Assyrian diaspora

Since World War I, the Assyrian diaspora has steadily increased so that there are now more Assyrians living in western and eastern Europe, North America and Australia, than in the Middle East. When the Turks' massacres ended in 1923, about 20,000 Greeks, 10,000 Armenians and 30,000 Assyrians remained. The Civil War in Lebanon, the coming into power of the Islamic republic of Iran, the Ba'thist dictatorship in Iraq, and the present-day unrest in Iraq pushed even more Assyrians on the roads of exile. Codeswitiching Worldwide II, by Rodolfo Jacobson [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN3110167689&id=zMe7fxQZfRwC&pg=PA159&lpg=PA159&dq=%22assyrians+in&sig=l4GL63BuXQOGaUK1q4dP2IIs1II#PPA159,M1] ]

Current number of Assyrians in all countries

Israel, Palestine, Jordan

The Americas

Argentina

*August 1919: 2,000 Assyro-Chaldeans refugees, most of all young people [Chatelet 1919]

Canada

*2001 Census: Assyrian - 6,980
*2006 Census: Assyrian - 8,650 [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/highlights/ethnic/pages/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Data=Count&Table=2&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000] ]

United States

*1990 census: 46,099 Assyrians [ [http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/ancestry/Assyrian.txt U.S. Bureau of the Census - Selected Characteristics for Persons of Assyrian Ancestry: 1990] ]
**19,066 born in the US
**16,783 arrived before 1980
**10,250 between 1980 and 1990.
**27,494 Syriac as the "Language Spoken at Home" [ [http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0029/tab05.html U.S. Bureau of the Census, Language Spoken at Home for the Foreign-Born Population 5 Years and Over: 1980 and 1990] , Internet Release date: March 9 1999]
**Unemployment: 9.1%
*2000 census: 82,355 Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U US Census, QT-P13. Ancestry: 2000] ]
** 34,484 in [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?-geo_id=04000US26&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U Michigan]
*** Sterling Heights, Michigan: 5,515 (4.4% of the city)
*** West Bloomfield, Michigan: 4,874 (7.5%)
*** Southfield, Michigan: 3,684 (4.7%)
*** Warren, Michigan: 2,625 (1.9%)
*** Farmington Hills, Michigan 2,499 (3.0%)
*** Troy, Michigan: 2,047 (2.5%)
*** Detroit, Michigan 1,963 (0.2%)
*** Oak Park, Michigan 1,864 (6.3%)
*** Madison Heights, Michigan: 1,428 (4.6%)
*** Orchard Lake Village, Michigan: 241 (10.9%)
** 22,671 in [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?-geo_id=04000US06&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U California]
** 15,685 in [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?-geo_id=04000US17&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_QTP13&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U Illinois]
*** Chicago, Illinois: 7,121 (0.2%)
*** Niles, Illinois: 3,410 (3.3%)
*** Maine Park, Illinois: 1,035 (0.8%)

** Syriac language: 46,932 [ [http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0081/tables/tab05.xls U.S. Census 2000, Language Spoken at Home for the Foreign-Born Population 5 Years and Over: 1980 to 2000] ]

Europe

Belgium

Assyrians in Belgium came mostly as refugees from the Turkish towns of Midyat and Mardin in Tur Abdin, most of them are Syriac Orthodox ("Süryani"), some Chaldean Catholics ("Keldani"). Their three main settlements are in Brussels (municipalities of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode - where they've got their only elected municipal councilman, the Christian Democrat Ibrahim Erkan, originally from Turkey -, Brussels and Etterbeek), Liège and in Mechelen. Since the October 8, 2006 municipal elections they've got two more councilmen, in Etterbeek, the Liberal Sandrine Es (whose family came from Turkey) and the Christian Democrat Ibrahim Hanna (originally from Syria's Khabur region). The Christian Democrat candidate in Mechelen, Melikan Kucam, was not elected. The Flemish writer August Thiry wrote the book "Mechelen aan de Tigris" (Mechelen on Tigris) about the Assyrian refugees from the village of Hassana in SE Turkey, district of Silopi. Melikan Kucam was one of them.

France

There are believed to be some 15,000, mainly concentrated in the northern French suburbs of Sarcelles, Gonnesse and Villiers-le-Bel. They are drawn from the same few villages in what is now south west Turkey.

Germany

Greece

The first migrants of Assyrian stock in Greece came in 1934, and settled in the areas of Makronisos (today uninhabited), Keratsini (Pireus), Egaleo and Kalamata. [ [http://www.zindamagazine.com/html/archives/1999/may10_1999.htm#Anchor-BRAVO Zinda Magazine - May 10, 1999 - The Assyrian Union of Greece] ] Today, the vast majority of Assyrians live in Peristeri, a suburb of Athens, and they number about 2,000. [ [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=GR Ethnologue report for Greece] ] There are five Assyrian Christian marriages recorded at St. Pauls Anglican Church in Athens in 1924-25 (the transcripts can be viewed on St. Pauls Anglican Church website), thus indicating the beginning of the appearance of refugees at that time. The absence of further marriages at St. Pauls possibly indicates the arrival of a Nestorian clergyman in Athens shortly after 1925.

