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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Sept 27 2012
Aramean community: Our only concern is disappearance of mother tongue
27 September 2012 / ELA DEMIR, Ä°STANBUL
A member of Turkey's Syriac (Aramean) community, Sait Susin, has said
the main concern of the Aramean people in Turkey is the prospect of
the disappearance of their mother tongue.
The Ministry of Education in July rejected a request by the Aramean
community to open its own kindergarten and deliver education in their
mother tongue on the grounds that the community is not designated a
minority in the Constitution.
The request marked a first in the history of the Republic of Turkey.
The community submitted a petition to the Ä°stanbul branch of the
Ministry of Education on June 6 and received a response rejecting
their request on July 26.
The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the main agreement regulating minorities
in Turkey, recognized only the Jewish, Armenian and Greek Orthodox
communities as minorities. These groups were given legal rights to
establish foundations and deliver education in their languages.
After the rejection of their request by the Ministry of Education, the
Aramean community made the same request of the Private Schools General
Directorate, to ensure that the Syriac language would be offered at
least by private schools.
Susin indicated that the biggest problem faced by the Aramean
community is their inability to teach their mother tongue to new
generations. Susin, who also heads the Ä°stanbul-based Syriac Kadim
Community Foundation, stated: `Our problems are in Turkey and their
solutions are also in Turkey. We did not even want to apply to court
[regarding the rejection of our request for education in our mother
tongue]. But if we fail to get a positive response from the Private
Schools General Directorate, we will have to go to court, albeit
unwillingly.'
He noted that there is a more democratic environment in Turkey today
than in the past, and that they are now able to discuss issues with
state officials which could not be raised 10 years ago.
Over the past several years, Turkey has taken significant steps and
made a series of reforms to ensure that different ethnic and religious
groups in the country enjoy broader cultural and political rights.
`Our only goal is to keep the Syriac language and our church, as the
representative of our community, alive. We are the children of this
country, we were born here, we grew up here. We don't have any other
homeland to go to,' Susin added.
There are roughly 25,000 Arameans in Turkey, and 85 percent of the
population lives in Ä°stanbul. Susin remarked that the Syriac language
dates back 5,000 years, and was named as such after Arameans converted
to Christianity.
Schools offering education in the Syriac language in provinces such as
Mardin and Å?anlıurfa were closed down after 1928. Today, Arameans can
receive education in their mother tongue at the Deyrulzafaran
Monastery in Mardin. However, the education offered to primary school
students at the monastery is provided by Arameans who are not trained
teachers. Susin fears that if the teaching of the Syriac language
continues this way, there is a risk that the language will die out.
Another difficulty experienced by the community is having only one
church in Ä°stanbul. The Arameans sometimes perform their prayers in
the churches of other religious communities, and on Sundays Arameans
hold masses with the Roman Catholic community in Moda, Bakırköy,
YeÅ?ilköy, KocamustafapaÅ?a, Kumkapı and Kınalıada.
Noting that they are the only religious community in Turkey in need of
a church, Susin said they experience problems at the churches of other
religious communities due to the timing of and differences in
religious rituals.
Concerning the political representation of minorities in Turkey, Susin
said there is a pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy,
Erol Dora, in Parliament who claims to be from the Aramean community
but that Dora is not in fact a representative of the Aramean
community.
He said if his community were to attempt to have a representative
elected to Parliament, political parties would not allow that
representative to stand for election in a region where he or she would
have a chance of success.
He said there are six Aramean deputies in the Swedish Parliament. The
six are the children of Arameans who emigrated from Turkey after the
1950s.
Susin complained that although Arameans have been living in Anatolia
for 5,000 years, they are not allowed to enter the military or be
employed in state administration.
`This disturbs us very much,' he added.
From: Baghdasarian
Sept 27 2012
Aramean community: Our only concern is disappearance of mother tongue
27 September 2012 / ELA DEMIR, Ä°STANBUL
A member of Turkey's Syriac (Aramean) community, Sait Susin, has said
the main concern of the Aramean people in Turkey is the prospect of
the disappearance of their mother tongue.
The Ministry of Education in July rejected a request by the Aramean
community to open its own kindergarten and deliver education in their
mother tongue on the grounds that the community is not designated a
minority in the Constitution.
The request marked a first in the history of the Republic of Turkey.
The community submitted a petition to the Ä°stanbul branch of the
Ministry of Education on June 6 and received a response rejecting
their request on July 26.
The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the main agreement regulating minorities
in Turkey, recognized only the Jewish, Armenian and Greek Orthodox
communities as minorities. These groups were given legal rights to
establish foundations and deliver education in their languages.
After the rejection of their request by the Ministry of Education, the
Aramean community made the same request of the Private Schools General
Directorate, to ensure that the Syriac language would be offered at
least by private schools.
Susin indicated that the biggest problem faced by the Aramean
community is their inability to teach their mother tongue to new
generations. Susin, who also heads the Ä°stanbul-based Syriac Kadim
Community Foundation, stated: `Our problems are in Turkey and their
solutions are also in Turkey. We did not even want to apply to court
[regarding the rejection of our request for education in our mother
tongue]. But if we fail to get a positive response from the Private
Schools General Directorate, we will have to go to court, albeit
unwillingly.'
He noted that there is a more democratic environment in Turkey today
than in the past, and that they are now able to discuss issues with
state officials which could not be raised 10 years ago.
Over the past several years, Turkey has taken significant steps and
made a series of reforms to ensure that different ethnic and religious
groups in the country enjoy broader cultural and political rights.
`Our only goal is to keep the Syriac language and our church, as the
representative of our community, alive. We are the children of this
country, we were born here, we grew up here. We don't have any other
homeland to go to,' Susin added.
There are roughly 25,000 Arameans in Turkey, and 85 percent of the
population lives in Ä°stanbul. Susin remarked that the Syriac language
dates back 5,000 years, and was named as such after Arameans converted
to Christianity.
Schools offering education in the Syriac language in provinces such as
Mardin and Å?anlıurfa were closed down after 1928. Today, Arameans can
receive education in their mother tongue at the Deyrulzafaran
Monastery in Mardin. However, the education offered to primary school
students at the monastery is provided by Arameans who are not trained
teachers. Susin fears that if the teaching of the Syriac language
continues this way, there is a risk that the language will die out.
Another difficulty experienced by the community is having only one
church in Ä°stanbul. The Arameans sometimes perform their prayers in
the churches of other religious communities, and on Sundays Arameans
hold masses with the Roman Catholic community in Moda, Bakırköy,
YeÅ?ilköy, KocamustafapaÅ?a, Kumkapı and Kınalıada.
Noting that they are the only religious community in Turkey in need of
a church, Susin said they experience problems at the churches of other
religious communities due to the timing of and differences in
religious rituals.
Concerning the political representation of minorities in Turkey, Susin
said there is a pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputy,
Erol Dora, in Parliament who claims to be from the Aramean community
but that Dora is not in fact a representative of the Aramean
community.
He said if his community were to attempt to have a representative
elected to Parliament, political parties would not allow that
representative to stand for election in a region where he or she would
have a chance of success.
He said there are six Aramean deputies in the Swedish Parliament. The
six are the children of Arameans who emigrated from Turkey after the
1950s.
Susin complained that although Arameans have been living in Anatolia
for 5,000 years, they are not allowed to enter the military or be
employed in state administration.
`This disturbs us very much,' he added.
From: Baghdasarian