TEL TAMR, Syria (North Press) – Assyrian villages in the countryside of the town Tel Tamr, north of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, absent of public manifestations of Christmas and the New Year celebrations this year.
A lonely few families from each village celebrated Christmas a few days ago with little in the way of decorations and trees, after the villages used to be filled with people during the past decades.
Alone in the church
Near a small Christmas tree decorated with colorful lights, Khoshaba Ibrahim reads texts from the Holy Bible alone in the church of his village, Tel Juma’a, in the countryside of the town of Tel Tamr.
Most of the villagers left the country after the repeated attacks on the area since the beginning of the Syrian war, leaving only about 40 people in the village, which was previously home to three thousand people.
Ibrahim told North Press that their village became almost empty of its residents because everyone emigrated and only the elderly were left.
The attacks of the Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition groups, which took place on the outskirts of the Assyrian Christian villages of northern Tel Tamr for more than a year and a half, have cast a shadow over the Christmas celebrations as fears of new attacks prevail amid repeated bombing and shelling.
Ibrahim laments the condition of his village, which was emptied by the war. “The Turks and the [opposition] seized an estimated 300 acres of our lands. All of them came under their authority, and we are now afflicted.”
The Assyrian celebrations of Christmas this year were confined to attending Saint Shemon Church in Tel Tamr and visiting each other and their Kurdish and Arab neighbors.
Like the other Assyrian villages, which numbered 33 in the Khabur River Basin, the streets of Tel Kefchi village (three kilometers north of Tel Tamr) seemed almost empty.
The shouts of children and the sound of firecrackers do not interrupt the tranquility of these villages’ neighborhoods. The doors of most homes remain closed, awaiting the return of their residents. Shop signs stand alone in the streets as a reminder of their owners who emigrated years ago.
Shelling at the feast
Ibrahim Hanaro, a resident of the village of Tel Kefchi, refused to emigrate, as did his five children. He stayed in his home with his elderly wife, who provided hospitality to their visitors this holiday.
He told North Press, “Holidays are not the same these days as they used to be, as there is some anxiety due to coronavirus, the current conditions, and psychological discomfort.”
The countryside of the town of Tel Tamr (40 km north of Hasakah) has been repeatedly targeted by Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition factions since the end of last year.
Hanaro went to Tel Tamr and participated in the church mass for the holiday.
Despite the absence of celebrations, Michel Is’haq, a resident of the village of Tel Kefchi, put a Christmas tree in his living room and decorated the walls with ribbons and colorful lighting.
He said, “we’re not at all comfortable, as the events taking place at the other side [of the frontlines]. They are unpleasant events, and there are some problems.”
Is’haq explained that his village contained about 50 families before the Turkish military operation last year, but only seven families remain due to the displacement of families towards Hasakah and the emigration of others abroad.
He added, “My son has no friends but a little boy next door to us.”
Is’haq hopes that the New Year would come and bring some joy with it.