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Article: A community in the crossfire. (Syrian Orthodox Christians persecuted by Kurds in south-east Turkey)
- Article from:
- The Middle East
- Article date:
- December 1, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 IC Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE SYRIAN Orthodox Christians have lived in south-east Turkey for over 3,000 years, long before the Muslim conquest of the seventh century. An industrious community made up mainly of farmers, the Syrian Orthodox are among the earliest converts to Christianity and speak Syriac, a form of proto-Arabic derived from Aramaic, the language of Christ.
Eighty years ago, a thriving community of 200,000 Christians lived in the small triangle near the Syrian border known as Turabdin. Today, there are only 2,000 Christians left in south-eastern Turkey.
"We are being terrorised into leaving our own land, so that the Muslim Kurds can take it over," says Denho Altin, ...