Home away from home?
Eastern approaches 2013-12-20
Summary:
IT IS a tragedy of catastrophic proportions. The war in Syria has uprooted 40% of the population. Some 6.5m Syrians have sought refuge in other parts of the country; about 2.2m people have fled abroad. More are leaving every day.
Neighbouring countries, such as Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, already host millions of displaced people from earlier crises in the region, and struggle to cope with the newcomers. Humanitarian agencies have raised only a fraction of the funds required to help those in need. It is a precarious, and potentially dangerous, situation.
Syrian Armenians, at least, may have another option. Armenia sees itself as the “homeland” for Armenians worldwide. The government says that Syrian Armenians who go to Armenia are therefore not refugees in need of protection, but members of the diaspora coming home. Most governments of countries that host Syrian refugees yearn for the day they will leave. The authorities in Yerevan, in contrast, would like Syrian Armenians to stay.
A small Armenian settlement has existed in Syria for centuries, centered on Aleppo. The sanctuary it offered to people fleeing the Armenian genocide in 1915 greatly increased its numbers. Over the past few years, this onetime refuge has become a source of flight. As Robert Fisk...Continue reading