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Christian Science Monitor
July 23 2014
>From Aleppo to Armenia: Syrian auto-repair tycoon starts over
In Aleppo, Sako owned an auto-repair business that employed 15
workers. Now the Syrian-Armenian, one of 11,000 to settle in Armenia
since the conflict began, runs a small falafel and shwarma stand.
By Karen Leigh, Syria Deeply
Yerevan, Armenia -- A version of this post appeared on Syria Deeply, a
multimedia platform covering the Syrian war.
He still has the same cell phone, an early smartphone purchased in
Aleppo before Syria's three-year-long conflict turned the life of this
formerly well-off businessman upside down. On it are photos of a life
now long gone - a happy extended family of Syrian-Armenians posing in
its well-appointed home, unaware of what was to come.
In Aleppo, Sako, aged 60, owned an auto-repair business that employed
15 workers. He made a substantial amount of money, he says - enough to
buy four apartments in Aleppo and two cars, and eat out regularly at
the city's pricier spots. Then the war hit his business, forcing him
to flee with his wife to Yerevan, the Armenian capital, where years
earlier he had sent one of his sons to study to be a pharmacist.
Recommended: Do you understand the Syria conflict? Take the quiz
Now he rents and operates a small, tidy falafel and shwarma stand in
the center of town, while his wife, a former anesthesiologist, manages
another outpost next door. Here, they share a one-bedroom apartment
with several other family members. There are no more nice cars, few
restaurants, no employees to perform the manual labor.
Test your knowledge Do you understand the Syria conflict? Take the quiz
Photos of the Day Photos of the day 07/22
"It's like going from a royal lifestyle to a gypsy lifestyle," he says.
Sako and his wife, also 60, are among tens of thousands of people
seeking refuge in Yerevan. While hundreds of thousands of refugees
wear out their welcome in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, the government
of Armenia, which considers itself the global center of the diaspora,
sees the thousands of Syrian-Armenians fleeing the conflict as
undertaking a homecoming of sorts. UNCHR has estimated that there were
up to 80,000 Syrian-Armenians living in Syria before the conflict, and
that 11,000 of them have moved to Armenia.
On a hot summer day, Sako served falafel on the shady, tidy patio of
his kiosk and discussed adjusting to life now - and dealing with
memories of a different time:
"I left Aleppo two years ago and came directly to Armenia, it was
September 11, 2012. We were doing very well. We had four apartments in
Aleppo. We had a spare car-parts business in the industrial area.
That's where our garage was.
Business was very good. And it was good even after the conflict
started. People still needed auto parts. But when violence finally
reached Aleppo, it stopped. Six months before coming to Armenia, the
business just stopped. Because of the lack of security on the roads,
we weren't able to go to our workplace. It was 15 kilometers away from
my house, and the journey was very dangerous. I won't give you an
exact figure, but I had a 93 percent drop in profits. There, I had 15
workers. Here, it's just me. I am the only worker.
I had two cars, a Hyundai Sonata and a Kia. Then cars for my wife and
my son. At least once a week, we went to nice restaurants and cultural
events.
Before we came, we were very connected to Armenia because my oldest
son studied pharmacy here. I sent him here to study. A year before
coming here, we applied for Armenian passports. We came here to sign
the papers and things got even worse in Aleppo, so we couldn't go
back. We stayed for good. Remember, Armenia is not taking all Syrians,
it's taking only Armenian-Syrians.
A lot of Syrian-Armenians who are here now who came after the conflict
are not finding proper jobs, it's been a lot more difficult. After we
came, we were here for nine months doing nothing. We had savings.
[Still], we didn't have enough cash, but I had relatives who loaned me
money. After nine months I realized I wasn't going back to Aleppo and
I would be here a long time. I knew I could prepare good food, good
sandwiches, so I decided to rent this place and start the business."
