YEREVAN. – 168 Zham daily interviewed Nora Arissian, member of the Arab Writers’ Union and lecturer at the University of Damascus. Below is an excerpt from the interview.
What is the situation of the Armenians there [in Syria]?
Since the Armenians live in the cities and in the central parts, they are far from the disturbances. [But] The situation has likewise [adversely] affected the economic conditions of the Armenians. Consequently, the unemployment and inflation also impacted the Syrian-Armenian communities.
What is the current population of Armenians in Syria? And how is their geographical distribution?
There are a total of 80 thousand Armenians in Syria, whose 50-60 thousand live in Aleppo, whereas the rest [lives] in Latakia, Kessab, and Qamishli. Some Armenians in Homs have already moved to Aleppo, and others, to Lebanon. [But] This solely refers to several families. Armenians were never panic-stricken in Syria. [And] There are Armenians who applied for Armenia’s citizenship, but there are very few cases of moving to Armenia.
