“They said prepare, the village is being evacuated”: what problems does forcibly displaced Lida Danielyan have

Lida Danielyan was forcibly displaced from the occupied Republic of Artsakh’s Drmbon village. Within Iravaban.net‘s “Legal Issues of Artsakh Armenians in Armenia” series, she said that on September 19, 2023, everyone from neighboring villages had fled and come to their village.

“They told us too to prepare, that the village is being evacuated. We stayed next to the village administration building all night. On September 20, they transported us to Stepanakert by car. I stayed at my relative’s house, the people had stayed at the airport. There were people all over the area – lying down, sitting. Then they called and said the cars are taking people to Armenia. We came on September 25,” she said.

Mrs. Lida currently lives in Meghradzor village of the enlarged Tsaghkadzor community, in a rented place. However, they must move. The landlord has given them time to leave.

“There are many problems, I don’t know where to start. Housing is a problem, money is a problem, we need to pay rent. I have two grandchildren, my daughter passed away, I am the guardian, they live with us,” she said.

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The “Strengthening the Protection Mechanisms of Rights of Forcibly Displaced People from Nagorno-Karabakh” project is being implemented by the Armenian Lawyers Association in collaboration with “Harmonia” Shushi Women’s NGO, within the framework of the “Monitoring of Justice Sector Reforms in Armenia” (www.juremonia.am) project funded by the European Union. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the integration of forcibly displaced people from Artsakh in their new communities of residence in Armenia through strengthening the mechanisms for protection of their rights, to raise the level of legal awareness of their rights and access to justice and protection. This publication has been prepared with the financial support of the European Union. The Armenian Lawyers Association NGO is responsible for the content and it does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

Details in the video.