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Aleppo Christians Fear Iraq-Style Ethnic Cleansing

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  • Aleppo Christians Fear Iraq-Style Ethnic Cleansing

    ALEPPO CHRISTIANS FEAR IRAQ-STYLE ETHNIC CLEANSING

    Assyrian International News Agency AINA
    Aug 27 2013

    ALEPPO, Syria -- Aleppo is basically "Little Syria," a melting pot,
    representative of the diverse ethnic and religious groups that make
    up the nation. Christians in Aleppo have tended to live together
    in close-knit communities in neighborhoods usually clustered around
    churches.

    It would be very accurate to describe some areas of Aleppo as
    "Christian," although this by no means implies any sort of self-
    or outside-imposed segregation or discrimination. Residents of other
    faiths are found, and get along just fine in those areas. It is just
    that they are predominantly Christian.

    Unfortunately, by a stroke of peculiarly bad luck, all the Christian
    neighborhoods are on or near the frontlines in the parts of Aleppo
    divided between regime and rebel control. They have seen more than
    their fair share of fighting, "collateral damage" and a long line of
    civilian casualties.

    The area of Midan in particular, home to many of Aleppo's Armenian
    Christian minority, was a frontline area that saw heavy fighting for
    many months. It is still the scene of sporadic fighting and shelling
    today, although a large proportion of its inhabitants have already
    fled. Some went to Lebanon, others went back to Armenia where they
    applied for Armenian citizenship and passports, then moved on to
    settle in Europe or the Arab Gulf -- where Syrian passport holders
    are denied work or residence permits, hence their change of passports.

    It is particularly sad and ironic to witness today the Armenians,
    who fled persecution and sought sanctuary in Aleppo more than a
    century ago, again being forced to do the same, this time from
    Aleppo. I doubt very much whether they would have considered doing
    so under any other circumstances. They have always enjoyed excellent
    communal relations with the rest of Aleppan society, and were even
    allowed to set up their own private schools which taught in Armenian
    -- something not allowed for other ethnic groups, most notably the
    Kurds. The Armenians were guaranteed a place in the Syrian parliament
    via their own elected representatives.

    As for Arab Christians -- in other frontline places such as
    Sliemaniyeh, Siryan and Azizieh -- the wealthy among them have fled,
    mostly to Europe or Lebanon, as have most of Aleppo's wealthy elites.

    Those who stayed behind have now irrevocably tied their fate with that
    of the Syrian regime. Not out of love or loyalty or ideology, but out
    of fear and necessity. As a Christian friend told me the other day
    about the rebels, "If they don't take my life, then they will take
    my way of life," and it is easy to see what he means if you take a
    stroll through his area. Christians in Aleppo, while being for the
    most part conservative, are nonetheless a lot more open and liberal
    in their social customs, dress code and general attitude than other
    inhabitants in the city.

    They have enjoyed a large degree of social and religious freedom under
    the current regime, and it is a freedom they fear they will soon lose.

    It is this unique identity and way of life that will most likely be
    the first victim of a rebel victory. With some rebel groups being
    largely made up of extremist Islamists and al-Qaeda affiliates, it
    is not such a stretch to deduce that Christians in Syria may suffer
    the same fate as they did in Iraq. That perception was reinforced
    recently with the kidnapping of prominent activist Jesuit Priest
    Father Paolo Dall'Oglio in al-Raqqa by al-Qaeda groups, as well as
    the disappearance of two Orthodox Christian bishops from Aleppo --
    Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi -- more than four months ago,
    presumed to be held by foreign jihadists.

    Those reasons are exactly why, out of all the areas in Aleppo, one is
    most likely to find young Christian men taking up arms and manning
    checkpoints to defend themselves. This is very evident to anyone
    traveling through Sliemaniyeh's checkpoints. The young men there are
    all locals, some even clad with long hair and tattoos. Sometimes,
    you see them hanging out with their wives or friends in casual
    conversation, it is clear that they are regarded heroes by their
    community.

    Walking there a couple of weeks ago, my eye caught a sun-weathered
    khaki-clad young man, AK-47 rifle slung across his back. My mind
    registered a faint flicker of recognition. "George," I exclaimed, "is
    that you? You've changed, you're a lot thinner and much more tanned!"

    He recognized me almost immediately, "You haven't changed a bit!

    Although you have a lot less hair on your head!" After exchanging
    pleasantries, I learnt that George -- someone I knew in college -- had
    volunteered for a three-month stint with the "political intelligence"
    regime apparatus, whose massive building ominously overshadows the
    whole area.

    "We get a crash training course, and they provide us with weapons
    and ammunition. And best of all, we're deployed in or near our
    neighborhoods. The salary is not so great though," he mused.

    "Are you happy doing what you do? Will you extend your contract?" I
    asked. "No," he said quite firmly. "I have relatives in Venezuela,
    I'm getting out of here as soon as I'm done." His was a typical story,
    amid all the uncertainty, pressure and fear that he and his community
    feel, it maybe the wisest option to just cut and run -- after all,
    many tens of thousands have already done so.

    But it is not just their home turf that they are protecting, many have
    also volunteered in the Syrian army or the various pro-regime militias,
    fighting on many frontlines in the city. One such case is the sad
    story of a young Christian boy named Salim Nahhas, whose siblings I
    knew quite well. He was only 19 when he died fighting with the regime
    against the rebels in the Rashdeen area of Aleppo in July 2013.

    His family set up a tribute group on Facebook, where heartbreaking
    messages and photos are posted. But the most remarkable aspect of
    Nahhas' story is that most of his family was initially with the
    uprising and against the regime, some even taking part in protests
    and later aid work for the displaced. That was before Aleppo was
    invaded by the rebels in the summer of 2012 and before rebel mortar
    shells hit Nahhas' neighborhood, killing some of his friends and
    neighbors. Since then, many things have changed in Aleppo.

    By Edward Dark AL Monitor

    Edward Dark (a pseudonym) is a Syrian resident in Aleppo.

    http://www.aina.org/news/20130827161838.htm



    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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