46 Iraqi-Armenian families have recently received housing in the village of Darbnik, Ararat Marz. These families live there with “refugee” status. Ani Margaryan, who immigrated to Armenia from Iraq in 2006, now resides in Darbnik with her husband a newly born child. Her parents and brothers also reside in the village, a few kilometers southwest of Yerevan.

“When we first arrived in Armenia, we spent four months in a dormitory in the Massif neighborhood of Yerevan. We then left the dorm and proceeded to rent various houses. Afterwards we moved to Darbnik,” Ani says. Her husband works in a factory producing windows and her brothers are auto mechanics. Ani does not work.

Adjusting to life in Armenia was hard

She says that it was tough adjusting to life in Armenia. “We would have liked to move to Europe but who would have taken us? We now live in Armenia with refugee status. Finding work is a major problem for Armenians from Iraq. Local Armenians have a difficult enough time getting a job. Who’s going to give us work? Adjusting to village life was also hard. Transportation only comes around once every hour. It’s a real headache. It’s not easy living here in all this mud,” Ani states. Ani, who spent her entire life in Baghdad, says that despite the difficulties, they have no choice. Apartment rents in Yerevan are quite expensive and then you have to pay for the utilities. “In Iraq, those bills were quite small in comparison; next to nothing. Back in Iraq, a family of ten could get by if only one person was working. Here, it’s the exact opposite. Ten have to work to support just one person. I have a young child and it’s hard on us financially, she says, adding that she really doesn’t want to return to Iraq. Ani still has many friends in Iraq who tell her of the dangers of daily life there. “No one goes outside. If they dare to venture outside, they don’t know if they’ll come back alive.”

2009 – Only two Iraqi-Armenian families moved to Armenia

There are about 800 Armenians from Iraq now living in Armenia. They started to move here in 2004, after the war broke out. The years 2005-2006 saw the greatest number of Iraqi-Armenians moving to Armenia. In 2009, only two families resettled here. Many who did move here eventually left for Europe. Vigen Ktikyan, Vice-President of the Iraqi-Armenian Cultural and Family NGO, says that a segment of Iraqi-Armenians live in Yerevan, renting apartments, and that others reside in the country’s outlying regions. Mr. Ktikyan points to housing as one of the biggest problem facing Iraqi-Armenians. “When we informed the Ministry of Territorial Administration about the problem, they, along with UN sponsorship, allocated 46 apartments to Iraqi—Armenians in the village of Darbnik. Things are peaceful here and the conditions are OK. Now, the only problem to be fixed is that of transportation. Maybe the ministry can do something. Most of those living in Yerevan rent, but some with the means have bought apartments. Those with little or no resources wind up in the dormitories,” he says, adding that the government doesn’t grant any financial assistance to the Iraqi-Armenians. Finding work is the toughest challenge hey face.

The most famous dentist in Bagdad can’t find work here

“Some of them work. They either have their own business or are employed in various factories. The younger guys work in the construction sector. But they’re not the only ones going without work. Local Armenians are in the same boat. Then too, salaries are low and the cost of living in Armenia is high. Like I said, some have their own business. One runs a restaurant on Mashtots Avenue, several have small shops and there’s a guy who has a livestock business. But then, the most famous dentist in all of Baghdad, someone everyone went to, can’t find any work here in Armenia,” says Mr. Ktikyan He claims that Iraqi-Armenians get along fine with the locals and that they don’t feel like foreigners. There are no non-Armenian Iraqis now living in Armenia. Two individuals moved to Armenia and lived here for five years. Then, with the help of the U.N., they relocated to a third country. Over the years, some of the Iraqi-Armenians who moved here have gone back to Iraq. They, however, are a small minority. Most have left Armenia for the West, to Europe “After going without work for two years, some just give up. Many left all they possessed back in Iraq. They ask themselves whether they should go back and see what conditions are like,” says Mr. Ktikyan Many Armenians fled Iraq for Syria. Today, there are around 8,000 Armenians living in Iraq. “There were Armenian churches in Iraq. People had jobs. Many families remained there. But the overall situation is dangerous and it will remain so. I keep in contact with the country. My parents and brothers are there,” Mr. Ktikyan said. He claimed that Armenians had no problems with Iraqi society when it came to religious matters.  There is no Iraqi Embassy in Armenia. The Iraqi Embassy in Georgia handles the affairs of Iraqi-Armenians now in Armenia. Mr. Ktikyan says that when Armenia adopted the law of dual-citizenship, many Armenians from Iraqi applied. However, to date none have received dual citizenship.

My parents have left but I will stay

Nazdar Shahnazaryan and her family moved to Armenia from Iraq five years ago. At first, they rented a place to live, and then they received “refugee” status. Nazdar’s parents soon left Armenia for Europe but he remained since he had married a local girl. “We were renting a place in Yerevan. My future husband was our neighbor at the time. We got acquainted and then married,” Nazdar says. The two now live in Darbnik. “We’ve gotten used to life here. The biggest problem is adequate transportation. The minivans only run to 5 pm. The roads are full of mud. The stores are quite some distance away. There’s no drugstore,” says Nazdar, ticking off the challenges. Darbnik is a village of refugees According to Darbnik Mayor Azat Khachatryan, 99% of village residents are refugees, mainly from Azerbaijan or Iraq. There are 24 Iraqi-Armenian families now living in the village. Mayor Khachatryan confesses that at first the Azerbaijani and Iraqi Armenians didn’t see eye-to-eye on everything but that they get along fine now and cooperate when it comes to village affairs. “Many of the Iraqi-Armenians work in various trades as artisans. It would be wrong to say that they are in a bad way. They really adapted to life here. No one has yet come to me and applied to return,” says the mayor. Unfortunately, Iraqi-Armenians still aren’t able to till the land or raise livestock in the village. Mayor Khachatryan says that the issue of granting them land has yet to be resolved.