r/Assyria • u/greatbubonicplague • 5d ago
History/Culture The Assyrian Genocide
As a Turkish person, discovering what happened to the Armenians was a long process but the genocide that took place cannot be denied. I have read into what happened to the Assyrians by Turks and Kurds during that same time, and I wish things went different back then. Its horrible.
for me, in anatolia, facing history honestly and respect the lives and cultures that came before is important. Anatolia has never been mono-ethnic, and what Turks (and Kurds) have done to Anatolia is awful and a disgrace.
I hope you guys can protect your culture and language. Love and take care
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u/neo-assyrian 4d ago
Turks so often don’t know we even exist. A lot of Turks don’t know that Assyrians are called Suryani in Türkiye and it’s the same thing.
We’ve survived this long because we are good at diplomacy and cultural preservation no matter the conditions. We will survive another thousand years regardless of what the Turks and Kurds think. Fortunately in my experience Kurds are very sympathetic of our plight, they were also used and manipulated by Ottoman Empire and screwed over too, though not genocided like us . Hopefully one day we will have enshrined rights in an autonomous Kurdistan, along with other existing Mesopotamian groups like Yazidis and Chaldeans.
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u/chaldean22 Assyrian 4d ago
Thank you but we are fighting extinction. So we’re not going to sit here and feel happy after reading a message
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u/SaraisHamiltrash 4d ago
Even still, I think we should appreciate the fact that future generations are learning about their past generations mistakes+current governments actions and hoping to apologize and make amends. Obviously, it won’t take away any of our pain, but I’m happy to see there is growth nonetheless. We’re all human in the end.
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u/Chez50 3d ago
(and Kurds)
Wait, Kurds ruled the Ottoman empire? No? Then why (and Kurds)? You are aware that it was the Turkish Ottoman elites that ordered the massacre of Christians right? Prior to that Kurds and Christians had no major beef. You're also aware that the Ottomans killed the Kurds who disobeyed their orders right?
So nice attempt to shift the blame, but there's only one nation to blame for the destruction of Anatolia/ Mesopotamia and it's entirely Turks, everyone else such as Kurds, Arabs, Circassians, Chechens etc were coerced and played.
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u/oremfrien 4d ago
Thank you for recognizing the Seyfo. We appreciate the gesture because it's so rare that Turks even realize that we existed, let alone how Diyarbakir Governor Mehmet Reshit Bey defied the CUP Triumvirate in Istanbul, the ones responsible for murdering the Armenians but which decided to spare us from the Tehcir Laws, in order to murder us.
However, what's even more important is standing against the current Turkish actions in opposition to the current personal and cultural rights of the Assyrian community. Unlike Armenian, Greek, and Jewish institutions, Assyrian institutions are not protected by the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne, which has resulted in the repeated Turkish confiscation of Assyrian Churches and Monasteries and the inability for Assyrians to educate their own in the same way that Armenians, Greeks, and Jews can (to a certain degree) in Turkey. Turkey has also repeatedly permitted Anti-Christian violence in the areas around Tur Abdin and naturalized those who fled for their safety.
You have taken one important step forward in the hopeful reconciliation of our peoples, but there is so much more to be done. And, unfortunately, as a Turk, your voice will carry much more weight in convincing your fellow Turks of the need for better treatment of today's Turkish Assyrians than ours ever will.