More than 100,000 people still fled Nagorno-Karabakh territory into Armenia as Azerbaijan regained control of the region. Many refugees have lost their property and are dependent on grants and charities.
Over the past year, the war in Ukraine has continued and the war in the Middle East has begun. However, this year one conflict ended at least temporarily. Azerbaijan regained control over the occupied territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Ethnic Armenians fled Karabakh.
Armenia prepares for the new year. But not only the year will end, but also the unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. 100,000 Armenians forced to flee are now here in Armenia in the status of internal refugees.
Despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers, Azerbaijan mounted an anti-terrorist operation in Nagorno-Karabakh in September this year. As a result, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was forced to capitulate.
“I was at work at the time. I worked in a kindergarten. The city was bombed and we took refuge in the basement with the children. We had to stay there for several days and then we managed to escape from there. The neighbors helped us. We don’t have a car and offered us a ride. From our belongings we only took two bags with winter clothes,” said Kristina, a refugee from Karabakh.
Kristina, like other Karabakh refugees, receives a state subsidy of 50,000 drams a month, or around 120 euros. Several charities also help refugees.
“People need everything. They left their whole lives behind, houses, property, etc. Many of them lived well in Karabakh. But they came here empty-handed and did not know what would happen to them. Many of they are going to emigrate. Most of them will leave for Russia or have already done so,” said Yevgeni Yevsyukov, the founder of the Ethos charitable foundation.
The Ethos Charitable Foundation is unique in some ways. It was founded by Russians who fled Russia at the beginning of the war in Ukraine to help Ukrainian war refugees. Now they mainly help refugees from Karabakh.
“Most of our volunteers are Russian. They come from different cities. There are those who have lived in Armenia for a long time, more than five years, but there are also those who have only arrived a few months ago. Recently many Armenians “have join our ranks. There are also volunteers from Brazil and Great Britain. There are also Ukrainians who initially received aid, but now they help others,” Evsyukov said.
Ukrainians hope to return home after the war ends. Karabakh refugees have no such prospect.
“I was born in Baku. I was eight years old when we were forced to leave from there as refugees. You probably know what was done there to the Armenians, what massacre was organized there. We will not survive a second time. My parents’ grave is remained there, but we can’t visit it. We can’t trust the Azeris,” Kristina said.
“If Russia cannot guarantee our security, how can Azerbaijan? They can stay calm for a few years and then they will organize a massacre for us again. We don’t trust them,” refugee Artur said.
2023-12-13 19:29:00
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