The demographic collapse due to wars and confessional violence also threatens the disappearance of the language of its own roots. One of the initiatives to preserve it is a new television channel. About forty students attend the Old Syriac course at Erbil University and others in the capital Baghdad. Professor from Nineveh: “It is our history, it is our mother tongue.”
Baghdad () – The demographic collapse of Christians in Iraq (and Syria), fueled by war and confessional violence, especially with the rise of the Islamic State (IS, formerly Isis) which caused further bleeding, could make Syriac, an ancient dialect derived from Aramaic. This ancient language has been used for nearly three thousand years and in recent times it has also been practiced in homes and families – in some regions even in schools and churches, for religious celebrations – but today it is in danger of disappearing, as happened with more than half of the population of the area. One of the initiatives to value it and promote its use is the inauguration of a new television channel dedicated precisely to “the language that is dying”.
Mariam Albert, a journalist for the Syriac-language channel Al-Syriania, confirms: “It is true that we speak Syriac at home, but unfortunately I realize that our language is slowly and inexorably disappearing.” The Baghdad government launched the channel in April to help keep the language alive. It has 40 employees and offers a variety of programs ranging from film to art and history. “It is important -continues the young 35-year-old reporter- to have a television channel that represents us”.
A dialect form of Syriac is used in many programmes, but for newscasts the classical form is preferred, although it has the drawback that not everyone understands it. The declared objective of Al-Syriania, explains the director of the channel, Jack Anwia, is to “preserve the Syriac language” through what is defined as “entertainment”, without forgetting the most significant information and events for the community. “At one time – the executive continues – Syriac was a widespread language throughout the Middle East” and everyone, including the Government, “has a duty to prevent its extinction”. “The beauty of Iraq – he affirms – also consists in its great cultural and religious diversity”.
Iraq was known as the cradle of civilization, the land of the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians who wrote the world’s first written legal code. Here is also the city of Ur, which according to the Bible is the birthplace of Abraham, the father of the three great monotheistic religions. Today it is mostly Muslim (Shia), but there are Sunni, Kurdish, Christian and Yazidi communities. The official languages are Arabic and Kurdish; Before the US invasion in 2003, there were about 1.5 million Christians, after which they fell below 400,000 with the advance of jihadist groups such as ISIS.
The cultural, linguistic and archaeological heritage of Iraq is also of concern to the local Church. When the current Patriarch of Baghdad of the Chaldeans, Card. Louis Raphael Sako, was Archbishop of Kirkuk, had already stressed the importance of a policy of rediscovery, preservation and valorization. The cardinal affirmed that it was a “universal” good and should be taken care of, like archeology, which by itself is “more valuable than oil.” It is a task that corresponds to all citizens and in 2016 the “International Conference for the safeguarding of cultural heritage in conflict theater areas” was held in Dubai (Emirates), which brought together heads of State and Government, academics , Muslim and Christian religious leaders, activists and experts in history, archeology and culture.
Over the years, the Syriac language has become increasingly “marginalised”, as confirmed by Kawthar Askar, head of the Syriac language department at Salahaddin University in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. “We cannot say -he adds- that it is a dead language… [pero] it is in danger of disappearing due to emigration.” The department has about 40 students and others attend the course at Baghdad University. In all, it is taught in some 265 schools across the country, according to figures provided by Imad Salem Jajjo , responsible for teaching Syriac at the Ministry of Education.
The last blow against this heritage occurred during the Islamic caliphate, in 2014, and only thanks to the goodwill of some people, including several Muslims, it was possible to save a part of the antiquities. A prominent role was played by the current Archbishop of Mosul, Monsignor Najib Mikhael Moussa, who took numerous manuscripts with him when he left the city. At this moment there are about 1,700 manuscripts and another 1,400 books, some from the 11th century, which are kept in the digital center of Erbil, supported by UNESCO and run by the Dominican Fathers. Conservation “preserves heritage and guarantees its sustainability”, explains the prelate. Syriac “is our history and it is our mother tongue,” adds Salah Bakos, a teacher from Qaraqosh, in the Nineveh Plain. “Teaching Syriac – he concludes – is important, not only for children but for all segments of our society […] even if the parents say that it is a dead language that is useless”.
