It feels like 1915 again in Lebanon's old Armenian neighborhoods - Syrian Armenian Refugees are everywhere.

As of May 7, there were 1,183,327 registered Syrian refugees with the UN in Lebanon. The real numbers are rumored to be much higher than that, in a country where the ratio of refugee to citizen has become the highest in the world. Today, Lebanon has all sorts of Syrian refugees: registered refugees, unregistered refugees, privileged refugees (living in nice flats),  laborer refugees ( with their families ) etc. According to the UNHCR about 30% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon live in dire economic conditions. Many of them live in dense urban centers, and often in crowded housing situations.  The urban Armenian neighborhoods of Beirut fall in this category.

Old apartments converted to house Syrian refugees in the Armenian neighborhood of Hadjen

A few blocs away from the bustling neighborhood of Mar Mikhael known to be the latest hotspot in Beirut, as you take a random walk down the old Armenian neighborhood of Hadjen - where Genocide survivors first settled in the turn of the century - you can easily feel the presence of Syrian Armenian families everywhere in the neighborhood.  Members of the local neighborhood council of Hadjen recalls how the neighborhood residents rallied in the early days of the Syrian war collecting basic household items to help arriving refugees that came with only the clothes on their backs.  Dozens of apartments have been converted to accommodate arriving Syrian refugees. Today more than 50 families have temporarily settled just in the neighborhood of Hadjen. 

Across the river from Hadjen, in the Armenian district of Bourj Hammoud (Armenian: Պուրճ Համուտ)  many more Syrian Armenian families have taken refuge there as well.  

Syrian refugee children in Bourj Hammoud

The local agoumps ( clubs ) are full of Syrians on any given day. Many looking for work as some have not been employed for over a year.  Refugee households are usually supported by wage earners that work 12-13 hrs per day (including weekends) for sub-standard wages.  On Friday nights a group of Syrian Armenians gather at the local Nigol Touman club. They gather to share news from Aleppo, help each other, and sometimes have tea and laugh.  " Its like our weekly support group meeting" says Houri, a former teacher in Aleppo who recently escaped the bombings in Aleppo and fled to Beirut with one suitcase. 

The Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon has tried to accommodate dozens of refugee families and provide health & social services through its chapters and dispensaries. However the needs of the refugees are monumental and require more resources than available by the Lebanese Armenian community, which itself has not completely adjusted to steady state after enduring the lengthy Lebanese civil war (1975-1990).

Life is hard for many Syrian refugees in Lebanon where strict immigration procedures require them to register with the authorities every 6 months and pay $100 per person and wait in long lines. They also are afraid of getting sick as no one (besides the privileged refugees) seems to have health insurance. Death for refugee families adds to the trauma of their circumstances. No one wants their elderly family members to "die while being a refugee in Lebanon" because a plot in an Armenian cemetery costs $5,000. Some refugee families who lost elderly ones are opting for a "temporary burial container" for a year for $1,000 as long as the family comes back and makes permanent burial arrangements before the year is up.

To face the growing needs of the refugees a local Relief Committee to assist Syrian Refugees was created several years ago amongst Armenian charitable organizations that included the likes of the Howard Karageuzian Commemorative Corporation, the Jinishian Foundation, the charitable arms of the Armenian  Catholic and Evangelical communities and the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanon.  This committee coordinated initial relief work while individual organizations such as the Karageuzian Foundation continued delivering services through their medical centers at Camp Marash. Thousands of needy refugee families have been registered by the relief committee.  And yet, the needs far outweigh the local resources. 

As this is 2015 - the year of We Remember & We Demand - the Armenian Diaspora, which has survived and prospered  globally in the last century, needs to do significantly more than what's currently being done. Syrian Armenians who have been forced to leave their homes should not suffer as urban refugees in foreign lands. They should be given a humane choice to take refuge and offered affordable housing in host countries like Armenia and/or in Lebanon.  If April 2015 meant anything to global Armenians, vulnerable refugee families that lost everything after 5 generations, cannot just be left "for each to care for themselves."

The Armenian Redwood Project with its #RootsForRefugees campaign is assisting refugees in Armenia with affordable housing.  As the war in Syria wages on, if you're  asking yourself what YOU can do to help those seeking refuge, WATCH this video and contribute by going to igg.me/at/rootsforrefugees. We have 22 days left to make a difference in the lives of these refugee families!

