Levon Sharoyan: Haleb must be preserved - 1 -

Having read Dr. Tchilingirian’s disturbing article in the Weekly, I thought its fair that I present  to readers of this blog, my AI aided translation of a recent interview with Levon Sharoyan posted in Aleppo’s official online journal Kantsasar.

“Levon Sharoyan has been a lecturer at the Hamazkayin Armenian Studies Institute in Aleppo since 2000, where he teaches Armenian language, Diaspora Armenian literature, and the history of the Armenian Church. He is also a teacher of Armenian literature at the AGBU Lazar Najarian-Caloust Gulbenkian Secondary School in Aleppo (since 2014) and a visiting lecturer at the “Armenology Courses” of the Catholicosate of Cilicia (since 2018). He has given numerous lectures in Syria and elsewhere, has published dozens of books and numerous articles scattered in the press, mostly literary analysis and criticism. Many of his diverse studies remain unpublished. He has also edited and prepared for reprinting the 15-volume series of Teodik’s famous yearbook (1907-1925), which have been published in Aleppo as Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s official book series since 2006.” Vaհe H Apelian

Levon Sharoyan
"Syrian Arab Republic, Aleppo Arises, Free,Secure in God" 

"Horizon".- Mr. Sharoyan, you remained and worked in Aleppo throughout the Syrian crisis. After the exhausting years of war, what is the situation of our Armenian community in Aleppo today?

L.Sh.- Yes, the Syrian war that began in 2011 both severely hit the prosperous national life of my community and, on an individual level, displaced hundreds of Armenian families, driving or throwing them to near and far foreign shores...

65-70 percent of the Armenians of Aleppo fled. Some took their last breath in neighboring Lebanon, some officially emigrated to Canada and Australia, the more resourceful ones managed to secure a place for their families in this or that European country. Now they all say that they are happy, they are already working, they have learned the local language, they are accustomed to the new environment, etc. The West attracts young people in particular. However, there is a “worm” that continues to gnaw at them. That is the longing for Aleppo. The warm social atmosphere of our city, the quality of human relations, but especially the irreplaceable warmth of the Armenian family circle remains a lost and irreplaceable value for the migrants. For this very reason, all the migrants follow the Armenian news from Aleppo or Syria very closely, because they have left half of their hearts there….

Of course, there was also a large segment of the migrant population that preferred to settle in Armenia. This step was welcome, because it was both a natural desire and preference to live under the roof of the homeland, and it was a security from the point of view of preserving the national identity of the children of that family or school-age youth. Today, you see a significant presence of Syrian Armenians in Yerevan, and everyone is generally satisfied, the elderly also enjoy the financial care of the state. An advantage that they were deprived of in Syria. The number of our mother community has certainly dwindled. There has been no census, and I am not able to provide accurate numbers or data. However, we have 3 cases before our eyes, which speak for themselves. One is the exodus of Armenians from the Armenian-populated district of Nor Gyugh. Hundreds of Armenian families left there without returning, and the local Armenian craftsmanship also disappeared. The national Zavarian and Sahakian schools there were forcibly closed.

The second factor is the number of students in the schools. Our schools, which had about 1200 students before the war, currently have barely 250-300 students... These numbers are a true reflection of the community's poverty.

The third factor is the marriage rate, which has decreased significantly over the past ten years, both for economic reasons and as a result of the emigration of the young. The decrease in marriage rates has certainly created a social crisis, characterized by the proliferation of mixed marriages, as a result of the inequality in the number of Armenian boys and girls. Boys are emigrating, and many young girls... remain at home. And therefore, the natural course of the establishment and flourishing of the Armenian Family is being hampered. The phenomenon of mixed marriages, which is alien to Aleppo, is beginning to emerge, and I assume that it may become more and more acute in the coming years if the national bodies do not take tangible steps to assist Armenian young men and women who are candidates for marriage.

There are constructions here and there, a church on the outskirts of the city is being renovated, etc. I think that people should be valued before stones. Let the order of others come later….

The community, national, and union life of Aleppo certainly continues with the same momentum as before, but with a lower quality, since a large exodus of people took place to Armenia and the West.

Church life is very lively. Our Primate, having two priests from the Antelias Congregation at his side, together with local priests, deacons, and scribes, keeps the churches well-maintained and vibrant, and does not fail to make frequent pastoral visits to distant Qamishli, Kessab, Latakia, Yaqubiye, and elsewhere, comforting and strengthening his wounded flock.

Schools are operating with the same intensity as before, but they have new kinds of anxieties, which are not only material. The most serious issue is the large number of non-Armenian students in many schools. I understand that this phenomenon is sometimes inevitable (how can a school survive with 60-70 students? It is forced to open its doors to non-Armenian applicants in order to balance its meager budget...), but this has a negative impact on the internal Armenian face of the Armenian school, on the Armenian language, and on the efficiency of the Armenian language teachers. As for the union front, it must be said that the country's crisis has greatly weakened or frozen some associtions and clubs. The large associations (like Hamazkayin, Syrian Armenian Relief, or AGBU) continue almost all of their former activities. It is the small associations that have experienced a decline and are still suffering from a lack of personnel. There are clubs that have become nominal. They are either closed or have a formal and marginal presence. This is the case with many of the former compatriot associations.

The only newspaper in my city, the weekly “Kantsasar”, continues to operate admirably, retaining a not inconsiderable number of supportive columnists.

Aleppo is now a diminished, somewhat depressed community reminding us of similar situations in the past of the Armenian communities in Egypt or Iraq. But it is not exhausted. Its former vitality can be renewed if it is governed wisely and prudently, if it frees itself from the shackles of despair and acts, if it works with collective efforts. From this perspective, the change of power in Syria should be perceived POSITIVELY.

But at the same time, I think that all our communities also have questions, are experiencing setbacks. Is Lebanon better, where there is no intellectualism left, schools have dwindling numbers, newspapers and pubs are collapsing…? France, where there is no Armenian-speaking population, Argentina, where our newspapers are published in Spanish, Constantinople, which has already buried all the greats of its glorious Armenian literature (the last being R. Haddejian), without having prepared or trained any replacements….

Returning to your question, as for my family and I staying in Aleppo, that too must probably be explained by the strong and inexplicable spiritual bond that had bound me to this “dream” city of Tsarukyan with an iron chain. Yes, we stayed here, enduring numerous difficulties, sometimes grumbling, sometimes adapting to the created situations, sometimes depriving ourselves of basic household necessities, thinking that “tomorrow will be better”.

Aleppo is the flower of the Diaspora, which must be nurtured, watered, and grown continuously, in order to enjoy the blessings, it will offer tomorrow or the day after.