Assyrian (also known as Chaldean and Syriac)
Assyrian Genocide and Research Center, SEYFO CENTER
History
• Assyrians from different countries in Europe and the United States founded the Assyrian Genocide and Research, SEYFO CENTER .
• Board of Directors include noteworthy Assyrian and non-Assyrian scholars and academics.
• Meaning of “Seyfo”
– Jews: The Holocaust.
– Rwanda: The Panga Genocide.
– Assyrians: Seyfo.
Seyfo Center Mission Statement
• The Assyrian Genocide and Research, SEYFO CENTER is an international center devoted to the research and documentation of contemporary issues related to the history, politics, society, and culture of Assyrian around the world.
• Research is conducted to document past and current events, and to analyze their impact on individuals and institutions in Assyria and the Diaspora.
• The Assyrian Seyfo Center is independent from political parties and religion belief and churches.
Seyfo Center Current Activities
• Documentations of the Assyrian Genocide through oral histories & physical documentation.
• Representation of the Assyrian Genocide among esteemed government bodies.
• Education of non-Assyrians in political & academic forums.
• Political activism and publications.
• Source for scholars, writers, journalists, filmmakers, & government agencies.
The Unknown Genocide: Assyrian Genocide 1914-1918
• The Jihad, holy Islamic war against the Christians announced on October 14 1914, by the Sheik ul-Islam (The Highest Cleric of the Islamic Faith) and it was read in the mosques all around the Ottoman empire.
• As a result, over two million of young and old, men, women and children of Armenian, Assyrian and Greeks descent lost their lives.
• Therefore, modern Turkish Republic state was founded on ”Genocide of the Christians”
Why the Assyrians?
• Homogenization of Turkey. Targets included:
– Muslim population of non-Turkish origin, such as Kurds and immigrants from Balkan and removal of non-Muslim peoples from Turkey.
• 4 major forces were used to accomplish this plan against Assyrians:
– The Kurdish tribes
– The Muslim immigrant from Balkan and Caucus.
– Special Organization ( Teskilat-i Mahsusa)
– Hamidiyya Guards (Hamidiye Alaylari) formed from Kurds in the official Ottoman armed forces
Assyrian Genocide 1915 Past & Present Census
• Prior to the First World War, four million and a half of those were Christian peoples.
• After the Assyrian Genocide, the population was
• Today in Turkey, the total number of Christian people only amounts to 0.1 percent of the population. (60,000 Armenians, 10,000 Assyrians, 2,000 Greeks)
Assyrians in the Diaspora
• 90 years later, many Assyrians left for Europe in the 1970s for economic, religious and political reasons.
• Over 300,000 Assyrians live today in Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands and Sweden. Many more Assyrians still reside in the United States and here in Australia, where Assyrians reside in large communities.
• The total number of the Assyrians worldwide has been estimated at approximately 3 million.
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