Author

Charel Krieps

Humanitarian Officer
Caritas Europa

The second Nagorno-Karabakh war ended in November 2020, leaving thousands of displaced families to survive in poor conditions in Armenia. These people cannot return to their homes that are now in areas under Azeri control.

Since the beginning of the war, Armenian Caritas has been providing support to tens of thousands of persons who fled the conflict. Here are the stories of just a few of these people.

Displacement and basic support

After having had to flee their homes, 20 families (82 people) from all over Nagorno-Karabakh settled in a university dormitory in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. Many of the family members, including children, need regular medical attention or to still process the trauma of the war. They have difficulties to find jobs and hence earn an income. Even integrating a school in Yerevan is complicated for the children due to the different Armenian dialect.

Among the people in the dormitory are Karo and Narine from Shushi. They left all their belongings behind – their house, their furniture, their clothes. During the first war in the 1990s, Karo lost his left leg, suffered from a heart attack and underwent surgery.

We had to leave our house and what we had created over the years and move to Yerevan. There are many problems, from medicine to employment, but we are glad that Armenian Caritas is with us. They have supported us in many ways.

Narine

Michael Landau, the President of Caritas Europa, listens to the testimonies of Karo and Narine from Shushi, now living in a university dormitory in Yerevan.

Some families wish to return to areas of Nagorno-Karabakh that are still under Armenian control, others intend to stay in the Republic of Armenia. The government of Nagorno-Karabakh is building new apartment buildings for people from the territories that are now lost, but the waiting lists are long and the construction takes time.

Mrs. Evgine from Nagorno-Karabakh is showing photos of her sons. She lost her husband and a son in the first war in the 1990s. Her grandson died shortly after. Her second son became disabled in the most recent war. She cannot return to her village which is now under Azeri control.

Shelter support

After the initial emergency relief activities following the start of the conflict, which included the distribution of food and clothes, Armenian Caritas switched to early recovery activities. Early recovery addresses urgent humanitarian needs and allows people to seize first development opportunities, to build resilience and to establish a sustainable process of recovery from crisis.¹ Caritas’ early recovery activities take place in the provinces of Shirak and Gegharkunik.

Many displaced families live in houses abandoned since the 1990s war. These houses now belong to the local communities and are made available for free to the families from Nagorno-Karabakh. However, most of them have been abandoned for decades and are in bad condition.

One of the houses identified by Caritas for shelter support. The current state of the building does not allow decent living conditions: the roof leaks, and the missing windows have been replaced by makeshift plastic and cardboard shields. Caritas helps the people dwelling here by fixing the windows and installing a toilet inside the house.

As these houses are temporary shelters, Caritas focusses on raising living standards by fixing the most urgent problems the families identify. Usually, these are permeable window and door frames, unfinished flooring or missing bathrooms or kitchen areas.

The displaced family living in this house identified the renovation of the bathroom as a priority. Caritas and its engineers will support them by providing the building materials and, if necessary, labour costs.

These villages are also home to people who are not displaced, but who live in poor conditions. In order to avoid possible tensions between residents and displaced families, Caritas supports all persons in need with their shelter repair activities.

Alvard lives in a village close to Gyumri. She is not displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, but receives support from Caritas because her family of six is also impacted by the war – one of her sons was severely wounded in battle. Her husband works in Russia as a seasonal worker, but the family does not have enough income to improve their living situation. Armenian Caritas will replace the windows and the doors in their home.

Livelihood support

Caritas also knows that the best way to help people in need is to assist them in helping themselves. Therefore, Armenian Caritas implements so-called livelihood activities for 400 households.

Together with the households we discuss and identify activities that they could do and that would generate an income. We also consider if these activities are viable in the local market. For each activity we then develop a simple plan with a timeline and the assets needed to carry it out. Caritas provides the necessary tools or materials. Many families want to engage in agriculture or in cattle breeding, others want to start a business in crafts or trade.

Christine Mkhitaryan, Project Manager

Some displaced families benefit from both shelter improvement activities and livelihood assistance. Edik and his wife are originally from Gyumri, a city in northern Armenia. They emigrated to Nagorno-Karabakh after the first war, but had to flee when their village was evacuated before the arrival of Azeri forces. They and their daughter Angelina now rent a house in a village close to Gyumri. Caritas will assist them in building a bathroom inside the house as well as by providing livelihood assistance.

Edik and his daughter Angelina.

By undertaking an activity, the families will be able to restart their lives without needing assistance in future. The new income will eventually also allow them to leave their temporary shelters and rent more appropriate houses or flats.

Caritas remains hopeful for the future

Supporting displaced families from Nagorno-Karabakh to start their new lives in Armenia will require long-term attention. Additional challenges remain, such as insecurity in the villages of the Gegharkunik province, where many displaced families are under regular fire by Azeri forces. Armenian Caritas continues to dedicate their time and resources to supporting displaced families by ensuring that they live in decent and dignified conditions and by empowering them to take control of their futures. Over the past few months, Armenian Caritas has focused its efforts on supporting families who have lost their homes and livelihoods in Karabakh, in addition to its numerous ongoing social projects. In the near future, the organisation will try to increase the scale of its activities and the number of people supported with the start of new projects.

Notes:

1. https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/clusters/early-recovery