The Hardships of Becoming Locals

Refugees Before and After the State Housing Program in Armenia

Author(s): Milena Baghdasaryan
Editor(s): Lili Di Puppo, Iris Kempe, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic
Series: Caucasus Analytical Digest (CAD)
Issue: 4
Pages: 7-10
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Jefferson Institute, Washington D.C.; Heinrich Böll Foundation, Tbilisi; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen
Publication Year: 2009

This article outlines some of the challenges refugees living in dormitories in Armenia still face. Twenty years after fleeing their homes in Azerbaijan, the provision of housing is among the crucial issues in order for these people to overcome their sense of being refugees. On the basis of anthropological fieldwork conducted over the course of a year, the author depicts the life of the refugees in the dormitories of a town in Armenia, analyzes the effects of the state housing program and asks whether the provision of housing helps refugees in becoming locals.

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