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150 FAMILIES MOVE TO "LIBERATED" KASHATAGH IN 2011: WILL THEY STAY?
Knar Babayan
hetq
14:20, August 17, 2011
Everyone knows the family of Mourad Margaryan in Berdzor, the regional
center of the Kashatagh district in Artsakh.
Mourad and his wife Parandzem are the parents of 11 kids. The day
we arrived, the older boys were out in the valley picking berries
for sale.
This large family, living in an area once known as the Lachin corridor,
gets by on 141,000 AMD per month (about $400).
Mourad receives a salary of 45,000 and the government gives a 96,000
AMD stipend for the children.
Parandzem says she would like to grow some vegetables in the garden
for sale but that there's no water. It only flows for about one hour
every day.
She says that the family moved here from the Lernapat village in 1998.
There were only 4 kids back then.
In 2009 the Artsakh government allocated a 4 room house to the family.
It's not a new house and has its share of problems - leaky roof,
damp walls, etc.
Despite the problems, Parandzem says that life in Berdzor is easier
than Armenia. People moving to the area get a number of subsidies
from the government.
For those wanting to build a house, authorities chip in with 2
million AMD worth of construction materials. There's also a 240,000
AMD livestock credit available.
The parents say that Berdzor is where they propose to stay but that
the children will decide for themselves once having grown up.
As we were about to leave, Andranik, one of the sons burst into the
room boasting that they had sold two pails of blackberries.
The 13 year-old boy told us that on an average day they could pick
10 buckets of berries and sell one for 3,000 AMD ($8). They hand the
proceeds over to their mother.
The Melikyan's from Ashtarak
The Melikyan's are another family that relocated in Berdzor from
Armenia.
Mrs. Gayaneh told us they moved from Ashtarak in 2001 when family
members were laid off from work.
The initial idea to move to Berdzor belonged to Garik, her son. He
had visited with a friend and fell in love with the town. The whole
family decided to move soon after.
"Much has changes over the past 10 tears. Most people have jobs and
the rest work on their plots of land. Of course there are problems,
the main one being water. Water is supplied by the hour and it's not
enough during the summer heat," Gayaneh said.
And what about talk that these "liberated" territories will be handed
back at the negotiating table?
"I really don't think that Berdzor or any other areas will be
returned. If I had any doubts, we wouldn't be here. You just simply
don't give back lands liberated by the blood of so many young men,"
said Gayaneh.
The Zournatchyan's from Ashtarak
The Zournatchyan family is a new arrival to Berdzor. They moved here
4 months ago.
Hasmik says her husband, Gagik, was a tractor driver back in Ashtarak
and only did seasonal work.
"A friend working in the local administration offered my husband
permanent work and he took it. We came with our two young kids. The
third was born here in Kashatagh," said Hasmik.
The young mom isn't sure if they will stay. They are living in someone
else's house. They haven't yet received the house promised them by
the government.
But she says that they are slowly getting used to their new
surroundings even though they have to buy things on credit from the
local stores.
It's the same with many residents despite the fact that most have jobs.
Moushegh moved to Berdzor from Goris 16 years ago. He now runs his
own store and says he makes enough to pay the family expenses.
Artur Mkhitaryan, the Deputy Director of the Kashatagh Regional
Administration, says that resettlement remains a priority and that the
government is paying special attention to war refugees with nowhere
else to go.
Mr. Mkhitaryan said that 150 families, some 500 individuals, had
resettled in Kashatagh during the first 6 months of 2011.
When I asked him if the Artsakh government had any resettlement
target number, Mkhitaryan said no but that the region could sustain
many more who wished to relocate.
"We would like to see the region develop and get stronger. We have come
to realize that might makes right, in any cases. This just doesn't
mean having a strong army but a developing economy. We already have
the former and possess the prerequisites for the latter."
When I asked about possible territorial concessions, Mkhitaryan gave
the official Stepanakert response - These aren't liberated lands
but lands that have been incorporated into the Artsakh Republic via
the constitution.
"We hear such talk about giving back lands from Yerevan now and then.
No one thinks anything like that here. I find it hard to believe that
any official, with the stroke of a pen, will cede lands liberated at
such a high cost."
