Tiny Assyrian community in Syria celebrates its survival
YEARS OF INSTABILITY IN SYRIA AND DAESH ONSLAUGHT HAD NEARLY FINISHED IT
■ ■ bull, to pass around.
Small barbecues were set up in the corner of the park, and a DJ kept Assyrian songs running, many of them by well-known Assyrians in exile. weddings, held on the slopes of the nearby mountain.
Those weddings have now almost disappeared because of the dwindling community.
Also, Assyrians fear the mountain could be mined or shelter Daesh sleeper cells.
Only a few marriages take place these days, mostly held in churches.
Wael Warda Marza, a local Assyrian politician, said he hoped the New Year celebrations would serve to attract the thousands of Assyrians who migrated abroad.
“We are back again to celebrate. The sun of Ashur (the Assyrian God of war) has risen again over the villages of Khabur,” Marza said.
“The black flags (of Daesh) were only a black cloud over our villages.” Still, they are wary.
Assyrian security men toting automatic rifles guarded the party from the rooftop of a building overlooking the public park.
Others milled around near the parking lot, some filtering in the joint to dance.
The trail of destruction left by Daesh serves as a reminder of how vulnerable the community is.
With Daesh largely defeated across Syria, the main Kurdish militia, backed by the US, has set up a new administration in northern Syria.
It has made a largely symbolic effort to be inclusive of minorities, giving Assyrians and other communities seats in local councils. It has also given support to Assyrian militias.
These Assyrian militias now still guard the deserted villages, fearing they will be overtaken by the nearby Arabs or Kurds, who greatly outnumber them.
There are still fears of Daesh re-emerging.
The Daesh militants stormed a dozen villages one night in February 23, 2015.
In coordinated attacks, the militants kidnapped 226 residents.
The Syrian government had withdrawn from the villages and the Khabur River valley area in 2012 as it tried to control territory elsewhere amid the chaos as protests against the government turned into armed conflict. Local militias took over security in the villages, but residents filtered out steadily, fleeing the instability.
So that horrific night three years ago, the militia couldn’t protect the residents or the area’s ancient churches from the well-armed, aggressive Daesh militants.
Ransom for freedom
Zaya Youkhana, a 52-yearold resident of Tal Jazira, was not in his village when Daesh stormed it. It was the largest village in the area, and Daesh kidnapped all its 82 residents, including his uncles and aunts, among the 226 Assyrians total carried off by the group that night.
It took a year, but a local bishop was able to gather donations abroad to pay ransoms that eventually won the freedom of all the captives — almost. Three residents were killed in a grisly video released by the militants during the negotiations.
And Youkhana said the granddaughter of his uncle was never found. “We don’t know her fate. We hope she returns to her family safely,” he said as he stepped over ruins to reach his uncle’s mulberry tree.