Z E N D A  M A G A Z I N E
[renamed Zinda Magazine in 1999]
Volume I                       Issue 4                      March 20, 1995

 

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A Weekly Online Newsletter Serving the Assyrian Communities Around the World


THE SLEEP OF THE CENTURIES

Longworth, who came to visit Nimrod, and descended into the N. W. Palace towards
evening, was "overpowered" by the contemplation of so many strange objects: The
portly forms of kings and vizirs, were so life-like, and carved in such fine
relief, that they might almost be imagined to be stepping from the walls to
question the rash intruder on their privacy.  Then, mingled with them were other
monstrous shapes-the old Assyrian deities, with human bodies, long drooping
wings, and the heads and beaks of eagles; or, still faithfully guarding the
portals of the deserted halls, the colossal forms of winged lions and bulls,
with gigantic human faces.  All these figures , the idols of a religion long
since dead and buried like themselves, seemed actually in the twilight to be
raising their desecrated head from the sleep of centuries:  certainly the
feeling of awe which they inspired me with, must have been something akin to
that experienced by their heathen votaries of old.

                                            [The Morning Post, 3 March, 1847]
                                                 submitted by Firas Jatou
 
 
                             PEACE & FREEDOM IN BET-NAHRAIN
                                            HAPPY NISAN 6745
 

                                S U R F S  U P !
========================================================
"I'm going crazy!!!!  I'm reading all these articles about Kurdish towns and
villages being attacked and no one is saying what is happening with our
Assyrians.  I'm trying to hold back tears.  I'm hearing that the Turks have gone
into khirkuk and they've been killing and burning down hamlets all weekend."

-U.S.

"I'd like to correct the number of Assyrian population in IRAN. In 1989 the
official number was 18,000."

                                -Vladimir Moghadassi, San Jose, U.S.
 

"Thank you for sending me copies of the publication Zenda as issued in recent
weeks. It is an excellent idea and I am certain many of our Assyrian people will
find it both interesting and informative.  Best wishes for you and Zenda.
                                -Herbert B. Quoyoon, New York
 

"WHERE IS ZENDA.  I feel like I am going through a withdrawal here.  I NEED MY
ZENDA."

-U.S.
 

"I just read all of the issues of Zenda that you sent me.  I am amazed at the
incredible opportunity this wonderful new medium presents for Assyrians to share
their ideas, thoughts, and feelings.  Congratulations on an auspicious beginning
to a wonderful journey."

                                       -Ashourbel Moradkhan,  San Jose
 

[in reference to the entry in Zenda NO. 3's Back to the Future section]
Bader-Khan Beig of 1842...was not an Ottoman.  He was a Kurd who revolted
against Ottomans and at the same time massacred several thousands of Assyrians;
not only in Hakkari but also in Tur-Abdin.  It is noteworthy that history
repeats itself.  The Kurds of today are also revolting against the Turks, and
they massacre Assyrians in the same way as Bader-Khan.  They are trying to clear
away all non-Kurdish elements... all Assyrians from Tur-Abdin.  So the number of
60,000 Assyrians mentioned in Zenda could be right in 1970, not today.  Today
there are hardly more than 2000 Assyrians in Turkey (Tur-Abdin). In Istanbul,
the European Turkey, there might be some 15,000-20,000 Assyrians.

                                                          -Schlemon Moussa
                                                           Lund, Sweden

                       W E L C O M E   T O   Z E N D A
========================================================
Zenda welcomes our new on-line subscribers from:

                        [UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS]

University of Toronto
University of Chicago
 
                        [INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS]

Pennsylvania, U.S.
Toronto, Canada
Chicago, U.S.
San Jose, California

                        N e W s    D i G e S t
========================================================
             -TURKISH FORCES INVADE NORTHERN BET-NAHRAIN-

(AP)    On March 20, on the eve of the Kha B'Nisan celebration, about 35,000
Turkish troops moved into northern Bet-Nahrain through the main road to Zakho
against separatist rebels of the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party.  Backed by 80
tanks, 100 APC's (armored personnel carriers), 280 vehicles, fighter jets and
Cobra helicopters,  a stretch of 185-mile front was occupied 40 miles inside the

Northern Bet-Nahrain, in pursuit of an estimated 2,800 PKK guerrillas.  The
offensive is concentrated on the mountainous regions of Sinat-Haftanin, Metina,
Sive-Mezi Kervadari and the Kharkurk triangle.   The operation was launched
after Kurdish rebels killed 15 Turkish soldiers in an ambush near the Bet-
Nahrain-Turkey border Saturday.  Iraqi Kurdish leaders were surprised by the
scale of the offensive and angry because they were not informed beforehand.

