V.H. Apelian's Blog: Kessab on March 21, 2014, A Day of Infamy

Vahe H. Apelian

On the wee hours of the early morning on March 21, 2014, the first day of spring, heavily armed extremists attacked Kesab from Turkey accompanied by artillery fire. In a matter of hours the overwhelming majority of some 2,000 or so Armenian inhabitants of the greater Kessab, along with many other Syrian nationals who had found refuge there escaping the devastation of the raging civil war, fled for their safety to the coastal city of Latakia, some 35 miles away. President Serge Sargsyan of Armenia characterized this tragic event as the third expulsion from Kessab, in reference to the 1909 pogrom and ransacking of Kessab, and the Genocide in 1915 that also devasted the Kessabtsis. At least two-thirds of their pre-1915 population perished.

Kessab borders Turkey. Without the assistance and the permission of the Turkish government, this onslaught of extremists on Kessab from Turkey, weeks before the commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, could, not have happened. Many, if not most, of the extremists who attacked Kessab were later reported not to have been Syrian nationals but were mercenaries recruited from elsewhere. The attack on Kessab was termed the “Anfal” campaign. I quote, “Anfal, which is Arabic for the spoils of war, is the name of the eighth sura, or chapter, of the QurÂ’an. It tells a tale in which followers of Mohammed pillage the lands of nonbelievers.“ Basically, the attackers were sanctioned to loot Kessab and looting they did. They also killed the few able-bodied young Kessabtsis who stayed behind to support their elderly family members who could not leave during the mayhem.

In Latakia, the Kessabtsis found refuge in the Armenian Apostolic Church compound comprised of a sanctuary, school, and housing development. At one time this ancient church compound in the city of Lattakia also served as an overnight stopover for Armenians from Turkey on their way to pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

The Latakia Armenian community immediately came to their aid and offered them food, clothing, and shelter. The suddenness and ferocity of the early morning attack and the need to flee as soon as possible had necessitated leaving with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing.

Kessabtsis became refugees in their own country. Some of them found shelter with family members, relatives, and friends they had in Lattakia. Not all had these connections and had to stay in the church compound. The Kessabtsis organized a relief committee to oversee the fair distribution of aid. The committee was comprised of the religious leaders of the three Armenian denominations--Apostolic, Catholic, and Evangelical, along with civic leaders.

Kessabtsis who settled in communities outside Kessab distinguished themselves as professionals, artisans, authors, educators, clergy and community leaders. Their prominence in the Diaspora surely helped stir the emotions of Armenians worldwide, notwithstanding the fact that Kessab is the only remnant of historic Armenian Cilicia outside Turkey that is inhabited by Armenians. Its depopulation hit a nerve among Armenians worldwide rekindling in them deep-seated sentiments against such atrocities and galvanized them for action to raise funds to assist the Kessabtsis driven away from their homes.

As a symbol of solidarity, #SaveKessab hashtag became the profile pictures of many in the Facebook coloring social media pages red. These efforts succeeded in drawing international attention to the plight of Kessabtis, to the ferocity of the Syrian Civil War and to the dispacable role Turkey was playing in the Syrian crisis.

Most Kessabtsis remained in Latakia during the ordeal that lasted 88 days. On June 15 word reached to them that the extremists have left and that regular Syrian soldiers have entered the Kessab. Following the news the Kessabtsis started returning to find their homes, businesses, churches, community centers looted and mostly torched. They immediately started rebuilding their shattered lives. But some left for overseas. Most of the latter group claimed their departure was temporary and that they will when law and order prevail in the region to secure their and their families’ safety.