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The Syrian Armenian Dilemma: Community Preservation Or Out-Migration

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  • The Syrian Armenian Dilemma: Community Preservation Or Out-Migration

    The Syrian Armenian Dilemma: Community Preservation or Out-Migration
    by Nanore Barsoumian

    http://www.armenianweekly.com/2012/07/27/the-syrian-armenian-dilemma-community-preservation-or-out-migration/
    July 27, 2012

    In recent days, as violence continues to rage in Syria, various steps
    have been taken in Armenia to address the rather tenuous situation of
    the Armenian community there. After much controversy over Armavia's
    rising airfare prices, which prompted critics to accuse the company
    of taking advantage of the Syrian Armenians' marked vulnerability,
    Armavia announced that it would provide low-cost flights from Aleppo
    to Yerevan, reported Armenian news sources. The Armenian government,
    meanwhile, introduced an amendment to existing citizenship laws on
    July 26 that will allow Syrian and Lebanese citizens of Armenian
    descent to receive passports from consulates and embassies.

    Taken on July 22, 2012, this citizen journalism image provided by
    Shaam News Network SNN, claims to capture a fireball in Homs, Syria.

    (Anonymous/AP Photo) Syrian Armenian journalist Harout Ekmanian, who
    is currently working for CivilNet in Yerevan, believes such steps
    are a matter of duty-not choice. "I won't thank Armavia because of
    this. They must do this," he told the Armenian Weekly, although he
    has reservations about how the national conversation on emigration
    and aid is conducted.

    The issue of immigrating to Armenia is not as simple as one might
    imagine. First, many in the community are not willing to abandon
    the country-Syria-that they have called home for decades. Even if
    the will is there, abandoning homes and properties-temporarily or
    otherwise-has proven to be an impediment. The real estate market in
    Syria at the moment is suffering, and without financial security,
    surviving in Armenia will have its share of challenges.

    "Do most Syrian Armenians want to leave the country? Can they? Is
    it right to leave?" asked Ekmanian. "In many cases, those who left
    their homes saw them looted and burned. We have the example of what
    happened to an Armenian photographer's home in Damascus. Of course
    lives are more important than property, but most Armenians are below
    middle class..." he told the Armenian Weekly.

    Armenia and the Diaspora

    Historian Ara Sanjian at the University of Michigan-Dearborn believes
    Armenians worldwide must provide moral and financial support to the
    Armenians in Syria, "especially if and when schools reopen in the
    fall." Already, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) has set up a fund
    to assist Syrian Armenian Schools.

    Armenia and Armenians worldwide should "use every moment of peace to
    send writers and artistic groups to Aleppo and elsewhere to raise the
    morale of the people as much as possible," said Sanjian. "[Some might]
    remember how [during the civil war] in Lebanon, artists and scholars
    used to come from Armenia and elsewhere and their events used to change
    the mood within the Lebanese-Armenian community, at least for a while."

    As to the efforts of the Armenian government, Sanjian believes that
    while they are well intentioned, the officials' poor understanding
    of diasporan communities has handicapped them to some extent. "The
    Armenian government can do very little because of the situation on the
    ground in Syria, the poor economy in Armenia, and more importantly,
    because there is very little hard knowledge among the government
    officials and pundits in the media about the realities of diasporan
    life. The persistent lack of serious interest in analyzing the
    diaspora in the past has now shown its consequences. I hope that,
    in the aftermath of the Syrian crisis, more effort will be spent in
    academia and the media in Armenia to study the diaspora in depth and
    with realism," he said.

    Ekmanian, too, is critical of the Armenian government's stance, and
    considers their efforts-"declaring some special treatments for Syrian
    Armenians, reducing flight costs, a few sentimental announcements
    by a minister or an administrative [official]"-insufficient. He
    believes that the government should instead be engaged in "serious
    dialogue with all the parties involved...to guarantee the wellbeing
    of Syrian-Armenians inside Syria... The Armenian government must
    include this issue in its foreign affairs priorities. None of this is
    happening and the Armenians are left to the mercy of the conflicting
    sides. Luckily, so far the Armenians haven't been targeted, but are
    we waiting for that to happen to start acting?" he told the Weekly.

