Armenia’s hotels offer food and shelter to Nagorno-Karabakh refugees

Hotels in Goris, Armenia, normally filled with tourists, are now occupied by families fleeing the conflict in nearby Nagorno-Karabakh. Local Armenians are providing them with food and clothing. FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg and Mohamed Farhat report from the town of Goris and Armenia’s capital of Yerevan.

© France 24 screen grab

 

Goris’s hotels in Armenia normally cater to tourists who come for the beautiful mountain scenery. Today they’re full to bursting with those who’ve fled the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“When the bombing started first we got dressed and took shelter in a basement,” said Anush, an accountant from Askeran, Nagorno-Karabakh.

“But quickly we saw that the situation was out of control and decided to flee to Armenia.”

We’re so grateful to our Armenian people who have taken us in and given us warm soup,” said Elen, a telecoms worker from Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh.

The hotels are housing the families for free – a solidarity that extends throughout Armenia. In the capital Yerevan, a football club is hosting 60 children and teenagers from the war zone. Volunteers organise activities, such as video games and music workshops.

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