Restarting from Scratch in Armenia
Published: Sep 30, 2024 Reading time: 2 minutes
Laura, 66, was forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023. One year later, she lives in Alaverdi, in the Lori region of Armenia, feeling broken and unable to make long-term plans. Despite losing her homeland, Laura finds meaning through daily activities like knitting with beads and wire. For International Day of Older Persons, we recognise the opportunity to learn from their contributions, efforts, and resilience. We visited Laura to hear and share her story.
Laura was born in Stepanakert. At seven, she moved to Tashkent, where she went on to study at university. Laura met the love of her life there, who eventually brought her back to her homeland, where they raised their family until being forcibly displaced. She reflects on how she repeated her grandmother's fate, who also had to flee her homeland, Kars.
Although a literary scholar by education, Laura’s talents extend beyond academia. She has also worked in administrative roles at Artsakh State University and was involved in professional swimming. Since childhood, she has had a passion for knitting, which her grandmother taught her. Today, Laura is a skilled professional who no longer needs patterns or instructions; she simply selects projects she likes from the Internet and gets to work.
Even after her displacement, Laura continues her daily work. She aspires to turn her hobby into a business and has created numerous designs, including clothing, bags, wallets, and more. In addition to knitting, she also embroiders, with each piece holding deep symbolism based on a story or memorable incident. For example, after depicting the Mother of God, she realised she had created it in her daughter's likeness.
When asked what life's most valuable thing is, Laura responds, "The most precious thing is the motherland—your home, the roof over your head."
However, Laura has not lost her optimism. She believes that justice will prevail and she will one day return home. On this International Day of Older Persons, let us show our appreciation and commitment to older people in Armenia and around the globe.
To ensure the well-being of older people living in Armenia, with UNHCR funding, we are implementing a second programme. This year, the programme includes the communities of Noyemberyan and Berd in Tavush Marz and Alaverdi and Tashir in Lori. We aim to improve older people's social conditions and lifestyles by providing individual social support and fostering social inclusion. We organise community events within the programme to promote integration and social interaction.
