Plane carrying humanitarian aid to Syria may bring needy families to Armenia (video)
The transportation of Syrian Armenians is not so easy to organize, says Deputy Minister of Diaspora Serzh Srapionyan said on Tuesday. “They are citizens of Syria and have a lot of obligations towards the state. I am speaking about the military law and bank commitments,” he said. “First of all, the person himself should want to move to Armenia. Today, we do not have the levers that can enable us to bring them to Armenia. If they want to come to Armenia, they can apply to relevant authorities, and we shall do our best to arrange their trip to Armenia,” Mr. Srapionyan said. The official added that the first plane loaded with 20 tons of humanitarian aid left for Syria on Monday, October 3. The second plane will be sent to Syria in the coming two days. Our consul and representative of our ministry have been assigned to arrange the transportation of the most vulnerable people, who do not have any problems with documents,” the deputy minister said. It is estimated that 20 000 Armenians continue to live in Syria today. Once, the country had an Armenian population of more than 250 000. The community has 19 schools – three in Kesab (a mostly Armenian-populated town in northwestern Syria), four in Damascus and twelve in Aleppo. “Lessons were canceled yesterday and today given the dangerous situation in the country. Local Armenian agencies will be notified of additional decisions,” Mr. Srapionyan said. So far, more than 20 000 Armenians have come to Armenia. 13 000 of them have received citizenship.
