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                                            T H I S     W E E K     I N     Z E N D A
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The Lighthouse.............    In the Spirit of Reconciliation
Good Morning Bet-Nahrain...    John Diar dies in Syria
                Talabani Visits Ankara
Surfs Up...................    "constantly on the search for new and old info"
Surfers Corner.............    Karmela: An Update -  Interview with ZENDA
News Digest................    Sargon Yaldaei Quits Presidency of AAA of SJ
                A New Assyrian Church in Roselle, Illinois
                Semel Massacre Gathering in Wiesbaden, Germany
                Maronite Journalist Released from Khiam
                BANEA Conference in England
Calendar of Events.........    BANEA in December 1997
Khudra.....................    August-October 1997
Entracte...................    No New Entries
Intelligentsia.............    Regular Meetings and Classes
Assyrian Surfing Posts.....    Father Brown's Church in California
                Victor Alexander's Website on Ashurai People
Pump up the Volume.........    Hammer and Nail
Back to the Future.........    First Encounter with the Arameans
                Rome Conquers Bet-Nahrain
Literatus..................    News from the Homeland
This Week in History.......    George Smith dies at 36
Bravo......................    AAA of Southern California
The Directory..............    ZENDA News Sources
Bshena.....................    3Com, St. Matthew's, TDS, Chicago, Elkgrove                 Village, Fontana, Phoenix, San Jose, Santa                 Monica, Sutter Creek, & Toronto
Salute.....................    Adrin, Ashur, Firas, M., Raman, Albert, Odet,                 Ninos, Sharokin

Editorial...

On Saturday 9 August the DC-DC Board of our main workstation was rendered defective.  Unable to access our readers emails, we failed to submit distribute last week's issue.  Due to the current strike at UPS we were then forced to bide our time an additional 4 days for the replacement hardware to arrive from our PC manufacturer's sales office in Ohio. Meanwhile, in London and nearly every Assyrian community in North America the story of Karmela's battle with a rare blood disease has been capturing the attention of many Assyrians and broadcasters of local radio and television shows [see Surfers Corner].  In Ankara, Jalaal Talabani having just met with the General Secretary of UN, Kofi Annan, visited the Turkish officials in a meeting unattended by other Kurdish factions, Turkomans, and Assyrians.  As the Turkish and Israeli soldiers were conducting "war game exercises" with their American counterparts, Kurdish families who had fled the war ravages of northern Iraq were returning from Iran and their brethren in Baghdad demonstrating against "foreign rule" in northern Iraq and demanding Saddam Hussain's return to the Safe Heavens above 32 Parallel.

In other news, in San Jose, California, the newly-elected president of the Assyrian American Association of San Jose, Sargon Yaldaei, under pressure from a defiant Board of Directors and an alienated group of activists, resigned from his position, making his vice-president, Jacklin Bajan, the first Assyrian woman to reach the position of presidency in the history of this 15-years-old association [see News Digest].

This week we introduce a new regular section in ZENDA.  Under KHUDRA we will be listing the major Assyrian religious dates for our readers interested in the activities of their local churches.  ZENDA uses the information printed in the Vov Alep Annual Assyrian Calendar and several church newsletters and ecclesiastical datelines in collecting this information (Vov Alep: 909-624-9908, contact Walter Ebrahimzadeh).  Any pertinent information that will help us in outlining a more complete calendar of religious dates will be appreciated.

We would like to turn your attention to two interesting articles in this week's issue:  Dr. Istrabadi's personal experiences in Chicago and New York [The LIGHTHOUSE] and an article published in the Assyrian Progressive Magazine a month after the Semel Massacre [LITERATUS].  In the latter, it is important to note the genesis of a new national organization later to be called the Assyrian American National Federation.

We thank our readers who bombarded our email box with their letters of concern for last week's disruption of our service.  Our computer was fixed on Friday evening and we immediately began to work.  On a more personal note, after months of uninterrupted service and every week bringing our readers news and information, a few days away from our computer screens, fax machine, and long-distance calls was surprisingly refreshing.  Having said this, we are now planning for another interruption during the weekend of Labor Day (August 30-Sept 2).  ZENDA will not be published on September 1 since our staff will be enjoying hours of real politicking, serendipitous note-taking, hapless arguing, and sheikhani dancing at the Detroit Convention.

