In a visit to France, the prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Aleppo offers a message of reconciliation for a "renewed" Syria.
- What represents the Armenian community in Syria, particularly in Aleppo? His Eminence Shahan Sarkissian: The presence of Armenians in Syria goes back to the thirteenth century. During the genocide perpetrated by the Turks in 1915, Syria was their final destination, and many survivors remained there afterwards. Before the explosion of the Syrian crisis in 2011, there were 80,000 Armenians in Syria, of which 45,000 in Aleppo. This town is considered the capital of Syrian Armenians. Today, 30,000 Armenians are said to remain in Syria, with half of them in Aleppo.
In late October, Archbishop Shahan Sarkisian, the prelate of Aleppo,
granted an interview to the Armenian Weekly. The Archbishop was in
Boston to meet with community organizations and to personally thank the
Armenian Relief Society (ARS) for its efforts in providing assistance to
the Syrian-Armenian community. During the hour-long interview—conducted
in Armenian—Archbishop Sarkisian gave an overview of the Syrian crisis,
and spoke about the challenges facing the community today. He was
direct in criticizing the worldwide Armenian community for failing to
respond to the crisis in a united and comprehensive manner. He said that
there is a difference between being concerned and interested—and argued
that what he was witnessing was interest and not concern. To be
concerned, he added, means to take on responsibility, and that has been
missing in the relief efforts.
Archbishop Sarkisian emphasized the importance of keeping Armenian
schools in Syria open for students—a cause he considers vital to the
survival of the community. “Armenian schools are the light of our eyes,”
he said, and they need the support of the diaspora. He also spoke about
communal organization, relations with neighboring communities, and the
dangers before them.
