As a result of the forced displacement of the Artsakh population by Azerbaijan, a humanitarian crisis has emerged in Armenia. Tens of thousands of people who have resettled in Armenia are now deprived of their right to a home, work, and a decent life. In such crisis situations, elderly people, women, and children become especially vulnerable.
From the onset of forced displacement, the Women’s Fund Armenia mobilized its resources to aid the forcibly displaced. The Fund, in collaboration with partner organizations addressing women’s issues in Armenia, provided humanitarian support to meet the basic needs of displaced people.
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In Kotayk region, the Women’s Fund Armenia collaborated with the Resource Center for Women’s Empowerment NGO. According to the founder of the NGO, Nare Hayrapetyan, when the forced deportation of people from Artsakh began, they were already ready and knew what to do in the beginning, because they dealt with the issues of displaced persons during the 44-day war in 2020.
“Our first organized action was the collection of data on hosts and apartments for rent in our community, in Hrazdan. That method was very effective because we were able to accommodate quite a few people who came to Hrazdan all at once and were without a roof over their head. During that time, our social workers immediately established contact with forcibly displaced persons and accommodated them in temporary housing. After that we were already ready for the next stage: we already knew that sooner or later the phase of providing humanitarian assistance would also begin,” says Nare.
Referring to the main problems faced by forcibly displaced women, Nare Hayrapetyan mentions the inaccessibility of state services. “People were lost, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and did not know where to turn or what to do. There was no single overall system. There was no specific hotline available 24 hours a day,” she says.
The head of the NGO emphasizes that one of the most important problems, which was not given due attention, was the lack of personal hygiene items for women. “None of the aid packages included items necessary for women’s sexual and reproductive health, including female pads,” she notes.
One of the primary needs of the forcibly displaced people was the lack of shelter and, as Nare Hayrapetyan points out, the fact that they fled the war made the already vulnerable people even more vulnerable. “We worked on protecting people from various possible risks during that time. In this situation, we have had cases, for example, when people, seeing that the one is a single woman and has no relatives, offered to live in their house, which could be risky for her: there may have been instances of host exploitation or gender-based violence. There were cases when there were no bathrooms in people’s rented houses and people had to use the neighbors’ bathrooms, which again involves big risks,” Nare states, adding that they found out all this only when talking with the forcibly displaced beneficiaries in their safe space.
According to the head of the NGO, medicines were a very important need, because many people got sick after being on the road for days. “We have beneficiaries who lost relatives on the way. There are people who had heart attacks and strokes on the way and were deprived of even first aid,” she notes with pain in her voice.
“Resource Center for Women’s Empowerment” NGO has been actively involved in the process of humanitarian assistance from the very first days of the forced displacement, cooperating with various organizations and funds, including the Women’s Fund Armenia.
“With the support of the Women’s Fund, we bought feminine hygiene items, pads and medicines. We also received support from “Women’s Support Center”, “Coalition Against Violence Against Women”, “Hayastan All-Armenian Fund”, “Women’s Resource Center” and the Diaspora. Support was mainly in this form: partners provided us with various goods: beds, hygiene items, food and we distributed it to our beneficiaries. In the case of the Women’s Fund Armenia, the format was different. The fund gave us a grant and we made the purchases according to the needs of our beneficiaries. I think this format is better, because we had already done a needs assessment and knew much better what our beneficiaries need,” says Nare Hayrapetyan.
According to the head of the NGO, they try to refrain from food support. “The advantage of the project implemented with the WFA was that it was really needed. Now I tell all our partner organizations to try to make the support more need-based. We refrain from food aid, because our beneficiaries often complain to us that they did not manage to use the food, it has expired, or it has spoiled,” she emphasizes.
Speaking about the cases of domestic violence, Nare Hayrapetyan notes that in recent months, 3-4 cases of domestic violence per month were in the families of displaced people. “In this case, I attach great importance to our services. There were no international structures in Artsakh, no services that women could turn to. Domestic violence was never discussed in Artsakh and there was no culture of turning to the Police. It may sound strange, but I’m glad that women come forward in cases of violence. Because we clearly know that there are cases of violence and they are increasing, and it is very welcome that women apply to us. People are now really in a desperate situation with an uncertain future and the role of community services is very important. Last year we had 7 cases of violence among displaced women. This year has just started, but we already have new cases,” Nare Hayrapetyan notes.
She proudly states that within a few months they were able to cover the primary needs of forcibly displaced people settled in the entire Hrazdan community. “Our goal was to help all the people on the lists, to work until everyone gets the necessary support. Until then, I couldn’t sleep at night, every day lying down I thought: in one list, a family was left without help, in the other list, a displaced person does not answer our calls, what can be done, etc. In 2023, we worked until the last day. After the distribution of the most recent aid, I went home and immediately fell ill. I was paralyzed for a whole day, I couldn’t move. Now, when I look back, I understand that the psychological tension did not allow us to get sick, and when we finished everything, my body said, “Okay, now you can get sick,” Nare laughs.
According to the head, the entire team of the “Resource Center for Women’s Empowerment” is overtired and in professional burnout. The staff bore all the psychological pressure. “Don’t want to boast, but I must say that I’m very proud of the work done by our team. We ourselves need long-term rehabilitation. Each displaced person has his own problems and hardships, but we bear all of them simultaneously, trying to help them in some way. We carry the information about all 5000 beneficiaries, who needs what, and when we learn about any opportunity, we immediately inform our beneficiaries. This is not part of our core function, but if we don’t do that, we’ll feel guilty. We cannot work in any other way, we cannot be compassionate,” says Nare.
Now, the number of beneficiaries of the NGO is increasing and the staff is also engaged in fundraising processes in addition to their main work. “We want to keep the same rhythm, because the beneficiaries are very interested and want to participate in the programs implemented by us. It is important for us to keep their trust,” says the head of the NGO.
The non-governmental organization plans to implement programs aimed at integrating forcibly displaced people into the public life of their community.
As a means of ensuring continuity of support to the displaced, Nare Hayrapetyan notes that the women’s safe spaces program is very effective, which can bring together different groups of women, either displaced, abused or in need of psychological support. According to her, such programs are very effective and help the displaced people to integrate into community life sooner, make friends and, perhaps, start some new business together.
Nare continues to talk about their plans, which the whole team is working on now. From her reasoned sentences, you understand that she knows where she is going and how and that she will not stop working until she reaches the goal and writes on paper: “The project is successfully completed”.
Interview by Yelena Sargsyan
Photos by Resource Center for Women’s Empowerment NGO
