Save the Children has been the partner organization to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) for 2 years, part of Save the Children’s role is to distribute financial aid to the refugee population in Azerbaijan of 2,300 people.
For political reasons the majority of refugees in Azerbaijan have no legal status and no right to work, they therefore rely heavily on financial aid from the UNHCR. 4 days a month from 9am to 4pm Fuad (Driver and Project Assistant) and Dr Sveta (Social Worker) from Save the Children distribute money to the refugee population from foreign countries living in Baku. The majority of the refugees are Russian of Chechen ethnicity, with the remainder from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Moldova.
Each morning a cheque from Save the Children is taken to the bank and cashed, the money is then transported in a Save the Children vehicle to the aid distribution centre a small room rented from the Red Crescent Society.
For political reasons the majority of refugees in Azerbaijan have no legal status and no right to work, they therefore rely heavily on financial aid from the UNHCR. 4 days a month from 9am to 4pm Fuad (Driver and Project Assistant) and Dr Sveta (Social Worker) from Save the Children distribute money to the refugee population from foreign countries living in Baku. The majority of the refugees are Russian of Chechen ethnicity, with the remainder from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Moldova.
Each morning a cheque from Save the Children is taken to the bank and cashed, the money is then transported in a Save the Children vehicle to the aid distribution centre a small room rented from the Red Crescent Society.
Right: As a refugee to claim your financial assistance you approach the distribution centre where there is a guard stood outside, draw up to a small bared window in a large metal door and pass your UNHCR Protection letter to be checked, you sign a register and receive your money.The UNHCR Protection letter, an A4 sheet of paper with your UN registration number and photographs of your family maybe your only documentation.
Left: Mustafa the guard is hired from a non-governmental security company, Save the Children would like to hire a Policeman but that would cost 3 times as much as the guard from the non-governmental security company ( In picture: Elshad is covering Mustafa whilst he is on annual leave).The amount of financial aid you receive depends on many things; Chechen refugees are ‘officially recognized’ by the UN in Azerbaijan and receive 40AZN (£36) for the first adult in a family, where as all other refugees are classed as ‘persons of concern’ and receive 35AZN (£32) for the first adult in a family. Then depending on the size of your family, disabilities and health the amount of aid you receive increases.
"I saw a family of 7 people – mother, father, 4 children and a grandmother receive 130AZN (£103) per month for renting accommodation and food – everything!"
Chechen woman try to supplement this money by returning to Chechnya and returning with food and other goods for sale, the men are unable to return to Chechnya for fear of imprisonment or even death, they also try and supplement their income through illegal work in construction a dangerous and poorly paid profession in Azerbaijan.
"I saw a family of 7 people – mother, father, 4 children and a grandmother receive 130AZN (£103) per month for renting accommodation and food – everything!"
Chechen woman try to supplement this money by returning to Chechnya and returning with food and other goods for sale, the men are unable to return to Chechnya for fear of imprisonment or even death, they also try and supplement their income through illegal work in construction a dangerous and poorly paid profession in Azerbaijan.
Dr Sveta and Fuad
The main donor for the financial distribution is the European Commission Humanitarian Aid, through which there is secure funding until the end of this year. UNHCR is currently seeking new funding for 2011.
Problems at the financial aid distribution vary from non family members trying to collect money for people who are out of the country, this can sometimes be difficult as women can wear a head scarf making it difficult to recognize them, fortunately Dr Sweta has worked on this project for 8 years and knows most of the refugees faces, other more trivial problems include one refugee who suffers from claustrophobia and cannot look through the small window to collect her money as it makes her feel like she is in prison and insists on entering the office to collect her aid.
The distribution although by no means secure, is much better now the metal door has been in place since 2009, previously the refugees would enter the room and receive their financial aid across a desk.
The height of the window is specially designed for Fuad to sit at and Dr Sveta to stand!
Alternatives to the distribution centre to improve security have been sort:
- Use of Finance cards to withdraw the aid from a bank is not possible due to the legal status of the refugees.
- Alternative secure facilities such as in a money exchange have proved too expensive.
- Even secure delivery of the money each day from the bank is restricted by cost.
As you can see, there are real financial restrictions placed upon this project and everything is tightly controlled within a budget.
Many thanks to Dr Sveta, Fuad and Elshad for hosting me and sharing some of their work supporting refugees in Azerbaijan.
- Use of Finance cards to withdraw the aid from a bank is not possible due to the legal status of the refugees.
- Alternative secure facilities such as in a money exchange have proved too expensive.
- Even secure delivery of the money each day from the bank is restricted by cost.
As you can see, there are real financial restrictions placed upon this project and everything is tightly controlled within a budget.
Many thanks to Dr Sveta, Fuad and Elshad for hosting me and sharing some of their work supporting refugees in Azerbaijan.
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