Turkey's Prime  Minister Tansu Ciller said that the operation would last until
the "terrorists" attacking  Turkey  from  their bases in northern Bet-Nahrain
were totally cleared from the area.  Turkish Air Force jets had  flown  33
sorties against the rebel positions by early afternoon, and that a total of 12
PKK camps had  been  targeted.  A military spokesman said 76 bombs were dropped
on a single  camp in the Bote region alone.  The United States neither condoned
the attack nor condemn the operation.  No Assyrian casualty figures have been
made available yet.  PKK has been battling some 200,000 Turkish soldiers since
1984 to achieve self-rule for Turkey's 12 million Kurds.  An estimated 15,000
have died since.  Turkey, like Iraq, Iran and Syria, fears its sizable Kurdish
minority would be encouraged in its separatist ambitions if the Iraqi Kurds
achieved independence.  The opposition Iraqi National Congress (INC) claims
that, in the Zakho and Dohuk regions where large concentrations of Assyrians
reside,  Turkish troops had arrested hundreds of men and women, accusing them of
being PKK sympathizers.  As many as 4500 men and women may have already been
abducted by the Turkish troops and transferred inside Turkish territory.
The Turkish army is (also) bombarding the villages around Zakho extensively, the

INC said in a statement.  Turkish paratroopers had dropped on villages 15 miles
northeast of Dohuk.  But a tank advance towards the district of Shiranish,
northeast of the Bet-Nahrain border-town of Zakho, had met heavy resistence from
Kurdish guerrillas, it said.  According to the Turkish News Agency at least 800
PKK members were killed, where only 8 Turkish soldiers have died in the clashes
since Monday.
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                     -ASSYRIAN KILLED IN BET-NAHRAIN-
 

Toronto (ZN)  Edward Khoshaba Isho a resident of the village of Blamed in the
Aqra region of northern Bet-Nahrain was killed by an angry non-Assyrian mob in
Bet-Nahrain. Ten days before, Edward, while tending his sheeps nearby his
village was attacked by a group of thieves.  In defending his herd, Edward kills
two of the robbers and then immediately surrenders himself to the authorities.
He was then transferred to a local prison in Dohuk, Bet-Nahrain, where he was
kidnapped and taken to the village of Bakerman.  An angry mob, waiting for his
arrival, begins beating Edward and with three blows of an axe brakes his skull.

Edward's body was then taken to the local office of the Democratic Party of
Kurdistan in Aqra and handed back to his family.  Doctors were not allowed to
examine Edward's body and the exact cause of death was never determined.  Mr.
Isho's family and friends buried his injured body on March 8.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   -DEBUT OF THE ASSYRIAN WEB SITE ANNOUNCED-

Toronto (ZN)  Mr. Firas Jatou announced the debut of the "Assyria on-line", a
World Wide Web site on the Internet.  The WWW home page, embelished with the
image of the Assyrian winged-bull,  can be accessed using Mosaic or Netscape
applications at  http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/cgi-bin/hpp?assyria.html

This web site features hyperlinks to the following internet pages and web sites:

1) Animation of the palace of Ashur-nasirpal
2) The Assyrian Mastiff Dog
3) The Oriental Institue of Chacago
4) Assyrians of the 5th Century B.C.
5) Assyrian Cuneiform Language
6) Zenda (back issues)
 

Mr. Firaz is a major contributor of information to Zenda and an active member of
the United Assyrian Youth of Canada, which is organizing the Syriac Computing
Symposium, later this month.  Netscape program can be downloaded by accessing
the following site:  ftp://ftp.netscape.com/netscape/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                    -KURDISH REBELS WOUND SADDAM'S SON-

San Jose (MC)  Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq claim to have wounded Saddam's
oldest son, Udai, in a Baghdad murder attempt and nearly  assassinated the
country's defense minister, General Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was visiting the
northern oil city of Kirkuk.  Odai Hussein, 31, was shot by several gunmen
firing assault rifles in Baghdad and hospitalized with serious wounds.  Majid,
Saddam's cousin, escaped the ambush unharmed, yet several of his bodyguards were
killed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               -SADDAM SURVIVES POORLY-PLANNED COUP ATTEMPT-

(RU)   Led by Wafiq Samaraii, who headed Iraqi intelligence during the Gulf War
but later lost his post, a coup was to be carried out by major sections of the
Iraqi military, with simultaneous attacks mounted in both northern and southern
Iraq. It failed in the early hours of operation.  The coup would have united
Iraq's main opposition group with army contingents and Kurd and Shiite forces
throughout the nation. Instead, during the attempt over the past weekend, key
Kurdish forces declined to attack. Samaraii was able to flee across the border
into Syria.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            -VATICAN SUPPORTS REMOVAL OF SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAQ-

(AP)   Iraq won the support of the Vatican in its campaign against the economic
sanctions imposed by the United Nations.  The backing came only three days after
the United Nation Security Council again renewed the sanctions imposed on Iraq
after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           -Perry asks Iraq to release Americans-
 

