Սիրիայի Հայ Համայնքի Հետ Տարուող Աշխատանքները

Some 15-20,000 Syrian-Armenians have taken refuge from the war waging in Syria in the Republic of Armenia. Currently there are 13,000 Syrian-Armenians in Armenia. The paper is an extensive report on the work the Ministry of the Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia, conducted between 2008 and 2015 with the Syrian-Armenians who left Syria because of the ongoing fighting in the country. The Ministry’s initial efforts targeted certain basic issues, namely how to cooperate with the community, survey the difficulties, analyze them and develop methods to resolve them, and incorporate their results in pan-Armenian projects like youth activities, pan-Armenian conferences, and publishing of studies on the issues the community faces. The report details the efforts the state has made regarding the Syrian-Armenian community of Armenia through the Ministry of the Diaspora, which is the coordinator of the efforts and projects produced and conducted by various departments of the government. The efforts include the establishment of an ad hoc team, an interministerial commission, and a coordinating body composed of Syrian-Armenians. Among the practical efforts, the report highlights the easing of visa and naturalization procedures, entitling Syrian-Armenians to use their Syrian cars in Armenia for a period of time without any taxation, providing them with accommodation, health services, job placement services, and legal advice, channeling financial aid and relief to the needy, providing credit to launch businesses, providing free courses to help them integrate into local society, settling them in agricultural areas for land cultivation, providing the children with relevant education and covering the tuition fees of 350 university students, incorporating Syrian-Armenian youth in relevant projects, organizing fund raising cultural events, etc.