Turkey extends help to Armenians in Syria

Last week, Turkey's Armenian Patriarchate Ecumenical Assembly Speaker Priest Tatul Anuşyan called on two of Syria's leading Armenian priests, in Aleppo and Damascus in order to deliver the message, "Your brothers in Turkey are ready to assist you at any moment and you are welcome to come to Turkey."

Mentioning that Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had said a few months back that we could host Armenians, Anuşyan explains, "I made a call to them and told them that we were prepared to offer the Armenians there whatever sort of support they needed. If they like they can come to Turkey. We would be pleased to host them. As Turkey's Armenians we will always stand by you."

Archpriest Anuşyan also mentioned that over the weekend all of the churches held a prayer for Syria to have a transition to peace as soon as possible. According to Anuşyan there are approximately 100,000 Armenians in Syria most of which live in Damascus, Aleppo, Kesap and Qamishli. Pointing out that it is not just the Armenians but the entire Syrian public that is facing difficulties in the civil war, Anuşyan stated, "They tell me that homes have been demolished and bombed. They need everything. It's very sad."

3,000 EMIGRATIONS

Armenians have tried to remain impartial in the war in Syria, however with the fear that if a conservative party comes to power they as Christians may be in threat, Armenians have been emigrating from Syria since the start of the conflict. According to information from the Diaspora Department, since March 2012, 3,000 Syrian Armenians have been forced to leave their homes. They have moved on to Yerevan where they have been embraced by their relatives. A majority of the Armenians in Syria consist of those who left Ottoman land in 1915.