Netherlands

The first Assyrians came to the Netherlands in the 1970s; most of them were Western Assyrians from Turkey. Today the number of Assyrians is estimated to be between 25,000 and 35,000 and they mainly live in the east of the country, in the province of Overijssel, in such cities as Enschede, Hengelo, Almelo and Borne.

weden

In the latter part of the 1970s, about 12,000 Syrian Orthodox Syriacs from Lebanon, Turkey and Syria immigrated to Sweden. They considered themselves persecuted for religious reasons but were never acknowledged as refugees. Those who had already lived in Sweden for a longer period were finally granted residence permit for humanitarian reasons. [ [http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/02/25/95/e7730215.pdf Swedish Minister for Development Co-operation, Migration and Asylum Policy, Migration 2002, June 2002] ]

As with other Northern European countries, there is a dividing line in Sweden between the Aramaic speaking Christians. While the vast majority consider themselves Aramean-Syriacs, there is a sizeable minority who refer to themselves as Assyrians. They are mostly members of the Syriac Orthodox Church, but its important to note that not all Syriac Orthodox members identify with being Syriacs only, as the majority of those who call themselves Assyrian are Syriac Orthodox as well. [ [http://www.visarkiv.se/mmm/media/assyrien/religi-e.htm Dan Lundberg, "Christians from the Middle East", A virtual Assyria] ]

Södertälje in Sweden is often seen as the unofficial Assyrian/Syriac capital of Europe due to the city's high percentage of Assyrians/Syriacs. The international TV-channels Suryoyo Sat and Suroyo TV are also based in Södertälje.

Between 2005 and 2006, there was an Assyrian/Syrac minister in the Swedish government, Ibrahim Baylan.

witzerland

Assyrians in Switzerland came mostly as refugees from the Turkish towns of Midyat, Mardin and Azakh(Idil) in Tur Abdin, most of them are Syriac Orthodox (about 1'600 Families). They mainly live in the east of the country in the Canton of St. Gallen (Wil-Area) and in Baden about 20km from Zurich. A big part of the Assyrians in Switzerland also live in the Italian part of Switzerland in the Canton of Ticino, mostly in Lugano and Locarno.

United Kingdom

Pacific

Australia

*1996 census: 11,931 who spoke Assyrian (no ethnicity census in 1996) http://www.swsahs.nsw.gov.au/areaser/Startts/services/comm-assyrian.asp] :*9,595 in New South Wales:*2,177 in Victoria (Australia):*7,500 originally from Iraq and 4,000 originally from Iran.:*27% are Chaldean Catholic
*2001 Census: 23,367:*18,667 Assyrians [ [http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/log?openagent&20540_2001%20(corrigendum).pdf&2054.0&Publication&C41A78D7568811B9CA256E9D0077CA12&&2001&24.05.2004&Latest Australian Census Analytic Program: Australians' Ancestries, 2001] ] ::45.9% Catholic, 49.0 Orthodox :*4,700 Iraqi Christian [ [http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/Lookup/C41A78D7568811B9CA256E9D0077CA12/$File/20540_2001%20(corrigendum).pdf 2054.0 Australian Census Analytic Program: Australians' Ancestries (2001 (Corrigendum)) ] ] ::74.3% Catholic, 24.0% Orthodox
*2006 Census: 24,505 Assyrians/Chaldeans [ [http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=POTLD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Ancestry%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Ancestry&] ] :*Language; Assyrian language spoken by 23,526:*Religious sects::ACOE: 5,956::Chaldean Catholic: 4,498::Syrian Orthodox: 2,879::Ancient COE: 2,224

New Zealand

*1991 census: 315 [http://www.stats.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/988C1E07-45FD-4A14-8164-393B5CFDF513/0/EthnicGroups01.pdf Statistics New Zealand - 2001 Census of Population and Dwellings - Ethnic Groups] ]
*1996 census: 807
*2001 Census: 1,176
** 465 in Auckland Region
** 690 in Wellington Region
** "Unemployment rates highest for Somalis (37.2 percent) and Assyrians (40.0 percent)."
** "The particular ethnic groups with the highest proportions affiliated to a Christian denomination were Assyrian (99.0 percent) and Filipino (95.1 percent)."
** English spoken: 774, no English: 348; Number of Languages Spoken: 1: 225, 2: 405, 3: 423, 4: 63, 5: 3
*2006 census: 1,683 [ [http://www.stats.govt.nz New Zealand 2006 census] ]

Homeland Statistics

yria

* United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on October 2005 reported that out of the 700,000 Iraqis who took refuge in Syria between October 2003 and March 2005, 36% were "Iraqi Christians."

References

Bibliography

* [http://monderusse.revues.org/document210.html Eden Naby, "Les Assyriens d'Union soviétique," Cahiers du Monde russe, 16/3-4. 1975]
* Eden Naby, The "Iranian Frontier Nationalities: The Kurds, the Assyrians, the Baluch and the Turkmens", in: McCagg and Silver (eds) Soviet Asian Ethnic Frontiers, New York, Pergamon Press, 1979
* [http://www.aina.org/reports/tykaaog.pdf Iraklii Chikhladze and Giga Chikhladze, The Yezidi Kurds and Assyrians of Georgia. The Problem of Diasporas and Integration into Contemporary Society, Journal of the Central Asia & the Caucasus (3 /21, 2003)]
* [http://www.minelres.lv/minelres/archive/08281998-09:53:25-28700.html Anna Saghabalian, Assyrians in Armenia, RFE/RL Armenian Service, Armenia Report, Thursday 13 August 1998]
* [http://www.anahit.am/people/assyrians.html Onnik Krikorian, The Assyrian Community in Armenia, The Armenian Weekly]
* [http://www.tacentral.com/people.asp?story_no=5 Assyrians in Armenia]