Following the 1915 Assyrian Genocide (Seyfo), numerous displaced families resettled within the municipality of Simele and its surrounding districts in newly formed Iraq. By August 1933, systemic state-sanctioned violence and regional militias culminated in the Simele Massacre, resulting in the deaths of thousands of Assyrian civilians.

Delivered at an Assyrian Martyrs Day in 2026 commemoration in Michigan, this presentation by Firas Jatou utilizes oral testimony to examine his family's history, highlighting his grandfather's intervention to protect hundreds of citizens in defiance of state forces. This account serves as a primary resource for educators exploring twentieth-century ethnic conflicts, state-sponsored violence, and minority resilience in the post-Ottoman Middle East.