Sayfo Genocide commemorated in Tur Abdin with dialogue symposium

MEDYAD, Turkey — Commemorations of the 1915 Sayfo Genocide extended to the historic Tur Abdin region in southeastern Turkey, where the atrocities were originally committed by the Ottomans.

In Medyad (Midyat), a dialogue symposium was held at the headquarters of the Federation of Syriac Associations in Turkey (Süryani Dernekler Federasyonu, SÜDEF), in collaboration with the Syriac Women’s Club in Tur Abdin. The event was attended by residents of the city and nearby villages.

Evgil Türker, SÜDEF President, addressed the audience, recounting the events leading up to the Sayfo and the subsequent killing of women, children, men, and the elderly. He highlighted the devastating impacts of the massacres, noting the deaths of millions of Syriacs (Arameans–Assyrians–Chaldeans), the forced migration of thousands, and the coerced changes in religion, names, and identities.

Türker also discussed the current plight of Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people in Turkey, describing them as displaced within their own homeland due to ongoing land and property seizures. He emphasized the importance of recognizing the Sayfo Genocide to prevent their recurrence, urging Turkey to acknowledge its historical atrocities against the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean), Armenian, and Greek peoples.