On the way to Sayfo Remembrance Day … after 110 years, the anguishing pain remains

One-hundred and ten years ago, more than 500 thousand Syriacs [Arameans–Assyrians–Chaldeans] in Beth Nahrin [Mesopotamia], were “cleansed” in the 1915 Sayfo Genocide. Subsequent policies of assimilation, both Islamization and Turkification, did the rest. Even though the Syriac people have been living through these genocidal policies and traumas for 110 years, they continue to confront the denial and call for accountability.  

The Syriacs were the first to use the Syriac language, an Aramaic language close to the one spoken by Jesus Christ. They were the first to accept Christianity and are one of the oldest civilizations and most settled peoples of Beth Nahrin. 

‘Sword’ 

Syriacs designate the genocide of 1915 as “Sayfo,” the Syriac word for sword. They use this designation because the primary killing tools were swords and daggers. Syriacs commemorate those martyred during Sayfo annually on 15 June.  

The Sayfo was one of the first systematic massacres of the twentieth century. It targeted non-Muslim minority peoples across the Ottoman Empire. The Syriac people lost two-thirds of their population as a result of the Sayfo Genocide. Academics estimate only 200,000 people remained from the original 700,000.  

500,000 Syriacs ‘Exterminated’ 

Approximately 500,000 Syriacs were “cleansed,” 300,000 of them massacred on the spot and 200,000 robbed of their identity. As in the Armenian Genocide, the Sayfo extended beyond people, as livestock and property were systematically destroyed in an effort to erase Syriac existence. 

According to research, many women and children were subjected to rape and abuse, “sold” to “become Muslim.” Many ended their own lives due to attacks and abuse.  

Migration, Exile, Unsolved Disappearances, and Murders…  

After the genocide, Syriacs became subjected to forced migration. The state policies of Turkification and Islamization caused many Syriacs to lose their indigenous identities. Many others were the victims of unsolved disappearances and “faili meçhul,” unsolved murders. 

The Syriac population in Beth Nahrin dropped to 200,000. Social pressures and threats led many of the remaining Syriacs to leave their ancestral living grounds and agricultural lands, which they had cultivated for thousands of years. They fled to any possible place to escape the constant hardship.  

Property Seizures  

In the decades after 1915, denialist policies and discriminatory practices continued to be applied against the handful of remaining Syriacs. In the 110 years after the Sayfo, thousands of plots of land, properties, churches, and monasteries were usurped. In the last few years, several Syriac churches have been “put up for sale” by people who have no right to the property. We have seen gold diggers executing “legal” excavations being carried out within the premises of churches and monasteries. Moreover, centuries-old places of worship have been transformed, Christian cemeteries have been vandalized, churches and monasteries have been openly bombed, burned and demolished.  

Syriac Language Struggles to Survive 

One of the most serious consequences of the Turkish government policy of destruction is assimilation and loss of identity. Thousands of Syriacs have lost their identity and mother tongue. After the Sayfo, all their schools and academies that offered education in the Syriac language were closed. Syriac, currently considered an endangered language globally, is on the verge of extinction in Turkey. 

However, the handful of Syriac people remaining after the Sayfo within the new Turkish borders remain steadfast and continue to struggle for their rights. Wherever they can, to keep their native language and culture alive.  

On the 110th anniversary of the Sayfo, Syriacs reiterate their call for confrontation and recognition of the genocide.  

This op-ed was originally published in Turkish by Gazete Sabro on 13 June 2025. The original can be found here. The views expressed in this op-ed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of SyriacPress.