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

                  WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ASSYRIAN?
 

It hurts too much.  The feeling never goes away. It just stays with
me though I wish it could somehow disappear as fast as it finds its
way into my head.  The memories...that's the worst part.  The memories
linger on.  I feel as if I can't change the way things have turned out.
They just talk about it, write about it, make others think about it.
But all this does is make the pain stay a little longer, and grow deeper.
All this is too depressing.
 

I know they're always talking about Assyrians.  They know we're here watching
them.  Their eyes can see us.  Our thoughts they can read, but they deny
us.  I'm tired of sitting alone by myself away from the crowd.  Again I
find myself sitting in middle of my bedroom feeling sorry.  This place
doesn't even belong to me.  My parent are renting it from a Vietnamese
couple.  Every time we look up they turn away.  The hell with them.  Who
cares if they deny us.  We live and that's all that matters.
 

Here I go again blaming them for our bad fortunes.  Who cares
if they know.  We should hold the light in our hands and listen to
our teachers and singers.  Sing ... for us a little.  Tell me about the
place we came from, the rivers of life, the highlands and the lowlands.
I long for the fairy tales.  I guess I really don't know who I am and
maybe I don't care to know.  I'm sorry.  I really liked your class, but
I thought you should know.
 

Written by an Assyrian student of history
Summer 1993
Nisibin History Class taught by Wilfred Alkhas
 
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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
=====================================================================
 

                 STICKY STICKS AND ANCIENT STONES
 

(ZNAM:  Syria)  According to a recent archeological discovery in Syria
from Umm el-Telal in northwestern Bet-Nahrain the date of mankind's use
of adhesives is pushed back to 36,000 years.  Until the discovery of
the bitumen found on the stone tools in Umm el-Telal the earliest
date was thought to be around 10,000 years ago.
 

            A NEW NEAR EASTERN EXHIBIT AT THE SMITHSONIAN
 

(ZNAM: Jordan)  Thousands of pottery fragments from the Ain Ghazal
archeological site  in Jordan will be exhibited at the Smithsonian
Institution's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C. from
July 28, 1996 until April 6, 1997.  Since early 1980's Ain Ghazal or
the Fountain of Ghazelles has provided scientists with important
information on the development of agriculture and herding in the
ancient Mesopotamia and the Near East in general.  The site is
believed to have been inhabited between 7200 and 6000 B.C.
 

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                                                  S   U   R   F   S     U   P   !
=====================================================================
"I read your Article on Andre Agasi.  I just want to let you know that
I am ASHAMED of him and not proud of him.  This is not the first time
that he has recognized himself as ARMENIAN.  My own mother is Armenian
but not one day I have recognized myself as one of them and not one day
I have denied my true heritage.  I have heard that his mother is
Armenian, what about his father?  Isn't he the same man who we brought
to our Assyrian Olympic last year and recognized him?  I would like to
ask Andre's father what he thinks when he sees his son is announcing to
the world he is ARMENIAN.  I would like to KNOW why he is keeping quiet
and not teaching his son about his true identity.  I feel pity for Andre,
A man who does not recognize his true identity  to me is a man with no
soul.  If I see Andre one day I would like to tell him that by denying
his true heritage he lost the privilege of being one the luckiest people
on the earth and if I see his father I would let him know of my
disappointment in him and his wife.  Isn't time for us to stop recognizing
and idealizing the people who deny their heritage?"
 

Lena Mushell
San Jose, California
 

                        *******************
"I met Andre's father at the San Jose State convention this year.  He is
a good friend of my Father in-law, as I was introduced to.  My father
in-law says that he knows him since they were very young.  According to
his, Andre's father is an Assyrian not an Armenian.  To clarify the
misunderstanding, I would like to know what is this business of being
Armenian not an Assyrian that they are talking about despite his father
is an Assyrian???"
 

Wilson Eashoian
Sacramento, California
 

                        *******************
"Congratulations, on such a great idea with your electronic magazine, I
would like to offer some ideas and suggestions for you to consider in
case you need material for your future issues.
 
1. Puzzles; These could be in form of questions related to our culture
and traditions. Encourage readers to contribute also.
 
