Descendants of Survivors: Syriac Christians Oppose a Turkish ‘Safe Zone’ in Syria

[TomSea]

May 16, 2019 Topic: Security Region: Middle East Blog Brand: Middle East Watch Tags: TurkeySyriaKurdsSafe ZoneWar
Descendants of Survivors: Syriac Christians Oppose a Turkish ‘Safe Zone’ in Syria
But can a new, peaceful future be built?
by Amy Austin Holmes

The borderlands between Turkey and Syria are dotted with small Syriac Christian churches. Last fall, bullets penetrated the wall of a church in the village of Tel Jihan in northeastern Syria, just four-hundred-fifty meters from the Turkish border. Locals told me it was not an isolated incident.

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.”

This community—including Syriac, Assyrian, Chaldean, and Armenian Christians—has not forgotten the persecution they suffered at the hands of the Ottomans a century ago. And it is precisely this experience that informs their current opposition to Ankara’s plan to deploy Turkish troops East of the Euphrates. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is trying to frame the plan as a “buffer zone” or “safe zone.” For Syrians, it’s another intervention by a foreign power. Instead of inducing a sense of safety, the idea of deploying Turkish troops in their homeland rekindles memories of the trauma their community has suffered before.

Read more at: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/descendants-survivors-syriac-christians-oppose-turkish-%E2%80%98safe-zone%E2%80%99-syria

As much as a history lesson.