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

                                    IN AWE
 

                              [A Zenda Story]
 

The noise inside the Maarva Olympic Stadium in Beirut was already too
tense.  With over 110,000 spectators and 14,700 athletes from 200
countries, the first Olympics held in the Middle East was also the
largest ever.   The noise level had somewhat subsided with the
arrival of the athletes from Albania.  The promotional signs, written
in French, Arabic, and Hebrew, glorified the vigorous market economies
of the Middle East.  The most visible signs of cultural unity were the
hundred of children fluttering the white flags with the inscription of
the Star of David and the emblem of the United Arab Republics of the
Middle Eastern Common Economies.  Yet there was something else which
had brought the public and cameras to this moment of general
consecration.
 

The noise level began to grow again.  The Armenian Olympians were now
emerging from the yellow stadium gate.  The noise was now producing a
painful and unbearable tension.  Just the procession of the athletes of
the last two countries seemed like the longest procession of any previous
Opening Ceremony.  A Zenda reporter asked Dr. Bahram Arsalan, president
of the International Olympics Committee, about the significance of the
next event.  Dr. Arsalan shaking his head with a bewildered look quietly
said: "no words can describe the significance of what is to take place.
Their arrival is much overdue.  I can only say that everyone here is
privileged to be experiencing it."  The last Armenian athlete entered
the field-  working herself up to a thunderous cry of affirmation.
And finally the moment came.

From the midst of dark corridor from which thousands of athletes from
all corners of the world had already stepped into the field the flag
of another participating country slowly became visible.  The most
talked about emblem at this year's Olympics was the flag of the
200th country accepted into the Olympics competitions, carried next to
the giant red name plaque- Assyrian Republic of Bet-Nahrain.  With the
appearance of  Ashur Bet-Shlimon, The most-valued-player at the last
World Cup held in Jerusalem, all spectators rose to their feet.  Slowly
all twelve Assyrian Olympians entered the stadium, each dressed in the
traditional Assyrian dresses of Bet-Nahrain.  The stadium was at once
draped in silence.  No ovation, no cheers, not even the murmur of a
chatter.  The clamor of the world had seized. All eyes were gazed upon
the Assyrian Star gently waving in the dense air of absolution.  The
devastating silence of the audience continued for a few more seconds.
It was more than just a pause.  The time had stopped.  It was a spiritual
moment of contemplation; one could hear oneself think. It was the right
place and the right time to pay tribute and highest honors that could be
bestowed upon a challenger determined to win.

Suddenly twelve chariots resembling those used during the Late Period
entered from the opposite side of the stadium, carried by four dozen
white horses, which in turn were dragging a giant purple ball.  The
chariots stopped in the center of the field and turned towards the
seats where the royal families and the presidents of over 100 countries
had assembled to preview the procession.  At once, the purple ball
cracked open and 6763 white doves were released into the air.  The
silence of the world's ignorance, false promises, embarrassment and
foolish denial which had covered the lips of so many for so long was
broken.  Nothing could stop the roaring of this crowd now.  Within
seconds the green field of the Maarva Stadium was covered with a foot of
confetti and sweets.  The Assyrian Olympians with tears in their eyes
continued moving towards the chariots where the other Olympians were
waiting to greet them.

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

            No News Received During the Week of July 15
 
=====================================================================
                  S   U   R   F   S     U   P   !
=====================================================================
"Please expedite my personal congratulations to Firas Jatou and his
wife Shoshan whom I know from Internet but I've not met personally.
I wish him and his wife a very long, happy, healthy and Assyrian life.
I hope they increase the Assyrian population by many. Congratulation!"
 

Wilson Eashoian
Sacramento, California
 

                             ***********
"wooow i love this i could finally communicate to vast number of
assyrians out there. zenda has made me so happy i cannot say. i have
always tryed to keep my fellow assyrians among one another and not be
polluted by the idealogies of other communities around us.....oh sorry
my name is sargon gewargis from la.....i have started the assyrian
student union in cal state northridge and i am the president at this
moment. also i have started assyrian boy scouts after a long siesta due
to political problems among the elders in our community. i am looking
for more ideas that will keep my people among themselves....i have to
go now it is 12 am and have work in the morning i will keep you posted
on the events that happed in la from now on. thank you for this pipeline
to the assyrian people out there and i love you all..."
 

