=====================================================
                   THE   L   I   G   H   T   H   O   U   S   E
=====================================================
 
        ASSYRIANISM AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER
 

It is my opinion that there is no greater issue facing
the world today than the renewed questions of
nationalism and statehood that the death of the Cold
War has awakened.  As the old systems break down and
the old, new and resurgent powers of the world look
back over the maps that they drew at the begining of
this century, the question of statehood or just autonomy
for the various different peoples of the world is one
that will have repurcussions well into the lives of our
grandchildren.  Some will tell you that weapon
proliferation, and especially nuclear, biological and
chemical proliferation is the most important issue, or
that regional conflicts such as the Balkans, the Middle
East, the Kashmir and Punjab, or Taiwan.  All of these
however, are symptoms of the greater issue which is not
even being addressed today, that of nations and peoples
long unrecognized (or even recently unrecognized, a la
the Baltic States) who share a common history and culture
streatching back in some cases since before the birth of
Christ who long for some kind of organized existance.
Assyrianism is a perfect example of this, having a shared
culture and history so old that it predates (in some ways)
monotheism (I say some ways because I know that some
Assyrians identify themselves by denomination i.e. Chaldean).
 

How the world deals with this diversification of the world
(again I must qualify as the diveristy has always been there,
only now it is once again at the forefront as the struggle
between ideologies seems to be dying), and indeed whether
it even addresses this issue, will determine the flow of
events for the next century(s).
 

Matt D. O'Hara
Chicago, Illinois

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

(ZNRU:  Diyarbakir) Turkish troops backed by U.S.-made
Cobra helicopter gunships drove into northern Bet-Nahrain
in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas, killing at least 15
PKK rebels.  Troops penetrated up to six miles inside
northern Iraqi territory. About 35,000 troops had been
deployed for some time along the Iraqi border, concen-
trating on short-range missions. Turkish officials
estimate about 600 PKK fighters and 150 guerrillas from
the leftist Turkish Workers-Peasant Liberation Army are
now based in the rugged terrain. As many as 30,000
Assyrians may still be living in this region.  Turkish
officials said Thursday they were ready to launch more
such operations if needed. The rebels announced a
unilateral cease-fire last December but said they would
fight back if attacked.
 

=====================================================
                  S U R F S  U P !
=====================================================
 

"I would like to express my gratitude at your seeing
fit to quote my piece in Nabu."
 

Matt D. O'Hara
Chicago, Illinois
 

               ***********************
 

"Today more than ever before there is a pressing need
for intellegent leadership in our Assyrian community.
We Assyrian women are emerging as visible leaders on
variety of issues both inside and outside our Assyrian
communities.  By coming together we can formally
establish means to support each other by acknowledging
our inherent strengths, taking pride in ourselves,
setting far reaching goals for ourselves and those we
lead, and by acting decisively to make changes in spite
of whatever barriars we may seemto face.  Lets make the
First North American Assyrian Women's Conference to be
held during the National Assyrian Convention at Modesto
one that increases our visibility, leadership and
especially our genuine desire to support each other.
Your readers' responses are essential to the success of
this project.  I can be reached at:
Gevargiz@aol.com  tel: (860)225-5646 fax:(860) 827-1929
P.O. Box 1764  New Britain, CT. 06050-1764 "
 

Thank you
 

Sharokin Betgevargiz
New Britain, Connecticut, U.S.
 
               ***********************
 

"Can you please send me more information about the 'Arrest
in Iran' article in this weeks issue of Zenda.  As it turns
out, someone from Iran has sent pictures of some of the
artifacts to someone here in New York.  They are interested
in selling them and of course making some money.  In any
event, if available, please send me any additional
information you may have."
 

Sandra Gevarguize
New York
 

[We have no further information at this time; however, we
will continue our investigation.]
 

               ***********************
 

"Thank you for the job well done in providing us with
the informative newsletter. It is particularly appreciated
by us as we use it as a news source for the Nineveh
Newspaper produced by a group of Assyrians and sponsored
by United Assyrian Youth of Canada.  On a personal level,
I enjoy reading it, and hope it will grow to gather info
from all the news sources, to enable the Assyrian Journals
and newspapers to use Zenda as the main source of news.
At this time I would like to add on the events list, Nisibis
School, every Saturday 10:30-1:30 language school of over
120 students, 6 classes with Assyrian language being the
main subject taught, The school is managed by the Church of
the East (Assyrian Branch) and transportation (Bus) is
provided by United Assyrian Youth of Canada.  Graduates are
organizing the establishment of the Assyrian Academic Club
(Alnadee Althakafee) in Toronto.  The Assyrian Society of
Canada organization donated the proceeds of the Easter Party
to aid the Assyrians in our occupied ancestral home in Iraq.
Over 2000 that included donations from Mr. Mark Hawil and
$75 from UAYC were turnrd over to His Grace Mar Emmanuel to
be delivered to the destination.  Assyrian Church of the East
(Assyrian Branch has a committee called Urhai entertainment
committee that is hosting a dinner banquet on May 20th at
Crystal Palace Banquet hall on 1811 Albion Road, with Linda
George.  United Assyrian Youth of Canada and AUA Political
Arm are hosting a dance party with Linda George as the
entertainment at Crystal Palace (Same as above) on Saturday
June 1st.  The New Year and Christmmas parties this year are
being hosted in Toronto with unity of Assyrian Aid Society,
Toronto branch and United Assyrian Youth of Canada.  An arts
and Drama group in Toronto is preparing the second Drama to
be performed in the near future. The drama is written by
Romeo Yousif. More details in the future.  Every Sunday, at
the Assyrioan Centre in Mississauga there is a dance party
that includes a few games of family Bingo.  Thank you again
for your good work."
 

