Syria’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Syria’s historical heritage was not spared the ravages of the horrific war that has spanned over a decade. Today, Syria’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites stand in a heartbreaking state of
June 26, 2024
Remembering the Armenian GenocideRemembering the Armenian Genocide& the Legacy of Syrian Armenians
Armenian identity is greatly impacted by a deep wound. Today, we celebrate their presence, perseverance and legacy in Syria, and we also acknowledge that many Armenians have become refugees once more, fleeing and leaving behind traces of an identity that has become an inseparable part of Syria. Here, we briefly relay their story as emblems of resilience and cultural preservation that we, as Syrians, need. Due to past experiences, Armenians hold onto their culture and language firmly. In the diaspora, some formed quite exclusive social milieus. Despite this, Armenians in Syria were renowned for the extent of their assimilation as well as their fondness for the country and identification with it, unlike Armenian communities in other, primarily Arab, nations. Several reports about Armenian Syrians returning to Armenia as a result of the war in Syria, spoke about the extent of their struggle to blend into their homeland, as well as their efforts to preserve their ways of life (primarily) from Aleppo.
Today, Armenians around the world mourn and remember the atrocities committed against their ancestors primarily, but not exclusively, by representatives and supporters of the Turkish Committee of Union and Progress, which rose to power during the late Ottoman era, alongside greedy militiamen of various ethnic backgrounds. Beginning after the 1850s, growing discrimination and violence, rooted in nationalism and fear of partitioning, culminated in a widely documented genocide in 1915. Armenians indigenous to today’s Eastern & Southern Turkey were decimated. Syria bore witness and was a fundamental component of that history, and until today is one of 34 nations that recognize this genocide officially. Presently, Syria and Lebanon are the only two nations in the region that recognize it.
We at Wanabqa also acknowledge that these atrocities were marked by a genocide against Syriac Christians/Assyrians indigenous to Southern Anatolia (known as Sayfo), as well as Anatolia’s Greeks. The number of victims of those genocides reached up to 1.5 million Armenians, around 250,000 Assyrians & Syriac-speakers, and around 500,000 Greeks. This period, tinged with violence, was marked by drastic political turmoil and change throughout the Ottoman Empire in the WWI era. It also coincided with the death of roughly half of Mount Lebanon’s population due to a famine, and with the persecution of Syrian academics and revolutionaries seeking independence.
Brief Background
Armenians are an ethnic group indigenous to the southern Caucasus region mostly comprising today’s state of Armenia and Eastern Anatolia, where up to 2 million Armenians lived. In Syria, Armenians formed small communities since antiquity, and centered its northwest around Antioch and Aleppo. By the 1400s AD, Aleppo had a prominent Armenian quarter, a continued legacy of the community in the city who would then form up to 25% of Aleppo in 1925 as a result of the genocide.
The ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Anatolia led the displaced along harsh deportation routes, known as the death marches, southwards into Syria’s drylands, where they ended up in concentration camps set up near Aleppo as well as Deir el Zor. Many were killed during these events, which were marked by disease, famine, rape, and environmental pollution. Vastly documented, is the protection of Armenians by Bedouins and Syrian Arabs.
Eventually, most Armenians were led to Aleppo, which became the Armenian centre of Syria. Of those who did not settle in Aleppo, some remained in Syria’s northeast in Qamishli, Raqqa, Deir ez Zor and surrounding towns, while the majority continued to Damascus, Latakia, and Beirut. Furthermore, From the Eastern Mediterranean, many survivors left for Europe or North America, where they now form significant communities.
Armenians in Syria
Armenians became Syria’s 5th largest ethnic group, and over the decades established themselves as an integral component of Syrian society. After Aleppo, they formed sizable communities in Damascus, Qamishli, and Latakia; the two Syrian coastal villages of Kessab and Yacoubieh are regarded as Armenian villages. Numbering at least 100,000 in 2011, they formed about 5% of Syria’s Christian community and less than 1% of Syria’s population. As all Syrians, their lives have been impacted by the war, with many becoming refugees in Canada, the US, and Europe, while some others left for Lebanon and thousands returned to their motherland. Presently, it is estimated that Armenians in Syria number 35,000.
Armenian Syrians preserved their language and rich heritage thanks to the efforts of the older established Armenian community in Aleppo and to the pluralist nature of Syrians. In Aleppo, Armenians established their own schools, businesses, cultural associations, churches, and sports clubs. Armenian Syrians also gained a reputation for being excellent jewelers in Damascus & Aleppo, and they helped propel trade, music, and medicine in Syria. The first x-ray generator in Syria, for instance, was thanks to Armenian doctor Asadour Altunian in 1896, who also opened the country’s first nursing school. Furthermore, Armenian Syrian doctor Robert Jebejian was one of Syria’s most prominent ophthalmologists and the first to perform a corneal-transplantation surgery in South West Asia & North Africa. Moreover, Armenians formed part of the national football team and the women’s national basketball team, and since the early 1900s, some even held high ranks in politics.