Armenian Redwood Project Launches #RootsForRefugees Crowdfunding Campaign

One does not ask of one who suffers: What is your country and what is your religion? One merely says: You suffer, that is enough for me.” –Louis Pasteur

Los Angeles, CA, June 8, 2015 -- The Armenian Redwood Project (ARP), a non-profit social enterprise alliance that intends to improve the lives and well-being of the thousands of Syrian refugees impacted by the ravaging war in Syria, is excited to announce the launch of the #RootsForRefugees crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.com. Campaign link here: #RootsForRefugees.

“The war in Syria is now approaching its 5th year,” said Raffy Ardhaldjian, chief action officer of ARP. “According to various agencies, this war is considered the worst humanitarian crisis of our time, leaving millions of innocent citizens homeless and vulnerable. With more than 15,000 Syrians finding refuge in Armenia, the time is now to act - it’s a global imperative.”   People become refugees because one or more of their basic human rights have been violated or threatened. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that "everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution."

Graphics Credit: Amnesty International

Photo credits: Ghadah Alrawi on assignment with the ARP

The #RootsForRefugees campaign goal is to raise the remaining $30,000 in funding to complete a $250,000 rent subsidy program initiated by Oxfam Armenia in early February 2015, in partnership with ARP and the Syrian Armenian Relief Fund. The partnership raised $220,000 with funds provided by institutional social investors and has already benefited dozens of families. The campaign goal of  $30,000 is vital to complete the collective commitment made with our partners and help augment the absorptive capacity in Armenia to benefit the influx of refugees and other vulnerable families arriving in Armenia on a weekly basis.

Collectively this program will provide affordable rent subsidized housing to more than 800 Syrian urban refugees in Armenia in 2015!

Your donation goes directly into funding subsidized homes for these refugee families, through a grant to Oxfam Armenia, at an average cost of $200 per month, per family -- that’s $6 a day! Every dollar counts. Donate now!

The #RootsForRefugees campaign gives you a chance to become part of our life altering work! When you give to the campaign, you can choose from many incredible rewards as a “thank you” for your support! From artisan, handcrafted ornaments by Syrian-Armenian women at $150 to classic Marash-Armenian style embroidered shoulder purses handcrafted by Syrian refugees at $200 to owning an original oil-on-canvas painting by Armenian artist Ashod Haroutunian at $1,000, your support at any contribution level will make a difference.

The #RootsForRefugees crowdfunding campaign is an opportunity to come together. Only together, can we make the greatest difference. The campaign runs through July 4, 2015.

#RootsForRefugees Campaign Link: http://igg.me/at/rootsforrefugees

The European Migrant Crisis and Syrian Refugees

“The dire prospects for young Syrians in their war-wracked country and as refugees in neighboring countries explains why many risk everything to get to Europe.”

— The Economist

The war in Syria, which has driven more than 3 million people into flight, has offered a new, lucrative opportunity for smugglers.  Many Syrians are willing to pay $4,000-$8,000 for a place on board a cargo ship to carry them to Europe.  A cargo ship which seemingly represents safety but in reality is fresh bait  for these smugglers or human trafficking gangs set to make millions of dollars.  Recent news reveal tragic reports of the exploitation of migrants attempting to reach Europe from North Africa on unsafe ships.

Humanitarian experts predict the number of migrants who die crossing the Mediterranean Sea in 2015 could reach record levels. Produced by: Quynhanh Do Read the story here: http://nyti.ms/1K2nWIP Subscribe to the Times Video newsletter for free and get a handpicked selection of the best videos from The New York Times every week: http://bit.ly/timesvideonewsletter Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/U8Ys7n Watch more videos at: http://nytimes.com/video --------------------------------------------------------------- Want more from The New York Times?

We most probably will be hearing more reports about unsafe ships and human trafficking.  Syrian refugees feel they have no future and often the only option they think they have is to flee to Europe. They seem ready to give everything that they have and risk their lives for the possibility of freedom and safety.

