In a conversation with Iravaban.net, Novela Osipova, forcibly displaced from Artsakh, shared her experience with legal challenges after displacement and explained how she learned about the Armenian Lawyers Association (ALA) as part of the CSO Network for Protection of Rights of Artsakh Armenians (hereinafter referred to as the Network), and why she decided to approach this organization.

“After being displaced from Artsakh, we faced so many legal challenges that it’s difficult to describe. Every step we took was a struggle because wherever we knocked, whichever door we entered, we left without answers,” she notes, explaining that her mother passed away one month after moving to Armenia, during which time they were also dealing with the deadline for her father’s 40000+10000 dram application.

She approached various agencies, including the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, but received no substantive response.

After learning from Julietta Arustamyan, the Chairperson of the Network’s Management Board and Executive Director of “Harmony” Shushi Women’s NGO, about the free legal assistance provided by ALA to Artsakh Armenians, she was initially reluctant to apply, thinking she would once again be left without a response. However, just one month after applying, all of our interviewee’s legal issues were resolved, and all due amounts were compensated through ALA.

According to her, the ALA lawyer showed her how to write applications, provided guidance, and supported her in implementing necessary steps: “Their approach toward Artsakh people is worth hundreds of thousands, because besides money, we were in a very depressed state, and their neighborly words mean a great deal to us.”

She mentions that many of her relatives and acquaintances are now again facing financial and legal challenges, and she has advised them to also approach ALA for appropriate legal assistance.

It should be noted that the Armenian Lawyers Association, as the secretariat of the CSO Network for Protection of Rights of Artsakh Armenians (Network), has provided free legal assistance to approximately 300 Artsakh Armenians over the past year.

Details in the video.