Tweet
SYRIAN-ARMENIAN ECONOMIST: "I WISH THAT LOCALS REGARD US AS ONE OF THEM AND NOT DIASPORA ARMENIANS"
Sona Avagyan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/20629/syrian-armenian-economist-i-wish-that-locals-regard-us-as-one-of-them-and-not-diaspora-armenians.html
11:56, November 16, 2012
The first time Harout Paloulyan, an economist from Syria, visited
Armenia was in 2008 to watch the football match between Armenia and
Turkey. The second time was to attend his brother's wedding.
Harout returned again this July...this time for good.
Three days after arriving, Harout gave a press interview that quickly
landed him a job with a firm called Armenian Software. The company
develops and services banking and accounting systems.
Company President Ashot Khachatryan saw the interview and called
Harout to come in for an interview. The economist was offered a job
in the firm's technical service division. In Syria, Harout worked as
a chief accountant for a large company.
Mr. Paloulyan came to Armenia in July with his sister, mother and
cousin. His brother has been living in Armenia for the past ten years.
His sister is also an economist and worked as the director of a state
agency in Aleppo before the war. She would like to return, but the
family says it's too risky. She's still looking for work in Armenia.
Right now, she and several other Syrian-Armenians are attending
classes at Armenian Software teaching the Armenian equivalents of
accounting terms.
Harout says he plans to stay in Armenia even if the situation back
home improves. Harout hasn't yet applied for Armenian citizenship
but his sister and mother have.
Harout says he's in daily touch with relatives back in Aleppo. They
say conditions are only getting worse by the day.
The economist says several of his friends have been killed in the war.
"The first victim was my close friend Viken. He was in the army and
died just one week before being discharged."
Harout says the Armenian neighbourhood in which he lived in Aleppo
remains calm. Still, leaving your house can get you killed. This is
exactly what happened to Vartan Khachatryan, a neighbour of Harout,
who was killed by an errant artillery shell. "Yeah, he worked in a
store close by. I used to see him on my way to work," recounts Harout.
The Paloulyan family store in Aleppo hasn't been damaged. Harout
says they plan to sell the store and buy a place in Armenia. Right
now, they rent an apartment in Yerevan. He says their landlord is a
good man who hasn't tried to take advantage of their situation. But
he says he knows of many cases when local Armenians began to raise
their rents rather than lower them when Armenians from Syria first
started to arrive in Yerevan. He says those local Armenians seem to
forget that Syrian-Armenians were "fleeing a war zone".
"I would just like them to regard as Armenians and not diaspora
or Syrian Armenians. Sadly, many here in Armenia see us merely as
diaspora Armenians," Harout says.
The young economist says that back in Aleppo the Armenian community
opened their doors to anyone fleeing from other parts of the country.
"When fighting broke out in Homs, many Muslims escaped to Aleppo.
While they didn't come to the Christian quarters, our Muslim neighbours
opened their doors and welcomed them in. Christians fleeing to
Aleppo were welcomed into Christian homes. That's the way we were
raised. That's probably why we felt hurt when some in Armenia took
advantage of our predicament," Harout says.
The economist says you can't compare the wages in Syria to those of
Armenia. "You can live for one month like a king on $250, but here
in Armenia that's nothing"
In the past 1.5 years, prices in Syria have risen to Armenian levels.
Harout says that before the war, bread and clothing were much cheaper
in Syria than Armenia.
Harout believes that the international community has turned against
Syria and points to the fact that many countries will not allow
Syrian citizens to enter their borders. He places great importance
on the fact that the embassies of Armenia, Russia and China continue
to operate in Syria despite the war and that they have declared a
willingness to assist the Armenian community.
"Just the fact that Armenia grants us visas is a big thing. I would get
rejected if I went to the American Embassy just because I'm Syrian,"
says Harout.
He says most Armenian students in Aleppo attend Armenian schools. "I
have learnt to speak a bit of eastern Armenian. If I spoke western
Armenian I'd surely mix in a few Arabic words, he says.
He also knows English and a bit of Turkish that he picked up from his
grandparents in the home. They were from western Armenia. Harout wants
to improve his Turkish and learn Russian. He still doesn't understand
locals when they pepper their conversation with Russian words.
"In general, diaspora Armenians have a better grasp of the Armenian
culture than Armenians in Armenia. It's not the fault of local
Armenians. They live in their culture. We lived like foreigners in
foreign lands. That's why we held on to the culture and the language.
We were taught at an early age not to forget that we are Armenian.
They forced us to learn the language and not to forget it. We know
how people from Sassoun dress, how people from Marash think, etc. It's
been passed down to us," Harout recounts.
"From an early age we always dreamt about coming to Armenia, about
visiting this mountain or town. We have seen Yerevan, the Opera,
Republic Square...it's like a dream come true. You see it every day."
Since moving to Armenia, Harout has travelled quite a bit - to Odzoun,
Dsegh, Shushi, Stepanakert, Khor Virap and Zvartnots. He often goes
camping with some of his Syrian-Armenian friends.