Syrian Armenian refugees are choosing to take similar risks as they depart on dangerous journeys within and outside Syria.  Our documentary compiled by photographers Ara Oshagan  and Eric Grigorian and edited by filmmaker Avo Kambourian showcases the dire plight of Syrian Armenian refugees here.

Last year, the Armenian Redwood Project (ARP) chose to sponsor the safe journey of a widow and her 3 children from Aleppo into safe harbor in Yerevan, Armenia.  The newly widowed mother had three children, the oldest 11 years old.  Her husband was kidnapped and later killed along with his father after a tragic kidnapping incident in Aleppo.

A Home to Safely Raise Children and Start Healing the War’s Trauma

Photo credit: Ghadah Alrawi

Smuggling, human trafficking, displacement, death are all the by products of the Syrian War. Safety and rebuilding a home and community for these refugees is a global imperative. 

A newly established rent subsidy program will allow more vulnerable refugees and widows like the one mentioned above to have a safe sanctuary to raise children.  It also provides a safe place to start the long overdue healing from the traumas of war.

Oxfam in Armenia in line with its humanitarian mandate, and in partnership with an Armenian Diaspora coalition led by the Armenian Redwood Project (with a major contribution by the Syrian Armenian Relief Fund) has officially announced it commitment to augment UNHCR’s rent subsidy project in Armenia.  Based on a tripartite memorandum of understanding between UNHCR, Oxfam and the Armenian Redwood Project, the institutions agreed to coordinate efforts in order to optimize the interventions aimed at providing affordable housing to Syrian Refugees in Armenia. 

The project is a continuation of UNHCR’s rent subsidy program that started in 2014 in Armenia and benefited hundreds of families. The partnership program sponsored by Oxfam and the Armenian Redwood Project was unofficially launched in early February 2015 in Yerevan through same operating partner that UNHCR has utilized: Mission Armenia NGO.  Its aim is to augment the absorptive capacity in Armenia to benefit newly arriving refugees, and other vulnerable families who have taken refuge in Armenia.

Photo credit: Eric Grigorian on assignment for the Armenian Redwood Project

The result of augmenting the rent subsidy efforts pioneered by UNHCR will result in a total joint capacity of over 800+ households receiving rent subsidy benefits in 2015.

“The sheer size of the tragedy in Syria, which many are now considering the worst refugee crisis since World War II required institutional coordination on behalf of the Diaspora,” said Raffy Ardhaldjian, chief action officer of ARP. "A crisis of this magnitude compelled us not only to act, but also to unify Diasporan organizations and partner with world class humanitarian organizations like Oxfam and UNHCR in order to assist our fellow community members turned refugees in an institutional fashion."

The tripartite partnership was officially announced on March 17th at a public event marking the 4th anniversary of the war in Syria at the Akian Art Gallery at the American University of Armenia.  The gathering was attended by international and local NGOs, government officials and members of the Syrian Armenian émigré community in Yerevan.

To all of our readers we inspire you to think of the following: 

You don’t have to fly oversees to make a difference in the face of indifference. You can be compassionate and spread awareness about the cause. A campaign offering conscious global citizens an opportunity to act on their values will be launching soon.  Stay tuned and help us change the world by acting on your values. 

Armenian Refugee Children of War: Avoiding a Lost Generation on the Centennial of the Genocide

“We have only a narrow opportunity to intervene now as this potentially lost generation confronts its future. Abandoning refugees to hopelessness only exposes them to even greater suffering, exploitation and dangerous abuse.”

— UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres

Photo Credit: Areg Balayan                                                                                   Syrian Armenian Children 

It is said that all children, among many rights, shall have the inalienable right to a sense of security and belonging derived from a loving and nurturing environment which shelters them from harm. For the refugee children of Syria that right is a distant fantasy almost as unreal as flying unicorns and candy rainbows.

As the Syrian Civil War escalates, thousands of children, many of whom have lost a relative, have lost their homes and settled into alien environments. What’s worse is these children are witnessing violence, trauma and living under shellfire. These kids are not protected, with many witnessing their people killed and their homes & schools destroyed. Their sense of community is stripped, their environment no longer loving. After years of living in exile, Syrian refugee resources are quickly depleting and quality of life could rapidly deteriorate to unlivable conditions.  

