Semel district's Hawresk village
Duhok villagers safeguard Armenian heritage dating back more than a century
DUHOK — Hawresk stands out in Duhok’s Semel district as the sole Armenian village in the area. The community was established by local leader Mohammad Shamdin Agha Slevanay for Armenians fleeing Ottoman persecution in the early 20th century,.
Armenians settled in Hawresk from 1915 until 1975, when continuous bombings by the Ba’ath regime, including attacks on Hawresk, forced many residents to relocate to Mosul and Baghdad.
Some eventually returned to the village, which remains populated by descendants of the first Armenians who escaped the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
Morad Mardiros Vartanian, the village mukhtar (leader), has meticulously preserved a collection of Armenian artifacts in his home. The collection includes 26 antique rifles, six handguns, several knives, and photographs of Armenian celebrations dating back over a century. Vartanian explained the items were passed down over generations for more than a century.
Despite requests from Zakho’s archaeological department to surrender the artifacts, Vartanian has refused. “I will protect this history for as long as I live,” he said. “I [am] not prepared to relinquish them.”
Ardas Sioum, a resident of Hawresk since 2006, told 964media, “Our village is centered around the mukhtar’s house, where these Armenian artifacts are kept. Anyone who visits us comes to this house to see our history. We consider it a symbol of our identity.”
In 2006, the Kurdistan Regional Government funded the construction of 115 houses, a church, a school, and a community hall for Hawresk’s Armenians.
Currently, around 75 families reside in Hawresk where some residents farm, while others work outside the village.
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