We receive controversial information from the Armenian neighborhood in the Syrian city ofAleppo– it is very probable that this district really changes hands and as of yesterday, as far as understood it, is under the government control. One thing is clear – living, working, sending children to school or kindergarten is not safe in this city and it is natural that our compatriots, leaving behind their jobs with a heavy heart, go to other countries, including here,Armenia. By the way, I asked some of them whether Lebanon wasn’t preferable for them and the answer seemed very logical to me – are there any guarantees that the same thing will not start in Beirut in a few years?
The stress of being deported is in the genetic memory of these people – most of their ancestors appeared inAlepponot of their own free will. And although violence 100 years ago was particularly directed against Armenians and now Armenians are not a party to this internal Syrian conflict and I hope they will never be, the similarity is obvious; people are deprived of their dear hearths. But in this case, they expect hospitality not from Arabs, but from Armenians, the Armenian state. Are we – people who live inArmenia– that good at the state, social and domestic levels? I am afraid no.
It is clear that state officials who are corrupted up to their ears will not change their “bad habits” for Syrian Armenians and will fully use those people’s helpless condition, in order to gain money. Therefore, it is pointless to read the Bible to corrupted wolves. But what about the rest – for example, real estate businessmen? Is it really necessary to make money on the misfortune of a few hundreds of compatriots? And generally, I don’t understand the mutter of “ordinary people” about our compatriots, which certainly contains an element of lumpen jealousy. Yes, the average standard of living of a Syrian Armenian is higher than that of a resident ofArmenia, but those people are certainly not to blame that they live in a more prosperous country than ours. I also don’t understand the politicians who wish to gain some dividends with irresponsible statements, but harm our brothers by that, at the same time. God willing, the situation inSyriawill be normalized and they will be able to go back home. However, if it is not the case, I would like them to stay here, become full citizens of our country.
I know that many people will not agree with me, but in my opinion, however, the safest place for Armenians isArmenia. It is not the most just and prosperous country in the world, to put it mildly – human rights and human dignity are infringed and a lot of unpunished crimes are committed here every day. ButArmeniahas an unarguable advantage over the other much better states – it is our, Armenians’, country and only we are responsible for the positive and negative sides of it.
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Aram Abrahamyan
