![]() ![]() “Now that it’s nice and warm outside, I want to play in the yard, but my mom won’t let me. Liana enjoys the harmony in her family but longs to see her friends in the time of the COVID-19 lockdown © UNHCR/Areg Balayan “A sewing machine is a life-saving tool – many Armenian women would make some income by sewing in their host country,” she said, and shared with us the story of her grandmother, who had fled from the Ottoman Empire to Iraq. ![]() I squeezed it into the car before my husband could see it,” Osana said with a cunning smile. “Yes, and I brought this machine with me from Baghdad. Noticing the sewing machine on the table, we asked if Osana’s talents also included dressmaking. “I long for exhibition-sales so much – I found my first clients there,” Osana sighed, remembering the open-air festival in Yerevan she participated in last year. “She happily shares her grandmother’s secret recipes with the local women, explaining the specific roles of the spices, all those secret flavors she stuffs into her cakes and pastries,” said Garo, offering us some of his wife’s home-made cookies with pride in his eyes. “I am keen on learning to expand my cooking skills,” she continued, describing the dishes she learned to prepare at cooking classes last year. I love baking and cooking, and had plenty of clients back in Baghdad,” said Osana. The family was about to open up a small business when the COVID-19 outbreak hit Armenia. Traditional pastry and handicraft home-made by Iraqi Armenians © UNHCR/Areg Balayan UNHCR, through its partner, Mission Armenia NGO, provided them with cash assistance and humanitarian support, helping them integrate into the state health system and put the children back in school. After acquiring refugee status, the Migration Service, the state agency dealing with asylum and refugee issues, enrolled them in a rental subsidy scheme. We visited the family at their rented apartment in a suburb of Yerevan. Liana echoed, “…and my mom’s recipe book, her diaries and family photo albums.” ![]() We left everything behind: my paternal house, the workshop, all our belongings,” said Garo. We were physically here, but our mind was in Baghdad. Here, they finally found peace and safety for themselves and their children. We barely escaped from active gunfire a few times,” continued Osana, her voice cracking with horror.Īrmenian by descent, the family reached Armenia by road. “The children couldn’t go to school – bombs were exploding near our house. Being in limbo all these years – to go or to stay – we made a decision overnight to leave as it became extremely dangerous to stay in Baghdad,” said Garo. “We got married and our children were born during the war. Wedding photo in the family album brought from Iraq to Armenia © UNHCR/Areg Balayan The family left Iraq for Armenia in late 2018, while their relatives had come long before, in 2004, when some 1,500 Iraqi-Armenians fled from Iraq to Armenia to escape the war. “We were waiting for you! We’re so glad you came! The children were excited to hear that we would have guests after such a long while,” said Osana and showed us to the living room. The apartment was small but cozy, with lots of flower pots and plants turning the space into an indoor garden. We expected to see gloomy faces and hear numerous concerns, but as the door opened, their happy smiles shone through the facemasks and we felt the warmth of sincere hospitality from the moment we entered their home. Like many displaced and local families, Osana and Garo channeled their patience as they endured growing hardships, anxious but hopeful that the restrictions would end one day.Īs we walked up the stairs, we were thinking of how we could cheer them up, perhaps with news about UNHCR’s humanitarian assistance the family was about to receive to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic, or the teddy bear we were bringing for little Liana. We visited a refugee family of five from Iraq: Osana Der Tavetyan, 38, her husband Garo Dadoorian, 50, and their children, Matevos, 15, and Liana, 10. It was a rainy, summer day in Armenia, the prevalence of facemasks a reminder of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Greenery, symbol of hope, at Iraqi refugees home, Yerevan, Armenia © UNHCR/Areg Balayan
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