Working longer hours
I used to wake up at 8 a.m. and go to work at 9 a.m. At 5 p.m. I would
close. But I did nothing with my hands, I was the boss and managed 15
workers. Now I wake up at 7 a.m., I go to the market at 8 a.m. At 10
a.m. I come here and open the kiosk and I work until 12, 12:30 a.m. at
night.
Now we go out maybe once a month. In the winter, I never go out at
night but in summer, once a month. Still, this all hasn't affected me
much psychologically, because I like to work.
We are living in a one-room apartment, all of us together. We've been
trying to find another place close to this area but everything is too
expensive. Our main residence in Aleppo was 170 square meters, six
rooms. We had central heating and air conditioning. My kitchen was as
big as this [restaurant]. Our things are all still there, locked in
the apartment.
The other three apartments, I bought for my sons. My biggest worry now
is to be able to get back to Aleppo to sell everything and to have
money for me and my sons for the future. Everything is standing still,
locked, I can't sell the apartments or do anything. I only wish to go
back to Aleppo in order to sell my homes and my workplaces. At the
time we left, I was in the middle of expanding my business.
Some of my workers went to Latakia and are working in different
places, some are in Beirut and some joined the Free Syrian Army. I'm
only in contact with the workers who are still in Latakia.
I miss my home, my lifestyle, my freedom, my social life. Some of my
friends are still in Aleppo, others have gone to Beirut, to the U.S.
At night when I can't sleep, I stay awake and I talk to them. Before
the conflict, I didn't have too much to worry about. Everything was on
track in my life. My sons had finished their military service, I had
secured their futures. I had done well.
I don't have one particular outstanding fear. I'm healthy and working
and good. My major concern is to be able to go back and sell my
belongings so that I can buy a home here and establish myself. I'm not
thinking of going back, or staying here. I'm thinking about emigrating
to the U.S."
Sako's name has been changed and his answers have been edited for
clarity. Katarina Montgomery and Syria Deeply contributor Abu Leila
contributed reporting.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/0723/From-Aleppo-to-Armenia-Syrian-auto-repair-tycoon-starts-over
July 23 2014
>From Aleppo to Armenia: Syrian auto-repair tycoon starts over
In Aleppo, Sako owned an auto-repair business that employed 15
workers. Now the Syrian-Armenian, one of 11,000 to settle in Armenia
since the conflict began, runs a small falafel and shwarma stand.
By Karen Leigh, Syria Deeply
Yerevan, Armenia -- A version of this post appeared on Syria Deeply, a
multimedia platform covering the Syrian war.
He still has the same cell phone, an early smartphone purchased in
Aleppo before Syria's three-year-long conflict turned the life of this
formerly well-off businessman upside down. On it are photos of a life
now long gone - a happy extended family of Syrian-Armenians posing in
its well-appointed home, unaware of what was to come.
In Aleppo, Sako, aged 60, owned an auto-repair business that employed
15 workers. He made a substantial amount of money, he says - enough to
buy four apartments in Aleppo and two cars, and eat out regularly at
the city's pricier spots. Then the war hit his business, forcing him
to flee with his wife to Yerevan, the Armenian capital, where years
earlier he had sent one of his sons to study to be a pharmacist.
Recommended: Do you understand the Syria conflict? Take the quiz
Now he rents and operates a small, tidy falafel and shwarma stand in
the center of town, while his wife, a former anesthesiologist, manages
another outpost next door. Here, they share a one-bedroom apartment
with several other family members. There are no more nice cars, few
restaurants, no employees to perform the manual labor.
Test your knowledge Do you understand the Syria conflict? Take the quiz
Photos of the Day Photos of the day 07/22
"It's like going from a royal lifestyle to a gypsy lifestyle," he says.
Sako and his wife, also 60, are among tens of thousands of people
seeking refuge in Yerevan. While hundreds of thousands of refugees
wear out their welcome in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, the government
of Armenia, which considers itself the global center of the diaspora,
sees the thousands of Syrian-Armenians fleeing the conflict as
undertaking a homecoming of sorts. UNCHR has estimated that there were
up to 80,000 Syrian-Armenians living in Syria before the conflict, and
that 11,000 of them have moved to Armenia.
