The Finnish Red Cross helps people fleeing from fighting to Armenia
The Finnish Red Cross is contributing €120,000 from its Disaster Relief Fund to an International Red Cross aid operation to help those who have fled to Armenia. Many have lost contact with their friends and family while fleeing from fighting, and there is a great need for health care.
Within a short period of time, tens of thousands of people have fled from escalating fighting in their home region and made their way to Armenia via the Lachin corridor. The majority of those who have fled are women, children and elderly persons.
“Those arriving at the border are exhausted from the long journey, the cold weather and a lack of food,” says the Finnish Red Cross’s Head of International Emergency Operations Marko Korhonen.
“They are also at their mental limit because many of them have lost contact with their friends and family during their escape. Unaccompanied children in particular are in a vulnerable position.”
The aid provided by the Finnish Red Cross from the Disaster Relief Fund will be directed to the aid operation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies that seeks to meet the basic needs of those fleeing to Armenia by providing them with shelter, the necessary basic supplies and emotional support. The aid operation supports the work of the local Red Cross.
Hospitals at their limit, many people without a roof over their heads
The Red Cross will continue its operations in the Lachin corridor despite the politically difficult situation in the area. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been distributing supplies such as food, aid supplies and medical supplies to those in need of aid in the Lachin corridor. It has also evacuated wounded individuals by ambulance and transported them elsewhere to receive life-saving treatment.
With the weather getting colder, organising temporary accommodation is a matter of urgency.
In Armenia, the Red Cross registers those arriving in the country and helps reunite lost family members. Each day, the local volunteers working at registration points help the thousands of people fleeing to Armenia by providing them with first aid, emotional support and other things and by providing children with safer places where they can play and receive psychosocial support in the middle of their journey.
“The local communities support those who have fled, but so many people have arrived in a short period of time that the hospitals are at the limit of their capacity, for example. With the weather getting colder, organising temporary accommodation is a matter of urgency,” states Korhonen.
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