During the shadow of the First World War, more than two million Christians were massacred and killed by the Young Turk government and its supporters. Turks and Kurds murdered approximately 500,000 Syriac-Arameans in the southeastern and eastern regions of the country, not to mention the tens of thousands of young girls and boys who were brutally injured, raped, or abducted. Hundreds of thousands more perished from starvation and disease during the course of the genocide.
The only “crime” of these martyrs was that they belonged to a different religion and ethnicity. With unimaginable cruelty, the Ottoman authorities pursued their vision of creating a “Turkey for the Turks” through the ideology of Pan-Turkism: a state characterized by one religion (Islam), one language (Turkish), and one people (Turks).
With these few words, I wish to address you in order to raise awareness of a genocide that took place more than a century ago against one of the indigenous peoples of the Middle East in general, and southeastern Turkey in particular: the genocide committed against the Syriac-Aramean people between 1915 and 1918.
It is well documented that the Syriac-Aramean people have inhabited what is now Turkey—especially southeastern Turkey—for thousands of years. They are among the indigenous peoples of the region, which constituted their historical homeland. Historical sources indicate that Arameans lived in these lands as early as the second millennium BCE. Yet it is a tragic reality that these very heartlands witnessed a dramatic decline in their Syriac-Aramean population.
A combination of deliberate policies by governing authorities and actions by various ethnic groups contributed to a substantial reduction of the Syriac-Aramean population throughout Turkey. One of the factors behind this decline was the absence of recognized national and ethnic rights. Without minority protections, the Syriac-Aramean people lacked legal safeguards, a situation that ultimately contributed to a mass emigration from southeastern Turkey during the latter half of the twentieth century.
More than a century ago, one of the most devastating chapters in our history unfolded within the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. The leaders of the Young Turk government resolved to eliminate the Christian populations of the empire. The persecution and killing of Christians had already occurred during previous decades, particularly in the late nineteenth century. However, the systematic extermination reached a new level with the arrests and killings of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople (Istanbul) in April 1915.
From west to east, the campaign of violence spread across the empire. By the spring of 1915, it had reached the central regions and eventually extended into the southeastern provinces and Tur Abdin, the historic heartland of the Syriac-Aramean people.
Turkish and Kurdish forces initiated campaigns of violence in cities, towns, and villages wherever Christian communities resided. Men, women, and children were murdered indiscriminately. The brutality employed knew few limits.
One Western diplomat described the atrocities in the following terms:
“The men were murdered on a large scale. Younger women were taken to Turkish harems. Children were left to starve, while hundreds were bound and placed in small wooden boats before being forcibly drowned in the Euphrates River. Other children had their hands cut off and were abandoned in the desert to die slowly from hunger and thirst. Every form of torture was permitted.”
In the southeastern provinces, Ottoman authorities armed and supported Kurdish tribal groups, allowing them considerable freedom to kill, rape, and abduct Christians, particularly young girls. Those who survived were often compelled to convert to Islam, especially women and young boys. Many perpetrators regarded such actions as a religious obligation.
On 14 November 1914, the Ottoman Empire’s highest Islamic authority, Sheikh al-Islam Mustafa Hayri Efendi, issued a fatwa declaring a jihad against the empire’s enemies. In the eyes of many local actors, this further intensified religious hostility toward Christian populations.
The only “crime” of these martyrs was that they belonged to a different religion and ethnicity. With unimaginable cruelty, the Ottoman authorities pursued their vision of creating a “Turkey for the Turks” through the ideology of Pan-Turkism: a state characterized by one religion (Islam), one language (Turkish), and one people (Turks).
With these few words, I wish to address you in order to raise awareness of a genocide that took place more than a century ago against one of the indigenous peoples of the Middle East in general, and southeastern Turkey in particular: the genocide committed against the Syriac-Aramean people between 1915 and 1918.
It is well documented that the Syriac-Aramean people have inhabited what is now Turkey—especially southeastern Turkey—for thousands of years. They are among the indigenous peoples of the region, which constituted their historical homeland. Historical sources indicate that Arameans lived in these lands as early as the second millennium BCE. Yet it is a tragic reality that these very heartlands witnessed a dramatic decline in their Syriac-Aramean population.
