nothing, we would all perish..."

Tamasi picks up a small child and holds him close. "My son Lukas is 10 months old, if anything, we had to leave for him."

For 10 long days they lived in the wilderness, constantly on the move, Tamasi says. Having only packed enough food to keep them going for a few days they had no choice but to eat leaves from the trees for the remaining seven. They walked for kilometres on empty stomachs almost all the way to Tbilisi.

I look at Lukas who looks surprisingly healthy in light of what he has endured, and ask how Tamasi managed to feed him.

"We put the juice from mint leaves on the remaining stale bread we had but that only lasted a few days. In the end, we fed him only grass and leaves. He was so hungry that he ate it. What choice did he have anyway? What choice did we all have? It was terrible, when he wept we had to cover his mouth; we did not want his cries to be heard. What would happen if we were discovered? On our long journey to Tbilisi, we saw dead people, a reminder of what could happen to us. We did not want to risk anything. As soon as night fell, it was not only him that was scared, we all were. "

Then Tamasi pauses, staring blankly into space.

"I cannot stop thinking about those who have been left behind...none of us can ... for the first few days after arriving here, we had contact via mobile with them ... they said that they were lost and dying; they had nothing, no food or water. We have not heard from them since. It is unbearable to think about ... who knows if they are still alive?"

Lukas who has been quiet for some time suddenly laughs and his innocent joy is infectious. His small giggle provides momentary relief from the nightmare.

Oxfam International and its partner NGOs are currently assisting displaced people in Georgia who fled areas of conflict. Oxfam would be prepared to help any civilians affected by the conflict, whether they are in Georgia, South Ossetia or North Ossetia, if granted safe access to assess the situation and if assistance were needed. Russia has said it is managing relief operations in South and North Ossetia.

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