New influx of Syrian refugees expected to Armenia
At present, overall 25 thousand Syrian-Armenians reside in Syria, 15 thousand out of which live in Aleppo. Aleppo lives difficult period, and Armenia expects new influx of Syrian-Armenian refugees, Armenian Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan told reporters.
“Currently we face two problems. One is that we already gave an apartment to a Syrian Armenian families residing in Armenia but since new members of those families may arrive, problems with living space may occur. The second issue is the possible arrival of new residents. Issues related to their housing and other household issues should be solved in cooperation with Yerevan Mayor’s Office and other structures,” Hakobyan noted.
Minister next stressed that no high level migration is observed among Syrian Armenians residing in Armenia. In most cases they leave temporary for other countries to improve their earning, others - for getting educated.
“Our studies indicate that most of them want to live permanently in Armenia. Over the period of two years since their arrival they hoped to return to Syria. Afterwards, they got used to living here, though they spent the money they had brought. Therefore they faced certain difficulties. If they were involved in the integration process from the beginning it would be probably easier for them,” Hakobyan concluded.
To remind, earlier Arevelq paper wrote that most people wishing to move to Armenia are socially vulnerable and poor. They wish to come to Armenia out of security considerations amid daily shelling of Aleppo.
The fact that mostly the poor intend to move to Armenia, their integration and employment in the new place will be difficult from the beginning.