Nenus Younan
Toronto, Canada
 

               ***********************
 

"...I'm still a novice on this electronic genius and
learning by the old trial and error methods.  So
believe it or not, you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Please believe me when I tell you that I look forward
to receiving your posts.  Alaha barichlookhon hamasha.
Shalamee."
 

Paul Newey
Chicago, Illinois
 

               ***********************
 

"...I would like to thank you for the follow-up info
regarding the ACNC'96 conference in Zenda's last issue
(Volume II, Issue 14). But since we are preparing a final
annuncement of the agenda and the conference, the short
summary you provided is incomplete and  may cause some
confusions with what we have already announced as purpose
and agenda (I wished you had send me the abstract for
editing). This is because:
- the e.Babylon initiative/coalition is THE organizer
  of the Assyrian Community Networking Conference; it
  is an entity of its own;
- it is really a conference rather than a meeting;
- there will be several papers presented at the conference;
- and the conference is not only a gathering of Assyrian
  computer scientists, engineers, internet surfers, and
  email users;
- of course, the AUOC is the sponsor..."
Anyway, as mentioned we will have soon thew final
announcements ready for publication and I would appreciate
if you plan to devote part of a ZENDA issue to the topic."
 

Christoph Aktas
Sunnyvale, California

=====================================================
                              S U R F E R S   C O R N E R
=====================================================
 

ZENDA invites all Assyrian Surfers of the net to attend
the ACNC'96 Conference on Saturday, May 25 from 1 to
5 pm at the Fairmont Hotel- San Jose, California.
 
=====================================================
                                   N E W S    D I G E S T
=====================================================
 

    A HISTORIC CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN MODESTO
 

(ZN:  New Britain) The First North American Assyrian
Women's Conference will be held during the National
Assyrian Convention in Modesto, California during the
Labor Day Weekend (Aug 29-Sep 2, 1996). The goal of
this conference is to establish mechanisms for mutual
support among Assyrian women, and assisting them in
working together to plan and shape our own goals.
"This conference belongs to all Assyrian women: young
women, mothers, professional women, artists, and women
in universities are highly encouraged to attend," says
Sharokin Betgevargiz who chairs the Women's Committee
of the Assyrian American National Federation.  The
following is a list of a few issues discussed at the
meetings of the Women's Committee:
1) A history of Assyrian women's immigration to the US
and Canada, 2)Assyrian women's visibility, leadership
and decision-making within existing Assyrian organization,
3) Assyrian women in arts, literature and music,
4)Creating international support for Assyrian women in
the Middle East, 5) increasing professional, educational
and political role of Assyrian women, and 6)finding
effective means to support young Assyrian women.
A Pre-conference meeting is scheduled during the
Assyrian State Convention on Sunday May 26 at 1:00 p.m.
This meeting will provide an oppurtunity for Assyrian
women to gather together, articulate their vision for
the future, and their expectations for the First
North American Assyrian Women's Conference.  A brief
report about the mission of this committee, its future
objectives and plans for the upcoming conference will
be delivered by Ms. Sharokin Betgevargiz.  For more
information contact Sharokin at: GEVARGIZ@AOL.COM
 

    KIDS FROM BET-NAHRAIN TO ARRIVE IN SAN JOSE
 

(ZN: San Jose) On Monday, May 20 the two Assyrian kids
who were recently brought to the United States from
northern Bet-Nahrain to receive medical attention, will
be arriving at the San Jose International Airport.
Bernadit Jalal, 8, and Youkhana Nano, 6, will be the
guests of the Assyrian Weekly Magazine TV Show hosted
by George Maragolof and the city of San Jose during
the Assyrian State Convention of California.  The Assyrian
Aid Society of America has requested that local Assyrians
living in the Bay Area gather at the airport to welcome
the children and their parents.  Mr. Yokie Khaninia of
the AAS also notes that since Bernadit is from the Assyrian
village of Mangeesh the presence of any Mangeeshi's will
be especially appreciated.  Youkhana and Bernadit are
recovering from two major operations which took place
last month in Texas.  "We're asking kids to bring toys to
give to these children at the airport," said Mr. Yokie
Khaninia to a ZENDA reporter.  The American Airline
flight will arrive at 5:24 pm and the TV live-show is
scheduled to air on Tuesday, May 21 at 6:00 pm, San Jose
Time.
 
