Assyrian existence in Syria, hopes of reconstruction and providing a safe haven
Al-Hasakah – North-Press Agency
“We depend on our living by the money we receive from abroad, there’s no one left in the village, all of them had emigrated”, with these words, Khoshaba Ibrahim summarized his suffering, who is one of dozens of remained elderly people in the Assyrian town of Tal Juma, out of more than 3,000 people who chose to leave the village and emigrate in pursuit of a better life following ISIS expansion that reached their villages along the banks of Khabour River in 2015.
The ongoing war in Syria has led to the emigration of hundreds of thousands of Syrians abroad, including members of the Assyrian component in Syria’s northeastern city of Hasakah, where today, their villages are almost empty after Islamic State invasion to the region and kidnapping hundreds of Assyrians, as well as the destruction of churches and infrastructure.
An overview of Assyrian presence in Syria
The Assyrian community lives largely on the banks of Khabour River in Hasakah governorate, northeast of Syria, most of their 36 villages lie in Tal Tamir countryside, as they’re considered to be the founders of Tal Tamir following their emigration from northern Iraq in 1933 due to the genocide committed against them by the Iraqi government which is known among the Assyrians as the Simele massacre.
“We came from Iraq and settled here in 1936, at that time France was controlling the region, then, we started laying the foundation stone for the region by building houses of stones and establishing economic projects.” Khoshaba Ibrahim 85 years old, told North-Press.
According to Assyrian statistics, the number of Assyrians in Hasakah before the Syrian crisis was about 30,000, but now there are only 3,000 people, while the damage to the infrastructure of the villages was 50%, and most of the churches were destroyed.
Overcrowded
Ibrahim, who suffers hearing impairment, says that his village, Tal Juma had 3,000 people, it was called People’s Republic of China among people in the region because of its overcrowded population, while nowadays, only a few dozen remain, mostly elderly.
“All of them traveled to Australia, Sweden or the United States, all of them displaced and left,” he says with regret adding: “There were around 15 clerks in our village, but now none of them are left.”
Noting that those who remain in the village live on the external support saying: “We live with the money we receive from abroad; our brothers and children send us money.”
Ibrahim pointed out that most of those who traveled don’t think of coming back to their home country, to Syria again: “As you see, the majority are elderly and the young are few, I don’t think those who traveled to Europe will return again, life here is almost impossible for them due to terrorism that reached our regions, kidnapped and killed hundreds.”
Khoshaba Ibrahim goes back with his memory to the moments of ISIS attacks on Assyrian villages saying: “Fortunately, ISIS didn’t reach us due to the flooding of Khabour river because our village lies on the west bank of the river, The Kurds defended the village and deterred ISIS, but the shells that showered the village, forced us to move to Hasakah and Qamishli until it was completely expelled from the region.”
Hundreds kidnapped to pay the ransom
With the Islamic State’s invasion on the villages of Khabour in the area of Tal Tamir, the terrorist group kidnapped hundreds of Assyrians, and they were taken to unknown places, after which an agreement was reached between the Christian parties and ISIS via the Arab tribes’ figures in the region to release them by paying ransom money.
According to statistics, most of 224 kidnapped Assyrian civilians were released by ISIS, except one kidnapped woman whose fate remains unknown, while three of the kidnapped civilians were killed by ISIS.
Oppression and persecution
Jamila Kako, an Assyrian woman who was kidnapped by ISIS, told North-Press about what she had experienced: “We were subjected to oppression, persecution, deprivation, and fear, of course, we suffered a lot in a period exceeded a year, some of us martyred and others were tortured.”
Kako, who spent 10 months in ISIS prisons, noted that “kidnapping caused a state of fear and hopelessness, especially as we were imprisoned by a ruthless terrorist group.”
“This was the main reason for the displacement of the Assyrian people from the villages of Khabour, which was as a genocide,” she added.
The current regret in Jamila’s speech reflects the grief that surrounds the Assyrian villages today, most of these villages were emptied from their inhabitants, which were once constituted as a landmark in the Syrian Al-Jazira region over the past decades.
The Assyrian people in the area of Tal Tamir, formed two military forces, which are organized under the umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and supported by the US-led Global Coalition against ISIS, one is the “Nattoreh” The Assyrian People’s Guard, which preserves internal security, together with “Khabour Guards”, which is a military council, and both of which belong to the Assyrian Democratic Party.
During the years of the Syrian crisis, 23 members of these two forces lost their lives in the war against ISIS.
Reconstruction project of Assyrian villages
Following the territorial ISIS defeat in the Assyrian villages in Hasakah countryside, there were frequent talks among Assyrian political movement about their efforts to rebuild their villages, however, the project remained halted without concrete steps in this regard.
“What happened to the Assyrians can be considered as mass displacement, we in the Assyrian party, are working on the reconstruction of these villages, but the issue isn’t easy and we need an international project to support this issue.” Wael Mirza, head of the Assyrian Democratic Party–Syrian branch, told North-Press.
Mirza pointed out that they are in contact with some Assyrian organizations abroad and the concerned international organizations to support the reconstruction project, adding: “Calling on the emigrated people to go back and live in a ruined area, is total nonsense.”
Mirza also linked the return of the Assyrians to their land with the security situation in the region, saying: “Large countries are waiting for what is going to happen in defeating terrorism in Syria in order to start reconstruction process as an integrated operation, based on that, we will communicate with our people to return to their homes.”
The Assyrian politician concluded his speech demanding his people abroad to support people inside Syria, saying: “What we are asking for, is to support the remaining people and the institutions on the ground to be a motive for the rebuilding of Assyrian villages and the return of the displaced people to their homes.”