Aramean (Syriac) from Europe try to bring relatives over (14 September 2012)
Short interview with Hane Mousa (31) who heard about our work in Greece via Suryoyo Sat and seeks the support of the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs). The requested help is how we can assist in bringing people from Syria, or refugees from neighboring areas, to Europe.
I live since two years in Brussels, Belgium. I want to bring my brother Lahdo (25; just graduated) and my cousin (19) to Brussels. They are being called for military service. They have been hiding themselves in Qamishlo because they don’t want to do this. We have a cousin who is already serving 14 extra months in the army, and he hasn’t seen the family since then; occasionally we talk over the phone. Another cousin has broken both his legs and is in the local hospital for 7 months now.
Written Statement: The Indigenous Aramean (Syriac) Christians of Iraq, Turkey and Syria: The Final Solution?
Human Rights Council
21st session
Agenda item 4
Submitted by Syriac Universal Alliance (SUA)1
Written Statement
24 August 2012
The Indigenous Aramean (Syriac) Christians of Iraq, Turkey and Syria: The Final Solution?
We are now witnessing a turning point in the history of the Middle East. The so-called “Arab Spring” may soon result in a gigantic disaster for the indigenous Christians of the Middle East who continue to face discrimination, persecution, kidnappings, threats, death, loss of land and property. As original inhabitants of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, the Arameans (Syriacs) are increasingly fleeing from their ancient homelands. The vast majority have already left their home countries.
ANNUAL R2P MINISTERIAL MEETING: UN STABILIZATION MISSION FOR ARAMEANS OF IRAQ
Amsterdam, 12 September 2014
In light of the upcoming Annual Ministerial Meeting regarding the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), organized by the Global Centre for the R2P, the WCA has sent out a letter to the organization and all supporting States who will attend the meeting. In its letter, the WCA once again reiterated the need for a UN Stabilization Mission for the Arameans of Iraq.
The letter has also been sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and his Special Advisors on the Prevention of Genocide and R2P.
UN General Assembly 6th Interactive Dialogue on the Responsibility to Protect (8 September 2014)
Your Excellency,
Due to the abrupt withdrawal and impotence of the Iraqi and Kurdish armies, Iraq’s native Aramean Christians recently faced genocide, ethnic cleansing and other crimes against humanity. Therefore, we call your immediate attention to this alarming situation and ask you to take this particular case into consideration during the upcoming annual Responsibility to Protect Ministerial Meeting.
On 8 September, at the UN General Assembly Informal Interactive Dialogue on the Responsibility to Protect, You avowed: “turning a blind eye to these acts is no longer tenable. Our responsibility to prevent and protect is collective and urgent.”
There is now a critical need to prevent the IS from exterminating Iraq’s vulnerable and threatened minorities, such as the Arameans who have a documented presence of more than 3,000 years in the region. In our letter of 7 August, and reiterated at the 22nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 1 September, we urged the UN Security Council to adopt a clear resolution that affirms
“protection and security by a United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission, similar to the one in Mali, according to the legal principle of Responsibility to Protect that is inevitably imposing itself now on the international community in the case of the Aramean people and other [vulnerable] minorities of Iraq.”
In accordance with international law and justice, we trust that Your Excellency and your respected colleagues will consider our urgent call for intervention to ensure our survival in our homeland.
Yours sincerely,
Johny Messo
President
World Council of Arameans (Syriacs)
Photo: UN News Centre
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Aramean (Syriac) Refugees from Syria in Turkey: A Case Study of Refugees in Need in Izmir (13 September 2012)
Aramean (Syriac) Refugees from Syria in Turkey: A Case Study of Refugees in Need in Izmir
There are almost 30 Aramean (Syriac) refugees from Syria in Izmir, Turkey. They all come from Qabre Hewore (Aramaic for “White Graves”). One of their relatives in Belgium called the WCA. We took the number of one young man called Aram Shafiro (23), and below is his story. It shows they are stuck in Turkey and human traffickers are, again, exploiting the Syria crisis.
Greek Crisis Means Disaster for Syrian Refugees
RED MINDERHEDEN IN IRAK EN SYRIË, BESTRIJD DE TERREURCAMPAGNE VAN IS.
Deze beelden wennen nooit. Onthoofdingen op straat, kruisigingen en brandende kerken en moskeeën. Vrouwen en kinderen op de vlucht. Opgejaagd. Zonder voedsel en zonder onderdak. De terreurcampagne van de Islamitische Staat (IS) in Irak en Syrië kent geen grenzen. Religieuze en etnische minderheden worden afgeslacht en opgejaagd. Dit maakt ons woedend.
Oral Statement: Human Rights Council 21st Session - Agenda item 4 (17 September 2012)
Human Rights Council 21st Session - Agenda item 4
Submitted by Syriac Universal Alliance (SUA)1
Oral Statement – 17 September 2012
Syria is at a critical impass. While the so called “Arab-Awakening” has called for increased democracy and freedom across the Middle East, countries like Syria are now experiencing the complete opposite. We are seeing calls for the shedding of more blood and we have seen the demise of society, the fear of all, a horrific future for minorities and an imminent sectarian war.
THE REALITY OF SECTARIAN VIOLENCE IN SYRIA
International commentators have long argued that sectarian violence is not yet a reality on the ground in Syria. They pinpoint examples of violence which lack any consistent pattern. Yet the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) (“WCA”) has evidence that the sectarian fighting is increasing across Syria and the target of such aggression and bloodshed is increasingly becoming the native Aramean (Syriac) Christians. They include those members of the largest Christian communities from the Syriac Orthodox and Greek (Rum) Orthodox Churches.
Letter to the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs: Visit Suffering Arameans in North Iraq
Stockholm, 14 August 2014
Today, the WCA reached out to Sweden's Minister of Foreign Affairs and requested him to personally see what Iraq's native Arameans and other threatened minorities are going through. In the letter, the WCA President further requested the Minister to encourage the Foreign Ministers of the EU to follow suit at their meeting in Brussels tomorrow.
