Abdulmesih BarAbraham, M.Sc.

Background & Education

  • Born in Midyat (in the Tur Abdin region).
  • Emigrated to Germany in 1967 under family reunification, where he completed secondary education and high school.
  • Holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Erlangen–Nürnberg (Germany).

Professional & Research Activities

  • Worked from 1979 to 1983 as the first officially certified German government interpreter for modern Assyrian-Aramaic (Turoyo) at the Central Emigration Office in Zirndorf near Nürnberg, handling more than 2,000 asylum-appeal translations.
  • He has held management positions in international corporations in Germany and in the United States.
  • In addition to his technical/engineering expertise, he is an independent researcher, writing many scholarly articles and book chapters on Assyrian topics: diaspora, migration, minority rights, genocide, language, culture, and identity.

Roles, Affiliations & Publications

  • Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mor Afrem Foundation (Germany) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Yoken-bar-Yoken Foundation.
  • Secretary of the Syriac Theological Seminary in Salzburg, Austria.
  • Member of the board of Suryoye Theological Seminary, Salzburg.

Some of his notable works include:

  • Turkey’s Key Arguments in Denying the Assyrian Genocide (in Let Them Not Return, 2017).
  • Safeguarding the Cross: Emergence of Christian Militias in Iraq and Syria (in Middle Eastern Christians and Europe – Historical Legacies and Present Challenges, Zürich: LIT Verlag, 2018).
  • German Perceptions of the Sayfo: How Much Did Germany Know? (in Sayfo 1915: An Anthology of Essays on the Genocide of Assyrians/Arameans During the First World War, 2018).

Significance & Focus

Abdulmesih BarAbraham is a voice combining technical training and deep cultural/historical concern. His heritage from Tur Abdin, experiences of migration, linguistic abilities (Syriac, Turkish, Arabic), and his professional + academic involvements place him at the intersection of:

  • Documentation and advocacy for Assyrian / Syriac history and minority issues, including genocide recognition.
  • Preservation and promotion of Assyrian / Turoyo language and culture.
  • Diaspora studies: issues of migration, identity, displacement, returning (or longing to return), and the diaspora’s role in memory and heritage.