By Gayane Muradyan
Special to the Mirror-Spectator
YEREVAN — The Artsakh Refugees Aid Program launched by the Tekeyan Cultural Association of the United States and Canada (TCA) is aiding the forcibly displaced Armenians from Artsakh in a transparent and documented manner. In addition to burn victims and their families, TCA is helping families with many members and the social disadvantaged.
Each of the families which left Artsakh faced unique difficulties before reaching the settlement of Kornidzor, which is near the city of Goris in the Syunik province of Armenia. Families that had many children, handicapped members, or were economically disadvantaged were in an even more challenging situation than others. The children were perhaps the ones who suffered the most during the wars and fighting, as they bear throughout their lives the imprint of the psychological stress and panics which they endured, perhaps even disrupting their conceptions of good and evil.
Here some examples of the families which received assistance through the Tekeyan Cultural Association.
Heghinar Arzumanyan’s family of nine lived in the village of Tumi, Hadrut district, with girls (ages 9, 17, and 19) and boys (ages 6, 8, 12, and 13). They had a big house and a garden. The thought of living in Artsakh again is a thing of the past. Now they live in a three-room apartment in the city of Charentsavan in the Kotayk province of Armenia. They have adapted to their new circumstances.