(AP)   Less than 48 hours before the Turkish occupation of northern Iraq, U.S.
Defense Secretary William Perry, visiting Kuwaiti officials, released photos of
Iraq's re-newed build up of its troops.  He also called on Iraq to release two
Americans being held by Baghdad.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    -CANADA CELEBRATES AUA'S 27TH ANNIVERSAY-

Toronto (ZN)  Among several other programs scheduled for later this month, the
United Assyrian Youth of Canada (UAYC) will celebrate the 27th anniversay of the
establishment of the Assyrian Universal Alliance.  The guests of honor will be
the Honorable Senator John Nimrod, the General Secretary of the AUA, accompanied
by Mr. Homer Ashurian, Deputy Secretary of AUA.  This and many other cultural
and educational events are planned as parts of the UAYC's celebration of Nisan
6745. Other scheduled programs include:
 

    A Walkathon to Mel Lastman Square
    Assyrian folklore music and dance
    Fundraising for the children of Bet-Nahrain:  victims of the Gulf War
    Open House invitation to other ethnic communities of Toronto
    Assyrian art exhibition
    Assyrian political rally
    Trip to the Ontario Royal Museum
    Assyrian children's gathering
    Kha b'Nisan dance party, featuring Ashur Bet-Sargis &
       Athletic tournaments

For more information contact UAYC at (416) 747-9107.
 

                       -IN SEARCH OF ASSYRIAN AMULETS-

Toronto (ZN)   An Assyriologist from the University of Toronto is building a
collection of Assyrian artifacts to be housed in this school's Department of the
Near Eastern Studies.  Professor Amir Harrak's research centers around Syriac
literature.  He is particularly interested in the Assyian amulets, worn to deter
evil spirits.   Professor Harrak was able to identify one such amulet as dating
back to the 18th Century from the Qudshanus region in the Hakkiari.  Unless
these artifacts are donated to the Department Professor Harrak will gladly
photograph the items for later research.  For more information write to
jatou@waves.toronto.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     -AN ASSYRIAN JOINS TIME MAGAZINE-

Toronto (ZN)  Nina Burleigh joined Time Magazine as a contract contributor
covering the White House.  She covered the Clinton campaign in1992 and her
articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, Spy, and other
publications.  Nina is a Chicago native and received her double Master degrees
in Public Affairs and English from the University of Chicago.  Mrs. Burleigh
visited Baghdad and Basra shortly after the Gulf War and speaks "tourist"
Arabic.  She is married to John Baumann, an architect.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                   -CIVIC CLUB OF TURLOCK DONATES $20,000-

Chicago (ZN)   In the last meeting of the Assyrian American National Federation
it was announded that the Assyrian Civic Club of Turlock has donated $20,000 to
the needy Assyrians of Northen Bet-Nahrain.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                -BET-SARGIS AND AZIZ WILL RELEASE NEW ALBUMS-

San Jose (ZN)    In the next few weeks the Assyrian entertainers, Ashur Bet-
Sargis and Walter Aziz, will release their new albums entitled Mirror of
Deception and Colours, respectfully.  Ashur in collaboration with his co-
producer David Sargis (Ogen's younger brother) of the Black Cats will introduce
such new hits as Nora Aldyana and Qamoodi Wat Byayi.  Walter's Colours reveals
his multi-lingual talent with a range of hits in Assyrian, English, Brazilian
and Arabic.  Walter's album will also be released on compact disc.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        -ASSYRIAN BUSINESSMAN OPENS AMERICA'S LARGEST MID-EAST FOOD STORE-

San Jose (ZN)   On Friday, March 10 the Middle Eastern community of the San
Francisco Bay Area celebrated the opening of the United Food Store in San Jose,
California.  Under the ownership of the local Assyrian businessman, Atour
Eliasnia, the store offers a variety of the Middle Eastern food and products.
With over 10000 square feet of area it is the largest Middle Eastern Food Store
in North America.  Mr. Eliasnia's other business ventures include importing of
other food products, i.e.Indian rice "Tilda",  and the manufacture of the
semiconductor parts in San Jose.
 

                     C A L E N D A R  OF  E V E N T S
===========================================================
Mar 24-April    "Gilgamesh"
                New York City
                For tickets call 388-8100

Mar 28          Syriac Computing Symposium
                Strata Hotel, Toronto
                Ontario, Canada

April 2         "The Meaning and Practices of Kha b'Nisan"
                Eden's Banquet Hall
                6313 North Pulaski, Chicago
 

                "A History of Nisan"
                a lecture by Rabbie Yosep Bet-Yosep
                            &
                Nisan Bazaar:  Assyrian food, books, accessories...
                Bet-Umtah:  20000 Almaden Road
                San Jose, California
                Free,  3:30 pm
 

April 22        International Festival:  "Faces of the World"
                Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club of MJC
                Assyrian music, food, and fashion show
                Modesto, California
                Cost:  $5.00,  $3.00 (students)
 

May 25-29       California State Convention
                Pasadena, California  U.S.
 

