Report on Artsakh's Internally Displaced who have found refuge in Vayots Dzor
Early in the morning of September 27, the Azerbaijani army under the direction of Turkey, and with the help of hired terrorists, attacked the entire length of the contact line. After 44 days of intensive war, a ceasefire agreement was signed. Before the ceasefire, there were more than 3000 displaced people from Artsakh (newborns, children, women, elderly) in the Vayots Dzor region. An important partner of the Atken Armenian Foundation, the Syunik Development NGO has provided about 120 people (92 children, 21 women and 7 elderly) shelter in these trying times. The Syunik NGO, together with all its partners, is truly making a superhuman effort to assist our brothers and sisters from Artsakh who have found temporary refuge in Vayots Dzor.
What has remained of the territories of Artsakh under Armenian control is slowly being resettled, but there are still over 2000 internally displaced Armenians in Vayots Dzor living with generous host families in different communities of the region as well as at the Syunik-Development NGO Summer Camp facility. Tragically, the homes of many in Artsakh now fall under Azeri control, therefore, they have nowhere to go back and will have to rebuild their lives in Armenia or other regions of Artsakh. If we cannot come to their aid, it will be yet another reason for them to leave the region for “greener pastures”.
Additionally, it is important to note that the number of internally displaced may increase due to the lack of ready infrastructure in Artsakh (let us not forget that the Azeris deliberately and constantly bombed residential areas throughout Artsakh).
Thanks to the support of the AAF, the Syunik NGO carried out the following activities:
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Prepare camp facilities for winter safety (New bathrooms were constructed, windows were changed)
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Provision of first aid to the refugees: medicine, clothes, food, hygiene items.
We must try harder to restore our war-torn economy in Armenia and Artsakh. We need to pay more attention to the education and development programs of the young generation. Economic development, education, the realization of the potential of young people, adaptation to modern technologies, using all our means and putting our efforts together will have a profound effect on the building of a new development cycle in the homeland.
