When we talk about the Seyfo of 1915, we often focus on historical facts, political decisions, and the number of people who lost their lives. But behind every number was a person. A mother. A daughter. A sister. A child.

Seyfo is not just a historical event. For Assyrians, Syrians, Chaldeans, Armenians, and Greeks, it is a collective wound that continues to affect generations. It is the story of people who lost their homes, their churches, their languages, and their families. But it is also the story of the women—those who often became the silent witnesses to the genocide.

That is why we need to ask: Why does the Seyfo concern us women?

The Women Who Bore the People's Sorrow

In 1915, Assyrians, Armenians, and Greeks in the Ottoman Empire were subjected to systematic massacres, deportations, and persecution. Many historians describe these events as one of the first modern genocides of the 20th century.

Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives. Villages were burned to the ground, churches were destroyed, and families were torn apart. But women’s experiences have long been overshadowed by the broader historical narrative.

In nearly all wars and genocides, women and children are hit particularly hard when society breaks down. Women do not just lose loved ones and their homes. They are often forced to shoulder the responsibility for survival, while themselves coping with grief, trauma, and vulnerability.

During the Seyfo, many women suffered loss, violence, forced displacement, poverty, and psychological trauma. Children lost their parents, their homes, and their sense of security. Many grew up with memories they could never put into words.

When a people is subjected to attempts to wipe them out, it is not only the people themselves who are attacked, but also their future. That is why women are often particularly vulnerable—because they bear the next generation.

The Silence After the Disaster

Many women who survived the Seyfo never spoke about their experiences.

Trauma often leads to silence. For some, it was a fear of reliving the pain. For others, it was shame or a feeling that they wouldn’t be believed. Many survivors also carried feelings of guilt over having survived while others died.

Many mothers also chose to remain silent to protect their children from the suffering they themselves had experienced.

But the silence never completely disappears.

Research on trauma shows that traumatic experiences can affect multiple generations. Children and grandchildren may carry feelings of anxiety, grief, and insecurity without fully understanding why. That is why it is important to talk about Seyfo—not to dwell on bitterness, but to understand history and create opportunities for healing.

The Women Who Saved Lives

While the women carried their grief, they also became bearers of hope.

It was often the women who passed on the language, faith, traditions, and family stories. They raised the children, held families together, and built new lives in exile.

Despite the losses, they kept moving forward.

That is why Seyfo is not just about death and destruction. It is also about survival, resilience, and the human capacity to rise again.

Remembering for the Sake of the Future

Today, third- and fourth-generation Assyrians are growing up far from the villages where the Seyfo took place. Many are familiar with the word “Seyfo,” but not always with the stories behind it.

If we don't tell the story, it risks fading away.

The memory of the Seyfo is not just about the past. It is also about the future. When the world forgets genocides, the risk of new abuses against minorities and vulnerable groups increases.

That is why the work of remembrance is so important.

What We Can Learn from Other Ethnic Groups’ Work on Memory

After the Holocaust, Jews around the world worked tirelessly to ensure that future generations would never forget what had happened. Through memorial museums, documentation, education, research, films, and survivors’ testimonies, a strong international awareness of the Holocaust was fostered.

An important part of this work was allowing the survivors themselves to tell their stories. Through personal testimonies, the history became human and vivid. Women’s stories of loss, trauma, courage, and survival took center stage.

Armenians and Pontic Greeks, too, have long been actively working to document their experiences through research, cultural projects, commemorative events, literature, and international campaigns.

Their work shows that historical memory is not preserved on its own. It requires commitment, organization, and perseverance across generations.

The Important Mission of Assyrian Women

Here, Assyrian women have a unique opportunity to make a difference.

We need to document the stories of mothers, grandmothers, and older generations before they are lost. We need to write books and articles and produce documentaries that shed light on these women’s experiences.

We also need to reach young people through schools, cultural projects, social media, podcasts, art, and music.

By collaborating with other minority groups, we can also strengthen our efforts to promote human rights, historical awareness, and the fight against genocide denial.

Above all, we need to have the courage to talk about trauma, grief, and emotional pain. Healing begins when people feel heard.

Why does the Seyfo matter to us today?

Seyfo is not just about the year 1915.

This concerns all people who are still persecuted because of their faith, culture, or identity. This concerns women and children who, even today, are affected by war, displacement, and violence.

When we remember the Seyfo, we are also defending human dignity.

We say that minorities have the right to exist. That women’s suffering must not be silenced. That history must not be denied. And that future generations have the right to know their origins.

A Responsibility to Carry Forward

Seyfo is not just the history of our ancestors. It is also our responsibility.

Women don't just carry life. They carry memories, stories, and experiences that shape future generations.

If women's voices are silenced, history, too, risks being silenced.

But when women share their stories, the memory lives on.

Let us, therefore, be voices for those who were never given a chance to speak. Let us pass these stories on to our children and grandchildren—not to dwell on bitterness, but to defend the truth, human dignity, and the future.

So that Seyfo is never forgotten.