=====================================================
          D I R E C T O R Y  OF THE  N E W S  S O U R C E S
=====================================================
ZNNQ (Nabu Quarterly)
ZNRU (Reuters):  ClariNet Communications Corp.
ZNSC (soc.culture.assyrian) newsgroup
ZNUP (United Press International)
ZNDA (Zenda: zenda@ix.netcom.com)
 

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

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
 

July 1-5        RENCONTRE ASSYRIOLOGIQUE INTERNATIONALE
                Praque, Czech Republic
 

July 2-7        10th Annual Assyrian Youth Convention
                of the Assyrian Church of the East
                Chicago, Illinois
 

July 4-7        Assyrian Olympics of California
                San Diego, California
 

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
-----------------------------------------------------
May 20          Dinner Banquet
                Urhai Entertainment Committee of
                  The Church of the East
                Crystal Palace Banquet Hall
                1811 Albion Road
                Entertainer: Linda George.
 

June 1          Dance Party
                United Assyrian Youth of Canada &
                  AUA Political Arm
                Crystal Palace Banquet Hall
                1811 Albion Road
                Entertainer:  Linda George
 

-----------------------------------------------------
            REGULAR CLASSES & MEETINGS
-----------------------------------------------------
Mondays         Assyrian History Class
                "Assyrian History: 18th Century thru Present
                Instructor:  Wilfred Alkhas
                BETA on 20000 Almaden Rd, San Jose, Calif
                Class begins on June 3
 

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

Fridays          Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club at
                 Modesto Junior College
                 1:00 pm
                 Founders Hall 108
                 Modesto, U.S.A.
 

Saturdays        Nisibis School
                 10:30-1:30
                 The Church of the East
                 The United Assyrian Youth of Canada
                 Toronto, Canada
 
 

                 Nisibin School
                 Ages 4 thru 14
                 Assyrian Language, History, & Arts
                 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
                 BETA on 20000 Almaden Rd, San Joe, Calif
                 Classes begin on June 15
 

=====================================================
   A S S Y R I A N   S U R F I N G   P O S T S
=====================================================
The Antiochian Catholic Church (Syriac Tradition)
 

    http://www.maths.tcd.ie/~thomas/acca.intro.html
 

=====================================================
          P U M P  U P  T H E  V O L U M E
=====================================================
        ENGLISH                ASSYRIAN
 

        Courage               loo-ba-va       [M]
        Courageous          lvee-va          [M]
                                  lvev-ta             [F]
        To Dare              ma-ra-khoo-ta  [F]
 
 

____________________________________________________
F = Feminine     M = Masculine      P = Plural
 

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

B.C. (1800's) The Assyrian colonies in Cappadocia come
to an end due to major political upheavals.  The net
effect was a temporary cutting off of Anatolian copper
supply to Bet-Nahrain.
 

<< Civilization Before Greece & Rome, Saggs >>
 

A.D. (May 1897) The Mission of the Russsian Orthodox
Church arrives in the Urmie region of northwestern
Iran and by December enrolls the entire Assyrian
diocese of Spurghan.
 
<<Kurds and Christians, Rev. F. N. Heazell>>
 
 

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

      *** A Sumerian Hymnn to Goddess Nanshe ***
            ca. 3000 BC, discovered in 1951
 

 Nanshe, who know the orphan, who knows the widow,
 knows the oppression of man over man, is the
   orphan's mother,
 Nanshe, who cares for the widow,
 Who seeks out justice for the poorest,
 The queen brings the refugee to her lap,
 Finds shelter for the weak.
 
<<  History Begins at Sumer, Kramer >>
 

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

May 14, 1911:  "The Ninos Association" is established
as the first Assyrian association in Tehran, Iran.
 

May 15, 1888:  born, Malek Qanbar Jilu, who later led
the Assyrian armies during WWI.
 
 
 

======================================================
                                        B   R   A   V   O
======================================================
 

Since mid-1995 The Assyrian National Association of
Connecticut has continued to donate a portion of its
income from the sale of admission tickets to its social
activities to the Education Committee of the Assyrian
American National Federation.  Even though it remains
among the smallest associations in membership number
this organization has committed more resources to the
scholarship fund of the AANF than the remaining 27
Assyrian organizations combined.
 

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

CORPORATE ACCOUNTS
 
 
UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS
             University of Chicago
 
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
             Washington D.C.
 
 
======================================================
                           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:
 

Christoph Aktas         Sunnyvale, California
Albert Gabrial          Hollister, California
Matt D. O'Hara          Chicago, Illinois
Sharokin Betgevargiz    Bristol, Connecticut
Yokie Khaninia          San Jose, California
Ninus Younan            Toronto, Canada
____________________________________________________
 

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 and church
activities, personal accomplishments, and meeting/
school events to Zenda no later than Sunday, 12:00 PM,
Pacific Standard Time.
 

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Our Next Issue will appear on Monday, May 20, 1996.
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