Assyrian Community to Host Candlelight Vigil Commemorating Lives Lost

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The Assyrian National Council of Illinois, the Assyria Foundation, and the Assyrian Universal Alliance Foundation will host its first-ever “Assyrian Martyr’s Day” candlelight vigil to commemorate the lives lost in the Assyrian Genocide, and to stand in solidarity with the persecuted Assyrian communities in Iraq and Syria today. The event will feature several prominent speakers, a choir performance, and traditional prayer led jointly by Bishop Mar Paulus Benyamin and Bishop Mar Gewargis Younan.

The vigil will take place at Skokie’s Village Green, located on Oakton Street between Village Hall and the Skokie Public Library on August 7, 2014. The vigil will begin at 8:00pm. The event is open to the public, and organizers welcome anyone who would like to attend and help bring awareness to the ongoing plight of the Assyrian people. Candles will be provided, and it is suggested that attendees wear black.

The Assyrian Genocide during WWI, referred to as Seyfo, marks the horrid massacre of hundreds of thousands of innocent Assyrian men, women, and children. The Assyrians, including Chaldeans and Syriacs, were persecuted as a result of their ethnicity, but also because of their Christian faith. The world has proved that history repeats itself, as today, Christians in the homeland suffer the same hauntingly-familiar fate. Assyrians in Iraq and Syria have been made victims to the most brutal and inhumane crimes. Still, the same way the Assyrian Genocide has yet to be recognized by the international community, the world has yet to respond to their desperate outcry for help.

Through its “Assyrian Martyr’s Day” candlelight vigil, the Assyrian community hopes to draw the larger community’s support in light of this terrible tragedy, and honor those who have suffered in the Assyrian name.