Sargon Gewargis
Los Angeles, California
 

                             ***********
"This is a reply to the few recent posts wrt Andre Agassi's supposed
denial of his assyrian background.  Let me put it straight, Andre is
an overpaid 'flashy' tennis player, what is the big fuss all about?.
If he doesn't want to be associated with our ancestral background,
then, IT IS HIS BAD LUCK!, we have an abundance of Assyrians with great
big hearts that make this world stand on the brink of it's knees.
Many assyrians that I know are working endlessly for the betterment of
our community, they are the REAL champions. In Australia through TAAAS
we have a huge base of very talented assyrians, some would even run rings
around Agassi, given the opportunity.  And I agree with Valerie Giv's,
recent post, and I quote:  "Maybe someone should subscribe him to
AssyrianLink and let him catch up on how advanced us Assyrians are and
always will be....!!!!", YES! indeed, advanced we are.  I work with many
different nationalities, and I make sure they know who assyrians are, I
have even devoted a special section of the company's hompage to assyrian's
on the net.  I know many assyrian professionals that are very good at
what they do, this is because we (assyrians) have a special gene that we
inherited from our ancestors that gives us the ultimate in survival
instincts.  My message to all assyrians is : "Take a look around you,
whether you are a student or a professional, and make sure these people
know who assyrians are, but better still, make sure that you are more
apt at what you do than them.  God bless, and have a nice day!"
 

Emad Benjamin
Sydney, Australia
                                ************
 

"I'm just catching up with my vacation mail and saw your post...
Unfortunately, I have not kept a file on this character, but there
have been several occasions where he has clearly steered clear of his
Assyrian heritage (Sports Illustrated and Vanity Fair are two of the
publications which come to mind). In addition, I have heard
several anecdotal reports such as the one from Valerie Giv who was
turned down cold in Australia.  Last month, I met Ilhan Barbasso, an
ardent Assyrian who lives in Sweden.  While Andre was in Stockholm to
play in a tournament, Ilhan called the hotel to seek an interview with
Andre. His calls were repeatedly ignored until he showed up to force
the issue. Andre's father played interference and uttered several
platitudes, but the end result was NO INTERVIEWS.  I agree with the
analysis that Andre is just a lost soul, and it is his father (the
alleged 'full-blooded Assyrian') who ought to be analyzed. I believe
it is belittling to Assyrians in general when Judases are placed on
a pedestal by our community, simply because of their "achievements".
In sharp contrast to this repulsive behavior, I am reminded of an article
in the L.A. Times a while back, about JEFF MOORAD. Moorad has reached
the pinnacle of his profession as a successful sports agent, yet in
the profile that is written about him, he makes sure to pay hommage
to the Assyrian part of his heritage (his father is Assyrian, his mother
is not)."
 

Francis Sarguis
Santa Barbara, California
 

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

          ASSYRIAN ATHLETES IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES IN ATLANTA
 

I have been tracking the US soccer team and I have noticed one of
the players on the team having an Assyrian name.  His name is Imad
Baba...I recommend having Imad contacted for a possible interview,
and in turn we could publicize him in the Assyrian community.  I for
one I am very proud of him, and I am sure every other assyrian would
too!
 

Mazin Enwiya
Skokie, Illinois
 

[There are also reports that a Christian Syrian athlete is competing
 in Atlanta.]
 

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

         ASSYRIAN FEDERATION IN CANADA ACCEPTS A NEW MEMBER
 

(ZNSC- Canada) The Assyrian Canadian National Federation, established
in 1995, has accepted the membership of the Bet-Nahrain Organization
of Canada, according to an unverified report from Toronto, Cananda.
Mr. Mirza Shmoil, president of the ACNF, in praising the decision of
the ACNF Executive Board has invited other Assyrian-Canadian groups
and organizations to join the Federation.  As many as a dozen Assyrian
organizations serve the social and cultural needs of the Assyrian
communities in Canada.  For more information contact ACNF at
(416) 742-5676.
 
