3 Noteworthy Projects WCA & its Federations

In 2001, one of the most ambitious cultural productions in Aramean history was unveiled. The Hidden Pearl: The Aramaic Heritage — a landmark three-part documentary series accompanied by three scholarly volumes. Commissioned by the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) — then known as the Syriac Universal Alliance — and the Syriac Orthodox Church, and co-produced by Trans World Film Italia, this multimedia project brought the full sweep of Aramean civilization to a global audience for the first time.

Written by leading scholars spearheaded by Sebastian P. Brock, David G.K. Taylor, Ewa Balicka-Witakowski, and Witold Witakowski, the accompanying volumes remain essential references in the fields of Syriac and Aramaic Studies. Together, the three documentaries and three books tell the story of one of the world’s oldest and most influential civilizations — from the ancient Aramean city-states to the modern diaspora.

A major project of the WCA and its member federatidutch nations in cooperation with the Syriac Orthodox Archdiocese and the Syriac Aramean Youth Federation (SAUF) in Sweden is Suryoyo Sat — the first Aramaic-language satellite television channel. Launched in 2006, the channel is often described as the TV channel by and for the Aramean people: free of any external support and foreign influences, with objectives aligned with those of the WCA.

Its directors and employees — both paid and volunteer — work on a democratic basis, with a transparent structure and with a sincere concern, love, and passion for their people and language.

Broadcasting primarily in Aramaic but occasionally in other languages, Suryoyo Sat reaches more than 80 countries. Arameans across the world enjoy its diverse socio-political, cultural, entertaining, and educational programs, as well as the vital link it provides between the homeland and the diaspora. Especially since it is also available via the internet, Suryoyo Sat directly connects Arameans everywhere with each other.

For a people scattered across continents — with communities in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, and the United States, as well as the Aramean home countries — Suryoyo Sat became a unifying lifeline. Through news, cultural programming, music, religious services, and educational content, the channel gives the Aramean people something no other medium had: a shared living room.

The Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, the Armenian genocide — history books are filled with accounts of mass atrocities across the world. In 1915, during the upheavals of the First World War, the Aramean people suffered a devastating genocide in which nearly 70 percent of the population perished. Known among Arameans as I Shato du Sayfo — “the year of the sword” — this tragedy remains one of the least recognized genocides in modern history.

For the EO documentary “Sayfo: A Forgotten Genocide”, filmmakers Hans Busstra and Joris Postema immersed themselves in the history of the Aramean people. They spoke with Arameans who share their memories of the horrific events to keep the history of this ancient people alive. The result is a moving and deeply urgent portrait of a people determined to preserve the memory of those who were lost.

The Aramean people is a people without a state. For over 3,000 years, the Arameans survived in the midst of warring empires. Yet as a minority, they left an enormous imprint on the language and culture of the Middle East. Aramaic was spoken by Jesus and His contemporaries, and the Aramean people served for centuries as a bearer of the Christian faith in the Middle East. Since the Sayfo, a large part of the Aramean people has lived in exile — with significant communities in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany — where they continue to seek recognition of the genocide.