20 thousand Syrian-Armenians live in Armenia

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. 20 thousand Syrian-Armenians have settled in Armenia as result of the Syrian crisis, Chief of Staff of the Diaspora Ministry Firdus Zakaryan told ARMENPRESS.

According to Zakaryan, employment and accommodation issues hinder the Syrian-Armenians to finally integrate into the society.

“Several non-governmental and charitable organizations, as well as international organizations provide the Syrian-Armenians with accommodation fees. However the number of Syrian-Armenians who need fees for rent is changing all the time, and this creates quite big problems”, he said.

Speaking on employment issues, Zakaryan said the majority of Syrian-Armenians are employed, however they are dissatisfied with their salaries.

“Many of them don’t adjust to the remuneration, saying that their salaries were comparably higher in Syria”, he said.

Zakaryan assured that several issues of the Syrian-Armenians have already been swiftly solved.

“Healthcare is free of charge. Those Syrian Armenians who are studying Bachelor in higher educational institutions receive the fees. The issue of cemetery/burial location is also free of charge”, he said.

Asked if the recent shelling of Armenian populated districts in Aleppo have impacted the flow of Syrian-Armenians to Armenia, Zakaryan said it hasn’t, noting that Armenians of Syria are already used to the war situation and do not panic.