Misak Ohanian's Speech at a Conference Highlighting the
Suffering of "Invisible" Older Refugees, 9 January, 2008

Armenians are a people proud of their ancient past and concerned about their collective future. "Ours is also a story of moving, rebuilding, moving again".

Armenians are one of Britain’s oldest refugee communities. They have sought asylum in Britain since 1915, when the Ottoman government wiped out half the Armenian race in what is regarded as the first genocide of the 20th Century.

Today, Armenian people are still fleeing from persecution in Turkey, the former Soviet Union and other troubled parts of the Middle East such as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Jerusalem.

For many it is also the 3rd and 4th time attempt in their lifetime at making a permanent home.

The problems of newly arrived refugees are still the same: arriving alone, homeless and penniless, they are isolated and so have little or no opportunity to prepare for their new lives. They have often suffered the loss of family and friends and face an uncertain future in a foreign land, with an unfamiliar language. All Armenians living outside Armenia and considering themselves Armenian, (irrespective of their present national status or years of residence in a particular country) share the common heritage of being displaced or in exile. This is because Armenian history is one of endless persecution, massacres, invasions, and emigration and as such they carry with them their family suffering, and the personal insecurities of being foreigners with the problems of adjusting to different societies. Present-day Armenian asylum seekers fleeing from the former Soviet Union or from the Middle East face a variety of complex problems including reception, settlement and integration in Britain. Specifically, they often do not have the information or the language skills to access basic statutory services. Armenians live and work in the same economic, political, cultural and social climate as other refugee and small ethnic minority communities in Britain. This means that our community is not immune to the various challenges, insecurities and problems facing these communities such as social exclusion, struggles for equal access to public services, economic integration – without loss of cultural/ national identity. However, one specific problem Armenians face in comparison with other minority ethnic communities is that they are ‘invisible’. This is because Armenians as an ethnic group are not identified under OPCS census information because they arrive from different countries, such as the former Soviet Union or the Middle East (similar to Kurds or Roma people). Therefore local authorities, hospitals and GPs often record their nationalities as either British (for those taking British nationality) or from their country of birth. Consequently, their specific social and cultural needs are not generally recognized or addressed by the statutory or voluntary sector. This can intensify their isolation, anxiety or mental anguish, lead to deteriorations in health, a lack of self-esteem and confidence and, in the case of one Armenian refugee, suicide.

A survey of the needs of the Armenian community in London conducted by the CAIA in 1988 revealed

  • linguistic and cultural diversity,
  • diversity regarding the countries they had fled from, in their levels of education, living conditions, health, class and economic position, experience of discrimination and in their attitudes, levels of integration and participation in the social/economic or cultural life of Britain.
  • The majority did not access local authority or other statutory services and they had varying expectations from them as well from the Armenian community, church and cultural societies.

    It confirmed that Armenians live predominantly in the outer West London Boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow, Harrow and Brent. Our advisory records in the past 20 years reveal that new Armenian refugees arrived in London, most notably after the break up of the Soviet Union, and because of the continuous tensions in the Middle East since the 2nd World War.

    Subsequent data and researches reveal the weakening of traditional forms of social relations and structures as a result of the impact of the assimilation process: for example, breakdown of the extended family, inter-generational tensions, the rise in mixed marriages, the inability of the Armenian church and other traditional organizations to operate as before in the Middle East or their country of origin, and the personal/ cultural tension of accommodating dual-identities.

    The Armenian community is not helped by the continued denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Turkish state and NATO allies such as USA and Britain. The most recent example of this denial is the exclusion of Armenians from the National Holocaust Remembrance Day events marked each January.

    Hitler himself said the following just before he gave orders to the kill Poles and Jews in Easter Europe, "Who after all today remembers the Armenians?"

    The past and the present are intertwined for us.

  • Armenians are a scattered population, which can mean loss of contact with the wider family, and friends who have settled in different countries. Yet it is the older people who keep the identity of their national traditions, homeland and culture identity alive. Therefore their is great respect with regard their role and status in the family. But this is often undermined as I said earlier due to various social/economic and cultures pressures within British society which has only recently started to recognise the importance of the older generation as the glue which binds the family together in the face of the dysfunctional family, anti social behaviour, racism and bullying within society.
  • However, while most Armenia Senior Citizens are fluent in Armenian and the language of the countries where they come from they are often unable to speak or articulate clearly as well in the English language, have little or no knowledge of their rights & statutory entitlements or how to access information, advice and appropriate services. Just as importantly, given the history of persecution Armenian have experienced over the years, they have little confidence in others to defend, advocate or negotiate on their behalf. Neither are they forthcoming in expressing an opinion nor make the simplest complaint. They simply are not in a mental state to challenge the inequalities of the poor or lack of services they have to bear with and often accept their fate and suffer in silence.

