05:12, 4 October 2015

Refugees from Iraq call on Armenian government to support them

In Armenia, the Yazidis, who arrived from Iraq and who were granted refugee status, faced the problem of integration. Participants of the roundtable "Opportunities of granting asylum to Yazidi refugees", held in Yerevan on September 30, have expressed the hope that the Armenian government will provide assistance to Yazidi refugees.

Iraqi Yazidis are regularly attacked by radical groupings. Prior to militants' attacks, about 500,000 Yazidis lived in Shingal; then, most of them were forced to leave their homeland. About 450,000 Yazidis found shelter in refugee camps in Syria, Turkey and Kurdistan. Actions demanding to help Iraqi Yazidis were held in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Georgia.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that three families of Yazidis, a total of 19 persons, including six children, have found refuge in Armenia, fleeing from the "Islamic State" recognized as a terrorist organization. They were granted refugee status by the Armenian authorities.

Some of members of the Yazidi families, who have been granted refugee status, still stay in Iraq because of the problems with their passports. This was emphasized in his speech by Gamlet Smoyan, a member of the National Association of Yazidi "Sinjar". He has noted that the Yazidi community has addressed the appropriate public agencies with a request to solve the problem.

Aider Rashu Khamo, one of the Iraqi refugees, has said that five members of his family still stay in Iraq. He counts on the help of the Armenian government and arrival of his family members to Armenia.

The Iraqi refugee has also noted that in Armenia, refugees are experiencing problems because of lack of knowledge of the Armenian language and cultural differences. Besides, they already face the problems of education.

To integrate Yazidi refugees into Armenian society, it is necessary, first of all, to acquaint the society with the traditions and culture of the Iraqi Yazidis. This was stated by Nver Sargsyan, Senior Expert of the Yerevan Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"Many people mistakenly believe that the Yazidis are Muslims," Nver Sargsyan has stressed. According to him, the receiving party should solve all the problems associated with the integration of refugees.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Tigran Petrosyan

Source: CK correspondent