Armenians in Syria’s Autonomous Administration start learning their own language
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – On Sunday, the Armenian Social Council held its first training course for teaching Armenian language at School of Speakers in the city of Hasakah, northeastern Syria.
The Armenian Social Council was established in the city of Hasakah on April 24, 2020 to introduce the Armenian language, culture and history to others.
Teacher of Armenian language, Lucien Ardemian, told North Press that the goal of the training course is to prepare teachers because the Armenian language will be added to curricula of Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) next year.
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) defeated ISIS militarily.
During the past 10 days, the council has started an experimental period to learn about the learners’ ability to receive the language and to complete the number of members of the course.
The experimental period was accompanied by an intellectual course about Armenian history and culture, according to Ardemian.
“Syrian government prohibited teaching other languages in its curricula since 2011, therefore it is not surprising that teachers may face difficulties in receiving the language at first,” the teacher added.
“Anyone can join the course, even employees since the sessions will be held at afternoons,” she mentioned.