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                THE   L   I   G   H   T   H   O   U   S   E
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                     IN THE SPIRIT OF RECONCILIATION

"Do you know that the Quran is a great book?" said the Reverend Father to our hosts, "And," he continued, "That Christ and his mother are
mentioned seventy times by name whereas Muhammad's name is only mentioned five times?  You must look into it."  I must confess that I was flabbergasted by his declaration.  I  had anticipated a friendly visit with Qaasha (as he is called in Neo-Aramaic or Assyrian) since he had asked my Assyrian-Iraqi hosts to introduce us when I was next visiting Chicago, and since they had showered me with nothing but open expressions of love and immense generosity.  But I certainly had not expected to hear such a pronouncement, particularly since the Assyrians (who live throughout the Middle East, but predominantly in Iraq where they have been for millennia) had been victims of massacres at the hands of Muslims during World War I in the Hakkari mountain region and in Urmia located in Turkey and Iran respectively before the majority of the refugee population settled in Iraq, once it was evident that they would not be permitted to return to their towns and villages.  These tragic episodes of the area's history were never brought up.  Instead Qaasha spoke about his life in Iraq, and this slowly lead me to ask questions about the Church as I realized I knew far more about the history and figures of Western Christianity than I did about our own Church.  It was within the course of this conversation that we spoke about Christ and the Virgin, which prompted him to say that he has read the Quran, and he eventually invited me to attend Mass on Sunday before returning to New York.

And so I attended Mass.  We arrived at the church early upon his request. I had hoped to sit discretely and unnoticed at the back of the congregation and watch, but Qaasha called me and my two friends and introduced and welcomed me as a guest to the congregation which consisted of a handful of people.  Qaasha asked us to sit in the second pew, and then gave me a book of the liturgy where he had marked the pages for me so that I could follow the Mass which was in Syriac.

The book was arranged with the transliterated Syriac text on the left side of the page with the English translation on the right . The few minutes before the Mass began gave me an opportunity to examine the interior of the church which has no icons or statues, unlike the ornamented Catholic and Orthodox churches I have visited in Europe and the United States.  I had once entered a Lutheran church in Zurich and was taken aback at its barrenness.  In comparison, the Assyrian church was not barren: I felt a quietly welcoming holy presence and appreciated the simplistic beauty I observed. Once Mass began I found that instinctively I could not open the liturgy book, for in doing so I would have become an observer (which was my actual intention) rather than a willing participant.  Within the opening moments of the ceremony, I was certain that what was taking place was a remembrance of the Supreme Being.  So I followed as best as I could except that I did not cross myself nor did I take Communion.  At that point in the Mass, I left the sanctuary through a door on the left leading to a set of stairs to the basement.  I turned around to wait for my friends and was astonished by how full the church was: hundreds of people was my impression.  My first reaction to myself was: why are these people in Chicago?  Why aren't they back home in Iraq where they belong?  I turned my back and stood in a corner where I hoped I neither would be seen nor see the mass of people whose sheer numbers had moved me to tears.
 
After a brief wait, my friends appeared and said that Qaasha had asked us to wait for him.  I thought he wanted to simply say goodbye.  But a meal was being served and when finally he emerged he sent word to me to join him at the head table as his guest.  While we were eating we exchanged some stories about our days in Iraq.  He then told me a very moving narrative.  A childhood friend of his had become the head of police in Karbala.  One day Qaasha was visiting his friend having lunch with him when he was asked whether he'd like to pay a visit to the tomb of the Imam Hussein.  "I'd love to, but wouldn't that be problematic?" asked the priest.  His friend assured him that there would be no trouble since he himself would accompany him with a police escort.  And so they headed to the al-Husayn Mosque.  Somehow word
had gotten out that a priest of the Assyrian Church was going to visit the site held sacred by millions of Muslims.  As the party approached the mosque, a delegation consisting of the keepers or trustees of the shrine greeted Qaasha and extended an official welcome to him.  He was escorted to the tomb area as a dignitary of the Church and an honored guest.    Shortly after he told me this story, my friends and I had to leave.  Upon leaving he told me that he wished that there were more meetings such as the one he and I had had, born out of love rather than out of confrontation, not only in the United States, but back in Iraq and wherever Iraqis are to be found.  That too is my wish, and it is my ardent hope that more and more Iraqis reach out to one another in the spirit of reconciliation and love rather than that of confrontation and hatred.

