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ARMENIA & AZERBAIJAN: KARABAKH VETS SHARE SIMILAR PROBLEMS
EurasiaNet.org, NY
July 12 2013
Survivors of a brutal conflict that presaged the collapse of the Soviet
Union, many Armenian and Azerbaijani veterans of the 1988-1994 war over
the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh actually hold one thing in
common -- a fear that, nearly 20 years after the cease-fire, they are
being forgotten. And with the loss of those memories, any chance of
receiving the government-provided benefits they believe they deserve.
Hefty state coffers (Azerbaijan) or a war veteran as president
(Armenia's Serzh Sargsyan) do not appear to affect this dilemma. Nor
do ongoing attempts to move government officials to devise broad-scale,
long-term solutions for the veterans' frequent struggle to find decent
housing, jobs, adequate medical care or pensions that will last them
the month.
With democratic development still an ongoing challenge in both
countries, pressure-points to exact rapid change are few.
In this two-part report of stories and photos, EurasiaNet.org examines
how, almost two decades after a conflict that tore asunder the lives
of hundreds of thousands, Armenian and Azerbaijani veterans are
coping with these obstacles, and what chance, if any, they have to
defeat them.
NOTE: Click on the links to the right for both stories:
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67235
EurasiaNet.org, NY
July 12 2013
Survivors of a brutal conflict that presaged the collapse of the Soviet
Union, many Armenian and Azerbaijani veterans of the 1988-1994 war over
the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh actually hold one thing in
common -- a fear that, nearly 20 years after the cease-fire, they are
being forgotten. And with the loss of those memories, any chance of
receiving the government-provided benefits they believe they deserve.
Hefty state coffers (Azerbaijan) or a war veteran as president
(Armenia's Serzh Sargsyan) do not appear to affect this dilemma. Nor
do ongoing attempts to move government officials to devise broad-scale,
long-term solutions for the veterans' frequent struggle to find decent
housing, jobs, adequate medical care or pensions that will last them
the month.
With democratic development still an ongoing challenge in both
countries, pressure-points to exact rapid change are few.
In this two-part report of stories and photos, EurasiaNet.org examines
how, almost two decades after a conflict that tore asunder the lives
of hundreds of thousands, Armenian and Azerbaijani veterans are
coping with these obstacles, and what chance, if any, they have to
defeat them.
NOTE: Click on the links to the right for both stories:
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67235