On October 11, the Inter-Agency Commission on Coordination of Syrian-Armenians’ Issues held an extraordinary session at the RA Ministry of Diaspora. The participants of the session discussed the key issues on providing support to Syrian-Armenians having moved to Armenia due to the deepening of the Syrian crisis and to Syrian-Armenians wishing to move from Aleppo to Armenia, as well as the completion of the assignment of RA Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan to improve coordination of several measures in this sector.

The session was chaired by RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan.

The Minister of Diaspora informed the members of the Commission that the Ministry is constantly in contact with representatives of Syrian-Armenian organizations and the Consul General of the Republic of Armenia to assess the situation and take measures to provide the necessary assistance. She also informed that the employees of the RA Ministry of Diaspora perform on-duty service at the airport and greet Syrian-Armenians in order to organize assistance for Syrian-Armenians arriving in Armenia. There have only been four Syrian-Armenian families that have moved to Armenia over the past ten days. The rumors that Syrian-Armenians are in panic and that many have expressed the desire to come to Armenia are exaggerated. The RA Consul General and the national authorities state that a couple of families have contacted them to leave Syria, particularly Aleppo and that they have helped them. At the same time, the Minister informed that, upon the assignment of the President of the Republic of Armenia, two planes carrying humanitarian assistance have arrived in Syria. The cargo was taken by several state servants, including Head of the Department of Armenian Communities of the Near East and Middle East at the RA Ministry of Diaspora Levon Antonyan, who helped distribute the food on the spot. Today, the key objective is to become familiar with the moods of the Syrian-Armenians who have just arrived in Armenia and provide them with food, jobs and homes.

The Minister also thanked the pan-Armenian, non-governmental and international organizations that have been helping the Syrian-Armenians since the very first days of the Syrian crisis and have collaborated with the Ministry of Diaspora.

Member of the AGBU Central Board, Middle East and Armenia Programs correspondent Vasken Yacoubian stated that the AGBU has opened a special fund to help the Syrian-Armenians following the latest developments in Syria. Yacoubian agreed with the Minister of Diaspora on providing first necessity items to the Syrian-Armenians and stated the following: “We will continue to reimburse a part of the tuition fee for Syrian-Armenians pursuing their studies for a Bachelor’s Degree in Armenia and carry out charity programs in all the other directions.”

The member of the AGBU Central Board stressed that, in spite of the dire conditions, the Armenians of Aleppo are not in panic and that we need to be careful when making any statement.

Director of the Center for Coordination of Syrian-Armenians’ Issues NGOo Lena Halajian attached importance to the issue of not politicizing the transfer of Syrian-Armenians and their establishment in the Homeland. “Some non-governmental organizations are speculating the issue of the Syrian-Armenians for their PR and are making donations under the name of the Syrian-Armenians. I also regret to state that several media outlets are also speculating the Syrian-Armenians’ issues with the desire to gain more audiences. Unfortunately, as a result, those media outlets are spreading inaccurate news and casting a shade on the large-scale efforts that are being made,” Lena Halajian stated.

Representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Armenia Christoph Bierwirth, as well as the representatives of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Syrian-Armenians Union NGO, the Armenian Missionary Association of America, the Amcor Armenia Foundation, the Armenian Relief Society, the “Armenian Caritas” Charitable NGO, the Armenian Assembly of America, the Armenia Chapter of the Fund for Armenian Relief, the Armenian Red Cross Society and Oxfam Armenia presented their programs aimed at providing assistance to the Syrian-Armenians, as well as their funds and opportunities.

The attendees stated that they will be able to provide more targeted and necessary assistance to the Syrian-Armenians by specifying the priorities through the coordination by the RA Ministry of Diaspora.

The participants discussed issues on providing medicine, winter clothes and necessary accessories, as well as food to the Syrian-Armenians who need it the most.

The Minister asked the member government agencies of the inter-agency commission and the participating international, pan-Armenian, charitable and non-governmental organizations to submit their recommendations for improving the activities with the Syrian-Armenians in Armenia and making the activities more effective, as well as for supporting the Armenians in Syria and developing new mechanisms in a short period of time.