Due to the war in Syria, most Syrian-Armenians left their hometowns, leaving behind their districts, schools, churches, homes, as well as jobs, stores, friends, neighbors and relatives. Some Syrian-Armenians sought shelter abroad, and a large number of Syrian-Armenians took shelter in Armenia, the land of their dreams. It was obviously difficult for them to start from scratch without a job and a home, but life had to carry on…and it did carry on.

The Syrian-Armenians had a chance to create a small Aleppo in an area near the Republic Square metro station located at Republic Square where there are stores and a barber shop. I sat down for interviews with them and listened to them as they talked about their problems and shared their impressions.

Vahram Der-Ohanian

“I arrived in Armenia 11 months ago. I came here with my family. We left our house and jobs behind and escaped some way. When we came, our house in Aleppo still wasn’t damaged, but we have been told that missiles were dropped on our house. One of my friends died in Aleppo. Another one of my friends is in critical condition and isn’t doing too well. I’ve been working for the past four months. I have a small shop called “Spitak” in memory of the earthquake that took place in Spitak. It’s good that I have a job, but I have trouble paying the 60,000 dram fee for the area, the taxes, as well as 18,000 drams for two refrigerators and 30,000 drams for two tables every month. Things would be better, if I didn’t have to make these payments. My wife is unemployed. My sons help me do business. We’ve rented an apartment and pay the rent with the support of the Armenian Apostolic Church. No matter how difficult it is, we’re in our Homeland. After all, even if there was no war in Syria, our home and final landmark is Armenia. If the war in Syria ends, we won’t return. I prefer to live in my homeland. I’ve already adapted to the new environment. We have made friends here. My customers have become close to my heart, and the locals like our food a lot. I would like to go to Aleppo once, catch up, sell our properties, return and buy a house for me and my family. May God help keep Syria and Armenia in peace! We were born in Syria, but our homeland is Armenia.”

Sarkis Girazian

“My family and I have been in Armenia for the past three years because of the war. I’m the young descendant of Armenians who migrated from the historic Urfa. In Syria my father and I would refine metal. Now, I’ve been running this shop that sells Syrian spices. We barely make ends meet. Many people don’t know where our store is located because we’re not advertising. We asked several times to place a sign in the back of the metro station to show people how to get to our store, but it didn’t work out. We couldn’t do that on our own since that is very costly. We pay 100,000 drams for the territory and taxes. We pay so much money that we can’t even afford a sign. But we really need it so that people know where to come. If we didn’t pay taxes for a while, we would grow and become stronger over time. We’re currently living off the money that we brought with us from Syria because we’re not really left with anything after paying the money for the territory and the taxes. We don’t have any problems with respect to human relations. Do you see the certificates of appreciation hung on the wall? Those are the certificates of appreciation that Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan granted during the days of the fair that opened as part of the Erebuni-Yerevan celebration. We didn’t face any language barriers either. It’s just that there are many objects that people refer to in Russian, and that’s probably the consequence of not being independent for 70 years. Of course, we also refer to many things in Arabic in Syria. We’re waiting and we hope things will get better in Syria, in Armenia and in the whole world. In all times, Armenians have suffered a lot and deserve to live a better life.”

Kevork Sukiasian

“We’ve been in Armenia for three years. We opened this barber shop just last month. Unfortunately, very few people know where we’re located. We need to advertise. We live on rent and don’t face many problems with taking care of expenses, including rent, food, clothes, etc. My father was also a barber. My family was from Yerznka, and I take pride in my roots. I’m not working alone. We pay 130,000 drams for the territory and taxes. We don’t have any problems with respect to human relations. I’m very young and already have many new friends in Armenia and particularly in Yerevan. I’m content. I had never been to Armenia and pictured it to be better. I love Yerevan. I hope my Homeland flourishes more and becomes stronger in the future. The important thing is to believe.”

There were also other stores and salons opened by Syrian-Armenians, who weren’t on the spot at the moment, but even this short tour was enough to become familiar with the colors and scents of a bit of Aleppo in Yerevan.

Karine Avagyan