By Alexander Pracht
The Armenian government will cut financial aid for Nagorno-Karabakh refugees starting Tuesday, reducing both the amount and the number of eligible recipients. Monthly payments will drop from 50,000 to 40,000 drams (about $100), with only children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and families who lost their breadwinners qualifying. The aid will be reduced further to 30,000 drams ($75) in July, raising concerns for thousands who fled Azerbaijan’s 2023 offensive and ethnic cleansing of the region.
CivilNet spoke to several displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh about the looming aid cuts, revealing deep concerns about their future. “If the support is cut, many people will end up on the streets,” warned Nanar Alaverdyan, whose family of five settled in Hrazdan, a town in central Armenia. Many refugees choose to settle outside Yerevan to escape the capital’s high cost of living; however, job opportunities remain scarce across most of the country. For many, the government assistance barely covers rent and utilities.
Also read: Displaced families from Artsakh face mounting challenges as aid decreases
Hermine Hayrumyan, a mother of three in Yerevan, says she works 12-hour days just to make ends meet, but much of her earnings go toward childcare. “Managing means I hardly see my children,” she says. Her struggle is not unique as many families face similar hardships in adapting to life without stable financial support.
On Saturday, displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh held a rally in Yerevan’s Freedom Square, demanding recognition of their collective right to return home and continued social support from the Armenian government. The event, which attracted a diverse group of participants, including refugees and local citizens, featured a petition outlining 12 key demands. Protesters called for the protection of Nagorno-Karabakh’s people’s rights, including the right to return, as affirmed in the November 2023 ruling by the International Court of Justice. They also urged the Armenian government to maintain social assistance for those forcibly displaced.
A key point of the petition was the call for the Armenian government to find solutions to the housing and social issues facing displaced individuals. Many families fear that the drastic reduction in support will leave them vulnerable. The rally also called for an international conference to address the displaced population’s critical humanitarian needs and for stronger measures to protect Nagorno-Karabakh’s cultural heritage.
Armenia’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has consistently urged displaced Karabakh residents to take advantage of the program aimed at providing them with certificates to purchase houses or apartments. The program was introduced in May last year and launched that July. However, many refugees have expressed concerns that the amounts provided in the certificates are insufficient to cover housing costs. Additionally, many property owners refuse to accept these certificates as payment. As of early February, more than 540 families of Nagorno-Karabakh refugees had received housing certificates, the Armenian government reported.
The cut of financial aid will not only make life more difficult for refugees, forcing them to seek income more actively in an already struggling economy, but will also impact local Armenians, stressed Lianna Petrosyan, a social activist and public figure concerned with the refugee issue. Thousands of local property owners who have been renting their homes to displaced Karabakh families will lose their main or supplementary source of income. For many families, this rental income has provided steady financial support, helping cover utility bills, loans, and everyday expenses. The sharp drop in demand could lead to another decrease in housing prices, negatively affecting those who have invested years of effort into improving their properties or securing a stable position in the rental market.
Petrosyan also suggested several changes to address the current challenges. She proposed extending the financial support program indefinitely, as some families, due to limited property, no longer qualify for even the minimum support, while others with mortgaged homes still struggle to repay loans but no longer receive the extra aid.
She also called for a review of the program’s beneficiary lists to include families unfairly excluded for technical reasons. Further adjustments are needed in the housing assistance program, allowing families with at least half of their members holding Armenian citizenship to access housing certificates. In addition, assistance should be based on the actual needs of displaced individuals, not on rigid and often unreasonable requirements, Petrosyan argued She recommended developing interim support programs to aid particularly vulnerable groups, such as refugees who are unable to work due to family obligations, alongside larger-scale employment initiatives. Lastly, she said it is vital to clarify the procedures and deadlines for the social housing program to ensure its effectiveness.
Since the 2020 war, thousands of displaced Karabakh residents who found refuge in Armenia have left the country to live elsewhere due to financial concerns. “The population of Karabakh, according to the latest census, was 145,000. Therefore, when we talk about the number of people who have permanently left Armenia, we must also consider the refugees from 2020. There were 24,000 of them, this figure is verified and accurate,” said Nagorno-Karabakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan in an interview with the Russian news site Caucasian Knot in January.
In addition, the Armenian Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs reported in January that approximately $230 million was allocated as financial aid for Karabakh refugees aside from the housing program. Minister Narek Mkrtchyan also stated that nearly 25,000 individuals have become employed in the country, with some finding work through state support programs.
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