2. Lighthearted Jokes; Crisp and Clean with no caffeine jokes that the
general reader can relate to, I have a few myself.
 
3. Rewards; As you grow together with your readership, you may want to
consider frequently a reward system, which will act as a double edged
sword, for example you may wish to advertise outside the Internet
community and gain exposure for ZENDA (could be a simple T-shirt with
your logo on it or one of your corporate sponsors).
 
4. Please use a spell checker thoroughly.
 
Thank you, and keep up the good work."
 
Sargon B Yalda
Chicago
 

[Great ideas!  We can always use a few laughs, not to mention cultural
 brain teasers.  ZENDA will also be offering promotional gifts upon the
 introduction of its web page in the very near future.]
 

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

 ZENDA WELCOMES OUR NEW SUBSCRIBERS IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, FINLAND & THE
 U.S.  WITH THE ADDITION OF THIS WEEK'S SURFERS OUR READERSHIP REACHES
 400 FROM THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES:
 

                                Austria
                                Australia
                                Canada
                                Denmark
                                England
                                Finland
                                France
                                Germany
                                Italy
                                New Zealand
                                Norway
                                Sweden
                                U.S.
                                Uruguay
 

  OUR NEXT STOP:  THE MIDDLE EAST!
 

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

       ANNA ESHOO ADDRESSES THE EMAIL PROBLEMS ON CAPITOL HILL
 

(ZNMN: San Jose)  Congresswoman Anna Eshoo of the 14th U.S.
Congressional District (California) will begin answering all incoming
email from her constituents with an email response based on a private
email embedded within her WWW site in Congress.  Ms. Eshoo receives
20 to 25 email messages each week which are then printed and combined
with other correspondences.  People who arrive at Eshoo's new home
page can set up a private mailbox on her Web server, which because
of technical conflicts with House of Representatives computer, is
located in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The user is first asked to
identify oneself as a constituent in Eshoo's district.  If not, then
the user is directed to his/her own representative.  Once a mailbox is
set up, the user can use his/her Web browser to type a message and
dispatch it to Eshoo's server.  For more information connect to:
 

                  http://www.eshoo.house.gov
 

Anna Eshoo is the first Assyrian woman to win a U.S. congressional
seat.  Currently she is serving her second term in office.
 
 

      WINNERS OF THE CANADA-U.S. SOCCER TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
 
(ZNSC: Chicago)  The Nineveh Star Youth Soccer Team was the winner of
the Assyrian Soccer Tournament held in London-Ontario.  The final game
was won 1 to 0 against the Assyrian Soccer team of Windsor.  Several
teams from Illinois, Michigan, and Ontario participated in the
weekend-long tournaments.  The games were celebrated with a
cocktail party featuring Janan Sawa followed by a picnic on the
next day.
 

Newsbytes...
 

(ZNDA: Chicago)  The Assyrian American National Federation has donated
$10,000.00 to the needy Assyrians in northern Iraq and $10,000.00
to the Khabour Project Relief Fund (see ZENDA 6/24/96) to assist the
Assyrian families in Syria.
 

 
=====================================================================
                  D I  R  E  C  T  O  R  Y  OF THE  N  E  W  S   S  O  U  R  C  E  S
=====================================================================
ANMN (Mercury News)
ZNNQ (Nabu Quarterly)
ZNNY (New York Times)
ZNRU (Reuters):  ClariNet Communications Corp.
ZNSC (soc.culture.assyrian) newsgroup
ZNTN (Turkish News Agency)
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
=====================================================================

July 14         Ordination Ceremony of Rev. Shmuil Khangaldi
                Bet-Eil Assyrian Ministry
                        held at
                St. Timothy Lutheran Church
                5100 Camden Avenue
                San Jose, California
                5:00 pm
 

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.
 

Thru April 6    The Ain Ghazal Exhibit
                Smithsonian Institute
                Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
                Washington D.C.
 
