BOMBARDMENTS OF ALEPPO: SYRIAN ARMENIANS APPEAL FOR SAVING CHILDREN FROM UNSAFE CITY
NEWS | 16.04.15 | 12:19
By SARA KHOJOYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
News from Aleppo, Syria, about fresh bombardments of the
Armenian-populated quarters of the city as well as injuries among
Armenians caused more concerns in Yerevan, which has given refuge to
thousands of Syrian Armenians fleeing the conflict in their country
during the past four years.
Syrian Armenians have appealed for action to evacuate from Aleppo
at least the children who, they say, have been driven to the “edge
of death”.
“Aleppo Armenians are in a desperate situation and are on the verge
of death. They want their children to be saved,” Hrach Kalsahakian,
a Syrian Armenian, wrote on his Facebook account.
He noted that school will end on May 12 and that the children need
to be taken temporarily to safe countries like Lebanon and Armenia
before the summer sets in bringing with it terrible conditions for
the children. The activist described it as a cause for the nation
that needs to be realized urgently “before it is too late”.
Vahan Kevorkian (name changed), another Syrian Armenian in Yerevan
who spoke to ArmeniaNow on condition of anonymity because of being
concerned for the fate of his children back in Aleppo, said he came
to Armenia a week ago to rent a home here and bring his family,
including two teenage daughters, along.
“I was at the airport in Beirut when I heard the news [about the
bombardments],” said Kevorkian, adding that only days later he could
learn that everything was fine with his family.
According to Kevorkian, like many other Aleppo Armenians he has also
got accustomed to the war ranging around in Syria today. “It was bad
also before, but at least it was calmer,” he said.
According to him, only one of the three Armenian schools is open to
children in Aleppo today and Armenian children from the entire city
attend it.
Kevorkian said that the conflict in Syria at times reminded him of the
horrors that Armenians experienced during the Ottoman-era massacres.
“Voices of Turkish and Muslim militants a few blocks from my home were
very disturbing for me as I feared that any moment they could come
and attack our home. It was very difficult and it seemed that we were
again going through genocide,” says the man who, as a young man, was
recording stories of 1915 Genocide survivors for the Hay Dat office.
Kevorkian is a silversmith by profession. He hopes to find a job
in Armenia in order to maintain his family while the conflict in
Syria continues.
“Here I have a narrow circle of friends, good guys from Lebanon,
Syria, local guys. If I can find means to maintain my family we will
stay here, but I haven’t decided anything yet,” he said.
Kevorkian also visited Armenia many times before and twice went to
the 1915 Genocide Memorial at Tsitsernakaberd. According to him,
this year, which marks the centenary of the Genocide, he will lay
flowers at the Memorial on April 24 and go back to his war-stricken
home to bring his family to Armenia.