Dr. Zaineb Istrabadi
Columbia University

[Dr. Zaineb Istrabadi's article, under a different title, appeared in the July 21st issue of al-Hayat, one of the largest circulating Arabic papers.  Dr. Istarabadi, a ZENDA reader, is a regular contributor to our weekly magazine.]
 
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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
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             JOHN DIAR, PRESIDENT OF SAF, DIES IN SYRIA

(ZNAI: Chicago)  Based on the Assyrian International News Agency report John Diar, president of the Syriac Academic Flame, died on Friday 25 July in Syria due to the failure of his kidneys.  SAF or Khudra d'Shraya Mardotanoyo Suryoyo (Nadi al-Shu'la al-Thaqafeya al-Syriania), founded nearly fifty years ago in Syria, is known as one of the few formally recognized Syriac (a linguistic term) organization by the government of Syria. John Diar was a native of Diyarbakir and in his mid-40's.
 
    TALABANI VISITS ANKARA; KURDS IN BAGHDAD DEMAND SADDAM'S RETURN

Jalaal Talabani, leader of one of the two rival Iraqi Kurdish factions, arrived on Wednesday for talks with Turkish officials on the fragile cease fire in northern Iraq.  Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is involved in a bitter power struggle in northern Iraq with the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Massud Barzani, Turkey's main ally in the region.  The Turkish army and the KDP conducted a joint military campaign against separatist Turkish Kurds led by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq in May and June, clearing the rebels from the areas bordering Turkey.  Since then the KDP has been complaining that the PKK and the PUK have been organizing joint attacks against its region.  Talabani, for his part, complains about Turkey's alliance with the KDP which has weakened his group's position in the region.  Later, Talabani will meet Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem in Ankara to discuss bilateral relations.  Turkey is expected to voice its concern over the alleged cooperation between Talabani's group and the PKK, the Turkish diplomatic sources said.  The KDP and the PUK have effectively been controlling northern Iraq in defiance of Baghdad's authority since the end of the
1991 Gulf war.  However, their partnership collapsed in May 1994 due to rifts over power sharing and tax revenue, and over 2,500 people have been killed in sporadic fighting since then.  The Assyrian population in northern Iraq is represented by five members of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa) in the Kurdish Parliament majority of whose Kurdish members belong to Talabani and Barzani's political parties.

Barzani's KDP last year mended ties with Iraqi President Saddam Hussain and captured the main Iraqi Kurdish city of Arbil from the PUK in an offensive supported by Baghdad forces in late August last year.  The two sides agreed to a cease fire in late October after heavy diplomatic pressure by the United States. But their disputes on power sharing and tax revenue continue.  Talabani's Ankara visit follows his talks with US officials and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in the United States earlier this month.  Meanwhile, yesterday in Baghdad, Kurdish backers of President Saddam Hussein
took to the streets to demand the return of Baghdad's authority over Iraqi Kurdistan.  The demonstrators, in traditional Kurdish costume and carrying posters of Saddam, called for a "halt to foreign interference and withdrawal of Turkish forces" from Kurdish-held northern Iraq.  They marched from the parliament building to the offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and delivered a memorandum rejecting any Western calls for a Kurdish secession.  Ajil Ismail, deputy speaker, told reporters the protest was part of a week of action by pro-Baghdad Kurdish MPs "to allow the return of the central authority" to northern Iraq.

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                       S   U   R   F   S     U   P   !
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"I have just recently received my first issue of ZENDA and I enjoy it very
much. I am an American born Assyrian who is constantly on the search for
new and old information about my culture and ethnicity. I applaud you all
for a job well done and please keep up the good work..."

Paul Joseph
San Jose, California

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                  S  U  R  F  E  R  S      C  O  R  N  E  R
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ZENDA readers are invited to respond to the following request(s) by either
directly writing to the author(s) or sending a reply to ZENDA.

