=====================================================
                        THE   L   I   G   H   T   H   O   U   S   E
=====================================================

                      SALVATION LIES WITHIN OURSELVES

                                          --An Editorial--
 

Today when members of a typical Assyrian youth group
propose and plan an activity to further a common
interest, it usually prompts disapproval from a small
group of parents and elders.  The old fundamentalist
generation and the new visionary radicals are two
opposing followers of the same movement - Assyrian
revivalism.  The former tenaciously clings to a system
devised to suit the objectives of our people living in
fear of cultural extinction; however, the latter
orients its thoughts and actions toward practical end
results which bring about public recognition and of
sympathy for a culture confronting extinction.  The
old generation's approach simply does not fit the new
environment that Assyria faces in the volatile 1990's.
The ideological gulf between the two schools of thought
and the resulting conflict contribute greatly to the
apathy toward cultural enlightenment among Assyrian
youth.
 

We must rise above the gap between the two generations
and create a healthy atmosphere for our youth to
realize their potentials and as a consequence claim
back the lost respect that Assyria still deserves in
the world community.
 

Salvation lies within ourselves.  To blame others for
our weaknesses and misery is a mark of feeble
cerebration and cowardice.  A new phase is imminent
for Assyrian revivalism.  Our seemingly unsurmountable
problems, lack of economic productivity, social
inequalities, and a nonexistent share in the global
political arena dictate revolutionary applications
of original and productive intellectual undertakings.
Alliances between the Assyrian society and other
nations must be inaugurated and encouraged in the
sectors of politics, economics, and most importantly
education.
 

Nothing is more ruinous to the stagnation caused by
an outdated and prodigal establishment than the
enthusiasm of the young.  Let us all work for the
day every Assyrian will realize the absolute
importance of encouraging the development of
scholarship and artistic abilities in our youth who
in the future must proudly carry the heavy burden of
reality with success.

=====================================================
             G O O D   M O R N I N G   B E T - N A H R A I N
=====================================================

     SHELL OIL CO. ACCUSED OF WATER POLLUTION

(RU: Turkey) Hundreds of protesters marched through
the streets of Diyarbakir condemning Anglo-Dutch oil
giant Shell last week for allegedly injecting
polluted production water into drinking water in
northern Bet-Nahrain.  Greenpeace has accused Shell
of injecting 487.5 million barrels of water polluted
with crude oil, solvents and other chemicals into an
aquifer near Diyarbakir between 1973 and 1994. Shell
says it can prove the water was not polluted.
The company sold its exploration outfit in Turkey to
international firm Perenco in 1994 after 30 years of
operation.  It still has a stake in a refinery in
Turkey in partnership with U.S. oil giant Mobil Corp.
 
ANTI-SADDAM GROUP DISAGREE ON ESTABLISHING A FEDERATION
 

(RU: Jordan) - Divisions over the idea of a federation
in Iraq and other disagreements prevented leaders of
10 Iraqi opposition groups from reaching a common stand
in two days of talks in Damascus.  Conference sources
said the groups, which ended their talks on Thursday,
failed to achieve a common stand on the shape of the
system they want to replace Saddam's government.
There was disagreement on the establishment of a
federation in Iraq, with the Kurds favouring the idea
floated by Jordan's King Hussein and the nationalists
strongly opposing it. Iraqi opposition groups have made
little headway towards a common platform despite holding
several such meetings in the past five years.
 

=====================================================
                                          S U R F S  U P !
=====================================================
"Thank you for sending me zenda, Now I do take time
every few days to see what is happening with our
assyrian brothers and sisters. Also I think you are
doing a great job. I wish we could get every assyrian
on the net .  again if there is anythink that i can do
please let me know. you can call, write or e mail me.
I would love to get some information from your readers."
 

Office of Councilmember Benjamin Elias
P.O.Box 443
Union City, CA 94587
510-487-9111
Email: belias@CCNET.COM
 

"I enjoy reading "ZENDA" and to see that Assyrians have
a source of information weekly.  There is a dilemma that
we all are facing in keeping our language, culture. If we
do not do some thing to remedi the root of our problems
other thing are just a band aid. What is the most
distractive thing facing us and our children is the TV.
Eight to ten hours of watching regular (in english only)
programing a day, what can we expect from our children
to learn. I am not just talking about the bad influence
of violence. I am talking about not hearing nor talking
with parents, brothers, sisters in Assyrian Language.
And then we complain that children are not speaking
Assyrian. Yes we need Bilingual schools, yes we need
clubs and churches to teach Assyrian and get kids together
but we need more. We can use the one media that seams to
have most distractive impact to our advantage.
 

