Assyrian Christians increasingly return to Turkey after more than 40 years

Ferhan Demirtas, an Assyrian Christian, had lived in Switzerland for almost 53 years when he decided to return to Switzerland. TürkiyeMardin, a city in the southeast of the country, where his family lived for centuries.

He bought a house in a village called Yemisli (Enhıl in Syriac) where churches and mosques sit side by side and where residents speak Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac.

“I used to visit the village in the past. But after witnessing the progress and positive atmosphere in the area, I decided to settle down permanently,” he told Middle East Eye.

“There are about 100 houses that have been rebuilt in recent years. About 1,000 people had come to the village from Europe during the summer.

Demirtas is not the only one to return to southern Turkey, particularly to Mardin. They are reclaiming seemingly abandoned homes and farms that once belonged to the country’s Assyrian Christian minority.

Assyrians endured a history of persecution, with documented cases of massacres and exile, particularly during the turbulent events of 1915, when the Young Turk administration took control of the country in the final days of the Empire. Ottoman.

The plight of the Assyrians was further exacerbated in the 1970s and 1980s by the eruption of violence between the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and security forces.

More recently, Assyrians were threatened by the Islamic State in Syria in the late 2010s, when they faced indiscriminate violence and became targets for kidnappings.

This lack of security forced many Assyrians to make the difficult decision to leave the region. Residents often cite ongoing clashes as the main factor influencing their decision to leave.

One of the main drivers of Assyrian migration occurred when the leaders of the 1980 military coup restricted their basic rights.

The military government also changed village names from Kurdish and Syriac to new Turkish names, as part of nationalist efforts.

However, the Turkish government’s treatment of minorities has been a source of controversy since the 1940s.

Christian minorities, for example, faced mob attacks in Istanbul in 1955, leading to mass emigration.

During the military junta in the 1980s, many lands and properties belonging to non-Muslim minorities were confiscated, further compounding the challenges facing the Assyrian community.

Today, local demographic experts estimate that there are only 17,000 Assyrian Christians left in Istanbul – and just 5,000 individuals in Mardin, or Turabdin, as it is called in Syriac.

But their numbers have nevertheless increased in recent years thanks to a reduction in violence in the region, as well as measures taken by the Turkish government to encourage the return of Assyrians to their homeland.

State insurance

Gabriel Akyuz, a historian and priest who heads the Kirklar Syriac Orthodox Church in Mardin, said construction is underway in more than 40 Assyrian villages in the province.

He is one of the handful of Assyrians who remained in Türkiye.

“Returns to Turkey have increased significantly over the past 25 years as the highest state authorities have assured Assyrians that they can return to their country safely,” he told MEE.

“What the ruling AKP government, especially President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has done to ensure the return of the Assyrians is admirable. »

Akyuz said the government had put an end to bureaucratic difficulties faced by Christian communities.

He also approved the opening of a department of Syriac language and literature at Mardin Artuklu University, which currently accommodates undergraduate and graduate students, including doctoral students.

Akyuz says this is a symbolic – but important – recognition of local Assyrians by the state.

“My son Mihail Akyuz is also a professor in the same department,” explains the priest.

“The government has returned 55 churches and monasteries remaining on Treasury land to our community. »

He added that there were still some problems. Some churches and monasteries have still not been returned. But he hopes the government will solve this problem by putting land records in order.

Akyuz added that the change in treatment of Assyrians has been abrupt: “Until 20 or 30 years ago, we were not a well-known community in Turkey. But now, thank God, we are known throughout the country and the world. ” he says.

Akyuz further pointed out that the Assyrians established a “strong civilization” in Mesopotamia, which today encompasses Turkey, Syria and Iraq, after converting to Christianity in the first century BC.

He claims that the Assyrians made important contributions to Islamic civilization by translating ancient Greek writings, first into Syriac, then into Arabic, in the 8th and 9th centuries.

Success

Residents cite one village in particular called Kafro as a success story.

Although the population fell to zero in 1994, today 50 residents have returned from Europe.

Aziz Demir, a mukhtar who runs the village made up of 20 renovated houses, says he was born in the village in 1967 and left for Sweden in 1985.