A combination of deliberate policies by governing authorities and actions by various ethnic groups contributed to a substantial reduction of the Syriac-Aramean population throughout Turkey. One of the factors behind this decline was the absence of recognized national and ethnic rights. Without minority protections, the Syriac-Aramean people lacked legal safeguards, a situation that ultimately contributed to a mass emigration from southeastern Turkey during the latter half of the twentieth century.
More than a century ago, one of the most devastating chapters in our history unfolded within the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. The leaders of the Young Turk government resolved to eliminate the Christian populations of the empire. The persecution and killing of Christians had already occurred during previous decades, particularly in the late nineteenth century. However, the systematic extermination reached a new level with the arrests and killings of Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople (Istanbul) in April 1915.
From west to east, the campaign of violence spread across the empire. By the spring of 1915, it had reached the central regions and eventually extended into the southeastern provinces and Tur Abdin, the historic heartland of the Syriac-Aramean people.
Turkish and Kurdish forces initiated campaigns of violence in cities, towns, and villages wherever Christian communities resided. Men, women, and children were murdered indiscriminately. The brutality employed knew few limits.
One Western diplomat described the atrocities in the following terms:
“The men were murdered on a large scale. Younger women were taken to Turkish harems. Children were left to starve, while hundreds were bound and placed in small wooden boats before being forcibly drowned in the Euphrates River. Other children had their hands cut off and were abandoned in the desert to die slowly from hunger and thirst. Every form of torture was permitted.”
In the southeastern provinces, Ottoman authorities armed and supported Kurdish tribal groups, allowing them considerable freedom to kill, rape, and abduct Christians, particularly young girls. Those who survived were often compelled to convert to Islam, especially women and young boys. Many perpetrators regarded such actions as a religious obligation.
On 14 November 1914, the Ottoman Empire’s highest Islamic authority, Sheikh al-Islam Mustafa Hayri Efendi, issued a fatwa declaring a jihad against the empire’s enemies. In the eyes of many local actors, this further intensified religious hostility toward Christian populations.
As a result, many victims were targeted simply because they were Christians. a result, many victims were targeted simply because they were Christians.
It is important to note that the atrocities committed during Seyfo were not the first acts of persecution directed against the Syriac-Aramean people. Throughout history, the Syriac-Aramean population has repeatedly been subjected to massacres, forced displacement, religious persecution, and attempts at extermination.
Examples include:
- In the thirteenth century, Mongol invasions devastated numerous Christian communities throughout Mesopotamia and the Middle East.
- Under the campaigns of Timur (Tamerlane) in the late fourteenth century, many churches and monasteries were destroyed, and large numbers of Christians were either killed or compelled to convert to Islam.
- During the nineteenth century, several massacres were carried out against Christian communities in southeastern Anatolia, particularly during the years 1843, 1846, and 1860.
Nevertheless, the scale, organization, and brutality of the genocide of 1915 far exceeded previous persecutions.
Following the withdrawal of Russian forces from Persia at the end of 1914, the policy of ethnic cleansing intensified. Rape, the abduction of women and children, the destruction of villages, and the systematic killing of men were carried out by the Young Turk authorities and their Turkish and Kurdish collaborators.
Among the documented examples are:
- In April 1915, Ottoman troops entered Gawar, a region in Hakkari, and massacred large numbers of Aramean Christians, including communities identified as Syriacs, Chaldeans, and Assyrians.
- Toward the end of 1915, Djevdet Bey, the military governor of the Van Province, reportedly ordered large-scale massacres of Syriac-Aramean civilians in numerous villages. His forces became infamous for their brutality and were widely feared by local Christian populations.
These examples represent only a fraction of the documented crimes committed against the Syriac-Aramean people during Seyfo.
Why were these massacres carried out?
The Syriac-Aramean people were targeted because of their ethnic identity, cultural heritage, and Christian faith. They were also targeted because their lands, homes, businesses, and agricultural property represented valuable assets that could be seized by others.
