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USA Today
Dec 21 2014
Remaining Christians in Syria fight to save their land
Sophie Cousins
DERIKE, Syria -- Unlit Christmas lights adorn this small but largely
isolated Christian town in northeastern Syria. But with only a few
hours of electricity every day and most Christians gone the dark
lights are a grim reminder of what used to be.
Tens of thousands of Christians have fled the Kurdish-dominated Hasaka
province over the past three years because of an ongoing civil war,
economic pressures and the rise of the Islamic State, which captured
large swaths of Iraq and Syria earlier this year.
The Christians had numbered about 2.2 million -- 10% of Syria's
population -- and lived mainly in the northeast. Many of them also left
because of the widespread perception they support the embattled Syrian
government. Those remaining vehemently reject the claim.
Residents here estimate up to two-thirds have departed, leaving
streets largely abandoned and dozens of shop fronts boarded up. The
only sign of life surfaces in the late afternoon, when men gather to
play cards and discuss politics at one of the two coffee houses still
open.
Dajad Hagopian, 68, a Christian priest, is among those who have
refused to leave. He wears his clerical clothing every day even though
he only gives a sermon once a week to a handful of people at the
Armenian Orthodox Church here.
"God said give us our daily bread, and we get it," he said. "We may
not get as much, but we have fruit, meat and bread, and that's all we
need.
While Derike has been largely spared from the civil war's violence,
it's not far away. And with few employment opportunities, rising food
prices and a lack of electricity and water, remaining residents aren't
optimistic about the future.
"We used to have big Christmas celebrations here and now look at the
streets. What is there to celebrate?" lamented a man with a thick,
gray mustache who only gave his first name, George, to protect his
safety. Still, he's staying put. "I can't and won't leave my home," he
said.
To protect the remaining Christians in the region, the Syriac Union
Party created a Christian militia, called Sutoro, in early 2013.
Opposed to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the
1,000-member force mans checkpoints and patrols neighborhoods.
"We are protecting what has been ours for hundreds of years. We are
the original owners of the land," said one militia member, who would
only give his first name, Aboud, also for safety concerns.
Despite a centuries-long tradition as Eastern Christians, a large
chunk of the Syriac Christian community is steadily assimilating into
an emerging Kurdish-run autonomous region.
"People don't consider Christians as part of the Syrian population,"
said Ashur Abu Sarkun, general commander of Sutoro. "It's very
important that we stay connected to the land. People don't want
Christians around ... We welcome an autonomous region where Christians
make decisions with the Kurds and Arabs."
Sutoro often sends members to the front to fight alongside its
military wing, the Syriac Military Council, which is run by Swiss
fighter, Johan Cosar, who has Syriac roots.
Cosar, who was a member of the Swiss Army for five years, came to
Syria more than two years ago initially with the intention of working
as a journalist.
He's the general commander of the military council working not only to
defeat the Islamic State, but to help protect Syriac Christians'
rights. "Our roots are here," he said on the front at Tel Hamis in
northeastern Syria.
"If the war in Syria had finished two years ago, we as people wouldn't
have become anything because we didn't have any organization, any
power, nothing," he said. "The international community wouldn't have
known anything about the Syriac people. Now everyone calls us Syriac,
not only Christian."
"If we get our rights here as a people, if we have our security here,
if we have a really strong force, then I can say 'OK, my mission is
complete.' But right now, it's not possible to even think this."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/12/21/syria-christian-islamic-state/18915275/
Dec 21 2014
Remaining Christians in Syria fight to save their land
Sophie Cousins
DERIKE, Syria -- Unlit Christmas lights adorn this small but largely
isolated Christian town in northeastern Syria. But with only a few
hours of electricity every day and most Christians gone the dark
lights are a grim reminder of what used to be.
Tens of thousands of Christians have fled the Kurdish-dominated Hasaka
province over the past three years because of an ongoing civil war,
economic pressures and the rise of the Islamic State, which captured
large swaths of Iraq and Syria earlier this year.
The Christians had numbered about 2.2 million -- 10% of Syria's
population -- and lived mainly in the northeast. Many of them also left
because of the widespread perception they support the embattled Syrian
government. Those remaining vehemently reject the claim.
Residents here estimate up to two-thirds have departed, leaving
streets largely abandoned and dozens of shop fronts boarded up. The
only sign of life surfaces in the late afternoon, when men gather to
play cards and discuss politics at one of the two coffee houses still
open.
Dajad Hagopian, 68, a Christian priest, is among those who have
refused to leave. He wears his clerical clothing every day even though
he only gives a sermon once a week to a handful of people at the
Armenian Orthodox Church here.
"God said give us our daily bread, and we get it," he said. "We may
not get as much, but we have fruit, meat and bread, and that's all we
need.
While Derike has been largely spared from the civil war's violence,
it's not far away. And with few employment opportunities, rising food
prices and a lack of electricity and water, remaining residents aren't
optimistic about the future.
"We used to have big Christmas celebrations here and now look at the
streets. What is there to celebrate?" lamented a man with a thick,
gray mustache who only gave his first name, George, to protect his
safety. Still, he's staying put. "I can't and won't leave my home," he
said.
To protect the remaining Christians in the region, the Syriac Union
Party created a Christian militia, called Sutoro, in early 2013.
Opposed to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the
1,000-member force mans checkpoints and patrols neighborhoods.
"We are protecting what has been ours for hundreds of years. We are
the original owners of the land," said one militia member, who would
only give his first name, Aboud, also for safety concerns.
Despite a centuries-long tradition as Eastern Christians, a large
chunk of the Syriac Christian community is steadily assimilating into
an emerging Kurdish-run autonomous region.
"People don't consider Christians as part of the Syrian population,"
said Ashur Abu Sarkun, general commander of Sutoro. "It's very
important that we stay connected to the land. People don't want
Christians around ... We welcome an autonomous region where Christians
make decisions with the Kurds and Arabs."
Sutoro often sends members to the front to fight alongside its
military wing, the Syriac Military Council, which is run by Swiss
fighter, Johan Cosar, who has Syriac roots.
Cosar, who was a member of the Swiss Army for five years, came to
Syria more than two years ago initially with the intention of working
as a journalist.
He's the general commander of the military council working not only to
defeat the Islamic State, but to help protect Syriac Christians'
rights. "Our roots are here," he said on the front at Tel Hamis in
northeastern Syria.
"If the war in Syria had finished two years ago, we as people wouldn't
have become anything because we didn't have any organization, any
power, nothing," he said. "The international community wouldn't have
known anything about the Syriac people. Now everyone calls us Syriac,
not only Christian."
"If we get our rights here as a people, if we have our security here,
if we have a really strong force, then I can say 'OK, my mission is
complete.' But right now, it's not possible to even think this."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/12/21/syria-christian-islamic-state/18915275/