Activists warn Syriacs being erased in Syria

Syrian activists have called for motion to preserve the language of Syriac Aramaic and to stop the “erasure” of Syria’s indigenous people.

The Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011, plunged the nation into chaos and led to a plethora of armed groups representing the varied ethnic and spiritual communities of the country. The largely Christian Syriac group were no exception.

During the war the Syriac Military Council (MFS) were a minor component of the Syrian Democratic Forces and took part in operations against ISIS. The group and its political wing are aligned with efforts by the transitional government, led by Islamist group HTS, to rebuild the country with a latest structure.

As a part of that effort, Syriac activists have called for the protection of Syriac Aramaic to be enshrined in the brand new structure.

Human rights activist Sardar Sharif, writing for Syriac Press, argued that constitutionally recognising the language would represent “a fundamental step in protecting this ancient cultural heritage and ensuring its continuity for future generations”. Syriac Aramaic is a later variant of the language spoken by Jesus Christ.

Protection and recognition for the language can be an “vital step toward preserving one in every of the oldest linguistic and civilizational heritages within the region and toward strengthening coexistence amongst the varied communities of the Syrian people”, Sharif wrote.

Activist group A Demand For Action (ADFA) made the same call, urging the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to intervene to stop the “erasure” of Syriacs.

“The Syriac language has been faraway from signs on public buildings. In Hassakeh in northeastern Syria, only Arabic and Kurdish now remain. Some call it a minor administrative adjustment,” it said.

“For the indigenous people of the country, it’s something else entirely. It is grief. It is anger. It is the slow, familiar feeling of being erased, yet one more act of diminishment. This time there aren’t any weapons, no bloodshed, no images that reach the world’s front pages.”

ADFA noted that the Syriacs are the descendants of those that inhabited the region in biblical times, before the approaching of the Arabs and other groups.

“Ursula von der Leyen, you might be essentially the most powerful politician in Europe. You speak of reform and a latest path forward for Syria. But there will be no true progress within the quiet disappearance of a people’s identity. To erase a culture will not be reform. It is loss. We call on you to stop the erasure of the indigenous people of Syria,” the group said.