Kurds, Armenians and Assyrians, the ancient peoples of Kurdistan, have been subjected to massacres by the ruling powers throughout history. Between 1914 and 1920, the Assyrian population in Mesopotamia was forcibly displaced or massacred by Ottoman troops. It is estimated the 270,000 to 300,000 Assyrians were massacred by Ottoman troops. In the Armenian Genocide that took place in the same years, hundreds of thousands of people were massacred. After the foundation of the Republich, massacres against Kurds began in the same geography. Mass killings such as Dersim and Zilan continued until today. 

 

VILLAGE EVACUATIONS

 

In the 90s, nearly 5 thousand villages in Kurdistan, especially in Şirnex (Şırnak), Mêrdîn (Mardin), Êlih (Batman) and Amed (Diyarbakır), were forcibly evacuated and burned by the state on “security” grounds. More than 500 thousand were forced to migrate to the metropolises of Turkey. There were 17,500 unsolved murders in the region. Most of the murders committed by Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-terror Unit (JİTEM) and other shadowy forces of the state have not been brought to light. The bones of thousands of people were buried in acid wells, mass graves and on the floors of the houses where they were slaughtered. 

 

FIRST FOOTAGE FROM MA

 

One of the villages where the mass murder took place is Arbo Village, located at the foot of Bagok Mountain in the Nisêbîn (Nusaybin) district of Mêrdîn. The village was evacuated 3 times since the Ottomans and hundreds of people were massacred. Hundreds of human skulls and bones were unearthed in the shelter under Mor Dimet, the largest of the 7 churches in the village. Mezopotamya Agency was the first to enter the sanctuary of the church, where no one has been allowed to enter or film until today. 

 

FROM THE SECRET PASSAGE TO THE BUNKER 

 

Entering through a small iron door underneath the church, you pass through a narrow secret passage, half a meter wide and one and a half meters long at most, to the bunker. The darkness of the bunker is a chilling sight. The bunker is illuminated by cell phone flashbulbs, and at every point where the light hits, there are numerous bones and skulls belonging to human beings. On each side of the four- to five-meter bunker, there are small compartments bent inward, and in each compartment human bones can be seen stacked on top of each other. 

 

SEYFO MASSACRE?

 

While there is no clear information about the period and the people to whom the bones belong, locals point to a reality that has been passed down from language to language until today. They share the information that people fleeing the massacre hid in this shelter and were massacred here. Some say that the skulls and bones, mostly belonging to children and women, are from the Seyfo (Assyrian) Massacre. To date, no study, investigation or research has been carried out in the church where the bones are found. The Assyrian villagers do not want anyone to know, hear or see this situation for fear of massacres and displacement. 

 

VILLAGE EVACUATED 3 TIMES

 

Arbo Village had 900 households before the Seyfo Massacre between 1914 and 1920. However, after the massacre, the village was evacuated and its inhabitants were deported. It suffered a similar fate in the following period. Arbo Village was evacuated for the third time in the 1990s for “security” reasons. After each evacuation and attack, churches and other structures were severely damaged. The village remained empty until 2001. Assyrians who migrated to European countries started to rebuild the village after 2001. Nearly 20 houses were built over the years. 

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut - Dilgeş Ruvanas