Scientists have finally read a letter penned 4,000 years ago. Why was there such a long wait? They had to view it without cracking its secure clay envelope. When scientists handle cuneiform documents from Ancient Assyrian and Babylonian times, extra care must be taken to preserve all parts of the artifact from the seal on the outside of the labeled clay envelope to the document within.
Sorya, Iraq -- The modern history of the Assyrians is overshadowed by massacres and genocides. After the Turkish Genocide of 1915 and the Simmele Massacre, the Assyrian people were subjected to another massacre on 16 September 1969, in the remote village of Sorya, in the Zakho district of Nohadra (Duhok) Governorate, in what is now the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
A woman sat across from me, describing the life she left behind in a few careful sentences. I recognized something in her story from the one my family has been telling me over the course of my life. This recognition is the reason I am fascinated by immigration. We live in tumultuous times, where the topic of immigration is highly controversial.
Each year, as Greek, Armenian and Assyrian communities gather to commemorate the genocides of the late Ottoman period, familiar symbolism appears. Those lost are remembered not only as victims, but as martyrs. This understanding of martyrdom has become one of the most powerful symbols connecting Greek, Armenian and Assyrian communities to their traumatic past.
Baghdede (Qaraqosh), North Iraq -- The sixth Baghdede Youth Festival opened with more than 700 young people taking part in a day of prayer, reflection and communal activities under the theme "Following in the Footsteps of Saint Francis." Held under the patronage of the Syriac Catholic Archdiocese of Mosul and its Dependencies, the festival was attended by Archbishop Mar Benedictus Younan Hanno.
Liege, Belgium -- The European Syriac Union (ESU) will hold the fourth edition of its Sayfo exhibition in Liege this month. The exhibition titled Sayfo 1915: Le peuple syriaque, histoire d'un génocide oublié (Sayfo 1915: The Assyrian People -- The Story of a Forgotten Genocide) is scheduled to open this Saturday, 12 September, at the local Church of Sainte-Marie des Anges.