Descendants of Survivors: Syriac Christians Oppose a Turkish ‘Safe Zone’ in Syria
by Amy Austin Holmes
"Contrary to how the issue is often discussed in Washington and other Western capitals, it’s not just the Kurds who don’t want Turkish troops to deploy again in Syria—regardless of what euphemism is used to describe the zone. Based on five weeks of research in Northeast Syria, I found that there is fierce opposition to the Turkish plan by virtually all components of Syrian society, including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Circassians, and Christians. (Although those who are perhaps most bitterly opposed to the deployment of Turkish troops are Syriac and Assyrian Christians.)
Syriac Christians refer to themselves as “descendants of survivors.” Many of their ancestors perished in the 1915 Seyfo massacre in which an estimated three-hundred-thousand Christians were killed by the Ottomans. The event has received little scholarly attention, leading historian Joseph Yacoub to refer to it as a “hidden genocide.”