Reference :
V-P-AM-E-00254
Date :
01/11/2012
Caption :
Yerevan. Lena's son, Armen, fought in Nagorny Karabakh and went missing during the war in the early 1990s. Lena, left, is with a psychologist walking down stairs of her apartment building.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
According to her, the authorities gave her a coffin which they claimed contained the remains of her son. She had reasons to doubt it, but she accepted the coffin so that the deceased person could get a decent burial. However, she does not believe it to contain the body of her son who she believes is still alive. An exhumation would be required and DNA testing to confirm the identity of the remains, but the authorities have refused. The ICRC is working with psychologists from local NGOs who reach out to families with missing relatives like Lena. In addition to providing people with missing relatives an outlet for their sorrow they also try to help these people resolve other social, medical and legal problems. Often, families of missing people are isolated and not aware of their rights and the ICRC serves as an intermediary between them and the state authorities. They are also introduced to other families with missing relatives so as to offer each other support. By the end of 2012, The ICRC has been working with about 100 such families in Armenia. There are more than 400 families of the missing in Armenia.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
5616x3744
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