The genocide was motivated by a combination of nationalist, religious, political, and economic factors. The Young Turk leadership sought to create a more homogeneous state by removing populations perceived as different or disloyal. Christian minorities, including Armenians, Greeks, and Syriac-Arameans, became primary targets of this policy.
Many villages and towns that had been inhabited by Syriac-Arameans for centuries were emptied of their original populations. Following the massacres and deportations, these areas were often resettled by others, fundamentally altering the demographic structure of the region.
Historical evidence demonstrates that the events of 1915 meet the criteria of genocide as defined by international law. Although the precise number of victims remains debated among scholars, it is generally estimated that approximately 500,000 Syriac-Arameans perished between 1914 and 1918.
The survivors who escaped the massacres sought refuge in neighboring countries, including Russia, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. Large refugee communities emerged, often living in extremely difficult conditions.
Over time, the plight of these Christian refugees attracted the attention of international organizations, including the United Nations and the World Council of Churches. In 1966, international appeals were issued requesting assistance for displaced Syriac-Aramean refugees living in Lebanon. As part of subsequent resettlement programs, the first groups arrived in Sweden in 1967, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Syriac-Aramean diaspora.
The Syriac-Aramean people have endured massacres, genocide, deportation, persecution, and the destruction of homes and churches throughout centuries of history. We may have lost our houses, our lands, our livestock, our homeland, our ancestors, and our freedom, but we have never lost our identity.
Despite unimaginable hardships, we have preserved our traditions, our cultural heritage, and our beloved Aramaic language—the language spoken by Jesus Christ.
Like a necklace whose pearls have been scattered across the earth, the Syriac-Aramean people today live throughout the global diaspora. Yet despite our dispersion, we remain united by our common history, faith, language, and collective memory.
Our responsibility is to ensure that Seyfo is never forgotten and that its lessons are passed on to future generations, until the day when we may once again say:
“Next year in Beth-Nahrain.”
As Christians, we pray for all our ancestors who perished during these tragic events. Every year, we commemorate this period in our history and honor the memory of those who lost their lives because of their faith, identity, and heritage.
However, remembrance alone is not enough. It is also our responsibility to educate our children and future generations about who we are, where we come from, and what our people have endured. The memory of Seyfo must not be allowed to fade into obscurity. It must remain a living part of our collective consciousness and historical understanding.
For this reason, we continue to call upon the international community to recognize Seyfo as genocide. Recognition is not merely a symbolic act; it is an affirmation of historical truth and a necessary step toward justice, reconciliation, and the prevention of future atrocities.
We likewise call upon the Republic of Turkey to confront its history and acknowledge the suffering inflicted upon the Syriac-Aramean people, as well as upon other Christian communities during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. Recognition of historical crimes is an essential component of genuine reconciliation and democratic accountability.
Furthermore, we urge all governments, international organizations, academic institutions, and human rights organizations to continue supporting efforts to document, preserve, and promote awareness of the history of Seyfo and the experiences of its survivors and descendants.
The Syriac-Aramean people remain proud of their history, culture, language, and Christian faith. Despite centuries of persecution and displacement, we have preserved our identity and maintained our connection to our ancestral heritage.
Our obligation is not only to remember but also to continue working for the protection of our collective rights, our cultural heritage, and the dignity of our people wherever they may live. We must strengthen our cooperation, increase our engagement, and work together more actively than ever before to ensure that violations of human rights against our people are recognized and addressed.
I believe in the strength and resilience of our people. Regardless of church affiliation or geographical location, we share a common history and a common destiny. Our unity is one of our greatest strengths.
Until my final breath, I will remain faithful to my Syriac-Aramean identity and committed to preserving the memory of the genocides, persecutions, and injustices committed against our people throughout history. We owe this commitment not only to ourselves but also to those who came before us and to those who will come after us.
United, we stand together. United, we endure together. We shall not allow our history to be forgotten. Instead, we shall stand with dignity, with our heads held high, proud of our identity, our language, our heritage, and our faith.
Honor and eternal remembrance to our ancestors who suffered martyrdom for their nation, their people, and their faith.
May their memory be eternal.
Gabriel Marawgeh, Sweden