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               KARMELA:  AN UPDATE & INTERVIEW WITH ZENDA

This week, all eyes are focused on a small bed in the Guy's Nuffield House, a London hospital, where the 37-years-old Karmela Darmozadeh (see attached file: Karmela.htm) awaits a bone marrow transplant.  Karmela, an Assyrian mother of two from Iran, suffers from a rare disease called aplastic anaemia.  Patients with aplastic anaemia have a complete failure of production of all types of blood cells.  Their bone marrow contains large numbers of fat cells instead of the blood producing cells.  The disease in most cases is acquired, not inherited and is not present from birth. The disease affects people of any age but there are peaks of incidence in young adults and in people over the age of 60 years.

Karmela's doctors, if enough funds are collected, will perform a bone marrow transplant surgery in which the stem cells of a healthy marrow from a matched donor's tissue, will be grafted onto Karmela's dysfunctional bone marrow. Bone marrow transplantation is a risky procedure but success rates as high as 80% have been reported when the donor is a closely matched brother or sister. Karmela's brother, Joseph, has already been determined as a viable match.  After the surgery the rejection of Joseph's tissue is prevented by using a drug called cyclophosphamide.

Karmela's operation will cost her family over US $80000.00 and her weekly blood transfusion and daily treatments nearly US $8200.00 a week.  The generosity of Assyrians in Diaspora has been an inspiration to her loving brothers, Joseph in London and Emil in Los Angeles, who have been incessantly contacting every Assyrian media source to obtain enough funds for the much-needed transplant operation of their sister in London. Emil's website at http://www.mirage-mmc.com/karmela/ is an excellent place for the ZENDA readers to learn more about Karmela's condition and be able to demonstrate their support for a desperate Assyrian family in dire need of financial support.  In Chicago, Rita Knight, is offering six months of free Live Telephone Answering Service (valued at $600.00) to any Assyrian business who would make a donation of $100.00 or more to Karmela's Fund (contact Rita at rknight1@sprynet.com). Last week, the Assyrian Voice of Canada Organization announced that it has opened its telephone line so that its listeners can express their well-wishings and prayers to the Darmozadeh Family in London.  According to AVC, Lenna Mushell in San Jose, and Midet Yadegar (Karmela's cousin in Canada, the following contributions have been made to Karmela's Fund to date:

Assyrians in England                    $ 6500.00
Assyrian Church of the East, San Jose        $ 8800.00
Assyrian Church of the East, Chicago        $10000.00
Assyrian Evangelical Church of San Jose        $ 3340.00
Assyrian United Organization of California    $ 1000.00
Individual Donations from San Jose, California    $ 4700.00
Bet-Eil Assyrian Ministry, San Jose, California    $  710.00
Assyrians in Frankfurt, Germany            $  500.00
Assyrians from Toronto                $10000.00
An Assyrian Church in Canada            $ 3100.00
Assyrians from Turlock, California            $ 6000.00
An Iranian-Moslem Family from Germany        $  270.00
Misc Individual Donations from California        $ 1200.00

Total Donations To Date:                $56120.00
 

According to her family, Karmela's body can only withstand a few more days of blood cell depletion.  Unless operated on by the time our last issue of
          [see http://www.mirage-mmc.com/karmela/docs/doc2.html]
ZENDA is distributed in August, Karmela Darmozadeh's body may not be able to accept a graft from her brother's bone marrow.  This morning, in an interview with Karmela and her brother Emil in London, ZENDA was informed that of the $56120 (34452 British Pounds) US $30,000 were received as of Saturday evening (August 16).  Emil and Joseph await the receipt of the remaining pledged donations and hope to raise another US 25000.00 so that the operation can be performed within the next few days.  In her own words, with a weak voice but full of hope Kermela asked the ZENDA interviewer to write the following on her behalf: "Please let everyone who's been so generous in the past few weeks know that my family and I are ever-more grateful for your support.  I only wish that I can live to see each of your faces and personally thank you for your generosity.  When my mother and I arrived in London two and half months ago our intention was to stay for only two days and return to our home in Iran. My condition was so terrible that they performed a biopsy and discovered that I had this rare disease.  They informed me that I should be immediately operated on but I had already exhausted all my money which I had brought with me.  The hospital insisted that they would not perform the operation unless I come up with fifty thousand British pounds.  I haven't seen my children in over six months.  If
       [see  http://www.mirage-mmc.com/karmela/docs/doc1.html]
I had the money I would have had the operation two and half months ago. The other day my nurse was unable to find my veins for a daily blood treatment.  She herself began to cry.  With all this in mind I just like to thank the Assyrians who have been so supportive with their money and prayers.  I will never forget your love and charity."

