Around the world on Friday, tens of thousands of Armenian descendants commemorated the centennial of the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks. For 100,000 Armenians who currently live in Syria, peace is yet to come, as the shadow of war still threatens their lives.

In the Syrian capital Damascus, Armenians gathered in one of their churches Friday night to pray and watch the centennial commemoration televised live on Armenian National TV.

On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire arrested hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, poets, diplomats and leading figures in Istanbul and slaughtered them for growing unrest in the empire. Armenia and the Armenians in the diaspora placed the number of their slain forefathers by the hands of the Ottomans at 1.5 million.

Back then, waves of Armenians left their homeland to settle in more stable countries and many went to Syria. They gradually developed their own schools and churches to become a well-organized community in the country.

Even after 100 years, these Armenians still haven't been assimilated and are clinging to their own culture and traditions.

“We have a long history, but our population is not big now. So we Arminians remember well our histlory, living strongly, powerfully and corporately,” said an Armenian living in Damascus.

Ahead of the crisis in Syria in 2011 and during the first months of it, around 100,000 Armenians lived in Syria’s northern city Aleppo, and about 6,000 others lived in Damascus.

As the situation in Syria in recent years has worsened, thousands of Armenians chose to flee to neighboring countries. Once again, they lost their homes and became aliens in strange lands. And, for those who decided to stay, peace seems like an illusion.

The Armenians have been pushing for Turkey to acknowledge the genocide. The Turkish government, however, has acknowledged the deaths of large numbers of Armenians but said the overall death toll was exaggerated and the deaths occurred in the civil unrest during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, when Turks were also killed.
More on: [ Ссылка ]

Subscribe us on Youtube: [ Ссылка ]
CCTV+ official website: [ Ссылка ]
LinkedIn: [ Ссылка ]?
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть