History
The first Assyrians came to the Netherlands in the 1970s; most of them were Western Syriacs from Turkey. In the 1980s, Western Syriacs from Syria began to emigrate to the Netherlands. The latest group of Assyrians immigrants come from Iraq, and have been arriving since the first Gulf War.
In the 1980s, as with other immigrants in Europe, a strong feeling of nationalism started to develop among the Assyrians in Holland. This sentiment started to make Assyrians be active in working for projects that helped them preserve their identity. A few projects that started out were Assyrians society building, Assyrians churches and Assyrians language classes, which were being given in Dutch schools to Assyrian children and also on weekends in so-called Bible school classes. They also started camps for Assyrians youth, Assyrian music and dance classes were offered in the community, lectures to adult Assyrians on society building and lots of social events were organized for the Assyrian community.
The Assyrians began to organize demonstrations to bring their situation in the Assyrian homeland to the attention of the media and to bring the 20th century Assyrian genocide to the attention of the Dutch government.
Read more about this topic: Assyrians In The Netherlands
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