Youth organizations honor memory of victims in solemn ceremony in Simele
In an act of deep veneration, a group of Assyrian youth held a ceremony in Simele on Assyrian Martyrs day.
A delegation from the Hamurabi Scouts Association and the Chaldo-Assyrian Student Union commemorated Assyrian Martyrs Day and the 92nd anniversary of the Simele Massacre in the town of Simele itself.
The delegation traveled from Nohadra (Dohuk) on Assyrian Martyrs Day, 7 August, to mark the anniversary of the massacre. The mass killing became known as the Simele Massacre as the town witnessed some of the most intense and horrific killings of Assyrian men, women, and children.
The youth group attended a special mass held in the Martyrs' Church in Simele, after which the delegation visited one of the martyrs' resting places in the town. They laid wreaths in honor of the innocent Assyrians who fell victim to the atrocity.
The Iraqi government has never formally recognized the Simele Massacre, despite clear documentation of the atrocity as a state-perpetrated campaign that killed thousands of Assyrians across more than 100 villages in northern Iraq.
In 2020, several Assyrian NGOs called for the massacre’s recognition, urging the government to fulfill its historical and moral duties. The organizations also demanded the protection of massacre sites, site preservation, forensic investigation, memorialization, reparations, and inclusion of the massacre in the Iraqi constitution. None of their requests has been met, or even discussed by the Iraqi state.
Due to the lack of acknowledgment, there is still no formal memorial site or monument in Simele to this day.
