Christian minorities in Syria by photographer Achilleas Zavallis

Mahmud, a Muslim Arab living in Ras al Ain, fixes the broken windows of the Mar Tuma (St. Thomas) church in Ras ai Ain. The church was damaged by Islamic insurgents when they took control of the town from Government forces. Before they abandoned the town in July 2013 they ransacked the church.

One of the Christian churches in the town of Al Malikiyah. The majority of the Christian community in the area is Syriac Orthodox with smaller numbers of Catholics, Armenians and Protestants.

Adib Abrahim Hanna reads an old Syriac Bible inside the Church of the Madonna near the christian village of Prke. Abid misses the stability and security that the Government provided before the war and believes that the Syrian Army will return after the Islamists are defeated.

The bullet riddled door of the Mar Tuma (St. Thomas) church in Ras ai Ain. The church was damaged by Islamic insurgents when they took control of the town from Government forces.

Naim Hanna a Christian cotton farmer. His family is one of the 10 families (out of 35), that remained in the village. The other families fled the village in fear of the Islamists that are trying to take control of the area.

A view of the street market in Al Malikiyah. Christians, Kurds and Arabs seem to coexist peacefully but suspicion is always present among them. Years of repressive policies and favoritism by the government towards one group or another have left their mark.

Inside the church of the Madonna near Prke village, Syria.

A young boy runs outside an abandoned Syrian Orthodox church in Ras Al Ain. Most of the Christians who used to live there left when the Islamists took control. When the Kurdish YPG - People's Protection Units retook control of the town some of Christian families returned.

Abid Abraham (left) used to work as a petroleum engineer in Deir al-Zor. Last year he had to flee with his family after he started receiving anonymous phone calls threatening his life. Now he volunteers in a Christian militia, along with 140 other community members, manning checkpoints on the outskirts of Derik.

Afram Danho volunteers four times a month with one of the Christian militias that started forming all across Al Hasakah province. Some of the militia members are also part of the Sutoro, a Christian Assyrian/Syriac militia which is the armed wing of the Syriac Union Party. Some of the Sutoro members are suspected to be former shabiha and state collaborators with existing ties to the Government security forces.

A funeral procession in Derik. The majority of the Christian community in the area is Syriac Orthodox with smaller numbers of Catholics, Armenians and Protestants. Christians, Kurds and Arabs seem to coexist peacefully but suspicion is always present among them.

One of the churches in Ras al Ain. Once a thriving community of 200 christian families lived in the town. Now only 35 families remain.

Afram Danho stops a car at a checkpoint. Some of the militia members are also part of the Sutoro, a Christian Assyrian/Syriac militia which is the armed wing of the Syriac Union Party. Some of the Sutoro members are suspected to be former shabiha and state collaborators with existing ties to the Government security forces.

A funeral in the christian cemetery of Derik, Syria.

Young women walk in the market of Al Malikiyah, Derik. Under the control of the YPG (Peoples Protection Units) the town has a seizable Christian community that chose to remain despite the fact that the government withdrew the majority of its forces giving control to the Kurds.

Al Hasakah province near the Turkish border in Syria.

Photographer Achilleas Zavillis travelled to north-eastern Syria to report upon the experience of the Christian community, many of whom have already fled the extraordinary brutality of the civil war. But Zavillis and the journalist, Balint Szlanko, were also able to document the determination of Christian communities to stay and survive, by forming their own militia groups to protect the few remaining families in Al Malikiyah, for example, or by joining pro-government forces or armed Kurdish groups against radical Islamist groups.

But in the town of Ras Al Ain they also found some hope for the future: Christians joining hands with their Muslim neighbours to rebuild the church of Mar Tuma (St Thomas) and, in doing so, attempt to restore a divided community.

* Clare Dight, The Review editor

To read the full story click here: http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/instead-of-fleeing-some-of-syrias-christians-will-stand-their-ground 

To see more work by photographer Achilleas Zavallis please click here: www.achilleaszavallis.com

Photo edit and sequencing by photo editor, James O'Hara