Mr. Messo was born and raised in the Netherlands, but lives currently in Sweden. His roots lie in the ancient Syriac Orthodox region in Southeast Turkey called Tur-Abdin, which is Aramaic for “the Mountain of Servants (of God)” and known as the  Mount Athos of the East.

He received his propaedeutics in theology at the Evangelical Higher Education in Veenendaal (1999) and his bachelor’s in Hebrew and Aramaic Languages and Culture at Leiden University (2007). In the last two decades, he has been actively engaged with the Aramean (Syriac) people, working for different Aramaic organizations, such as director (2003-2008) and researcher of the Dutch-based Study Center Aramea. He currently presides over the World Council of Arameans (Syriacs). This NGO was founded in 1983 and enjoys since 1999 a special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

Mr. Messo has published widely about and given many speeches and lectures in a number of European countries, the United States, India and the Middle East  about past, present and future questions dealing with the Aramean (Syriac) people, in particular about their  history and identity. His recent two books and titled – The Aramean (Syriac) People: Native to Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and The Aramean Community in Overijssel, 1965-2013: History, Identity, Integration (in Dutch).