ishtartv.com- aina.org
By Bar Daisan
2015-07-02 23:38 GMT
Patriarch
of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Ignatius Aphrem II, speaking at a church in
Qamishli (photo: Suryoyo TV).Qamishli, Syria (AINA) -- The Patriarch of the
Syriac Orthodox Church, Ignatius Aphrem II, arrived on Saturday, June 27th in
Qamishli to receive and encourage the thousands of Assyrians who have fled from
Hasaka. The Patriarch made a call to the youth to return and defend Hasaka in
light of the difficulty that the Syrian government has in protecting their
civilians in the civil war.
See Attacks on Assyrians in
Syria
The
following speech was delivered by the Patriarch at a church in Qamishli.
Recently,
over 100 young men have returned to Hasaka to defend the city. We are grateful
and wish to thank the 100 youth for listening to our advice and for protecting
our homes in the city of Hasaka. And we wish to thank especially the youth of
Qamishli who, with love and joy, have received the internally displaced people
in their homes and especially to those who have opened their hearts, homes, and
the doors of the churches who have shown hospitality to their brethren.
At
the same time, we are very grateful to our young volunteers who are members of
the militias, who carry arms to defend and fight for your homes and city. May
God bless and protect them. We honor the martyrs who have passed in defending
our land and the heritage of our forefathers, who were present here before
Islam and the Byzantine Empire. For this reason, we need a strong will because
the will to survive exceeds the fear of death.
We
do not need to listen to ISIS and other extremists who try to scare us. Their
goal is to instill fear within us at the mere sound of their name. We should
never be afraid due to the reason of bloodshed. We should always be ready to
defend ourselves and our lands.
We
also want and pray that the Syrian Army is able to protect us all, but because
of the severity of the war they are not able to protect us in the way that is
necessary. We know it is wrong that each person carries arms. We are not the
type of people who want to carry weapons, but because the army is not able to
protect us, it is imperative that we find another solution.
For
this reason, when we see our youth carrying weapons and protecting our homes
and lands, we give them our blessing and do not question their actions. We
continually ask God to bless and protect them.
Our
goal is not war, rather justice. Our goal is to protect ourselves under the
severe circumstances.
Speech
translated by Demand For Action.