With generous support from the Armenian Community, the clearance of a minefield in the village of Karegah in Kashatagh region was completed in December and the land was returned to the local community in January. The HALO Trust, the non-profit organization we partner with to remove the landmines, destroyed 21 anti-personnel mines and 6 other deadly explosive remnants of war to make safe over 4 acres of land. Now the villagers of Karegah can collect firewood and forage for berries and mushrooms without fear of death or serious injury.
In a recent interview Yuri Shahramanian, HALO’s Program Manager in Nagorno Karabakh, spoke about the effort to make Nagorno Karabakh safe, the Landmine Free Artsakh campaign, and the clearance we have supported in the villages of Norashenik and Karegah. You can watch Yuri’s interview here.
Since the summer of 2013 Landmine Free Artsakh has been campaigning to raise funds and awareness about the landmines left behind from the 1994 war between Azerbaijan and Artsakh that injure and kill innocent civilians and prevent fertile land from being used. In addition to Karegah our efforts have also helped to make safe the village of Norashenik (also in Kashatagh region) where 12 cluster bombs and 28 other items of unexploded ordnance were destroyed to make safe over 370 acres of land. If you haven’t seen it yet, watch this news report by Artsakh TV about Norashenik and meet Virab Shaboian’s whose children can now play in safety.
The next project for Landmine Free Artsakh is to raise $100,000 for the clearance of the village of Govshatly in the Northern Hadrut region. The road to the edge of the village is mined, as is one of the upper fields adjoining the road. When the minefield is cleared 709 people from three nearby villages will be able to travel safely and 43 acres of land will be returned to the people of Govshatly for farming.
To help us achieve this goal, we have organized two informational and fundraising events in February to reach new Armenian communities in the United States, as many do not know that every year there are new civilian casualties in Artsakh. The first event will be held at St. David Church in Boca Raton, Florida on Sunday. February 22, 2015 and the second at St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church in Washington, DC on Tuesday, February 24, 2015.
For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation to help the villagers of Govshatly village, please visit our website or email us at [email protected].
