“It is very hard to live somewhere nobody knows where you come from, and everybody perceives you as a European or someone else. People ascribe stereotypes to you that have nothing to do with you. There was nothing I could refer to promote my identity.  Besides, there were lots of issues I could not put up with: human rights, inequality, etc.”

“My husband missed Morocco and we went back. When we arrived in Morocco, we started to live in a tiny Berber village in the High Atlas mountains. The living conditions there were quite difficult, and even a Russian TV channel made a documentary about my life there. After half a year I found a job and we moved to Tangier. I worked there for a year and then moved back to Marrakech to work as a travel adviser there. Until recently that was my full time occupation and I was quite successful. I know the country like the back of my hand and have good connections with all the providers: guides, hotels, etc so I could easily earn my living with my job.”

“Even though I taught my daughter to speak Armenian, I could not speak Armenian with her in the presence of other people. I was determined to come back to Armenia but had some doubts about my future here. However, a lot changed since last summer. I came to Armenia to work as a country coordinator for a project and I suddenly realized that there was much to do in Armenia. “Edgeryders” is an online platform of about 3000 hackers, activists, radical thinkers and doers, and just normal people that want to make a difference. The company started in 2013 as a spinoff of a Council of Europe project. It both serves the community and uses its collective smarts to power its own activities. while coordinating “Futuremakers” project in Armenia I became more confident and discovered many interesting grassroots projects and people behind them and I became convinced I need to stay here to contribute to the social good of my country. I believe I have exhausted all of my potential and resources in Morocco and now I want to contribute to the wellbeing of my community. Besides, I had already become tired of the notion of living in Morocco, it was no longer an exotic faraway land for me and I was dreaming about moving back to Armenia.  This was a great opportunity to do so.”

“Armenians may say “yes” which means “no” and that is driving me crazy. For instance, if I make an appointment I start planning my time in advance. However, at the last minute people here may change their minds and spoil all my plans. It may be cultural or simply due to lack of responsibility. In Morocco when one is not sure they simply say Inshallah – God willing, which is basically a maybe and you do not have to stress out about it. I wish we used that kind of a word in Armenia too”

“At the same time, there are lots of new positive changes happening in Armenia. There is good service and a variety of food provided by the Syrian Armenians- I am a vegetarian and it is very important for me. In contrast, the local service is very odd- it seems that people do not respect you and when you enter a café or a shop they might behave as if you came to ask for a favor.”

 

“It is very different from what I used to do in Morocco: although I liked working in tourism industry, I worked there to earn my living. But when I came to Armenia I decided to work only for myself and engage in activities that would enable me to contribute to the social good of my country. Fortunately, I started to work with Syrian refugees and dedicated all of my time and effort to the issue. As one of my friends put it: “at least you found something to soothe your social rebel spirit.

There is a big issue regarding the Syrian refugees in Armenia. We are accepting refugees but do not have any social system enabling the people to integrate into our society. There is no organization which truly deals with all of the challenges Syrian Armenians are facing here. As a result, most of them get disappointed and do not stay in Armenia. Due to the current system, Armenia will miss the opportunity to gain a huge human capital increase. So, I work for an organization that intends to employ strategies aimed at significantly improving the lives and well-being of the thousands of Syrian-Armenians impacted by the ravaging war in Syria. I must be here to change something. If every Armenian leaves his/her country and wants only to visit it only as a tourist, nothing will change for the better.”