As war-torn Abkhazia rises from the ashes, its first Independence Day last Tuesday was met with the cries of seven newborn babies. RT visited one of the first to arrive in the capital Sukhum.

Abkhazians have survived 15 years of international sanctions and the constant threat of new Georgian aggression.

They say that life has to go on, and their newly-acquired independence gives hope to them and their children.

Milana is just six days old. Her mother Alyona Dugan-Ogly says she's a quiet, serious girl.

“My daughter's got a good, calm character, very independent, maybe because she was born on Independence Day,” she says.

Milana is one of seven children, born in Sukhum on August 26, the day Abkhazia celebrated what locals call their ‘first real independence day’.

As the Russian Federation recognised the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, thousands poured onto the streets of Sukhum to rejoice.

For the children born on this special day, and their parents it is a double holiday.

“All Abkhazians were celebrating this day tremendously. It was a special joy for all of us here, in our maternity ward, that so many babies were born on Independence Day,” says Asida Pigvava, Sukhum, a maternity ward doctor.

New maternity ward

When Tbilisi attacked Abkhazia back in 1992, Sukhum's maternity ward was destroyed by Georgian artillery. This hospital took a heavy hit too, when it was peppered with bullet holes.

It’s an old building with out-of-date facilities. For now though, it is home to the new arrivals of Independence Day – four Abkhazians, two Armenians and one Russian.

It's expected, that by the end of September, the Sukhum maternity ward will be moved to this newly-rebuilt building. For doctors, nurses, and their patients, it may become a place of new hope, and new life.