As long as thousands of prosperous Assyrian families thrive in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe, no Assyrian lives in the Middle East must expire due to the injustice, hardships, and destitute inflicted upon our population.  ZENDA applauds the unselfish and benevolent spirit of its readers in reaching the needy families in Iraq, Syria, Georgia, and now a desperate family from Iran.  We urge our readers to access Karmela's website and make an immediate one-time donation to her fund.  ZENDA also encourages its readers to leave a message or a prayer for Karmela and her family at:
http://www.mirage-mmc.com/karmela/comments.html .  Karmela deserves a second chance, a zenda of hope-  as no other people understand her plight and the will to survive as would the Assyrians of today.

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                 N   E   W  S       D   I   G   E   S   T
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           SARGON YALDAEI QUITS PRESIDENCY OF AAA OF SAN JOSE

(ZNDA: San Jose)  Last Wednesday, at the meeting of the Executive Board of the Assyrian American Association of San Jose, under pressure from several sources, Sargon Yaldaei offered his resignation from his post of the president of the Association.  Only six months after his election, Mr. Yaldaei leaves an enormous financial and moral responsibility to his vice-president, Jacklin Bajan, who must now preside over the affairs of this organization.  Mr. Yaldaei had often complained about his "defiant" Board members and his inability to effectively command the daily activities of the Association.  Sargon Yaldaei's "command and control" mode of operation was acknowledged in the first few years after the Association's establishment.  He was able to raise sufficient funds to purchase a house in San Jose (6140 Cahalan Avenue) which was later sold and combined with the money received from William Daniel's posthumous fund used in the purchase of the current property on 20000 Almaden Road in south San Jose.  His third-term presidency which began in January 1997 was disputed by several activists including the publisher of ZENDA, Mr. Wilfred Alkhas. ZENDA's TV news program was removed from the Association's regular TV program and Mr. Alkhas' language and history classes canceled. With the end of the Rescue Project, a local effort to raise funds for the mortgage payment of the property on 20000 Almaden Road (BETA), the Board introduced a new Entertainment Committee which organized a successful dinner party at BETA in July and helped defray some immediate costs.  To Mr. Yaldaei's dismay, this committee began negotiating with Black Cats, a Persian musical band, for the New Year's Eve Party in San Jose.  Franko, an Assyrian entertainer, was also asked to entertain the guests during the Assyrian entertainment section of that evening.  Apparently Yaldaei's Board, against his wishes, approved the steps taken by the new Entertainment Committee, lead by Caroline Nasseri, an Assyrian Attorney in San Jose.

With the tremendous financial difficulties facing the AAA of San Jose, the controversial issue of contracting a Persian Band at the New Year's Eve Party, and the alienation of many former active members of the Association, Jacklin Bajan will have an enormous burden to carry during the remaining 18 months of her presidency.  Unless she agrees to step in as the new president of the Association, a new election of the president and vice-president must take place, giving Mr. Yaldaei's challenger in the January Elections, Ben Samuel, a renewed opportunity.  Jacklin Bajan is the first woman to reach the office of presidency in the AAA of San Jose.  Last year, members of the Assyrian American Association of Southern California elected their first woman-president, Ms. Madlen Zango.

According to the by-laws of the Association, Mr. Yaldaei's resignation will go into effect on September 13, 1997 and his vacant position will require the approval of the General Body.  A general meeting will have to be organized before this date so that Mr. Yaldaei can defend his decision to resign.  It remains to be seen if the membership will succeed in persuading Mr. Yaldaei to complete his term and in exchange renew their pledge of financial support.
 

   ASSYRIANS IN GERMANY ATTEND THE SEMEL MASSACRE CEREMONY IN WIESBADEN

(ZNDA: Wiesbaden)  Over 150 Assyrians attended the Semel Massacre Commemoration Ceremony in Wiesbaden's ABGAD Assyrian Organization.  Three clergymen, Reverends Ptio of the Ancient Assyrian Church, Davood and Ogin of the Church of the East in Frankfurt, and Shamasha Tery of the Church of the East in Wiesbaden commenced the Ceremony with prayers for the departed and the Martyrs.  A video film on the latest Assyrian martyrs in northern Iraq was shown to the audience and then Mr. James Yadegar, a member of ABGAD's Board of Directors, spoke about the Assyrian Martyr's Day.  After the reading of a selection of Assyrian poems, the ABGAD organizers offers "dokhrana" or the "sacrificial meat" to the attendants.

