Syria, which is at the heart of a new Middle East, has become a battleground where different forces compete for gains and losses, for victory or defeat. After their seizure of power, the jihadist groups led by Ahmed al-Sharaa suffered major losses domestically because of the numerous crimes they committed in various regions of the country. Externally, however, their removal from several international terrorist lists, appears to have given them a degree of legitimacy.

By massacring Alawites on the coast, Druze in Suwayda, and Christians in Homs and Damascus governates, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) made it clear that it will not govern all of Syria, nor will it abandon its extremist, Sharia-driven ideology. This is why various jihadist groups within its ranks, coming from Central Asia and many other parts of the world, have started fighting among themselves.

A significant part of the Sunni Arabs, who desire a constitutional and democratic system, have taken a firm stance against the actions of Ahmed al-Sharaa and HTS. They follow their own separate path. Meanwhile, the Autonomous Government of North and East Syria continues to firmly protect its own armed forces, its existence, and its system after the recent events that shook other regions in Syria.

This is why the movements, presence, and attitude of cooperation of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with the International Coalition against terrorism are being followed with great interest. Even more so as the SDF emerged as a model. The SDF is a fighting force made up of Kurds, Assyrians, Arabs, but also draws from other communities. In addition, the structure and organization possess the dynamics and capabilities to form the nucleus and foundation of a new Syrian army.

Because the Syrian Democratic Council advocates the strengthening of every individual national identity and ethnic and cultural group, it has acquired an important social base with unifying perspectives. The Social Contract upon which the Autonomous Administration is founded provides all peoples, languages, and religious and sectarian communities with the opportunity to preserve, develop, and live together peacefully. It therefore enjoys international sympathy and support as an alternative political and social system to the government in Damascus.

Women, youth, Christians, Yazidis, Alawites, secular Muslims, conservative Sunnis, and parties of all political stripes, all drawing on the experience they have accumulated over the years, have managed to achieve significant progress within the Autonomous Administration system. While Ahmed al-Sharaa's administration pushes for a centralized Sharia-based state rooted in Sunni doctrine, the Alawites, Druze, Assyrians, and Kurds are demanding other decentralized and federal forms of autonomous administrative structures.

Many countries around the world have gained strength through political and legal systems consisting of federal and confederal autonomous regions. However, the authoritarian and one-man mentality prevalent in the Middle East keeps seeking to centralize everything and show disregard for differences. Arab states impose an Arab identity on everyone. Turkey imposes a Turkish identity. Similarly, their assimilationist and exclusionary policies target other languages which hinder the development of these languages. History, language, religion, and ethnicity are homogenized, eliminating the differences among peoples.

The result of the above is a major struggle within Syria between forces wanting to centralize or decentralize and between different ways of life. Cultural, sectarian, and ethnic groups that insist on defending their existence are evaluating the current conditions and circumstances in Syria to initiate a revival. The Kurds, in particular, have taken advantage of the vacuum of the past fifteen years to enhance education in their mother tongue and Kurdish children have been provided mother-tongue education in hundreds of schools. A new generation is emerging. Kurdish children and you received education from primary school to university. Those same children and youth are now the ones addressing the shortages in administrative cadres by taking positions within the (educational) institutions of the Autonomous Administration.

The same opportunity has provided the Assyrian people, similarly as with the Kurds, the ability to develop and strengthen their mother tongue. The Assyrian language was excluded from educational institutions for decades and rendered it ineffective through assimilation policies. It led to significant weakening, even though the Assyrian language is one of the richest and most ancient languages of the Middle East, even of the world.

The Social Contract of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria officially recognizes the Assyrian language and grants the right to Assyrian-language education. However, because the Ba'ath regime did not accept the education curriculum of North and East Syria, private Assyrian schools affiliated with the churches faced major difficulties. This problem continues, even after the fall of the Baath regime. The interim government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa has still not recognized the educational system of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. As a result, Assyrian children are being deprived of the opportunity to receive education in their mother tongue.

Over the past two months, 35 private schools affiliated with various churches were unable to open because they did not accept the curriculum adopted by the Autonomous Administration, which includes curricula in Assyrian, Arabic, and Kurdish. However, the gradual implementation of the Assyrian curriculum from first to twelfth grade, alongside the teaching of Arabic, will already bring important developments. If Assyrian-language departments would also open in universities, then the Assyrian language would gain further strength worldwide and experience further revival. This requires the support of all teachers, academics, and the community itself. In this way, Assyrians in Syria will obtain education in their mother tongue and secure their national rights.

This article was originally written in Turkish and published by Gazete Sabro. You can find the original here.