Helping teach children this ancient language with roots in Mesopotamia are a group of passionately protective custodians both young and old in Wellington. Produced by Kadambari Raghukumar.

Helping teach children this ancient language with roots in Mesopotamia are a group of passionately protective custodians - both young and old, in Wellington.

After a long hiatus of Covid-19 lockdowns, Assyrian language classes are finally up and running again this month.

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"It's a great conversation-starter" says 24-year-old Humasa David about Assyrian language and communities, which many confuse with Syrian. Humasa teaches children Assyrian in the same school and church that she was raised as part of, in Wellington.

Assyrians historically lived across regions of Iraq, Iran, Syria and parts of Turkey as a minority Christian community. Here in New Zealand the community are about 5000 strong and tightly knit - most of whom arrived as refugees from the 1980s onwards escaping persecution in Iraq.

For Wellington which is home to about 1500 Assyrians, there's a surprising number of Assyrian language enthusiasts and cultural custodians - both young and old.

"We were never allowed to speak English as home, only Assyrian" says Humasa about growing up in New Zealand - it seems a recurring comment from many younger Assyrians living here.

Father Toma left Iraq in 2007 and lived in Syria for years before arriving in New Zealand 2015. Today he leads the Assyrian Church of the East in Wellington and teaches older students the language on Friday evenings, while Humasa teaches the younger ones.

In another Wellington suburb, Strathmore, breakfast after Sunday mass is being served in the back. This church is led by 74-year-old Father Aprem Pithyou - originally from the ancient city of Nineveh in northern Iraq.

The soft-spoken priest arrived in New Zealand in 1989 after serving in the army during the Iraq-Iran war. "Iraq was a rich country with several international companies in the past - many Assyrians used to be employed in these foreign companies before leaving, so we knew English, Arabic, Kurdish and Assyrian."

After becoming a priest in New Zealand, his church in Wellington began teaching Assyrian to the children in the for over two decades now. Father Aprem's work with his community was recognized with a Queen Service Medal in 2013. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details