REFUGEE

According to Armenian Ministry of Diaspora, 18.000 Syrian Armenians have been given Armenian citizenship in 2016.

Life is much harder for the refugees who are faced with the prejudices of the society. And when there is also an illness involved, it is not hard to imagine the extent of the challenges. The young man, whom we call Haig, left Syria because of the war and he is suffering from the aggravated victimization. He is a refugee and HIV positive.

International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that more than 3,000 migrants died in 2016 during their attempt to cross the Mediterranean for reaching Europe.

Historical ceremony in Kayseri Surp Krikor Lusavoriç Church revealed that there are Armenian refugees in Turkish cities other than Yozgat.

“Fade to Black” video of “Maajooneh” released online 2 weeks ago and shared over and over. We talked to Farah and Amer from “Maajooneh” about their lives under the pressure of Asad regime and ISIS, their journey to Istanbul and plans for future.

They were in Iraq and run away from ISIS. Their fate brought them to Yozgat. They live in hard conditions. UN couldn’t schedule any appointment for immigration application before 2022. They don’t know how they can live in these conditions for 7 years. The only thing they want is to meet with their relatives. Vartan Estukyan listened to the stories of the new Armenians of Yozgat.

Spiegel newspaper claimed that the discussion about the Armenian Genocide draft in Bundestag is postponed for now. It was also claimed that Erdoğan laid down some conditions (3 billion Euros from Brussels, provide convenience for receiving visa, declaring that Turkey is a safe country and invitation for EU summits) for stopping the refugee traffic.

Papa Stratis from Kallonili Village of Lesbos Island turned Lesbos into a home for refugees with the contributions he made. Papa Stratis passed away on September 2; the same day that Aylan passed away, who put the refugee problem into world’s agenda again with the photograph of his dead body lying on the shore.

Although Palestinian refugees from Syria are, like Syrian citizens, under temporary protection, the visa-free entry clauses Turkey applies to Syrian citizens are not valid for Palestinian refugees.