    The Centre for Armenian Information and Advice (CAIA) was established in 1986 to reverse this unacceptable situation and today is their principal focus of support for almost 20,000 Armenians scattered across London and nearby.

    The CAIA seeks to enhance the quality of life for disadvantaged members of the Armenian community, specifically those in poverty and isolation such as elderly, Carers and disabled refugees, many of who are often women caring for their elderly parent, sibling or husband.

    The impetus of its founding CAIA came from our deep understanding of the Armenian people’s long history of persecution and struggle to survive against all odds and that the time had come to resist and not to accept our destiny devised by others, but to grasp the opportunity that Britain’s liberal society offered us as refugees and new citizens.

    Since its establishment over 20 years ago, the CAIA has tried to provide holistic services to different age groups and the most vulnerable strata within the Armenian community which includes information, advocacy and advice, a children’s playgroup, a social/lunch club for senior citizens, free door to door lifts to those we can collect in our mini-bus, training, reference materials, translations, various publication initiatives such as researches, community directories and a free, bi-lingual newsletter which reaches 3,000 Armenian homes twice a year.

    Our activities take place in our Hayashen Community Centre, which we purchased in 1994 thanks to the enthusiastic support of the Armenian community and major donations from various Trusts. CAIA has a subscription-paying membership of over 350 members, which elects a seven-member Management Committee to administer its affairs at its AGM. The organisation presently employs 2 full-time and several sessional staff, and relies on many volunteers who all contribute towards the various services.

    The CAIA meets the needs of an extremely isolated group whose language is never catered for by the statutory authorities. We undertake preventative work helping older people overcome problems at an early stage by working closely with local statutory agencies such as Social Services, GP’s and hospital to ensure that Armenian Senior Citizens extend not only their independent life but improving the quality of their lives. Our experience however of working with these agencies often only exposes their inadequacies and lack of culturally appropriate provision for our community.

    In contrast we have found that those who use our day centre and other services grow in confidence and feel more able to take up opportunities - like when we organised English classes specifically for older people, our inter-generational Cookery classes and to make use of our newly established Library.

    Offering twice weekly lunches, celebrating important dates in the Armenian calendar go a long way to reduce their isolation. Our centre is also used it for funeral gatherings as we are close to the cemetery in Acton where there is an Armenian corner. The organisation helps with funeral arrangements and provides practical and emotional support to the bereaved. The gatherings are an occasion for families to get together and are not always gloomy affairs. Older people who are widowed or widowers have warm feelings for the centre and enjoy making a return visit to Hayashen which sometimes coincides with a visit to the grave side with others from the day centre. Being able to meet together and having one place to celebrate a past life are important parts of the structures in life.

    Aside from the services CAIA offers, we also act as a gateway to other services by organised surgeries in our premises with DWP staff, local councillors and other professionals to come and meet the community to help access services.

    CAIA is well placed to offer a more comprehensive service to Armenian Senior Citizens because we can increase their access to our own internal advice services and thus to external services, which will assist their independent living

    There is a need to develop specific and culturally appropriate services linked to the wider community, catering to an ageing minority ethnic older people, which is increasing annually.

  • This is one way of promoting/fostering 'integration' for older refugees
  • Another way is to encourage access/exchange and build relationships with other communities and service providers as there is potential for more creative partnerships with mainstream voluntary and statutory agencies.

    The Older Refugees Programme is one such positive example, which is highlighting and drawing attention to the issues for older refugees AND we thank you for giving others and us a voice and a platform to do so.

    My Key messages to conference delegates, policy-makers and service providers are:

  • You can learn a great deal about the contributions of older refugees & asylum-seekers within their communities SO please consult them when making decisions about their needs and involve them so that have a say in planning of service as too often they are not.
  • Acknowledge and support the valuable work of RCO's and voluntary/community sector organisations, which provide critical support and services for older refugees and asylum-seekers in Britain; do this by funding them properly, some are also best placed to be commissioned.
  • Encourage and support partnership working/links between RCO's and mainstreamvoluntary and statutory agencies, so that each learns from the expertise ofthe other and to ensure better engagement with and involvement of olderrefugees in developing appropriate services and policy responses.

    Thank You


    • Centre for Armenian Information and Advice
    'Hayashen'
    105A Mill Hill Road
    Acton
    London W3 8JF

    Telephone 020-8-992-4621
    Tel / Fax 020-8-993-8953