              A NEW ASSYRIAN CHURCH IN ROSELLE, ILLINOIS

(ZNDA:  Chicago)  On Friday, August 15, a new church-building of the Assyrian Church of the East opened its doors to a crowd of over 2500 in Roselle, Illinois. There is a substantial Assyrian community living in the neighborhood of the new church consecrated as St. Mary's Church (Mart Maryam).  Afterwards, six hundred worshippers enjoyed a dinner banquet attended by the Patriarchs of the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean-Assyrian Catholic Church. In his speed to the dinner audience, Mar Dinkha IV, Patriarch of the Church of the East, described how among other things, a few Assyrian girls walked on foot a distance of 30 miles from Chicago to the new church, in demonstration of their faith and devotion to the Church.

       MARONITE JOURNALIST RELEASED FROM THE KHIAM PRISON IN LEBANON

(ZNSM:  Beirut)  Roger Nohra, a journalist kidnapped over a month ago in the Israeli-occupied border zone, was released last Wednesday after being held in solitary confinement in the Khiam prison, which is operated by the South Lebanon Army (SLA). Mr. Nohra's two brothers, Joseph and Michel, and their
cousin Jean Nohra, remain in custody.  The Isreali-backed South Lebanon Army (SLA) last Tuesday withdrew its troops from the key position of Saydun near Jezzin. Lebanese security forces are expected to enter the seven villages and hamlets which were covered by this position.  About a dozen military vehicles, tanks and troop transports were moved out under the supervision of Israeli officers from the Saidun position in the northern part of the Israeli-occupied zone, security sources added.  An official at SLA headquarters in Marjayoun refused to comment on the reported move, saying the militia "does not give information on its military movements." About 30 SLA militiamen occupy the position, which covers seven villages and hamlets in the predominately-Christian region of Jezzine near the Iqlim at-Tuffah mountains, stronghold of Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas opposed to Israel's occupation.  No motive was given for the pull-out or whether it was permanent.  The pro-Syrian Shiite group Amal said in statement that "Lebanon has achieved a new victory in requiring the enemy and its paid agents to take a step back and give up seven occupied villages."  Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified over the last week in south Lebanon, with 15 people, seven of them civilians, killed and 28 others, including 18 civilians, wounded.  Israel occupies a swathe of southern Lebanon to prevent attacks on its northern border by anti-Israeli guerrillas while Syria has some 35,000 troops stationed in Lebanon.  According to Amnesty International, 130 people are held in Khiam, some of them for up to 12 years
without trial.    In other news, Amnesty International announced that Elie Dib Ghaleb, another Christian Lebanese jailed in the United Arab Emirates 20 months ago for adultery after he married a Muslim woman, had been freed last Sunday. Mr. Ghaleb, 30, was arrested in December 1995 after marrying UAE national Mona Juneidi, 25, and sentenced to one year in jail and 39 lashes. However, the flogging was waived following protests by Amnesty International.

            BANEA CONFERENCE TO BE HELD IN GREAT BRITAIN

The Annual Conference of the British Association for Near Eastern
Archaeology will be held at the University of Durham from the 11 through 13
December 1997.  The university campus is located in Durham, 264 miles from London, England.  For more information access the following URL:
          http://www.dur.ac.uk/Archaeology/confs/BANEA.html

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       C   A   L   E   N   D   A   R     OF     E   V   E   N   T   S
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Aug 28-30          Assyrian National Convention, Detroit-Michigan
               Schedule of Cultural Events

Thursday, August 28
    1:00-2:30 pm    Assyrian Dance Workshop
    2:30-3:30 pm    Video: The Sumerian Kingdom of Ur
    3:30-4:15 pm    Lecture: Science & Medicine in Ancient Assyria
    4:30-5:15 pm    Lecture: Assyrian Sci & Med during the Arab Period

Friday, August 29
    1:00-2:30 pm    Assyrian Dance Workshop
    2:30-3:30 pm    Video:  Babylon: the Gate of the Gods
    3:30-4:15 pm  Lecture: Art in Ancient Assyria
    4:30-5:15 pm    Lecture: Assyrians in the Computer Age

Saturday, August 30
    1:00-2:30 pm    Assyrian Painting Workshop
    2:30-3:30 pm    Video: Ashurnasirpal, The Assyrian King
    3:30-4:15 pm    Lecture: History of the Church of the East
    4:30-5:15 pm     Lecture: History of the Assyrian National Tragedies

For more information contact Atour Golani, 1997 Convention Chairman, at
(313) 274-4545.
 

