Translated by : Aziz
Emmanuel Zebari
The Armenian village
Avzarook lies in the sub-district of Batil (Beth El) an Aramaic word meaning
‘god’s house’, about 25km away from the District of Sumeil.
The main profession of
the villagers is agriculture and cattle breeding. They have also other
professions such as woodwork and making agricultural tools.
Before settling down in
the village, the inhabitants were like migrant groups which were on the move from
one area to another according to the different seasons of the year. They
finally settled in the village following the border demarcation of the state of
Iraq and the inception of the state of Iraq in the 30s of the last century. The
inhabitants of the village are orthodox Armenians.
The village school was
opened between 1975- 1985 and the number of families was 176 according to the
1957 census. However, the forced displacement campaigns which started in 1975
caused the families to disperse in different areas.
The village was
reconstructed by a humanitarian organization in 1996 where some 65 houses were
built.
Today, and through
the construction campaign led and supported by Mr. Sarkis Aghajan, (40) old
houses were restored and 20 additional houses were built. The village school
was also renovated and furnished in addition to the village church. A public
hall was likewise built and the internal access roads were paved. The village
was linked to the national power supply grid.
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