Syriacs celebrate International Mother Language Day in Syria’s Qamishli
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Saturday, dozens of Syriacs celebrated the International Mother Language Day by holding a seminar in the city of Qamishli, northeast Syria, stressing the importance of consolidating the standard Syriac language.
This year, the United Nations called on policymakers, educators, teachers, parents and families to broaden their commitment to multilingual education all together.
Dozens participated in the cultural seminar called by the Olf Tau Foundation, which focused on the history of the Syriac language.
Olf Tau Foundation is an institution concerned with preparing special curricula and teachers to teach the Syriac language in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) regions.
“The Syriac institutes are trying to preserve this language,” said Galinus Issa, co-chair of the Olf Tau Foundation.
“During the period of the AANES, private institutes were established to preserve and teach the Syriac language, including the Olf Tau Foundation with its four branches in Qamishli, Hasakah, Derik and Qahtaniya (Tirbe Spiye),” he added.
The AANES adopted the curricula prepared by Olf Tau for the first and second grades within the private schools of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the cities of the Jazira region.
The foundation is working to revive the classical Syriac language, because it is the language that unites the Syriacs, according to Issa.
There are several religious institutions that are still teaching the Syriac language, but Issa believes that their role is limited as they teach a ritual language and not a historical language.
Issa pointed out that the reason for the decline of the Syriac language is also due to “the Arabism that was dominating all private and public schools in the region.”
In the same context, Ailee Felo, an administrator within the Qamishli branch of the Olf Tau Foundation, said, “The Syriac language has undergone a marked decline as a result of political changes and persecutions against the Syriac people”.
“The revival of the classical Syriac language is a task that falls upon the foundation and the individuals,” Felo added.
The Syriac Church has been teaching the Syriac language in its schools and within special sessions since 1960s.
Olf Tau Foundation was established in 2016, but it has been operating since 2014 where it was working under the Syriac Cultural Association.