Armenians again fleeing persecution
Beirut, Lebanon, September 24, 2013.
The magnitude of the Syrian crisis is beyond comprehension. More than 2 million people have poured into the neighboring countries, fleeing the bombs, the killings and the raping. Currently, more than 6,000 people flee the country every day. In total, over 6.8 million people are currently in need of aid.
One of the many minority groups in Syria is the Armenians, who number an estimated 150,000, and who are mostly concentrated in the north-western city of Aleppo.
So far, more than 10,000 Armenians have fled Syria to reach neighboring Lebanon, and many others have reached Armenia and other countries.
Historically, Syrian Armenians are the descendants of the Armenians who fled the persecutions under the Ottoman rule during the beginning of the last century where the Turks killed an estimated 1.5 million Armenians. And throughout the centuries, Armenians have been persecuted by their neighbors for being different, with a different religion (Christianity) and with a different language and culture.
This time again, in the middle of the huge Syrian crisis, Armenians are being targeted for being Christian and for being different.
Please read the horrible and thought-provoking account of this Armenian refugee family, now living 11 people together in a small apartment in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
Read MoreThe magnitude of the Syrian crisis is beyond comprehension. More than 2 million people have poured into the neighboring countries, fleeing the bombs, the killings and the raping. Currently, more than 6,000 people flee the country every day. In total, over 6.8 million people are currently in need of aid.
One of the many minority groups in Syria is the Armenians, who number an estimated 150,000, and who are mostly concentrated in the north-western city of Aleppo.
So far, more than 10,000 Armenians have fled Syria to reach neighboring Lebanon, and many others have reached Armenia and other countries.
Historically, Syrian Armenians are the descendants of the Armenians who fled the persecutions under the Ottoman rule during the beginning of the last century where the Turks killed an estimated 1.5 million Armenians. And throughout the centuries, Armenians have been persecuted by their neighbors for being different, with a different religion (Christianity) and with a different language and culture.
This time again, in the middle of the huge Syrian crisis, Armenians are being targeted for being Christian and for being different.
Please read the horrible and thought-provoking account of this Armenian refugee family, now living 11 people together in a small apartment in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.