Dec 11-13    British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology
        1997 Annual Conference
        University of Durham
        United Kingdom
        http://www.dur.ac.uk/Archaeology/confs/BANEA.html

Through    In the Presence of the Gods: Art from Ancient Sumer
Mar 8,1998    The Smart Museum of Art
        5550 South Greenwood Avenue
        Chicago
        Free Admission

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                          K  H  U  D  R  A
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Aug 22        Mar Qardagh, Sahda(The Martyr)

Sep 8        Virgin Mary (Birthday)

Sep 14        Festival of the Holy Cross

Oct 10        Dokhrana 'd Mar Elia (Elijah the Prophet)

Oct 17        Anniversary of Mar Dinkha IV's Consecration (1976)
        Patriarch of the Church of the East

Oct 31        Dokhrana 'd Mar Elia (of Hirta or Khirata)
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                          E  N  T  R  A  C  T  E
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Aug 26-Sep 2    Assyrian American National Convention
        Hyatt Regency Dearborn
        Fairlane Town Center
        Detroit, Michigan
        All Single,double,triple,quad rooms: $95 per day
        Reservations: (313) 982-6880
        Reservations must be made by August 7
 
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                         I N T E L L I G E N T S I A
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CHICAGO    Assyrian Athletic Club Soccer Development Program
        Ages 7-14
        7:45-9:45 pm
        Mondays
        Warren Park Gymnasium
        Western Avenue & Devon Street
        ------------------------------------------------------
HARVARD     1997-98 Syriac Classes Taught by Dr. J.F. Coakley
UNIVERSITY
        Elementary Syriac
        Instructor:  J. F. Coakley
        Basic Syriac grammar and syntax with selected readings from
        the Syriac Bible and other early texts.
        ------------------------------------------------------
        Readings in Syriac I
        Historical and theological texts, and early poetry
        ------------------------------------------------------
        Readings in Syriac II
        Special attention to exegetical texts and to reading         manuscripts.
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NORTH          Assyrian Boy Scouts
HOLLYWOOD     Assyrian American Association of Southern California
              Assyrian Club
              5901 Cahuenga Blvd
               North Hollywood, California
              9:30am  to 12:30pm
        Sundays
               Contact Sargon Gewargis @ fishtale@juno.com
              (818) 891-3705 after 7:30 pm
        ------------------------------------------------------
           Assyrian Student Union
          California State University, Northridge
            Assyrian American Association of Southern California

          Assyrian Club
           5901 Cahuenga Blvd
              North Hollywood, California
              6:00pm
              Contact Sargon Gewargis @ fishtale@juno.com
            (818) 891-3705 after 7:30 pm
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SAN JOSE    Assyrian Language Classes (Adults)
        Taught by Dr. Ashur Moradkhan
        Sundays
        7:00-9:00 pm
        AAA of San Jose BETA
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        Citizenship Classes
        Mondays & Tuesdays
        7:00 pm
        AAA of San Jose BETA
        20000 Almaden Road
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        Maestro Nebu Issabey's Nineveh Choir Practice
        AAA of San Jose BETA
        8:00 pm
        Thursdays
        ------------------------------------------------------
TORONTO    Nisibis School
               10:30-1:30
        Saturdays
             The Church of the East
              Toronto, Canada

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      A  S  S  Y  R  I  A  N     S  U  R  F  I  N  G     P  O  S  T  S
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In 1994 a new church mission was incorporated in California as part of the
Holy Apostolic and Catholic Church of the East (Assyrian Rite), English-speaking.  The Rev. Father Marcus L. Brown, D.D., Ph.D. was ordained by Bishop Mar Aprim Khamis on Oct. 22, 1978 at Saint Barnabas Parish in Sacramento, California.  For more information please see:

          http://www.thegatheringplace.net/st_matthew_parish/
 

The often controversial Assyrian TV commentator, filmmaker and author of "The First Civilization", Victor Alexander, of Turlock, California has published his book on the Internet.  For an interesting reading go to:

              http://www.i-central.com/hps/Ashurai/ch12.html

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                    P  U  M  P    UP THE   V O L U M E
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        English        Modern Assyrian

