By George Meneshian
Special to the Mirror-Spectator
What is the situation of Syrian Armenians four months after the fall of the Assad regime?
Regime change in Syria had an immense impact on the already dwindling Armenian community in the country. While initial fears of large-scale attacks against Christian communities proved, fortunately, to be unfounded, Armenians, like most Christians, had felt relatively secure under the state-sponsored secularism of the Assad government.
However, the emergence of new authorities, primarily composed of Islamist former rebel groups under the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, has left people living with a persistent sense of fear, unsure of what the future holds. The tragic events on the Syrian coast in March, marked by a massacre of innocent civilians at the hands of both Islamists and members of the security forces, have exacerbated this anxiety. Particularly alarming were reports that two Armenians were among the victims.
In Aleppo, the primary hub of Syrian-Armenians, Christians, including Armenians, were allowed to celebrate Christmas, but life has not fully returned to its pre-conflict state. One notable change is that Christian-owned stores are now closed on Fridays — the Muslim day of rest — while remaining open on Sundays. The same pattern applies to schools: although they remain open, they must adhere to the Islamic calendar. For instance, Armenian schools were instructed to close during the Eid al-Fitr holiday. Additionally, alcohol is now banned, and there have been isolated incidents of verbal and physical attacks by Muslim individuals. Despite these challenges, the new authorities have not systematically targeted Christians.