On a hot summer day, Sako served falafel on the shady, tidy patio of
his kiosk and discussed adjusting to life now - and dealing with
memories of a different time:
"I left Aleppo two years ago and came directly to Armenia, it was
September 11, 2012. We were doing very well. We had four apartments in
Aleppo. We had a spare car-parts business in the industrial area.
That's where our garage was.
Business was very good. And it was good even after the conflict
started. People still needed auto parts. But when violence finally
reached Aleppo, it stopped. Six months before coming to Armenia, the
business just stopped. Because of the lack of security on the roads,
we weren't able to go to our workplace. It was 15 kilometers away from
my house, and the journey was very dangerous. I won't give you an
exact figure, but I had a 93 percent drop in profits. There, I had 15
workers. Here, it's just me. I am the only worker.
I had two cars, a Hyundai Sonata and a Kia. Then cars for my wife and
my son. At least once a week, we went to nice restaurants and cultural
events.
Before we came, we were very connected to Armenia because my oldest
son studied pharmacy here. I sent him here to study. A year before
coming here, we applied for Armenian passports. We came here to sign
the papers and things got even worse in Aleppo, so we couldn't go
back. We stayed for good. Remember, Armenia is not taking all Syrians,
it's taking only Armenian-Syrians.
A lot of Syrian-Armenians who are here now who came after the conflict
are not finding proper jobs, it's been a lot more difficult. After we
came, we were here for nine months doing nothing. We had savings.
[Still], we didn't have enough cash, but I had relatives who loaned me
money. After nine months I realized I wasn't going back to Aleppo and
I would be here a long time. I knew I could prepare good food, good
sandwiches, so I decided to rent this place and start the business."
Working longer hours
I used to wake up at 8 a.m. and go to work at 9 a.m. At 5 p.m. I would
close. But I did nothing with my hands, I was the boss and managed 15
workers. Now I wake up at 7 a.m., I go to the market at 8 a.m. At 10
a.m. I come here and open the kiosk and I work until 12, 12:30 a.m. at
night.
Now we go out maybe once a month. In the winter, I never go out at
night but in summer, once a month. Still, this all hasn't affected me
much psychologically, because I like to work.
We are living in a one-room apartment, all of us together. We've been
trying to find another place close to this area but everything is too
expensive. Our main residence in Aleppo was 170 square meters, six
rooms. We had central heating and air conditioning. My kitchen was as
big as this [restaurant]. Our things are all still there, locked in
the apartment.
The other three apartments, I bought for my sons. My biggest worry now
is to be able to get back to Aleppo to sell everything and to have
money for me and my sons for the future. Everything is standing still,
locked, I can't sell the apartments or do anything. I only wish to go
back to Aleppo in order to sell my homes and my workplaces. At the
time we left, I was in the middle of expanding my business.
Some of my workers went to Latakia and are working in different
places, some are in Beirut and some joined the Free Syrian Army. I'm
only in contact with the workers who are still in Latakia.
I miss my home, my lifestyle, my freedom, my social life. Some of my
friends are still in Aleppo, others have gone to Beirut, to the U.S.
At night when I can't sleep, I stay awake and I talk to them. Before
the conflict, I didn't have too much to worry about. Everything was on
track in my life. My sons had finished their military service, I had
secured their futures. I had done well.
I don't have one particular outstanding fear. I'm healthy and working
and good. My major concern is to be able to go back and sell my
belongings so that I can buy a home here and establish myself. I'm not
thinking of going back, or staying here. I'm thinking about emigrating
to the U.S."
Sako's name has been changed and his answers have been edited for
clarity. Katarina Montgomery and Syria Deeply contributor Abu Leila
contributed reporting.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/0723/From-Aleppo-to-Armenia-Syrian-auto-repair-tycoon-starts-over