=====================================================================
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
=====================================================================

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.
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------
                    E N T E R T A I N M E N T
---------------------------------------------------------------------
None
 

---------------------------------------------------------------------
          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
=====================================================================

No new web sites
 

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

                 Share                soobala      [M]
                 Corporation          soobalana    [M]
                 office               poornasa     [M]
_____________________________________________________________________
F = Feminine     M = Masculine      P = Plural
 

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

B.C. (1763)  Hammurabi of Babylon attacks the city of Larsa and over-
throws Rimsin's reign which had lasted 60 years, the longest in the
history of Bet-Nahrain.
 

<<Ancient Iraq, Roux>>
 

A.D. (1873)  Nazar Agha Yamin al-Saltaneh, Iran's foreign minister,
signs the Commerce Agreement between Iran and Switzerland in Geneva.
Yamin al-Saltaneh, whose real name was Lazar, was born of a Polish
father and an Assyrian mother.
 

<< Soorgada d'Leeshana Msheekhaya, Givargiz >>
 

=====================================================================
              L    I    T    E    R    A    T    U    S
=====================================================================
 
       ******** Ishtar at the Gates of the Netherworld ********
 

Should I eat clay for bread, drink muddied water for beer?
Should I bemoan the men who left their wives behind?
Should I bemoan the maidens who were wrencdhed from the laps of their
   lovers?
Or should I bemoan the tneder little ones who was sen off before his
   time?
Go, gatekeeper open the door...
 
 
<< Ancient Near East- Vol I , Pritchard >>
 

=====================================================================
    T  H  I  S    W  E  E  K     I  N    H  I  S  T  O  R  Y
=====================================================================
July 27, 1953:  dies, Dr. Alexander Ovrahim of Chicago remembered
for his scholarly work in compilation of an Assyrian dictionary
and the establishment of an Assyrian print shop.
 

=====================================================================
                      B     R    A     V     O
=====================================================================
The following are the results of the games at the Assyrian Olympics
of California held during the week of July 4 in San Diego, California:
 

                        First Place             Second Place
 

Men's Basketball-A      San Diego               Los Angeles
Men's Basketball-B      San Diego               Turlock
Men's Volleyball        San Jose                Turlock
Women's Volleyball      Los Angeles             Turlock
Men's Youth Soccer      San Diego               San Jose
Men's Soccer (over 35)  San Diego & Turlock (both in the first place)
Table Tennis            Los Angeles             Los Angeles
Tennis                  San Diego               Los Angeles
 

Over 400 Assyrian athletes participated in this year's games.
 

=====================================================================
                      A L L   J O K E S  A S I D E
=====================================================================
The manager of a large office noticed a new man one day and told him
to come into his office. "What is your name?" was the first thing the
manager asked the new guy.  "John!" the new guy replied.  The manager
scowled, "Look...I don't know what kind of a mamby-pamby place you
worked before, but I don't call anyone by their first name. It breeds
familiarity and that leads to a breakdown in authority. I refer to my
employees by their last name only...Smith, Jones, Baker...that's all.
I am to be referred to only as Mr. Robertson. Now that we got that
straight, what is your last name?"  The new guy sighed, "Darling. My
name is John Darling."  "Okay John, the next thing I want to tell you
is... "
 

Sargon B. Yalda
Chicago
=====================================================================
      W   E   L   C   O   M   E     T O     Z   E   N   D   A
=====================================================================
Zenda welcomes our new on-line subscribers from:
 
UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS
                        Columbia University, College of Medicine
                        California State University, Stanislaus
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
                        Los Angeles, California
 

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

                Ashur Simon Malek       Ontario, Canada
                Sargon Yalda            Skokie, 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.
 

---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Our Next Issue will appear on Monday, July 29, 1996.
---------------------------------------------------------------------