Swedish town with large Assyrian community votes to erect a genocide monument
The municipality of Södertälje has finally voted to erect a Seyfo genocide monument after years of deliberations.
The municipality of Södertälje, just south of Stockholm and known for its large Assyrian community, voted on 16 June to erect a monument honoring the victims of the Assyrian Genocide, Seyfo.
The unanimous decision was welcomed by Assyrian representatives who have been lobbying for years to see a public monument established.
While not the first Assyrian genocide monument in Sweden, it will be the first to be erected on public land and financed with public funds. The monument is expected to be completed next year.
Around half of the municipality’s 102,000 inhabitants are estimated to be of Assyrian origin, making Södertälje home to one of the largest Assyrian diaspora communities in the world.
