Before 1915, the Hakkâri highlands held the world’s largest concentration of Christian Assyrians. Today, their descendants are estimated to number more than 600,000, scattered in nearly 50 countries on six continents. None of them, however, actually live in Hakkâri, which has been devoid of Assyrian communities since 1925. In the past 90 years, not only have visits by Hakkâri Assyrians to their homeland been spasmodic and clandestine, but there has been almost no dialogue or relationship between them and the Turkish Government – until recently. Despite having been estranged from their homeland for so long, Assyrians from Hakkâri have not only maintained their language and heritage, but also cultural traits unique to the region, wherever they have resettled. Additionally, they still strongly identify with the villages and districts they had been forced to abandon. This paper, drawing from a number of sources, will endeavour to briefly outline the historic presence of Assyrians in Hakkâri, detail their expulsion from the region between 1914 and 1925, as well as describe the area and its inhabitants since the catastrophic events that transpired. Issues such as the resettlement of Assyrians elsewhere and the settlement of Kurds in Assyrians villages will also be discussed, along with the impact of this separation and appropriation. Moreover, the perspectives of Hakkâri Assyrians regarding their “homeland” will be outlined, as well as the shaping and reshaping of self-perceived social identities amongst them. It will also explore their engagement with and consideration by local Kurds who have lived for the greater part of a century without their once numerous neighbours – yet with the constant visual memory of their former presence. Furthermore, issues of memory will be touched upon, revealing something of the internal debates and dynamics within the Hakkâri Assyrian community, which has been living in diaspora, both within the Middle East and in the West, for nearly a century. Finally, the importance of preserving the Hakkâri region’s historical and cultural legacy, as well as the question of properties and ownership of cultural monuments, will also be highlighted.