Assyrians in the Netherlands () are Dutch citizens of Assyrian. They mainly live in the east of the country, in the province of

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

, in such cities as

Enschede Enschede (; local ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Overijssel and the Twente region of the eastern Netherlands. The east of the urban area reaches ...

Hengelo Hengelo (; Tweants dialect, Tweants: ) is a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in the Twente region, in the province of Overijssel. It is part of a larger urban area that also includes Enschede, Borne, Overijssel, Borne, Almelo and Ol ...

, Rijssen,

Almelo Almelo () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands. The main population centres in the town are Aadorp, Almelo, Mariaparochie, and Bornerbroek. Almelo has about 72,000 inhabitants in the middle o ...

and Borne. The main reason that the Assyrians are concentrated there is because it is an industrial area which lies at the

Germany–Netherlands border The Germany–Netherlands border (; ) consists of a land and maritime border across the Dollart through the Frisian Islands into the North Sea. Land border The border is located in the northwestern part of Germany and the east of the Nether ...

, where a large German Assyrian population resides. Many Assyrians in the Netherlands have relatives in Germany.

History

The first Assyrians came to the Netherlands in the 1970s as a result of fights between the PKK and the Turkish army. Most of them were from the province of

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

in southeastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, where the aforementioned conflict took place. In the 1980s, Assyrians from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, with almost all of them being from the originally Assyrian city of

Qamishli Qamishli is a city in northeastern Syria on the Syria–Turkey border, adjoining the city of Nusaybin in Turkey. The Jaghjagh River flows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231, it is the List of cities in Syria, ninth most-po ...

( Syriac: ܒܬ ܙܠܝܢ Bet Zalin), began to emigrate to the Netherlands. The latest group of Assyrians to migrate to the Netherlands are from

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and they have been arriving there since the first

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. The large majority of Turkish and Syrian Assyrians in the Netherlands belong to the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

since they are from the western part of the

Assyrian homeland The Assyrian homeland is Assyria ( or ), the homeland of the Assyrian people within which Assyrian civilisation developed, located in their indigenous Upper Mesopotamia. The territory that forms the Assyrian homeland is, similarly to the rest ...

, where the Syriac Orthodox Church is the most prominent. In the 1980s, as with other immigrants in Europe, a strong feeling of nationalism started to develop among the Assyrians in the Netherlands. This sentiment started to make Assyrians be active in working for projects that helped them preserve their identity. A few projects that started out were Assyrian society building, Assyrians churches and Assyrians language classes, which were being given in Dutch schools to Assyrian children and also on weekends in so-called Bible school classes. They also started camps for Assyrians youth and Assyrian music and dance classes were offered in the community. For adult Assyrians, lectures on society building and many social events were organized. Since 1981 there has been a

Syriac Orthodox The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The church upholds the Mia ...

monastery in the village Glane near the German border. The Assyrians began to organize demonstrations to bring their situation in the

to the attention of the media and to bring the 20th century

Assyrian genocide The Sayfo (, ), also known as the Seyfo or the Assyrian genocide, was the mass murder and deportation of Assyrian/Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish tribes during ...

to the attention of the Dutch government.

Current situation

The Assyrians have managed to both integrate into Dutch society and maintain their own ethnic identity, as there are a lot of social events organized by Assyrian clubs. Some of the latest projects which Assyrians in the Netherlands have started are: the Seyfo Center, the Assyrian Church Choir, representation of Assyrians in the Dutch government (such as Attiya Gamri), and the foundation of the Assyrian Youth Movement (AJF). Assyrians in the Netherlands mostly belong to

, but there is also a small community belonging to the

Assyrian Church of the East The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, is an Eastern Christianity, Eastern Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian denomin ...

Chaldean Catholic Church The Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites, particular church (''sui iuris'') in full communion with the Holy See and the rest of the Catholic Church, and is ...

and

Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' (self-governing) particular church that is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Catholic Church. Originating in the Levant, it uses the West Syriac ...

. The first Assyrians mainly worked in factories or opened restaurants, but today, mostly attend university and work in all sectors of the economy.

Notable people

* Attiya Gamri * George Aslan * Ninos Gouriye * Jasar Takak

References

External links

*http://www.assyrie.nl/ {{Ethnic groups in the Netherlands

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Middle Eastern diaspora in the Netherlands Ethnic groups in the Netherlands Dutch people of Assyrian descent

History

Current situation

Notable people

See also

References

External links