In the early hours of March 22, 2014, the Armenians from Kessab and the nearby areas were forcefully moved to Latakia due to the violent and large-scale attacks against Kessab and the nearby areas by Turkish armed groups against the Syrian regime.

Based on information from Latakia, there were no Armenian victims during the attack, and the Armenian population of nearly 1,500 was able to take shelter in Latakia safely. Among the Armenians from Aleppo and other Syrian cities that have set the stage for military operations. They had taken shelter in Kessab as a safer area. The majority of the deportees have been accommodated with the local Armenian families, and nearly 250 people stay in the halls of the city’s Armenian Apostolic Church.

Members of the Armenian community of Latakia reported that the local unions and organizations are taking action to take care of all the needs of their compatriots. Representatives of the Armenian community have also mobilized different state and municipal organizations, benevolent unions and state institutions, as well as benefactors to extend a helping hand to the Armenians. Leader of the Armenian Catholic Church of Kessab, Father, Archimandrite Nareg Luisian is encouraging the people to participate in the efforts aimed at taking care of the Armenians’ needs.

The move of Armenians from Kessab and nearly a dozen Armenian villages sounds the alarm to the nation and all mankind. This is yet another manifestation of the war unleashed in Syria that is taking the lives of innocent people and forcefully moving them out of their ancestral homes and making them lose their homes, gardens and all properties that they had obtained through hard work and leaving them in panic and uncertainty.

This isn’t the first time that Kessab is in such a catastrophe, but the Armenians of Kessab have always been able to get back on their feet and rebuild their hometown.

There are three dates to remember in the past century. Kessab suffered great losses during the massacres of Armenians perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks in Cilicia in 1909 when the Armenians were deported to the deserts of Der Zor and Jordan by the decree of the Turkish government and where nearly 5,000 Kessab-Armenians were killed along with the other victims of the Armenian Genocide. In 1930, Kessab managed to stay away from the ambitions of Kemalist Turkey and remained within the borders of the Syrian Republic until the Turkish-French agreement when Musa Dagh and Suet were annexed to Turkey. The French-Armenian community, Cardinal Aghajanian and the Pope of Rome played a role in that, and the Pope used his reputation to not give Kessab over to Turkey.

Kesab is of great importance for all Armenians around the world. The land and water of Kessab, the traditional Armenian families, as well as the national and ecclesiastical organizations have helped shape many glorious Armenians in all spheres of life. They have set an example and have been exemplary citizens in all countries of residence.

We fully hope that the Armenians of Kessab will return to their homes where they have lived for several hundreds of years, will plant new trees, will renovate their homes and build new ones so that they live on the last piece of Armenian land in the Armenian Cilicia.

We urge kind and sincere people to pray for the safety of the Kessab-Armenians. We urge everyone to provide moral and financial support to them in this difficult period. The Kessab-Armenians first and foremost need to feel that they are not alone and that all Armenians support them in all corners of the globe.

NEWS OFFICE

ARMENIAN CATHOLIC PATRIARCHATE

Beirut, Lebanon

March 25, 2014