During a visit to Augsburg, Germany, in the end of May 2016 his excellence Mor Filoxinos Saliba Özmen, the Syrian Orthodox bishop of Mardin and Amid, was interviewed by our local crew together with Mr. Aziz Aktas from Enhil Federation. They discuss the difficulties of the ongoing war in the region, the land confiscations in Turabdin, the ethnic cleansing of the Assyrian Christians in Middle East and the means for the Assyrians to maintain an existence in their ancestral land. Bishop Özmen appeals to the Assyrian Diaspora, with all its affiliations and names, to unify on common issues by establishing a kind of exile Parliament. This is the only way we can make our voice heard and demand our rights in our homeland, because our unity will be our strength, he says.
Mr. Aziz Aktas is also shedding light on the problems the small Assyrian community in Enhil is facing from both Turkish authorities and neighbouring Kurds; land confiscation, Kurdification of the village’s name, etc. Same problems that are facing Enhil occur in other Assyrians villages of Turabdin, he says. He assumes there is a plan to expel the indigenous Assyrians from their homes and properties.