GAVAR, MAY 18, NOYAN TAPAN. With the assistance of the World Bank Yerevan Office and the Open Society Institute Assistance Fund, the Gegharkunik regional branch of Human Rights Defence Center after Sakharov is conducting the Refugees 15 Years Later Program with the aim of increasing public awareness of the needs and problems of refugees. The organization has provided free advice and material aid in the communities mostly inhabited by refugees. This time it has organized a photo exhibition-discussion on the subject "The Refugees of Gegharkunik Marz of Armenia 15 Years Later". Program Head Ruben Khachikian said, referring to studies conducted by the UN among refugees and vulnerable groups of the local population under the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, that the indices of poverty among refugees are even worse that those among the locals. According to UNDP studies, Gegharkunik is the most vulnarable marz of Armenia. Most of refugees in the urban and rural communities live in hard social conditions. The 8 refugee communities were ranked among the poorest communities of the marz. NT correspondent reported from Gavar that Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan settled in 5 urban and 37 rural communities of Gegharkunik marz. Nearly 20,000 refugees found shelter in the marz, mainly in Vardenis and Chambarak regions. The roads in the refugee communities are in poor state, while transport and communication means are almost absent. Not everybody here has become used to the new lifestyle: those who used to live in a city find it difficult to adjust to rural conditions, others feel isolated from the world because they have no TV to watch or newspapers to read. The problem of providing refugees with apartments has not yet been solved. So far, only 21 families have received apartments.

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