Helping people suffering from the September attacks in Armenia
Published: Feb 27, 2023 Reading time: 2 minutes
In September 2022, Armenia suffered from a devastating attack on its sovereign territory that left thousands of families suffering from the aftermath. The Bakunts and Salbunts families are just two of those families.
Three generations of the Bakunts family live together in Verishen, Goris. Due to health issues, Zoya, the grandmother, was at the hospital on explosion night. Fortunately, her three grandchildren were not home during the incident, and her husband, Rafik, managed to hide them in the basement. He says he heard a loud voice and immediately understood what was happening. At first, he thought that the mortar bomb fell on their house, then it turned out that it fell on a neighbour's, says Rafik pointing to the damage.
The windows of the Bakunts house were broken. They have already been repaired to withstand the winter cold. Rafik says that Mariam, one of his grandchildren, did not believe his explanation that a strong wind broke the window.
The Salbunts family is another of those affected. They live in Akner, Goris. Although restoration has begun, the damage to their house is still apparent. Edgar lives in a house with his wife and parents. They were also woken up by the sound of gunfire on the night of September 12-13 and managed to hide in the basement. As soon as they left the house, a mortar bomb fell on their house. The roof was burnt, the floor was holed, the windows were broken, and a fire broke out in one of the rooms.
Immediate support for affected population
Thanks to the European Union humanitarian aid-funded "Rapid emergency response to the conflict-affected population of Armenia" project, People in Need is helping the affected local, displaced, and vulnerable families by subsidising 60,000 AMD (€140) for their utility costs and providing cash in the Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik regions for winter needs.
Beneficiaries are selected in cooperation with the municipalities and the Unified Social Service, families of people killed or injured in the war, people whose homes were damaged or lost, single older people, families with four or more children, people with disabilities or people living in caravans are considered a priority. Within the project, PIN has supported about 1000 families.
The "Rapid emergency response to the conflict-affected population of Armenia" project is implemented by PIN in consortium with ACTED and with EU humanitarian funding.