Some of them want to put down roots in Armenia. Others want to go to
Europe. The rest plan to return to Syria after the war.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Sona Avagyan
http://hetq.am/eng/articles/20629/syrian-armenian-economist-i-wish-that-locals-regard-us-as-one-of-them-and-not-diaspora-armenians.html
11:56, November 16, 2012
The first time Harout Paloulyan, an economist from Syria, visited
Armenia was in 2008 to watch the football match between Armenia and
Turkey. The second time was to attend his brother's wedding.
Harout returned again this July...this time for good.
Three days after arriving, Harout gave a press interview that quickly
landed him a job with a firm called Armenian Software. The company
develops and services banking and accounting systems.
Company President Ashot Khachatryan saw the interview and called
Harout to come in for an interview. The economist was offered a job
in the firm's technical service division. In Syria, Harout worked as
a chief accountant for a large company.
Mr. Paloulyan came to Armenia in July with his sister, mother and
cousin. His brother has been living in Armenia for the past ten years.
His sister is also an economist and worked as the director of a state
agency in Aleppo before the war. She would like to return, but the
family says it's too risky. She's still looking for work in Armenia.
Right now, she and several other Syrian-Armenians are attending
classes at Armenian Software teaching the Armenian equivalents of
accounting terms.
Harout says he plans to stay in Armenia even if the situation back
home improves. Harout hasn't yet applied for Armenian citizenship
but his sister and mother have.
Harout says he's in daily touch with relatives back in Aleppo. They
say conditions are only getting worse by the day.
The economist says several of his friends have been killed in the war.
"The first victim was my close friend Viken. He was in the army and
died just one week before being discharged."
Harout says the Armenian neighbourhood in which he lived in Aleppo
remains calm. Still, leaving your house can get you killed. This is
exactly what happened to Vartan Khachatryan, a neighbour of Harout,
who was killed by an errant artillery shell. "Yeah, he worked in a
store close by. I used to see him on my way to work," recounts Harout.
The Paloulyan family store in Aleppo hasn't been damaged. Harout
says they plan to sell the store and buy a place in Armenia. Right
now, they rent an apartment in Yerevan. He says their landlord is a
good man who hasn't tried to take advantage of their situation. But
he says he knows of many cases when local Armenians began to raise
their rents rather than lower them when Armenians from Syria first
started to arrive in Yerevan. He says those local Armenians seem to
forget that Syrian-Armenians were "fleeing a war zone".
"I would just like them to regard as Armenians and not diaspora
or Syrian Armenians. Sadly, many here in Armenia see us merely as
diaspora Armenians," Harout says.
The young economist says that back in Aleppo the Armenian community
opened their doors to anyone fleeing from other parts of the country.
"When fighting broke out in Homs, many Muslims escaped to Aleppo.
While they didn't come to the Christian quarters, our Muslim neighbours
opened their doors and welcomed them in. Christians fleeing to
Aleppo were welcomed into Christian homes. That's the way we were
raised. That's probably why we felt hurt when some in Armenia took
advantage of our predicament," Harout says.
The economist says you can't compare the wages in Syria to those of
Armenia. "You can live for one month like a king on $250, but here
in Armenia that's nothing"
In the past 1.5 years, prices in Syria have risen to Armenian levels.
Harout says that before the war, bread and clothing were much cheaper
in Syria than Armenia.
Harout believes that the international community has turned against
Syria and points to the fact that many countries will not allow
Syrian citizens to enter their borders. He places great importance
on the fact that the embassies of Armenia, Russia and China continue
to operate in Syria despite the war and that they have declared a
willingness to assist the Armenian community.
"Just the fact that Armenia grants us visas is a big thing. I would get
rejected if I went to the American Embassy just because I'm Syrian,"
says Harout.
He says most Armenian students in Aleppo attend Armenian schools. "I
have learnt to speak a bit of eastern Armenian. If I spoke western
Armenian I'd surely mix in a few Arabic words, he says.
He also knows English and a bit of Turkish that he picked up from his
grandparents in the home. They were from western Armenia. Harout wants
to improve his Turkish and learn Russian. He still doesn't understand
locals when they pepper their conversation with Russian words.
"In general, diaspora Armenians have a better grasp of the Armenian
culture than Armenians in Armenia. It's not the fault of local
Armenians. They live in their culture. We lived like foreigners in
foreign lands. That's why we held on to the culture and the language.
We were taught at an early age not to forget that we are Armenian.
They forced us to learn the language and not to forget it. We know
how people from Sassoun dress, how people from Marash think, etc. It's
been passed down to us," Harout recounts.
"From an early age we always dreamt about coming to Armenia, about
visiting this mountain or town. We have seen Yerevan, the Opera,
Republic Square...it's like a dream come true. You see it every day."
Since moving to Armenia, Harout has travelled quite a bit - to Odzoun,
Dsegh, Shushi, Stepanakert, Khor Virap and Zvartnots. He often goes
camping with some of his Syrian-Armenian friends.
Some of them want to put down roots in Armenia. Others want to go to
Europe. The rest plan to return to Syria after the war.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress