Repatriates from Syria face employment problems in Armenia, Granush Akopyan asserts

At present, the main problem of the Syrian Armenians in Armenia is the issue on their employment. This was reported by Granush Akopyan, Minister of Diaspora of Armenia, at the conference on the problems of compatriots from Syria.

According to the Minister, at present, about 150 Syrian Armenians got employed. According to the Ministry of Diaspora, the total number of repatriates in need of work reaches about 3000 persons.

The Minister has also emphasized that the compatriots from Syria used to receive high salaries; however, in Armenia, salaries are pretty low. Many persons want to start their own business; however, there are legal obstacles on their way.

Granush Akopyan called on all employers to recruit at least one Armenian from Syria.

Varazdat Karapetyan, Director of the National Foundation for small and medium businesses, has emphasized that all persons, who want to start their own business, can take a 1.5-month courses within the programme "Support for Beginners in Business" and then receive a credit of 3 million drams (about 8000 US dollars).

Yuri Saakyan, Director of the "Poliser", the Abovyan plant for building materials, offered 11 jobs for Syrian Armenians and also promised to provide the best employee with housing.

Raffi Taschyan, a compatriot from Syria, is a barber. He believes that in Armenia, to find a job of barber is difficult due to taxes and duties. Besides, Raffi Taschyan finds unacceptable a wage of 70,000-80,000 drams (about 200 US dollars). "In Syria, we had minimum wages, starting from 500 US dollars," Raffi Taschyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.