Announcing the first Assyrian Television, owned by
Assyrians, Operated by Assyrians, for Assyrians. KBSV
Channel 23 in Ceres, Modesto, Turlock and surrounding
cities. This television station is a beginning that I hope
would be filling one missing link in our communication
media. We had magazines, newsletters, Radio Station, and
even this E-Mail which all are important. Television
station gives us capability to reach every body and to
entertain, and educate. Starting with children programing,
reading and writing Assyrian and most important of all
hearing the language while we are entertained.
 

This could be implemented in Chicago, Las Angeles, Bay Area
to have other stations or use satellite. We need your help.
All concerned parents can directly or indirectly help. By
stimulating and encouraging themselves and their kids to
watch the KBSV programming, if have the ability to contribute
to the TV programming (if have stories, old movies about
the Assyrian history, kids books, etc.). Do not put your
children future in imaginary we should, why some one is not
doing this or that. The Television Station is real is here
lets use it lets contribute to it. Do not be only moderators,
be contributors."
 

Ninous Bebla
Education Chairman of Bet-Nahrain Inc.
KBSV@aol.com
 
=====================================================
                             S U R F E R S   C O R N E R
=====================================================
 

To date no Zenda reader has submitted a response to
the question below which we addressed two weeks ago.
The year B.C. 4750 is the basis of the Assyrian
Calendar.  We hope that our readers will bombard our
inbox with their answers or even educated guesses
before the next issue is due.
 

GAP:  What's the significance of the year B.C. 4750
      in the calculation of the Assyrian Year 6746?
 

First Hint (4/1/96):
      The Temple in the city of Ashur (Assur).
 

Second Hint (4/8/96):
      Number of times the temple was rebuilt.
 

 
=====================================================
               N E W S    D I G E S T
=====================================================
 

                                    AZIZ FAVORS DOLE
 

(RU: Paris) Assyrian-Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq
Aziz has hinted a preference for Republican contender
Bob Dole in the U.S. presidential election, saying "he
knows the Middle East better than President Clinton."
``He visited Iraq in 1990 with other parliamentarians
and met our president, Saddam Hussein, for three hours.
As for Bill Clinton, he knows nothing about the region,''
said Aziz in an interview with the French newspaper
Le Monde.
 

 CHICAGO ASSYRIANS CELEBRATE KHA B'NEESAN WITH A BANG
 

(SC: Chicago) On Sunday, March 31, despite frigid
temperatures and howling 20 mph winds, 4000 Assyrians
converged on King Sargon Boulevard (Western Avenue),
where a procession of 32 floats moved from Peterson
Avenue to Pratt Avenue, a distance of approximately
one mile.  From little children to senior citizens,
the streets were filled with jubilant Assyrians,
shouting "Brikhta reesha d'sheeta, and waving Assyrian
flags in the strong wind.  At the end point of the
parade, after the passing of the last float, a
representative of the Assyrian Democratic Movement
(ZOWAA) addressed the crowd and reminded everyone of
the dire situation facing the Assyrians in the homeland.
 

(RU: Lebanon) The Patriarch of the Maronite church in
Lebanon greeted French President Jacques Chirac on
Friday and told him Lebanon was day-by-day losing more
of its sovereignty, independence and freedom of decision.
Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, who has emerged as a champion of
Lebanese liberties and independence, told Chirac in a Good
Friday sermon that after its 1975-90 civil war Lebanon
resembles the crucified Christ -- ``murdered, humiliated,
almost bled dry.''  Syrian-backed President Elias Hrawi,
a Maronite whose term  of office was extended last year
without an election but with Syria's blessing, sat beside
Chirac as Sfeir spoke.  Chirac was expected to urge Sfeir
to encourage Christians to vote in parliamentary elections
due in the autumn. Most Lebanese Christians boycotted the
last elections in 1992 in protest at the presence of 35,000
Syrian troops in the country. Lebanon's Catholic bishops
formally demanded the withdrawal of the Syrian troops in a
statement they issued in December after a Vatican synod
presided by Pope John Paul II. A banner outside the meeting
place declared: ``The Maronite patriarch is the conscience
of Lebanon.''
 
