The IDeA Foundation made a statement on Syrian Armenians today:

“The IDeA Foundation wishes to express appreciation to all those individuals and organizations -- from Armenia and the Diaspora -- who voiced their support of IDeA’s public statement. We value all efforts by individuals, non-profit organizations, the government and the church directed to Armenians impacted by the military conflict in Syria.

We are hopeful that a process of national consolidation, focused on aiding the Armenians of Syria, will continue to gain momentum, and will enable the distribution of reliable information about the true situation of the Armenian community there.

As the Syrian conflict drags on, the situation of Armenians there becomes more difficult due to the diversity of policies, views and interests. Nevertheless, we believe that saving lives is an absolute priority.  At the same time, we respect the right of each individual Syrian-Armenian to determine their own future.

The IDeA Foundation will complement the efforts already under way at the governmental, international and societal level, by contributing $250,000 at this stage. This will be allocated through the strategic partner AGBU that has been involved in relief efforts from early days of the conflict and other non-governmental organizations who currently implement Syrian Armenian support projects in Armenia - RepatArmenia, Mission Armenia, Aleppo NGO, and the funds will be aimed at planning and implementing the following:

- aid to those who continue to remain in Syria (AGBU);

- aid to those who seek temporary refuge outside Syrian borders (Mission Armenia);

- aid to those who have decided to relocate to Armenia (Aleppo NGO);

- aid to those who want to work and live in Armenia (RepatArmenia).

Resources will be allocated according to the specific requirements and scale of each program.

Individuals and organizations that wish to participate in this initiative may do so by contributing directly to the organizations mentioned above, or through IDeA. Bank account information for each of the partner organizations, and for IDeA, are available here.

Individuals and organizations that wish to help with lodging or job placement may directly contact sai@idea.am or +374 (0) 60 700801 in Armenia.

We are fully aware of the importance of preserving the Armenian communities of the Middle East. We are convinced that the national consolidation that we seek will help secure the physical security of Syrian Armenians and preserve their identity, regardless of where they reside in the future”.