From: A. Papazian
Knar Babayan
hetq
14:20, August 17, 2011
Everyone knows the family of Mourad Margaryan in Berdzor, the regional
center of the Kashatagh district in Artsakh.
Mourad and his wife Parandzem are the parents of 11 kids. The day
we arrived, the older boys were out in the valley picking berries
for sale.
This large family, living in an area once known as the Lachin corridor,
gets by on 141,000 AMD per month (about $400).
Mourad receives a salary of 45,000 and the government gives a 96,000
AMD stipend for the children.
Parandzem says she would like to grow some vegetables in the garden
for sale but that there's no water. It only flows for about one hour
every day.
She says that the family moved here from the Lernapat village in 1998.
There were only 4 kids back then.
In 2009 the Artsakh government allocated a 4 room house to the family.
It's not a new house and has its share of problems - leaky roof,
damp walls, etc.
Despite the problems, Parandzem says that life in Berdzor is easier
than Armenia. People moving to the area get a number of subsidies
from the government.
For those wanting to build a house, authorities chip in with 2
million AMD worth of construction materials. There's also a 240,000
AMD livestock credit available.
The parents say that Berdzor is where they propose to stay but that
the children will decide for themselves once having grown up.
As we were about to leave, Andranik, one of the sons burst into the
room boasting that they had sold two pails of blackberries.
The 13 year-old boy told us that on an average day they could pick
10 buckets of berries and sell one for 3,000 AMD ($8). They hand the
proceeds over to their mother.
The Melikyan's from Ashtarak
The Melikyan's are another family that relocated in Berdzor from
Armenia.
Mrs. Gayaneh told us they moved from Ashtarak in 2001 when family
members were laid off from work.
The initial idea to move to Berdzor belonged to Garik, her son. He
had visited with a friend and fell in love with the town. The whole
family decided to move soon after.
"Much has changes over the past 10 tears. Most people have jobs and
the rest work on their plots of land. Of course there are problems,
the main one being water. Water is supplied by the hour and it's not
enough during the summer heat," Gayaneh said.
And what about talk that these "liberated" territories will be handed
back at the negotiating table?
"I really don't think that Berdzor or any other areas will be
returned. If I had any doubts, we wouldn't be here. You just simply
don't give back lands liberated by the blood of so many young men,"
said Gayaneh.
The Zournatchyan's from Ashtarak
The Zournatchyan family is a new arrival to Berdzor. They moved here
4 months ago.
Hasmik says her husband, Gagik, was a tractor driver back in Ashtarak
and only did seasonal work.
"A friend working in the local administration offered my husband
permanent work and he took it. We came with our two young kids. The
third was born here in Kashatagh," said Hasmik.
The young mom isn't sure if they will stay. They are living in someone
else's house. They haven't yet received the house promised them by
the government.
But she says that they are slowly getting used to their new
surroundings even though they have to buy things on credit from the
local stores.
It's the same with many residents despite the fact that most have jobs.
Moushegh moved to Berdzor from Goris 16 years ago. He now runs his
own store and says he makes enough to pay the family expenses.
Artur Mkhitaryan, the Deputy Director of the Kashatagh Regional
Administration, says that resettlement remains a priority and that the
government is paying special attention to war refugees with nowhere
else to go.
Mr. Mkhitaryan said that 150 families, some 500 individuals, had
resettled in Kashatagh during the first 6 months of 2011.
When I asked him if the Artsakh government had any resettlement
target number, Mkhitaryan said no but that the region could sustain
many more who wished to relocate.
"We would like to see the region develop and get stronger. We have come
to realize that might makes right, in any cases. This just doesn't
mean having a strong army but a developing economy. We already have
the former and possess the prerequisites for the latter."
When I asked about possible territorial concessions, Mkhitaryan gave
the official Stepanakert response - These aren't liberated lands
but lands that have been incorporated into the Artsakh Republic via
the constitution.
"We hear such talk about giving back lands from Yerevan now and then.
No one thinks anything like that here. I find it hard to believe that
any official, with the stroke of a pen, will cede lands liberated at
such a high cost."
From: A. Papazian