Djézireh

The Djézireh , Jazîra , (it) Jezire left the North of the Mésopotamie is a Syrian area located at the North-East of this country, along the borders with the Turkey and the Iraq. At the time of the French mandate, its population sedentary was mainly made up of Kurdish, Assyrian and Armenian, of which many refugees of Turkey and Iraq, survivors of the various genocides and massacres ethnic clerk in the area (in particular in Deir ez-Zor, in Djézireh) front, during and following the First World War.

Revolt separatist of 1937

During the summer 1937, under the French Mandate in Syria, occurred in the area of Djézireh a “minority movement of reaction”.

One of the causes was the reference of the Christian top-civils servant in this area by the nationalist government of Damas in 1936, and their replacement by Moslems of Damas, of which the governor, Bhjat Chehabi, very nationalist and unpopular. This caused protests on behalf of the Kurdish local leaders (in majority) and Christians. The governor then utilized the gendarmerie of Hassetché, which involved a rising of the Christians of the city, who disarmed the gendarmes; the civils servant fled towards Damas. Finally, the French gave of the order to Hassetché.

A delegation of notable Kurdish and Christians went then to Damas to present her claims. At the same time, of former tribal chiefs drawn aside by France raised (with the financial aid of Damas) of the Kurdish tribes against the Christians in the name of Moslem solidarity (in Amouda), from where reaction of other Kurdish elements, from where intervention free-Syrian woman.

A new governor was named: Toufic Chamieh, Greek-orthodoxe of Damas. The French left him only few capacities, and the French officers, as well as the gendarmerie, frequently intervened. Many capacities were delegated to the municipalities and the local councils.

This time saw breaking the good agreement between Kurds and Christians, but the latter were supported by the Arab nomads by hatred of centralization damascene and certain Kurds.

During the autumn 1936, the Turkish government made promises secrete with notable Christians of Djézireh: general restitution of the goods of the Christians (of which much had fled the Turkey of Mustafa Kemal) in the event of annexation of the province in Turkey. This caused a trend of public opinion pro-Turkish, and Damas adopted an attitude more and more being wary with regard to the Christians of Djézireh.

Among the separatists, one found Michel Dome, Christian president of the municipality of Qameshlié, and the Kurdish chief Hadjo Aga. Their arguments were the following: Djézireh was joined together only tardily in Syria, because it was given by Turkey in exchange of the Cilicie; moreover, the prosperity of Djézireh was ensured thanks to France. Other partisans of autonomy, the Cardinal Tappouni, patriarch Syrian-catholic, and Monseigneur Hebbe, bishop Syrian-catholic of Djézireh, “which was put very in the high-speed motorboat during the incidents of Hassetché”. Their desires were: the maintenance of French civils servant in Djézireh to control the Syrian civils servant of Damas, and the maintenance of part of the French troops to protect the minorities.

(The text which precedes is a synthesis of: (confidential anonymity/), the situation of the Christians of Syria after the businesses of Djézireh, November 1937, Center of Studies and Administration Moslem women (CHEAM), Paris)

Composition of the population of the provinces of Djézireh and Euphrate in 1943

Source: census of 1943, taken again by Albert Habib Hourani, Minorities in the Arab World, London, Oxford University Near, 1947, p. 76

It should be specified that among the Moslems sunnites there were as many Arabs as Kurds, than Hourani estimated at approximately 130 000 for the two provinces, of the Turks, Turkmènes and Circassiens, the latter being estimated at 1 500 in Djézireh and 1 000 in Euphrate according to M. Proux (1938). On the other hand, for the whole of Syria, some 400 000 nomads (for the majority Arab sunnites) were not entered.

Plan of the Arab belt in the years 1960

In the Sixties, the government Syrian baassist set up a policy known as “of the Arab belt” aiming at establishing along the border with Turkey of the villages mainly Arab, by in particular moving Kurdish villages and assyro-chaldéens and by sédentarisant nomads.

Ethnic composition in the years 1970

With the beginning of the year 1970, there remained about fifteen thousands of Assyro-Chaldéens in Djézireh, because in particular of a strong emigration towards Alep and out of Syria. There was still 500 Jews with Qameshlieh in 1973. According to pro-Kurdish sources, the province of Djézireh-North counted, in 1976,360 000 Kurds on 450 000 inhabitants, that of Djézireh-South 10 000 (including 5 with 7 000 Yézidis) on 100 000 ( cf . Gérard Chaliand, Kurds and Kurdistan , Paris, Maspéro Editions).

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