         CHICAGO'S WINGED BULL WINS CHAMPIONSHIP
 

(SC: Toronto) For the second time, the Chicago Winged Bull
soccer team, has won the Assyrian Soccer Tournament held in
Toronto.  Participants included the Assyrian teams from
Chicago, Detroit, Windsor, London, and Toronto.  The Winged
Bull players faced the Nineveh Star Youth team of Toronto in
the final match.
 

First Round:
 

Winged Bull  vs. Babylon Lion (Toronto)     5 - 2
Nineveh Star (Toronto) vs.  Windsor           5 - 2
Winged Bull vs. Babylon Lion                     6 - 0
Nineveh Star vs. Winged Bull                      4 - 1
 

Semi-finals:
 

Winged Bull vs.  Winged Bull (Detroit)      5 - 2
Nineveh Star vs. London                     3 - 2
 

The Final:
 

Winged Bull vs. Nineveh Star                10 - 3
 
 

DISTRIBUTION SERVICE CONNECTS ASSYRIAN EMAIL USERS
 

(ZN: San Jose)  Assyrian users of the email technology
can now instantaneously share and discuss their ideas
using the all-new E-mail Distribution Service.
Subscribers can post messages which in turn are
automatically distributed to all other subscribers
through a connection service called the AssyrianLink.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to AssyrianLink send an
email to list@allover.com and leave the subject field
blank.  In the body of the message type "subscribe
assyrianlink."
 

     2nd INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON SYRIAC COMPUTING
 
(ZN: Sweden)  The First International Forum on Syriac
Computing was organized by the Syriac Computing Institue
and held at the Catholic University of America in
Washington D.C. during June 1995.  The success of the
first forum prompted the Syriac Computing Institute to
organize the second conference in 1996.  The aim of the
Forum is twofold: to give academics working on
computational projects related to Syriac studies an
opportunity to meet and share their work and experience,
and to acquaint these scholars and all computer users with
the most recent advances in word-processing, available
fonts and other user-related applications.  Papers on all
aspects of Syriac computing are welcomed, including, but
not limited to
   lexical database
   word processing / fonts
   concordance generation
   critical editions
   morphological analysis
   desktop publishing
   art/images and graphics
   computer aided learning/teaching
One page abstracts must be submitted (preferably be email)
by 1 June, 1996.  For more information contact:
   George A. Kiraz (SyrCOM)
   St John's College
   Cambridge CB2 1TP
   United Kingdom
   Fax: +44 1223 334678 (Attn. G. Kiraz)
   E-mail: George.Kiraz@cl.cam.ac.uk
The Syriac Computing Institute Home Page is:
   http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/gk105/syrcom/
 
=====================================================
  D I R E C T O R Y  OF THE  N E W S  S O U R C E S
=====================================================
 

RU (Reuters):  ClariNet Communications Corp.
SC:  soc.culture.assyrian newsgroup
UP (United Press International)
WS (Wall Street Journal)
ZN (Zenda: zenda@ix.netcom.com)
 

=====================================================
       C A L E N D A R    OF     E V E N T S
=====================================================

April 12-14     The Assyrian Art Exhibition 1996
                Toronto, Canada
                (416) 972-0106  Voice
                (416) 650-1983  Fax
 

April 27        Two Plays by William Daniel
                "The Meeting" & "Tdalaboota"
                Santa Clara University
                Santa Clara, California
 

May 24-27       Assyrian State Convention of California
                Fairmont Hotel
                San Jose, U.S.A.
 
May 24-25       Memorial Weekend Games
                Chicago, U.S.A.
 

May 25-26       2nd Assyrian Community Networking Conference
                Fairmont Hotel
                San Jose, U.S.A.
 

June 1          Nineveh Choral Concert
                Conducted by Maestro Nebu Issabey
                Santa Teresa High School Auditorium
                San Jose, U.S.A.
                8:00 pm
 

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

Thru Aug 15     "Beirut:  Uncovering the Past"
                Profiles recent UNESCO archeology efforts
                The British Museum
                London, England
 

August 12-14    SyrCOM-96: Second International Forum
                           on Syrian Computing
                Symposium Syriacum
                Uppsala University
                Dept of Asian and African Studies
                Box 513
                S-751 20 Uppsala
                Sweden
                Fax: +46 18 181094
                Witold.Witakowski@afro.uu.se
 
Aug 29-Sept 2   AANF National Convention
                Red Lion Inn Hotel
                Modesto, U.S.A.
 
