The U.S. should support the Christians of North and East Syria, says The Christian Post article

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — The Christian Post shed light on the Syriac (Aramean-Chaldean-Assyrian) people in North and East Syria.

In an article, the Christian Post stated that most of the Northeastern Syria’s Christians are the descendants of the survivors of the Sayfo Genocide that befell them in 1915, at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, did not have the opportunity to participate in politics and have always been treated as subjects or protectorates.

The article added that these Christians today have their own security forces, and they are participating in governance in all executive, legislative and judicial positions in the Democratic Autonomous Administration (DAA) in North and East Syria.

“Yet, the U.S. should engage more positively with them to preserve this achievement and build on,” the article declared.

The Syriacs benefited from the principles of self-rule that the Syrian Kurds believe in. They were able to build self-defense units and made the Syriac language the second official language in their areas of residence. https://t.co/2q3bpDEAM8

— Hadeel Oueis 🌻 (@hadeelOueiss) November 26, 2022

The Christians, after surviving the horror of the Sayfo Genocide, and during the French mandate on Syria, were able to build the main cities in North and East Syria, such as Zalin (Qamishli) and Hasakah, according to the article.

They developed and diversified the agricultural sector, and established markets full of professionals and craftsmen, and turned the semi-desert region into a food basket on which Syria depends even today.

The article pointed out that the Syriac (Aramean-Chaldean-Assyrian) people and other Christian peoples, with the end of the French mandate and the beginning of Arab national rule, were treated in a protected manner, and they were always reminded by successive governments that their ancestors were massacred and killed, and that ruling and authoritarian regimes are the only solution to protect them.

However, the situation changed with the beginning of the Syrian war and the DAA establishment. The Syriac people then managed to build self-defense units, and made the Syriac language the second official language in their areas of presence.

The article concluded that the U.S. should not miss this rare opportunity, and should engage directly with the Syriac political forces to strengthen them in a way that enables them to govern themselves and play a major role in shaping the political future of the region.