AGBU founds new village in Nagorno Karabakh

AZG Armenian Daily #113, 21/06/2005

Karabakh diary

AGBU FOUNDS NEW VILLAGE IN NAGORNO KARABAKH

AGBU has founded another village in Hadruth region of Nagorno Karabakh. The
village is called Bareshen.

This is the decision of the Armenian Londoners whose choice was approved by
the NKR authorities. The village, ruined during the conflict with
Azerbaijan, will be restored. It is already indicated in the map and soon
ten houses will be built there waiting for their dwellers. The initiative to
build a village in the abovementioned territory belongs to AGBU. The London
branch of the organization managed to accumulate the sum required for
construction of ten one storied houses. By the end of the next year ten
families will move to the newly built Bareshen. Each house will have three
rooms and will occupy 60 square meters. Each house will cost less than AMD 5
million. The construction of the village is dedicated to 100th anniversary
of establishing AGBU in Cairo.

Harutiun Aghajanian, chairman of the London branch of AGBU, and Petros
Aslanian, paymaster, recently visited the territory of future Bareshen to
specify all the details and the arrangements concerning the construction.
Anushavan Danielian, NKR prime minister, assured that the map of the
territory will soon be finished and AGBU will be able to begin the
construction. Pavel Najarian, head of Migration and Refugee department of
NKR, and Harutiun Aghajanian signed the agreement of the construction of the
village.

According to the agreement, NKR authorities undertook certain commitments,
particularly, settlement the water supply, electricity issues and
constructing a communication road. AGBU will secure establishing the water
and electricity supply system within the village. The state will also render
financial assistance to the families that are to settle down in Bareshen.

The future village will be constructed near Norashen that was built by the
French branch of AGBU. 22 houses were restored and inhabited in this
village. AGBU also built a kindergarten and a medical center. Norashen has
over 100 inhabitants. There are 32 schoolchildren and 15 preschool age
children. There have been three weddings in the village during the last two
years.

“There are three students in our group. It will be good if the children from
Bareshen also attend our school. I will have more friends,” Khachik, 12
years old boy, said. The dwellers of Norashen are rather encouraged by the
news that a new village will be built in the neighborhood.

The residents of Bareshen will have to attend the Norashen school until the
next stage of the construction, when a separate school will be built for
Bareshen. The Norashen school functions in the building of the kindergarten.
Soon the school will have a new edifice built by the Los Angeles branch of
AGBU.

The abovementioned facts are only the small part of the organizations’
programs. Luis-Simon Manukian, chairman of AGBU, carried out the first
programs of the organization in Artsakh. They restored Engels Street in
Stepanakert and renamed it after Alek Manukian, by the donation of Mrs.
Manukian. They also restored old people’s home in the same street and the
old building of the hotel that is a block of flats for the families of the
perished freedom fighters.

AGBU is also the sponsor of NKR Chamber Orchestra. Harutiun Aghajanian
expressed hope that Bareshen will become a large and secure community. One
of the priority directions in the activities of AGBU is to contribute to
Nagorno Karabakh’s prosperity.

By Nana Petrosian