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The suicide of a disabled army veteran in Azerbaijan has raised concern about the inadequate welfare provision for ex-combatants injured in the Nagorny Karabakh conflict two decades ago and now living in poverty, Aytan Farhadova’s article published in IWPR reads.

According to the article there are about 11,000 veterans in Azerbaijan who were left disabled by the war and find it hard to support themselves and their families.

Rey Karimoglu, spokesman for the Karabakh Invalids’ Organisation, says many veterans live in terrible conditions, and appeals to the authorities for help go unheeded.

“We are currently monitoring more than 20 invalids who are close to killing themselves. We get a lot of letters from invalids living in the provinces,” he told IWPR.

Samir Aliyev, head of the Centre for the Support of Economic Initiatives, told IWPR that if oil revenues were used effectively, the lives of poor and disabled people would be a lot better. “In the context of an expanding budget, the pensions paid to disabled people are just laughable,” he noted.

The author of the article notes that the disabled ex-combatants are eligible for benefits ranging from 125 to 200 manats a month (125-200 euros), depending on the extent of incapacity, plus a state pension of 75-110 manats and the army pension of 33 manats.

According to the article the government says it has distributed new apartments to 5,000 disabled ex-combatants, however as Karimoglu says problems occurred with the distribution of the apartments. Some of the officials demand bribes to get them.

According to him he was provided with a flat, but he can’t sit in it going hungry. In order to eat, he has to rent out the apartment and live in a shack with his family. “I have four children and I receive a pension of just 150 manats,” he added.

Another disabled Karabakh veteran, Namiq Mammadov, described his desperation at the prospect of losing the workshop he rented.
“The local authorities want to knock down the workshop and widen the road. How am I going to feed my children now? I’m not asking for charity from anyone, I just want an opportunity to earn an honest crust,” he told IWPR. “What am I to do? Should I burn myself too so as to solve my children’s problems?” he told the IWPR.