Further Reading: How Syrian freedom affected the Christians.

“In Syria, the town of Sadad, which is an exclusively Syriac Christian town, was invaded by Al-Nusra fanatic group and in one day, 45 people were martyred including 7 members of the same family who were killed and their bodies thrown into a well…. After 6 and a half years, we are still waiting to hear about the fate of the two abducted Archbishops of Aleppo Boulos Yaziji and Mor Gregorius Youhanna Ibrahim. Their abduction was a clear message to their flocks in Aleppo and to Christians in Syria in general that Christianity has no place in the region…. Our estimation is that more than 90% of Christians have left Iraq and almost 50% of Christians of Syria have left the country.” Read more.

Meanwhile in the liberated Kurdish enclave…

“Aside from their fight against ISIS, the Autonomous Administration has earned praise due to its inclusive constitution, adopted in 2014, which guarantees non-Kurdish communities protection, freedom of religion, and the freedom to use and teach their own language. Despite the democratic and inclusive language used by the Kurdish administration, severe human rights abuses against non-Kurdish groups have been noted by international human rights organizations….. Assyrian homes and lands have been exposed to looting and threats of confiscation by Kurdish authorities, similar to the takeover and demolition of Arab communities in the area south of Qamishli that has been well-documented by Amnesty International’s 2015 report…. The PYD has intervened in the school system in northern Syria by instituting the use of the Kurdish language as the teaching language, replacing Arabic. The PYD has also completely changed school curricula. While the PYD claims to be liberating the schools from thestrictly Ba’athist history taught in Syrian state schools, they are merely substituting the old curriculum with an equally monolithic version that places the PYD’s ideology and leader, Abdullah Öcalan, at the forefront….” Read more.

Thrice Liberated, Christians grow weary.

Liberated once by Islamic State, then the Kurdish YPG, Christians now find the blessing of a third liberation. This time to create a Turkish buffer zone. Christians report harassment by Islamist militias fighting on the Turkish side.

Image: Courtesy of the Library of Congress, LC-A6195- 7247 [P&P] American National Red Cross photograph collection.