Citizens forcibly displaced from Artsakh will need to obtain bank  cards to receive assistance - aid programs discussed at Government

ArmInfo.A consultation was held in the Government chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during  which the humanitarian aid programs and further steps for our compatriots forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh were discussed.

As the press service of the RA Government reports, summarizing the  discussions, the Prime Minister noted. "Dear colleagues, we discussed  the process of providing humanitarian support to our sisters and  brothers who were forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh, the work  done and what to do next. First of all, I would like to thank the  "Humanitarian Center", which worked under the coordination of Deputy  Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan, all the Cabinet members,  departments, non-governmental organizations, local self-government  bodies, regional administrations, volunteers, for organizing the  reception and urgent accommodation of our compatriots who were  forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh at the appropriate level.

Of course, it is understandable that not everything was perfect in  those crisis conditions, naturally, there will be some drawbacks, but  in general, I think both the public reaction, our observations, and  the fact that, in fact, we don't have an extreme crisis situation  anywhere, it was the most important support, a crisis situation in  humanitarian terms, apart from what is already a crisis in itself, we  don't have a more aggravated situation than that."

Referring to the medium-term tasks, Nikol Pashinyan noted that the  most important decision among them is to provide monetary support for  the basic needs of our forcibly displaced brothers and sisters. "You  know that a decision was made and it was announced that each forcibly  displaced person from Nagorno-Karabakh, this refers to both children  and adults, will be given a one-time monetary support of 100,000 AMD  per person. We have a task to bring that support to our brothers and  sisters as quickly as possible. We also need their support in this  matter, and I want to ask that our forcibly displaced brothers and  sisters, those who do not have bank or card accounts, should approach  the nearest, most convenient bank and open a card account there in  order to receive a bank card later", said the Prime Minister, adding  that, of course, getting a bank card may take some time, but the  accounts will be opened quickly, and the Government will transfer 100  thousand AMD to those accounts at once, and people will already have  access to them using their passports.

And for those who have bank cards, the Government will transfer the  money to the accounts and cards in the coming week. "Of course we  know that there are a large number of people who do not have  documents. In such cases, it is necessary to obtain a relevant  reference from the Unified Social Service, and through this reference  it will be possible to have a bank account, card account, or in some  other way the money will be available to our forcibly displaced  sisters, brothers and children. In the case of children, of course,  their data will be attached to their mothers' names and the mothers  will receive the children's money in their accounts as well.  The  next decision we made is about accommodation, housing support. We  have decided that each forcibly displaced person will be given 40,000  AMD as compensation for housing expenses, plus 10,000 AMD for utility  expenses. It is very important that our forcibly displaced brothers  and sisters approach the bank and open accounts as soon as possible  to be able to make use of this program, so that we can transfer the  money as soon as possible.

But even before the transfer of money, we can actually record that,  for example, in the case of a family of 5, in October they will  receive 750,000 AMD of support from the state, the government. Also,  I think that with this money they can also carry out certain actions.  In particular, those who are in temporary accommodation should start  looking for rental apartments or residential premises. Of course, the  local self-government bodies, regional administrations are also  instructed to support them in this matter. It is very important that  our many volunteers can make it so that potential tenants and  providers of residential premises for rent meet each other and reach  agreements," said the Prime Minister.

Nikol Pashinyan also highlighted the solution to the problem of  ensuring the employment of our brothers and sisters forcibly  displaced from Nagorno Karabakh. "We are also taking measures so  that, for example, specialists in the field of general education are  involved, employed in the field of general education, in schools,  workers in the health sector are employed in the field of health  care. It is also very important that ministries actively disseminate  information about vacancies.

Of course, there are certain hiring procedures, tenders, etc., these  procedures will not be nullified, but on the other hand, we will  simplify as much as possible so that existing educators have the  opportunity to get hired with simplified procedures, it also applies  to healthcare professionals, and other fields as well. Appropriate  instructions have been given in this regard," said the Prime  Minister.

At today's meeting, the issue of involving our compatriots in the  vacant positions in the contractor companies engaged in the  implementation of state capital investments was also touched upon.  "We will establish contact and collect information about their demand  for vacancies, and we will also distribute this information during  the broadcasts of the humanitarian center. This is an important  moment, because if, for example, a citizen forcibly displaced from  Nagorno Karabakh sees, let's say, there is a vacancy for a teacher in  a settlement of Shirak region, and he can be employed in that place,  this information should be delivered to him as soon as possible,  because he has already to plan to rent a residential area or  apartment in that settlement, etc.

We have to do everything to help people to spend those 750 thousand,  or 1.5 million AMD in the case of a family of 10, effectively,  because the problem is not only having money, it is also a problem to  spend that money effectively. In particular, if a person is to be  settled in X village of Shirak Province and is currently located, for  example, in a settlement of Kotayk Province, he should also plan when  spending this money. That's why, I think, the humanitarian center,  its public communication should work very actively in these matters,  so that we can support people in this matter as much as possible.

Not to mention that other issues arise there, the issue of the  child's school, in that case it would be more reasonable to  immediately take the child to the school of the settlement where they  should live for at least the next 6 months, so that the children are  not subjected to double stress. Of course, the problem of students  should be solved in the same way, so that they are integrated into  our university system, that is, their education process is not  interrupted. Also, we must take measures to provide as much support  as possible in the education process, to promote high progress," said  Nikol Pashinyan.

The next important problem, according to the Prime Minister, concerns  the large number of pensioners forcibly displaced from Nagorno  Karabakh. "The good news is that most of them have bank cards and we  will not have much difficulty in accessing them while supporting  them. Financially, our approach is that they continue to receive  their pensions in the Republic of Armenia.  Here, however, we have a  purely legal issue, linked with their forcibly displaced and refugee  status. Our approach is that we will transfer the money and solve the  issue of these money as soon as possible. If by then we have final  solutions to legal issues, it is very good, if we do not have final  solutions, we will ensure the minimum social needs of people, we will  solve legal problems at the same time, without depriving our  compatriots of access to any support.

Summing up, let me say that the most important issue today is the  following. Our compatriots forcibly displaced from Nagorno- Karabakh  should open bank accounts in the nearest banks. The Central Bank has  already discussed with the banks that these accounts should be opened  free of charge and as soon as possible. Of course, we also have to  monitor the situation, if we see queues forming anywhere, we should  also direct our volunteers to manage the queues and help people to  have the opportunity to carry out these activities in a better  environment and the normal work of the banks should not be disrupted  in any way", concluded Nikol Pashinyan.