Many Syrian-Armenians want to live in the heart of Yerevan (video)
The Ministry of Diaspora has received over 160 proposals concerning Syrian-Armenian families who fled the conflict zone and settled in Armenia after the start of war in Syria. People particularly suggest providing these families with shelters in marzes. Deputy Minister of Diaspora Serzh Srapionyan says Syrian-Armenians refuse the offer and say they will not live in remote regions. “The director of the Paruyr Sevak Museum contacted us to offer their two-storey house to a Syrian-Armenian family for nothing. Flats in rural areas usually have plots of land. We understand them… People living in urban areas cannot cultivate the land if they are craftsmen in their blood,” the deputy minister said on November 2. He says many Syrian-Armenian families want to live near the Opera House in Yerevan. Serzh Srapionyan says every day the Ministry receives Syrian-Armenian families, helps them, providing them with temporary accommodation, after finding a suitable apartment for them. The Ministry then pays part of the rent. Syrian-Armenians have difficulties in adapting to life in Armenia, they complain of salaries and many quit their jobs in several months. “We cannot afford to pay them the money that they received in Aleppo. They are free to exercise their rights,” the Ministry official said.