“I came back permanently in 2006 and have never left since,” he told MEE.

“The number of people who spend at least half the year in the village is increasing day by day. We can see crowds we haven’t seen in two years, especially in the summer.

Kafro recently made a national name for himself by opening a chain of Assyrian-run pizzerias. Demir also opened one called “Turabdin Pizzeria” in July.

Demir said that if peace and stability could be maintained, a significant portion of Assyrians living in Europe would return.

He believes they would make a great contribution to the development of the region and reactivate an educated workforce for the benefit of Turkey.

Fortunately, the government continues to court the Assyrians.

A few years ago, President Erdogan personally approved the project to build the first church of the Republican era.

In October, he attended the opening ceremony of the same church, called Mor Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church, in Istanbul, a city where thousands of Assyrians still live.

Sait Susin, a leader of Istanbul’s Assyrian community, said Assyrians living in Europe often visit the church with “pride and tears of joy.”

“Our only church, the Church of the Virgin Mary in Tarlabaşı (1844), could not meet the needs of the community. A small church cannot suffice for a population of 17,000,” he told MEE.

Susin said it took them 14 years to realize their dream of building a new church. They first went to the Vatican to convince them to lend their lands to the Assyrians. Then they turned to the government.

He welcomes President Erdogan’s continued help in realizing this dream.

“We believe that the Church itself is prestigious for our country,” he said. “The Assyrians are one of the most ancient elements of these lands, meeting their needs and being a peaceful community is a positive message for the whole world. »

Security risks

Susin said he feared that Assyrians would face the danger of assimilation whenever they migrated out of their homeland. It is therefore very important that the community in Türkiye remains strong.

But there are still security concerns preventing Assyrians from returning home, as well as the lack of modern infrastructure, sanitation and facilities that can be enjoyed in Europe.

In November, unknown assailants killed Gevriye Akguc, a 92-year-old Assyrian citizen, outside his home in Mardin, shortly after he returned to his village from Istanbul with his wife.

A police investigation suggested the motive could be a dispute over land.

Demirtas, a resident of Yemisli, complained of “systematic” thefts that targeted homes in his village during the winter.

Sukru Aktas, a board member of the Mor Gabriel Monastery Foundation in Mardin, spoke of other bureaucratic problems that make it difficult for Assyrians to return, such as the recovery of plots left unattended, or registered as forest land or lands state property.

“There is also the question of citizenship,” he said. “The citizenship of some Assyrians has been lost. They can come to Türkiye as tourists. (But) they can only stay three months. Those without citizenship cannot own property. »

But fortunately, Mardin, like other towns in the border provinces, does not allow foreigners to acquire properties.

“There are students who want to come to our monastery as students, but they also have difficulties,” he added.

Despite all this, Ilona Demir, a 29-year-old Assyrian, relatively young compared to other returnees, said that when her friends and relatives visit her at her home in Midyat, they might arrive with preconceived notions and prejudices about the life in Turkey. , they leave with positive feelings.

“Midyat is a socially underdeveloped place,” she says with a laugh. “Young people coming from Europe can feel like they are taking a journey through history. This is why 15 of the 18 young people who returned did not stay in Turkey and returned to Europe.”

Despite all this – and the apparent goodwill of the Turkish presidency – there are still those who attack Assyrian culture within the National Assembly.

Turkish nationalist Good Party (IYI) MPs attempted to censor and criticize George Aslan, an Assyrian Christian MP from the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy (DEM) party, earlier this month for posting a congratulatory statement on the occasion of Christmas in the Syriac language during a speech in parliament.

“This is the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, you have to speak Turkish,” shouted IYI MP Lutfu Turkkan. “This is not your father’s farmland.”

But the Assyrians remain hopeful about their future in Türkiye.

Demir, the mukhtar and pizzeria owner, says his friends still can’t believe he has returned to his village in Turkey permanently.

“They call me crazy and make fun of me,” he said. “This is my homeland and the return of the Assyrians to their lands is sacred to me.”

Akyuz, the priest, agrees and makes a bold claim.

“The Assyrians are living their golden age in modern Turkish history,” he said. “I am prepared to challenge anyone who claims otherwise.”