Syrian-Armenian Women Migrants in Armenia - (Armenians in the Modern and Early Modern World) by Anahid Matossian (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book traces the experiences of Syrian-Armenian women refugees in Armenia as they navigated their changing and gendered identities from their adopted 'homeland' to their socially constructed new 'ancestral' home. The rich ethnographic research conducted over 6 years by the author reveals how women adjusted to new lives in Armenia, supported themselves through gendered work such as embroidery production, yet mostly challenge simple identities such as 'refugee' or 'repatriate'. It further reveals crucial insight into how experiences and traumatic memories of war in Syria and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict reciprocally shape each other in the minds of the women interviewed"--

Book Synopsis

After the outbreak of the 2011 Syrian War, a number Syrian-Armenians who had lived in the territory for generations, fled to the Republic of Armenia. This book traces the experiences of Syrian-Armenian women as they navigated their changing and gendered identities from their adopted 'homeland' to their socially constructed new 'ancestral' home in Armenia. The rich ethnographic research conducted over 6 years by the author reveals how women adjusted to new lives in Armenia, supported themselves through gendered work such as embroidery production, yet mostly challenge simple identities such as 'refugee' or 'repatriate, ' existing in a state of what the author terms "painful belonging". The book further reveals crucial insight into how experiences and traumatic memories of war in Syria and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict reciprocally shape each other in the minds of the women interviewed.

Review Quotes

An excellent ethnographic analysis of Armenian women in the twenty-first century, focusing on the lived experiences of Syrian Armenian women who were forcibly displaced after 2011 to Armenia, their new homeland in the east. Interviews with Syrian Armenian women entrepreneurs, Armenian state officials trying to create citizens out of them, and self-reflexivity experienced by the American-Armenian author with origins in Syria capture the painful process of belonging in the polity, economy and everyday life in Armenia. This process of belonging is a long journey for all Armenians, originating in the 1915 Armenian Genocide when all Western Armenian speaking Ottoman imperial subjects were either destroyed or were forced to settle outside of the Ottoman Empire, in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon in this instance.
Fatma Müge Göçek, Professor, University of Michigan, USA

From rose-scented memories to multiple wars, displacement, changing gender dynamics, and inventive entrepreneurship, Anahid Matossian vividly portrays Syrian-Armenian womens' lived experiences in Armenia. This richly layered book includes Matossian's complex concept of "painful belonging" as well as practical advice to NGOs and agencies trying to meet the needs of newcomers.
Susan Pattie, Dr., Honorary Senior Research Associate, University College London, U.K.

About the Author

Anahid Matossian is the Women, Peace and Security Subject Matter Expert at Marine Corps University, USA. She received her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Kentucky, USA.