The psychological scars upon these children are monumental, if left unaddressed. Well into its 5th year, the Syrian Civil War sees no end in sight. Violations of international law continue undiminished and the international community has failed the Syrian people by not providing the required amount of funds to address this humanitarian disaster.

One might call this another “inconvenient truth.”

A hopeless future, a colorless life, a threatened present, a lost past... that's the situation of Syrian children since the beginning of the war. ِThey live in extreme lack basic needs. Circumstances shouldn't exist in any child's life. flim by : shadi jaber 2014 https://www.facebook.com/shadi.jaber.Art.works

The UNHCR Representative in Armenia, Mr. Christoph Bierwirth recently noted that more than 15,000 persons fleeing the conflict in Syria, primarily of ethnic Armenian background, have sought and found protection in Armenia. Many of the children represent 4th & 5th generation of descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors who sought refuge in Syria.

Re-settling in Armenia is perhaps the silver lining, the light and hope for families, primarily the refugee children, who have found some comfort and safety among a community they can call home, even temporarily. Where school becomes a part of their daily routine again and the fear and potential harm of bombing and shellfire remains a memory. A recent memory that requires another form of assistance, emotional assistance also available for many of the refugee families living in Armenia.

The Story of Khatchig and Nanor

In the case of Khatchig and Nanor, they came to Yerevan, Armenia in 2012 for summer vacation and because of the dire living conditions didn’t return to Aleppo, Syria. They were registered in the public school system and assumed their new life.

“It was very difficult for them, to start from zero,” says Taline, Khachig and Nanor’s mother. “They started from the Armenian alphabet, from the pronunciation of each Armenian letter, because many letters in Western Armenian we pronounce them differently," she added.

Today, Khachig is in 10th grade and Nanor is in 7th grade. In this case, Nanor is happier and more integrated in the community than her brother Khachig. Nanor, besides going to school, is an active member in one of the famous dance groups of Armenia. Khatchig, seemingly impacted by the effects of a war, found assimilating into his new environment challenging.

 “I think we should ensure psychological and social support for our adolescents,” said Taline. Teenagers even in normal and stable communities face physical, psychological and emotional difficulties let alone those who fled a war zone and resettled in an area unfamiliar to them, she added. 

Photo Credit: Eric Grigorian

“Exposure to violence can inflict considerable damage on a child’s mental health and psychological developments,” says Raffy Ardhaldjian, chief action officer of the Armenian Redwood Project.  “Taking children out of harm’s way is the first step. Then children need to address their fear and anxiety. Working hard to help reestablish children’s daily routines is important. This can begin by sending them back to school, providing their family with affordable housing, healthcare and social service programs to help kids dealing with the trauma of war."

The 'inconvenient truth' is that after a full month of global solidarity around the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide, we still have refugees who are being attacked and driven away from their neighborhoods. We don’t have clear graphics and photos to demonstrate how important it is to assist the innocent children of the Syrian war.  Every conscious person deep down knows and after 5 years of war, it's high time for the apathy to end.

A Possible Silver Lining

Luckily Syrian refugees in Armenia are urban refugees and are not living in tent cities. They have access to urban infrastructure.

“It’s always encouraging when you step into a school and hear the laughter and children at play,” says Ardhaldjian. “As part of a global civil society, I’d like to see Armenians around the world do their part in helping the innocent children of the Syrian war. One does not need to travel far away to contribute. We are organizing programs that allow the Diaspora to be able to act on its values through crowdfunding and hopefully a telethon very soon.”

Students at the "Cilicean" school for Syrian Armenians in Yerevan basic school #14

Photo Credit: Siranush Ghazanchyan, Public Radio of Armenia

Ardhaldjian maintains that while there are programs launched offering refugees housing and education opportunities, it’s not enough to truly make the emergent impact needed. 

Photo Credit: Avo Kambourian    

“During the 2013-2014 academic year, the tuition fees for over 380 Syrian Armenian undergraduate and graduate university students studying in Armenia were covered by a joint project by AGBU, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the RA Ministry of Diaspora and the RA Ministry of Education,” said Ardhaldjian. “Subsequently the AGBU along with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation plan to cover tuition fees for Syrian Armenian students during the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 academic years in Armenia.” 