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                    E N T E R T A I N M E N T
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July 14         Nusard-il Picnic
                San Jose, California
 

July 20         Garden Party at the BETA
                AAA of San Jose
                20000 Almaden Road
                San Jose, California
                Entertainment:  Assyrian Stand-up Comedy
 

July 21         12th Annual Scholarship Awards Dinner
                Assyrian Universal Alliance Foundation
                Edens Banquet Hall
                6313 North Pulaski
                Chicago, Illinois
                (312) 274-9262, FAX (312) 274-5866
                Questions? Write to GYQS35A@prodigy.com
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          R E G U L A R  C L A S S E S  &  M E E T I N G S
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mondays          Assyrian History Class
                 "Assyrian History: 19th Century thru Present "
                 Instructor:  Wilfred Alkhas
                 BETA on 20000 Almaden Rd, San Jose, Calif
                 Class begins on June 3
 

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
                 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, California
 

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

How may Assyrians live in Austria?  Where are the Assyrian communities
located in Ostereich?  What is the sound of the 21st letter in the
Assyrian alphabet?  We suggest you check out this week's sites:
 

Assyrians in Austria
        http://www.nineveh.com/~agabrial/austria.htm
 

Learn Assyrian Online
        http://users.aol.com/assyrianme/aramaic/aramaic.html
 

=====================================================================
               P  U  M  P    UP THE   V O L U M E
=====================================================================
                 ENGLISH                ASSYRIAN
 

                 Banana               kar-naba [F]
                 Orange               troogha  [F]
                 Fruit                peereh   [P]
_____________________________________________________________________
F = Feminine     M = Masculine      P = Plural
 

 
=====================================================================
             B  A  C  K     TO THE      F  U  T  U  R  E
=====================================================================
 

B.C. (720)  The Egyptian Pharaoh, Osorkan IV, sends gifts to Sargon II
and seeks friendly relations.  Consequently strong ties are established
between Egypt and Assyria.
 

<<Ninos Isaac, Nineveh Magazine Vol 19, No 1&2 >>
 

A.D. (1918) Between January and May the British troops reach the Iranian
cities of Kermanshah, Hamadan, and Enzli.  The British stop advancing
towards Urmie and wait until the Armistice with Turkey on October 31.
It was then agreed that the Assyrians be brought to Baquba in Iraq.
And so began the Assyrian Exodus of 1918.
 

<< Solomon Solomon, Nineveh Magazine Vol 19, No 1&2 >>
 
 
 

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

Our torch, burning for eons, let's learn,
To feed it with blood, if oil won't burn.
 

Young man, young lady of the nation,
Did you add a stone to the foundation?
 

We inherit the glory of our forefathers
What shall inherit our sons and daughters?
 

 
<< William Daniel, 1991 >>
 

=====================================================================
    T  H  I  S    W  E  E  K     I  N    H  I  S  T  O  R  Y
=====================================================================
July 14, 1979:  dies, Dr. David Perley J.S.D., the most prominent
advocate of the Assyrian cause; author of Whither Christian Missions?
and several articles on this topic.  Dr. Perley, a learned scholar,
served as the president of the Assyrian-American National Federation.
 

=====================================================================
                      B     R    A     V     O
=====================================================================
Helbard Alkhass-Adeh, a resident of Santa Cruz, California and a ZENDA
reader, was this year's winner of the 1995 WAVE award for the Cable
Broadcast in the western region of the U.S. in recognition of his
Public Service Announcement entitled "Pull Over."  Helbard also
won the 1995 [San Francisco] Bay Area Cable Excellence (BASE) Award for
his second PSA entitled "Condom Instinct."  Mr. Alkhass-Adeh, 23,  is a
television producer and the owner of Innoactive Media, a Santa
Cruz-based company involved in the production of marketing videos for
government projects and corporations.  Helbard is currently producing
the "Fashion and Style" show for the FOX Network.
 

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

CORPORATE ACCOUNTS
                        Philips
                        Pacific Bell
 
UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS
                        California State Univ., Stanislaus
 
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
                        Australia
                        Finland
 

=====================================================================
  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:
 

                Gilyana Younan          Chicago, Illinois
                Albert Gabrial          Hollister, California
                Bernadette Miraziz      Vienna, Austria
                Layth Jatou             Chicago, Illinois
_____________________________________________________________________
ZENDA  prints 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 the activities of your local and national
Assyrian communities, 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, July 15, 1996.
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