Alternative Africa

Top Menu

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

logo

Alternative Africa

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
  • Legendary broadcaster, Larry King dies weeks after testing positive for COVID-19

  • COVAX purchases new 140m doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines for poor countries

  • About 200 National Guard at Biden inauguration test positive for coronavirus

  • Zimbabwe loses fourth serving minister, prison commissioner to covid-19

  • Africa receives first large shipment of covid-19 vaccine

News NowWorld
Home›News Now›‘Syrian refugees improve Armenia’s social fabric’

‘Syrian refugees improve Armenia’s social fabric’

By alternativeafrica
December 15, 2017
631
0
Share:

The presence of Syrian refugees in Armenia’s mono-ethnic society has been celebrated in the capital Yerevan through the personal initiative of an art curator and three photographers who have been documenting the migration since the eruption of the war in Syria in 2011.

A documentary photo exhibition that opened on Friday was called Home to Home, to highlight the fact that the 20,000 new arrivals were descendants of Armenians who fled from Turkey to Syria during another war more than 100 years ago.

The idea for the event came from Anna Kamay, an art curator, who told Al Jazeera that she was fascinated by the positive changes introduced by the refugees in her community.

Kamay said the new arrivals started small businesses – including new restaurants with good service – demonstrated strong work ethic and even brightened up the streets by wearing colourful clothes.

“People in Yerevan dress mostly in dark colours … These people brought lots of new colours with them. There are kind of a novelty here, bringing cultural and economic change to the country,” she said.

“Armenian community was a very strong one in Syria, and if it wasn’t for the war, they would never move to Armenia. So it is a very unfortunate circumstances, but at the end, we have what we have, a boost to the local economy, a very precious human capital and also diversity that we really lack in Armenia.”

Easy integration

It is not clear whether any of the 20,000 refugees moved on to other countries or returned to Syria, but the initial number put Armenia – with its population of 2.9 million – high up on the list of the countries with the highest per capita ratios of refugees to nationals – six refugees to 1,000 locals.

Their integration was relatively easy as the new arrivals had the same ethnicity, religion and language [with different dialect].

“Initially they’re taken a little bit like foreigners … Armenia is mono-ethnic, so people here don’t know how to deal with others,” said Anush Babajanyan, one of the three photographers featured in the exhibition, along with Piruza Khalapyan and Nazik Armenakyan.

“But Syrian Armenians are very communicable, open and lively so a lot of the times they make the right first step and that helps.”



 

The hardest part for the refugees was the lack of economic opportunities, she said.

“People don’t tend to move to Armenia, they tend to leave due to our economic difficulties,” she said.

Some of the Syrian Armenians even settled in Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh, a conflict region that is internationally recognised as part of neighbouring Azerbaijan where cross-border shootouts are common.

They were lured by free rural accommodation provided by the de facto government and the prospect of feeding their families by working the land.

“It is interesting because it is not so peaceful there, but a lot of people who moved there say: ‘If I am going to be in a conflict zone, I want to be in a conflict zone that relates to my people. I can relate to this conflict more than the conflict in Syria’,” said Babajanian.

From Aleppo to Yerevan

The unwanted prospect of involvement in the Syrian conflict made Shant Klzy Muradian, 19 at the time, decide to seek shelter in Armenia as well.

The native of Syria’s Aleppo city arrived in Yerevan in 2015 with his brother, leaving behind his parents and grandparents. His mother joined him recently.

“It is not very easy here, but I don’t see us ever going back home, but maybe in 10, 20 years we will reconsider,” he told Al Jazeera.

The 21-year-old is one of the refugees whose life is featured in the exhibition.

Muradian was reluctant to have his photo taken at first, but then he changed his mind.

“At the beginning, I was not comfortable with it. But now I am happy I did it because maybe it will help other refugees to get more support when they arrive,” he said.