An important step among several steps taken. However, we need to do more, much more.  Syria's Refugee children deserve attention from the world. In that context, the emerging global society of the Armenian Diaspora has a moral obligation to do much more for its Armenian community in Syria and Syrian Armenian refugee children. TODAY. 

War Torn Syria and the Armenian Redwood Project --Providing Safe Refuge Amongst the Wreckage—

“… I urge the UN Security Council to visit Syrian refugees, to see first hand their suffering and the impact it is having on the region. Those refugees cannot come to the council, so please will you go to them.” Angelina Jolie, addressing UN Security Council regarding ongoing refugee crisis in Syria.

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It was a peaceful mid-April night, 2015. Sirvy and her father Gaidzag were going home from the “Vratsain” Armenian community center in the Suleymaniye area in Aleppo, when missiles fatally attacked the region. Within minutes the civilian area looked like a war zone.

Sirvy, 12 years old, almost lost one eye, while her father was seriously injured. They are one family out of dozens of innocent families and civilians who lost their lives, homes and properties. The Suleymaniye attack left many civilians dead and many more wounded.

In another recent assault, according to sources in Syria, Aleppo’s Forty Martyrs Armenian Church, dating back to the 15th century, was bombed with explosives planted in underground tunnels under the church.

Recently destroyed 15th Century Armenian church of Forty Martyrs in Aleppo, Syria.

Meanwhile in another village populated by Syrian Armenians, Hagop, an undergraduate university student, shares an anguish all too familiar among those still living in the war zone. 

“When I leave home, I kiss my mom’s forehead and say, ‘mom, you know the situation, I may not return home, one of the mortars could hit me. You may hear bad news about me, so please forgive me for whatever wrong I did and pray for me, I love you forever,” he says, to his mother, every morning before he leaves.

View fullsize

Of the more than 120,000 Syrian Armenians living in Syria before the war, as of September 2014, according to UNHCR, thousands have fled the country to find protection and better living conditions in Armenia. Deepening wounds echoed by a tragic past, this would be the second forced displacement in the history of the Armenians, as 100 hundred years ago, Syria became the home of thousands of Armenian refugees who escaped the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

"We're living a second genocide now, our houses are all gone... Our people are dying again," said Maggie Melkonian, who fled from her home in Suleymaniye 2 years ago to find refuge in Lebanon. "Just as our ancestors had to leave without anything, we had to do the same," she says.

Finding a Solution

Armenian Redwood Project. Social entrepreneur Raffy Ardhaldjian, along with world-class partner OXFAM, Mission Armenia NGO and a coalition of various Armenian Diaspora entities recently launched a rent subsidy program providing a solution for vulnerable families displaced from Syria, seeking protection in Armenia.

As part of the Armenian Redwood Project, the rent subsidy program augments the emergency housing efforts pioneered by UNHCR in Armenia in 2014. This 12 month program will benefit newly arriving refugees through year end of 2015, as well as, a number of vulnerable families who arrived earlier, but are still in dire need of emergency assistance.

Group of early beneficiaries of the Oxfam/UNHCR/Diaspora sponsored rent subsidy program (Spring 2015, Armenia).  

     “Investments in rent subsidies for children & families is a 'sustainable' approach in the long-run; even though it will require continued charitable giving by the Diaspora and its International partners until these families make adjustments in their lives” said Ardhaldjian, Chief Action Officer for the ARP. “It is a privilege for us to be following the lead of UNHCR and to be joining hands with a new partner, Oxfam in Armenia. I’m hoping this partnership grows beyond this emergency intervention.”

Ardhaldjian speaks about the affordable housing program as meaningful in many ways; It creates family stability and better childhood outcomes; it’s a way to stabilize population movement; it contributes to neighborhood revitalization; and it creates wealth for refugees and economic development for the country.

It’s an interim ‘safety net’ with longer-term housing solutions explored in the meantime.

Housing in Yerevan, Armenia                                                            Photo Credit: Alina Hachikyan

Yerevan is ranked 183rd in terms of quality of life among 230 largest cities in the world by London-based Mercer human resources consultancy. By working with private donors and organizations through the Armenian Redwood Project, Ardhaldjian hopes to make affordable housing apartments available, potentially helping refugees with a new start in life.