FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) – The images are hard to forget. Thousands of families were forced from their homes in Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijani troops— escaping into the country of Armenia.
The refugee crisis was witnessed in early October when Fresno’s medical mission was there.
Now, an update.
“There are so many problems they have to face because they came without anything,” said Apo Boghigian, the director of CivilNet, an independent online media platform in Armenia.
Boghigian says his staff covers daily the challenges facing the 100,000 displaced Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh.
“All of them need final places you live— I mean houses, homes,” he said.
Boghigian says the Armenian government is providing some aid to these families, but the lack of decent housing makes resettlement difficult.
Help is coming from Armenians worldwide. Abandoned homes in Armenia’s eastern Tavush region are now being renovated.
“Money sent by Fresno Armenians we are renovating. We are constructing for eleven families,” said Tatul Hagopian, a reporter in Armenia assisting the Fresno project, Operation Hope. “After losing everything, now they feel that Armenians are trying their best to help them.”
“If there is a home that requires renovations, including making sure that everyone has a shelter number one, running water, hot water, ability to plant,” said Fresno’s Honorary Consul Berj Apkarian.
Apkarian launched the Operation Hope project in hopes of collecting thousands of dollars— every penny going to help the displaced families.
“This is really a time of giving. As we in the United States say, ‘Coming home for the holidays’, and these people don’t have homes,” Apkarian said.
If you would like to donate to Operation Hope, click here.