Tweet
COMPREHENSIVE ASSISTANCE
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=586:-comprehensive-assistance-&catid=1:all&Itemid=1
Friday, 16 March 2012 08:06
Years ago, when creating the NKR Union of Missing Freedom-Fighters'
Relatives, we set out two main goals - to find the NKR citizens missed
as a result of the conflict and then the Artsakh War and to render
comprehensive assistance to their families.
For already many years, we have implemented corresponding programs
that still have not lost their relevance. And while the second
issue can be somehow resolved independently, the solution of the
first issue, which relates to great politics, is fraught with serious
difficulties. Especially that we are dealing with the opposing party,
which does not want to "understand" either us or the corresponding
international structures...
In our work, many held out a helping hand to us, but in this
publication, I want to call an organization that has cooperated with
us for many years - this is the Stepanakert Office of the International
Committee of the Red Cross.
The Office changed several managers, but all of them tried to help
us with great understanding and willingness, making their utmost to
solve the issues of our concern. The cooperation of our organization
with the NKR State Commission on POWs, Hostages and Missing Persons
and with the ICRC Stepanakert Office gives good results. Today's Head
of Office is Roman Paramonov. We can say that with his appointment
our cooperation has acquired a new quality. Last year, the Office
of the Red Cross, through our help, opened personal cards for 360
missing people - for their transfer to the commission, inclusion in a
specialized database and later use for the benefit of missing persons'
families. And the new initiative of the ICRC on collecting the DNA of
the relatives of missing persons has become another ray of hope for
members of the Union Board members. This initiative, in accordance
with the agreed plan, should be put into practice this year and I
think it will play a crucial role in the issue of clarifying the fate
of our children and other missing persons...
In the years of 2009-2010, the ICRC staff worked with us to study
and assess the social-economic situation of the neediest families. As
a result of the study, a program consisting of several projects was
compiled - economic, agricultural, educational, on getting mini-credits
and on facilitating the repair of houses of elderly and lonely people.
What is the main purpose of this program? It is that every family
can give preference to a project and to choose the most important for
itself. In general, this program aims at creating a stable source of
income for a missing person's family (which lost the breadwinner).
Last year, the program was implemented in the Askeran, Martuni, and
Hadrut regions. 48 families of missing persons were assisted by the
following projects: cattle (24 families were given a cow with a calf),
sheep and goats (5 families), poultry (5 families), beekeeping (9
families), and tailoring (2 families were provided with a Germany-made
sewing machine with raw materials). Assistance was rendered to three
more families involved in photography, recording, and woodworking.
This process will be continued in the current year.
In 2011, we provided assistance in food products to bedridden patients
from the families of deceased soldiers, which were also provided to
us by the ICRC.
In conclusion, I would like to note another peculiar assistance -
social-psychological care, integration of missing persons' relatives
into the society. In accordance with this program, in 2011, the ICRC
organized meetings for members of our organization in Stepanakert,
Martuni, Askeran, and Martakert. The meetings were attended by
representatives of the State Commission on POWs, Hostages and Missing
Persons and regional administrations. Surely, the special thematic
talks and lectures of qualified psychologists from Artsakh, Armenia
and the Diaspora invited to these meetings were helpful.
Vera GRIGORIAN
Chairwoman of the NKR Union of Missing Freedom-Fighters' Relatives
http://artsakhtert.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=586:-comprehensive-assistance-&catid=1:all&Itemid=1
Friday, 16 March 2012 08:06
Years ago, when creating the NKR Union of Missing Freedom-Fighters'
Relatives, we set out two main goals - to find the NKR citizens missed
as a result of the conflict and then the Artsakh War and to render
comprehensive assistance to their families.
For already many years, we have implemented corresponding programs
that still have not lost their relevance. And while the second
issue can be somehow resolved independently, the solution of the
first issue, which relates to great politics, is fraught with serious
difficulties. Especially that we are dealing with the opposing party,
which does not want to "understand" either us or the corresponding
international structures...
In our work, many held out a helping hand to us, but in this
publication, I want to call an organization that has cooperated with
us for many years - this is the Stepanakert Office of the International
Committee of the Red Cross.
The Office changed several managers, but all of them tried to help
us with great understanding and willingness, making their utmost to
solve the issues of our concern. The cooperation of our organization
with the NKR State Commission on POWs, Hostages and Missing Persons
and with the ICRC Stepanakert Office gives good results. Today's Head
of Office is Roman Paramonov. We can say that with his appointment
our cooperation has acquired a new quality. Last year, the Office
of the Red Cross, through our help, opened personal cards for 360
missing people - for their transfer to the commission, inclusion in a
specialized database and later use for the benefit of missing persons'
families. And the new initiative of the ICRC on collecting the DNA of
the relatives of missing persons has become another ray of hope for
members of the Union Board members. This initiative, in accordance
with the agreed plan, should be put into practice this year and I
think it will play a crucial role in the issue of clarifying the fate
of our children and other missing persons...
In the years of 2009-2010, the ICRC staff worked with us to study
and assess the social-economic situation of the neediest families. As
a result of the study, a program consisting of several projects was
compiled - economic, agricultural, educational, on getting mini-credits
and on facilitating the repair of houses of elderly and lonely people.
What is the main purpose of this program? It is that every family
can give preference to a project and to choose the most important for
itself. In general, this program aims at creating a stable source of
income for a missing person's family (which lost the breadwinner).
Last year, the program was implemented in the Askeran, Martuni, and
Hadrut regions. 48 families of missing persons were assisted by the
following projects: cattle (24 families were given a cow with a calf),
sheep and goats (5 families), poultry (5 families), beekeeping (9
families), and tailoring (2 families were provided with a Germany-made
sewing machine with raw materials). Assistance was rendered to three
more families involved in photography, recording, and woodworking.
This process will be continued in the current year.
In 2011, we provided assistance in food products to bedridden patients
from the families of deceased soldiers, which were also provided to
us by the ICRC.
In conclusion, I would like to note another peculiar assistance -
social-psychological care, integration of missing persons' relatives
into the society. In accordance with this program, in 2011, the ICRC
organized meetings for members of our organization in Stepanakert,
Martuni, Askeran, and Martakert. The meetings were attended by
representatives of the State Commission on POWs, Hostages and Missing
Persons and regional administrations. Surely, the special thematic
talks and lectures of qualified psychologists from Artsakh, Armenia
and the Diaspora invited to these meetings were helpful.
Vera GRIGORIAN
Chairwoman of the NKR Union of Missing Freedom-Fighters' Relatives