Several Armenians have left Syria due to the war that broke out in the country. Some moved to other countries, while others settled in different parts of Armenia, as Aparaj.am reports.

The several dozens of Armenian families that moved to Artsakh mainly settled in the Kashatagh region.

Syrian-Armenians shared their dreams and talked about their plans for the future in interviews with aparaj.am.

In April 2014, 58-year old Ara-Sepuh Keshishian, who lives in Berdzor (center of Kashatagh region) moved from Syria’s Rasolayeh village to Armenia with his wife, Vana, 2-year old daughter and 6-year old son and immediately settled in Berdzor.

Ara-Sepuh Keshishian first visited Berdzor in 2004 with the desire to purchase land and move to the homeland. His plans didn’t work out and he wasn’t able to make the move.

Ara is a tailor, but has farmed and raised cattle for many years in Syria. Ara has been provided with 20 ha of land in Artsakh for farming, but the loan came late and didn’t allow him to cultivate the land.

The regime of Berdzor immediately provided them with a 3-bedroom apartment.

Now, Ara-sepuh and his wife are employed and, as Ara-Sepuh mentions, he does everything he can in order to provide for his family.

Ara-Sepuh is a very old man, but he does physical work, starting from construction and ending with farming.

“We get benefits, but it’s wrong to always wait for someone to help you. Each person has to create something on his own. We feel a part of this country and don’t want to ask or demand anything. The government simply has to create conditions for us to have jobs and earn a living on our own,” he mentioned.

Ara-Sepuh Keshishian rules out the option of moving to another country. He stressed the fact that he wants his children to be provided with an Armenian upbringing and live in an Armenian environment.

Talking about his plans and dreams, Ara-Sepuh mentioned that he really hopes to cultivate his land and harvest crops. He also has a dream for the New Year, and we don’t think it’s too much to ask for. “I’d like to have a cow because I have two children at home, and it wouldn’t hurt to have milk and yogurt at home,” he said.

The family is getting ready to celebrate the New Year with all they have and believes the way a year goes by depends how the person starts the year.

“We can solve all issues. We just don’t want war,” Ara-Sepuh said with faith.

Besides this family, Abraham and Yeranouhi Degirmenjian have been living in Ishkhanadzor for the past two months. They moved from Syria to Armenia and later to Ishkhanadzor. Two of their children are in Lebanon, and the other two are still in Syria.

The village council of Ishkhanadzor immediately provided them with an apartment in the multi-story building built through funding provided by Tufenian and Kashatagh charitable foundations.

Abraham is a mechanic, but is now working on construction in the village. He says there’s always something to do since there are several construction projects underway in the village.

Talking about his plans and dreams, Abraham mentioned:

“I haven’t seen my children for two years now, and I haven’t heard from my other two sons in Syria for the past four months. I dream of seeing my family together next year and have all of us live here in Artsakh. I want to open a place where I can repair cars and work by my profession,” he mentioned.

Abraham said he and his family feel great in Artsakh. The people are kind, and they already feel like they are one of them.

“There’s no better joy for a person living abroad than living in his homeland,” he said.