“I was lucky. My cousin [who arrived four years earlier than me] helped me to find a job [at a kitchen], but maybe others will not have relatives or friends here [to get them started]. It will be harder,” said Muradian.

Kamay said only time would show whether the refugees would stay in Armenia, move on to other countries or go back to Syria, but it was very important for her and the photographers to document “this moment when we have 20,000 Syrian Armenians among us”.

“It is a story of not only migration but also of courage, resilience and willingness to start a new life.”

Follow Al Jazeera’s Tamila Varshalomidze on Twitter @tamila87v

SHARE ON:
TagsBreakingNewsWorld
Previous Article

Homelessness in Britain up by 65 percent

Next Article

NNPC Monitoring team uncovers 144 trucks of ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

alternativeafrica

Related articles More from author

  • News Now

    They Fled Boko Haram, Only to Be Raped by Nigeria’s Security Forces

    December 8, 2017
    By alternativeafrica
  • News Now

    Caf president Ahmad reiterates Cameroon 2019 warning

    December 20, 2017
    By alternativeafrica
  • News Now

    king Joseph Boakai

    December 22, 2017
    By alternativeafrica
  • News Now

    Winter Olympics 2018: Nigeria’s women’s bobsleigh team target medal

    December 8, 2017
    By alternativeafrica
  • BusinessNews Now

    Mobilising domestic resources is key for development

    March 7, 2018
    By alternativeafrica
  • News Now

    Mugabe named as goodwill ambassador by WHO

    October 20, 2017
    By alternativeafrica

Leave a reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You might be interested

  • HealthNews NowWorld

    US professor develops surface coating that kills coronavirus in one hour

  • News NowPolitics

    Zimbabwe: Opposition marches on electoral agency to demand reforms

  • BusinessNews Now

    South African private sector activity improves in June – Purchasing Managers’ Index

Timeline

  • January 23, 2021

    Legendary broadcaster, Larry King dies weeks after testing positive for COVID-19

  • January 23, 2021

    COVAX purchases new 140m doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines for poor countries

  • January 23, 2021

    About 200 National Guard at Biden inauguration test positive for coronavirus

  • January 23, 2021

    Zimbabwe loses fourth serving minister, prison commissioner to covid-19

  • January 23, 2021

    Africa receives first large shipment of covid-19 vaccine

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Morocco begins regional integration by connecting Casablanca Airport with High Speed Train

    By alternativeafrica
    January 4, 2020
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • Nigeria: 32,000 capacity Lagos rice mill to start production in 2020

    By alternativeafrica
    December 23, 2019
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail – Future agricultures
    on
    October 16, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail - The Zimbabwean
    on
    October 12, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...
  • Millitants in Central Mali Set Jail Ablaze in Attack Killing Two | taktik(z) GDI (Government Defense ...
    on
    August 11, 2020

    Fifteen gendarmes killed in another attack on Mali camp

    […] attack fol­lowed a January ...
AlternativeAfrica.com is an independent Pan African News Website dedicated primarily to influencing the negative narratives about Africa. We hope to do this by focusing and showcasing the many developmental strides sweeping across the continent.

Read more >>>

Contact Info

  • info@alternativeafrica.com
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Legendary broadcaster, Larry King dies weeks after testing positive for COVID-19

    By alternativeafrica
    January 23, 2021
  • COVAX purchases new 140m doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines for poor countries

    By alternativeafrica
    January 23, 2021
  • About 200 National Guard at Biden inauguration test positive for coronavirus

    By alternativeafrica
    January 23, 2021
  • Zimbabwe loses fourth serving minister, prison commissioner to covid-19

    By alternativeafrica
    January 23, 2021
  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Macron in Ivory Coast to launch anti-terrorism academy

    By alternativeafrica
    December 21, 2019
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail – Future agricultures
    on
    October 16, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail - The Zimbabwean
    on
    October 12, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...

Photostream

    Follow us

    • Home
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
    © Copyright Alternative Africa 2019. All rights reserved.