June 8-10       The Syriac Conference
                Catholic University
                Washington D.C.  U.S.
 

June 29         Legal Aspects of Care of the Elderly in the Ancient Near
                East:  A Colloquium
                [Society for the Study of Ancient Near Eastern Law]
                On Mesopotamia:  Drs.  C. Wilcke, M. Stol, and K.R. Veenhof
 

                Papyrologisch Institut
                Witte Singel 27
                NL 2311 Eig Leiden
                The Netherlands
 

July 3-7        42nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale
                Luven, Belgium
                "At the Crossroads of Civilization in the Syro-Mesopotamian
                 Realm,  Lanaguages and Cultures in Contact"
 

July 4          Assyrian United Organizations of California Olympics
                San Jose, California
                Chairman:  Homer Benjamin @ (408)  997-3592
 

Aug 31-Sept 4   Assyrian National Convention
                Sheridan Hotel
                Chicago, Illinois   U.S.
 

June 9-11,1996  The ARAM Conference
                Harvard University
                Cambridge, Massachusetts  U.S.
 

ENTERTAINMENT
 

March 25, 1995  Kha b'Neesan Dinner Party:  AAA of Yonkers
                Association Hall, Yonkers, New York
                Entertainer:  Linda George
                Donation:  $25.00

April 1, 1995   Assyrian New Year Parade, Chicago
                Parade route:  Peterson and Western to Pratt ending in Warren
                               Park
                Traditional Music of Dawla and Zorna

                Assyrian New Year Party
                O'Hare Expo Center
                Entertainers:  George Chaharbakhchi, Fatin Shabo, Emanuel Bet
                               Younan,Shabi Lawando, Ramsin Odisho with Brothers
                               and Bet Nahrain bands.
                Donation:  $15.00

April 1         Kha b'Neesan Dinner Party:  AAA of San Jose
                Hyatt San Jose
                San Jose, CA
                Entertainers:  Robert Khanishan and the Sonata Band (featuring
                               Juliana Hamza)
                Donation:  $40.00

MEETINGS
 

Thursdays       Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club at Modesto Junior College
                1:00 pm,  Founders Hall  125.
 

                   W H Y   N O T   A S K   Z E N D A?
==========================================================
What's the word in Assyrian for ... ??
Who were the ... ?  What did really happen in ...?  Well, why not ask Zenda?

                          Z E N D A   A  S  K  S
==========================================================
Thanks to all of our readers who responded to the request for the Internet
Meeting.  Zenda's staff in Chicago will discuss the meeting date and time with
he organizers of this year's National Convention in Chicago.  How about a wine
and cheeze social?  Well, let's not get too carried awary!  After all, this is a a
meeting of the surfers and not wine connoisseurs.

What should be done with the case of Edward Isho, viciously murdered in our
homeland of Bet-Nahrain?  Send your reply to Zenda.

Would you like to have your email address included in the Assyrian Email
Directory?  Contact Firas Jatou in Canada (jatou@waves.toronto.edu).
 

                       P U M P  U P  T H E  V O L U M E
=========================================================
English            Assyrian        Pronunciation

Comfort             nyakha
Beer                arsana
Room                tawana

                        B A C K  TO THE  F U T U R E
=========================================================
BC (1207):     Ashur-nadin-apli, Tukulti-Ninurta I's son, and the nobles of
Assyria revolt against the Assyrian king and seige his capital.  Tukulti-Ninurta
 was captured in his palace and slain with a sword.

AD (1849):     The first Assyrian periodical, Zahrire d'Bahra appears in Urmia.
This bi-weekly journal was founded by the American missionaries under the
guidance of Justin Perkins and assisted by Rabi Mirza Shmuel Khangaldi.  Each
issue consisted of four pages, with local and international news.  Its
publication lasted until the end of World War I (1918).

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Comments?  Suggestions?  Write to Zenda at walkhas@qntm.com and let us know
about your community's activities.  The materials published in Zenda are not
edited and your stories and articles will be published as received, unless
directed otherwise.

Would your friends like to receive their own copy of Zenda via email?  Send us
their address.

If you or someone you know may wish to receive "hard" copies of Zenda contact:
          Zenda @    P.O. Box 20278    San Jose, California   U.S.
=============================================================
                       A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S
=============================================================
Zenda wishes to thank the following individuals for making this issue of Zenda
possible:
 

Pauline Jasim:    Chicago, Illinois
Firas Jatou:        Toronto, Canada
Albert Gabrial:    Hollister, California
 
& our sources at the Iraqi National Congress and the Turkish News Groups.

The next issue of ZENDA will be sent to you on April 3, 1995.