Bakhetme

Bakhetme
ܒܚܬܡܐ
Village
Country Iraq Iraq
Governorate Dohuk
City Simele
Established 1957
Founded by Malik Khiyo Odisho
Population
 • Total 3,000
Time zone GMT +3

Bakhetme (Syriac: ܒܚܬܡܐ) is an Assyrian village located in Simele, Northern Iraq. Most of its inhabitants are Assyrians from the Ancient Church of the East and the Church of the East. It is located in the Simele region in Dohuk.

Etymology

Theories pertaining the name "Bakhetme" originate from the Aramaic phrase "Beth-Khatme", meaning 'the place of seals' which is said to be a reference to a place where documents or deals were signed. [1]

History

Nochiya tribesmen settled in Bakhetme in 1920 but fled to Syria after the Simele massacre of August 1933. This left Bakhetme in the hands of Arab bourgeoisie. [2]

Bakhetme was purchased from the Arab sheikhs in the year 1957 for the amount of 15,000 dinars in the names of the late Malek Khiyo Odisho, Zadoq Enwiya and Enwiya Hawel. The village initially took in 80 families. [3] Malek Khiyo is accredited with purchasing Bakhetme and settling his people in the land. [4]

According to the 1957 Iraqi census, Bakhetme had a population of 232 people. [5]

In April 1987, the village was entirely destroyed by the Iraqi Army. This included two schools and three churches (Mat Maryam and Mar Gewargis) and its 140 Assyrian families deported during the Al-Anfal Campaign.[6]

Demographics

Bakhetme is made up entirely of Assyrians of the Ashitha tribe from Hakkari. The two main sub-groups in Bakhetme are the Chammanaye and Badishke people, who then have their own sub-groups.

The religion within the village is Christianity where majority of adherents either follow the Ancient Church of the East or the Church of the East.

After the fall of Mosul, Bakhetme has taken in 80 IDP families as of 2015 from the Nineveh Plain who are mainly Assyrian Catholics.[7]

Schools

In 1959 the villagers voluntarily built the first primary school. The school was rented to the Directorate of Knowledges in Mosul which then furnished the school.

Between 1960-61 a new school was founded with three classes which had progressed to nine classes. It was attended by students from neighbouring villages.

During the early 1970s an intermediate school was built, carrying the name Bakhetme Intermediate School.[8]

Churches


Bakhetme is famous for being the location of the martyrdom of Mar Daniel, to whom a church was built in honor to his name. [9]

Bakhetme had three churches prior to the Al-Anfal Campaign, being Mar Daniel, Mat Maryam and a small church built on the ruins of Mar Daniel's Monastery to the north-west of the village.[10]

Mar Daniel Church was destroyed in the year 1988 during the Al-Anfal Campaign after the villagers were evacuated from the village.[11][12]

Currently, Bakhetme houses churches part of the Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East & the Chaldean Catholic Church.

Sports

The Bakhetme Sports Club was established on the 18/05/2008 through the support of Sarkis Aghajan, a former member of the KRG and leader of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council.

Football, basketball, volleyball, ping pong & billiard teams were made available for both men & women.[13]

Modern Services

The Assyrian Aid Society completed housing construction in 1995 and built a public hall in 1999 in Bakhetme.[14] The NGO also completed a relief program for ten families in Bakhitme.[15]

More recently, the AAS of America & Canada have conducted gift drives for IDP children and displaced families from the Nineveh Plain and Mosul that are staying in Bakhetme.[16][17]

Sarkis Aghajan launched a reconstruction campaign where the Higher Committee for Christian Affairs (HCCA) in Dohuk built 152 new houses and a new church, alongside renovating an old church. The committee also built a school, community hall & a health centre. Furthermore, the village had been provided with access roads, linked to the national grid and provided with a power supply generator.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Donabed, Sargon (2015). Reforgeting a Forgotten History. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.
  2. ↑ Eshoo, Majed. The Fate of Assyrian Villages. Iraq.
  3. ↑ http://www.ankawa.com/forum/index.php?topic=149476.0
  4. ↑ Eshoo, Majed. The Fate of Assyrian Villages. Iraq.
  5. ↑ Eshoo, Majed. The Fate of Assyrian Villages. Iraq.
  6. ↑ Donabed, Sargon (2015). Reforgeting a Forgotten History. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.
  7. ↑ http://www.hhro.org/uploads/files/pdfs/annual_reports/english_final_report_-2015.pdf
  8. ↑ "Bakhetme". www.ishtartv.com. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  9. ↑ Donabed, Sargon (2015). Reforgeting a Forgotten History. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.
  10. ↑ "Bakhetme". www.ishtartv.com. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  11. ↑ "Indigenous People in Distress". www.atour.com. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  12. ↑ http://www.aina.org/reports/cacir.pdf
  13. ↑ "Bakhetme Sports Club". www.ishtartv.com. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  14. ↑ "Building Projects | Assyrian Aid Society - Iraq". www.assyrianaidiraq.org. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  15. ↑ "List of humanitarian activities undertaken by AAS-Iraq | Assyrian Aid Society - Australia". assyrianaidsociety.org. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  16. ↑ "ASSYRIAN AID SOCIETY OF AMERICA". ASSYRIAN AID SOCIETY OF AMERICA. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  17. ↑ "AAS-Iraq implements a relief program for the displaced families in Bakhitme village | Assyrian Aid Society - Iraq". assyrianaidiraq.com. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  18. ↑ "Bakhetme". www.ishtartv.com. Retrieved 2017-02-05.

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