Officials highlight Qamishlo’s diversity and shared history

The centenary ceremony featured a number of official speeches praising Qamishlo’s history and cultural and social diversity. Speakers stressed the importance of promoting coexistence, citizenship and the rule of law and making Qamishlo a model for Syria’s future.

In a speech at the ceremony, Hasakah Deputy Governor Ahmad Hilali said Qamishlo “was never merely a geographical location,” but had for a century served as a city of diversity and coexistence. He said the city had embraced all its communities and would remain a city open to everyone.

He added that marking Qamishlo’s centenary was not only about remembering the past, but also represented a commitment to the future, in which every Kurd, Arab, Assyrian and Syriac person would feel that the city was their home and that Syria was their country and shared future. He stressed the need to move beyond the legacy of wars towards a new phase based on the rule of law and citizenship.

On the integration process, he said integration “is not merely a security arrangement, but a comprehensive process,” stressing that the next phase must be based on dialogue and that the province should be a space for everyone rather than an arena for conflict.

He said Qamishlo, which has embraced people from different communities for a century, could serve as a model for Syria, where the law protects everyone and institutions are built on an inclusive basis.

For his part, Hasakah Deputy Director of Culture Abdul Hafiz Kallesh said the celebration marked 100 years since Qamishlo’s founding, describing the city as “a hundred years of love and diversity.” He said Qamishlo was not merely a border city but represented a model of diversity and pluralism in Syria.

He added that a century of the city’s history reflected its heritage, authenticity and creativity, praising the intellectuals, writers and artists it had produced and stressing that Qamishlo would remain a city that embraces creativity, love and peace.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Khalaf, speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, conveyed congratulations to the Qamishlo administration and residents on the city’s centenary. He said cities grow and develop through their history and communities.

He noted that Qamishlo had embraced various segments of Syrian society, including Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians, Jews and Yazidis. Despite its geographical location in Syria’s far northeast, he said, the city “lies at the heart of us all.”

He added that the centenary celebration honoured Qamishlo’s history, civilisation and human heritage, expressing hope that it would become a model for a new Syria based on coexistence and diversity.

a.k

ANHA