-----------------------------------------------------
                  ENTERTAINMENT
-----------------------------------------------------
April 12        St. Mary's Annual Church Party
                Assyrian Catholic Church
                Scottish Rite Center
                San Jose, California
                Entertainer:  Walter Aziz/Haroot Band
                              Nights of Babylon DJ
                Donation:  $30.00
 

April 14        Neesan Dinner Social
                at Jora's Restaurant
                1250 Aviation Ave, STE 235
                San Jose, California
                6:30 PM
                Donation:  $15.00
 

                Zowaa Anniversary Party
                Awana Hall
                San Jose ,California
 
 
-----------------------------------------------------
               REGULAR MEETINGS
-----------------------------------------------------
Fridays       Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club at
              Modesto Junior College
              1:00 pm
              Founders Hall 108
              Modesto, U.S.A.
 

-----------------------------------------------------
                    CLASSES
-----------------------------------------------------
Thursdays     Nineveh Choir:  Maestro Nebu Issabey
              BETA:  AAA of San Jose, U.S.A.
              7:30-9:00 pm
 

=====================================================
                 A S S Y R I A N   S U R F I N G   P O S T S
=====================================================

Standing Lion of Babylon
   http://www.paris.org/Musees/Louvre/Treasures/Oriental/
 
=====================================================
                     P U M P  U P  T H E  V O L U M E
=====================================================
        ENGLISH                ASSYRIAN
 
        Secret               tdeshva       [M]
        Code                 rimzaa        [M]
        Spy                  gashosha      [M]
 
 

Note:   pronounce "g" in gashosha as in English "girl"
_____________________________________________________
F = Feminine     M = Masculine      P = Plural
 

 
=====================================================
        B A C K    T O  T H E    F U T U R E
=====================================================
 

B.C. (680's) King Sennacherib builds a great inner wall
enclosing the city of Nineveh which had by this time
reached an area of one thousand acres.  The wall was
40 feet thick and 45 feet high.  15 gates were built
within the walls.
 

<< Saggs, The Might That Was Assyria >>
 

A.D. (1845) Assyrians are recognized as an official
"millet" in the Kingdom of the Ottomans (modern Turks).
The Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East is
appointed as the head of the Assyrian "millet."
 

<< al-Khalil, Republic of Fear >>
 

======================================================
                                L  I  T  E  R  A  T  U  S
======================================================
 

                      ***  More Sumerian Proverbs ***
                                    c. 3000 B.C.
 

      He who builds like a lord, lives like a slave
      He who builds like a slave, lives like a lord.
 

      Though he has not caught the fox,
      he is making a neck-stock for it.

======================================================
                     T H I S    W E E K   I N    H I S T O R Y
======================================================
 

April 10, 1968: The founders of the Assyrian Universal
Alliance hold the First Congress in Pau, France.
 

April 11, 1893:  Archeologists from the University of
Pennsylvania discover over 21,000 tablets from the
ruins of the ancient Babylonian city of Nippur.
 

April 12, 1952:  The first issue of the Assyrian
magazine, Gilgamesh, is published in Tehran, Iran.
 

April 12, 1903:  Mar Shimun Benyamin assumes the
Patriarchate of the Assyrian Church of the East.
 

======================================================
                                          B   R   A   V   O
======================================================
Congratulations to Mr. Gilyana Chamaki, president of
the Allover Information Services, in establishing the
first Assyrian email distribution service.  Views and
comments from subscribers to this service are
automatically received at each subscriber's email in-
box.  AssyrianLink helps to bring the Assyrians on the
internet even closer, permitting them to communicate
more effectively. For more information browse the
Allover homepage at http://www.allover.com or call

       Tel: 408-779-0201     Fax: 408-779-3239
 
 

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

CORPORATE ACCOUNTS

             BayNetworks Corp
 
UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS

             University of California, San Francisco
 

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS

             Chicago, Illinois
 
=====================================================
                       A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S
=====================================================
Zenda wishes to thank the following individuals &
organizations whose contributions appear in this issue:
 

Peter Jasim                Chicago, Illinois
Layth Jato                 Toronto, Canada
George Kiraz              Cambridge, England
Gilyana Chamaki         Morgan Hill, California

____________________________________________________

ZENDA will continue to print your comments and
suggestions free of editing, as they appear in our
mailbox.  All letters will be printed in our SURFS UP!
section unless directed otherwise.

We urge you to submit your community events, personal
accomplishments, and meeting/school times to Zenda
no later than Sunday, 12:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time.

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Our Next Issue will appear on Monday, April 15, 1996.
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