The Assyrian Minority & The Iraqi Mosaic

Here’s an interesting subject I’ve been pondering upon for a while now. Minorities in Iraq. That country is home to a stocky spectrum of populations. The main ones are famous, The Shia’, the Sunni, and the Kurds, having lately marketed themselves very well. But that is not all. There are also Turkomans, Assyrians, Yezedi, Armenians and Shabak.

It is fair to say that all of these minorities, including the Kurds, have been heavily persecuted at one time or another. The Kurd gassing is the most famous ill-doing against a community in Iraq. But I am not interested in “the most famous”. I want to write today about a people who once ruled a good share of the known world.

That people is the Assyrians, who today have a constant dilemma facing them. Those that still live in their ancestral lands and villages, mainly in Iraq, Turkey and Iran, must constantly ask themselves, what is more important: living in the homeland, or living probably better, somewhere else, say in the West?

And in Iraq, for a long time now [over a century], the Assyrians have had massacres, genocides and mass deportations to help them decide to get the hell out of there. But they do this with a heavy heart, knowing they have little choice, but to leave a land their ancestors once ruled proudly and brilliantly [read further below for a very brief and not so accurate history].

There has always been a constant stream of atrocities committed against Assyrians, but for the past 100, even 200 years, this trend has intensified. From 1860 onwards, large-scale barbaric murder was committed by Kurds against Assyrians. These were assaults in which over 10,000 people would die. In 1895 too, much blood was spilled. In 1915, over 40 villages were destroyed and their inhabitants exterminated. 1933 is known for the Simele massacre [a village cleansing], and many other crimes.

More recently, the nature of the assaults has changed. It has gone more into terrorism, where popular or leading figures of the community are killed or kidnapped. Villagers are expropriated and made to flee. The perpetrators of these crimes, often Kurdish, even when identified, were never brought to justice, perhaps because certain Kurdish leaders appreciate, or even coordinate these assaults.

I could go on, really. But that is not my aim here. What I think is crucial for us to realize is that these ancient people are nearly finished. They have suffered a genocide over decades and decades and now, lacking greater exposure to the phenomenon, the world is about to let them disappear for ever as the Diaspora integrates with its host nations culture, and the homelands are abandoned for ever. More importantly, a beautiful, peaceful, rich and ancient culture is about to fade away within 2 or 3 generations.

Something ought to be done to finally bring to light the miseries of at least Iraqi Assyrians, if not all Assyrians who have also often been annihilated heftily.

Some background: The great military age of Assyria started around 4,500 thousand years ago. The Assyrians ruled for about 2000 years, achieved great advances like paved roads, locking systems, but also conceptual progress, such as the idea of imperial administration. Nevertheless like all empires they went greedy, expanded, and collapsed. Half a millennia later, with their embracing of Christianity [33AD], a new age of prosperity [through religious power] came and lasted 13 centuries, when abusive taxes on Christians made some convert, the Mongolians invaded Assyria and soon after, the Arabs and Arabic, took over.

Here are a few relevant links from which I drew much info, many thanks:

The BBC finally talks about Iraq’s Christians here

This site contains link to Assyrian communities and history

The Assyrian News Agency is great when there's new stuff and has amazing maps.

Click here to learn about how others help needy Assyrians, and consider helping too.

Assyrian Society UK

The site www.atour.com went out of business it seems. If anyone knows what happened, let me know.

Finally if you find that I am misinformed please tell me so.