    In an opinion piece published in Hetq, Ekmanian questioned the
    figures tossed around when talking about Syrian Armenian immigration
    to Armenia. He argued that many Syrian Armenians are not immigrating;
    rather, they're seeking alternate destinations for tourism, because
    vacationing in Syrian summer spots, such as Kessab, may no longer be
    an option. He also argued that Syrian Armenians residing outside of
    Syria are more likely to vacation in Armenia rather than in Syria.

    "For the government of Armenia, it remains that they provide aid to
    only those who ask for it-be they Armenians from Syria or elsewhere.

    After all, Armenia must figure out whether it will be home to all
    Armenians, or just their tourism destination."

    The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) is also cautious on the
    matter of immigration, arguing that Armenians must not be encouraged
    to abandon Syria. "People willing to come here must be helped, but
    we must not initiate their relocation," ARF spokesperson Giro Manoyan
    told reporters in Yerevan.

    In an interview with Yerkir Media, ARF Bureau representative Hrant
    Markarian noted that Armenians are an integral part of Syrian society,
    and as such it's expected that instead of fleeing, Armenians remain
    and weather these difficult times with their neighbors. He stressed,
    however, that in no way does he blame those Syrian Armenians who
    wish to immigrate to Armenia. Markarian, too, was skeptical about
    reports of a large influx of Syrian Armenian immigrants, considering
    it a temporary move or tourism, not permanent out-migration. He also
    criticized media reports of Syrian Armenian immigration, and warned
    against inadvertently encouraging it or creating panic.

    "Let's be fair and recognize that unfortunately our country is not
    the sort of country that can handle a large number of refugees,"
    said Markarian, adding that currently Armenia is not able to house
    or support financially needy refugees, given that the current poorer
    segments of Armenia are not receiving such treatment.

    On the ground

    Since the beginning of the current crisis in the spring of 2011, Iran,
    Russia, and China have consistently maintained their support of the
    Assad government; the Gulf States, along with Turkey, the U.S., and
    Western European governments like France and the U.K., have sided
    with the opposition. Most members of the small Armenian community,
    including the leadership, seem to be hoping for victory for Assad's
    government, weary of the uncertainty the alternative might bring
    in the future, said Sanjian. He characterized the situation on the
    ground as "fluid." "Nobody really knows who has the upper hand,"
    he said. The government, however, seems to still have control in
    Damascus, where it squashed an uprising last week after the bombing
    of security headquarters.

    There is a minority within the Armenian community in Syria that is
    increasingly critical of the government's handling of the crisis,
    although these Armenians are still not as vocal in their criticism as
    are opposition supporters in other communities, Sanjian said. "The
    current opposition and its various backers are united only because
    Assad is still in power in Damascus. If he gets out of the picture,
    the opposition and its backers may fall out amongst themselves for
    the spoils. However, this is still a hypothetical situation," he added.

    Sanjian believes foreign powers will have a major influence on how the
    crisis ends, which is now almost at the point of a full-blown civil
    war. "The stakes are high internationally, and that's why there is so
    much foreign involvement. Perhaps, the outcome is no longer in the
    hands of Syrians... At the moment, Assad has no readiness to go. He
    probably still believes that he can crush his opponents. I do not
    think there are serious negotiations on the international level to
    secure a peaceful solution. Both Assad and his Syrian opponents are
    still for an 'either-or' outcome," he explained.

    Between 60,000-70,000 Armenians call Syria home, constituting less
    than 0.5 percent of the country's total population. More than half of
    them live in Aleppo, with the other half scattered in such cities as
    Latakia, Homs, Qamishli, Hasakeh, Yaqubiye, Raqqa, Kessab, and the
    capital Damascus.


    From: Baghdasarian
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