        Hammer             aakh/la    [M]
            Nail            sis/saa    [M]
____________________________________________________________________________
            F = Feminine     M = Masculine      P = Plural
 
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                B  A  C  K     TO THE      F  U  T  U  R  E
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B.C. (1132)

King Ashur-Resha-Ishi I is the first Assyrian monarch to mention conflicts with mountain dwellers in the east and Aramaic groups in the west.

<< Discoveries at Ashur on the Tigris- Assyrian Origins, Harper >>
 

A.D. (115)

Roman army captures Bet-Nahrain (Mesopotamia) and reaches the Persian Gulf in 116 A.D.

<< National Geographic Magazine, July 1997 >>

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                 L    I    T    E    R    A    T    U    S
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                        NEWS FROM THE HOMELAND

The startling news dispatches of August fourteenth and the days following
which were published in the foremost New York Daily newspapers regarding the massacres of thousands of innocent Assyrians in Semel and Dohuk, which is near Mosul by the barbarous Iraq's came as a shock to all Assyrians here. Somehow, we Assyrians in the United States had begun to think that the good influences that the League of Nations had upon such a small and uncivilized nation such as the Iraqis had eliminated our fears of this sort of barbaric fanaticism and that our nation was no longer in danger of such atrocious deeds. However, we see that our nations is, in this day and age of enlightenment, again faced with fears of extermination by the Moslem sword such as it has faced for centuries past.
 
Immediately after we had read these news dispatches, the Yonkers Assyrians
National Assoc., and the Chicago Assyrian National League began sending out
telegrams to prominent Assyrians and organizations throughout this country
urging them to protest to the proper authorities here and abroad. A few meetings were called in our West New York community, but it was not until September seventeenth that a successful meeting was held, and we formed an Assyrian National Emergency Committee, elected officers and a committee of eleven to attend to immediate details . A protest was drawn up and dispatched at once to the League of Nations. For necessary expenditures, the various organizations and some individuals donated money. This Committee, through its corresponding secretary, Mr. David Perly, shall endeavor to get in touch with national groups in various cities and thus get a consensus of opinion as to whom is to represent the majority of the Assyrians before the League of Nations, Then that body takes up this outrage against the Assyrians. For it is the ultimate desire of every Assyrian here that we shall all be united in this purpose, and not make the terrible blunder again, as we did years ago before the Peace Conference and have so many different representatives that the League will not listen to our pleas.

On October fifteenth four members of the Assyrian Christian Aid Society of Philadelphia and four members of the Assyrian National Union of Worchester, Brethren from Yonkers, N.Y. attended a meeting held in the West New York Church Auditorium. Reverend Sugar opened this meeting with a prayer. Mr. L. Dartley, President of the Emergency Committee read the report of its activities to date. Mr. J. Durna the chairman of the meeting called on Rabbi Zukor of Passaic who delivered a most interesting address about the persecution of the Semitic race for ages past.  Mr. Naroodian, an Armenian writer spoke of the Armenian nations trails as the hand of the Moslem. Many prominent local Assyrians were present to hear these interesting addresses. Mr. S. Bally our compatriot spoke of necessity of homeland for the Assyrians.
 
Many present at the meeting discussed plans for a Convention here in the near future, and the forming of a new united national Organization, with branches throughout the United States. I am Positive that a number of our pacifist Assyrian brethren ,sill discourage as much of our national fervor as they can, but the reports from all sources have been so encouraging that would it not be a crime for us to stand idly by and not raise a finger to help this cause. The Literary Digest of September quotes, "The JOURNAL DES DETABS, "It is the duty of Great Britain and the League of Nations who are clearly at fault to take the necessary steps for preventing new butchery and to obtain a national home for the Assyrians. Each must do its duty; or must they follow the example of Pontius Pilate, whom the governments of today are too prone to use as a model." A special cable to the New York Times, August 17, (in part)" It is humiliating now for the British to serve their ambitions in the East butchering a friendly Christian minority that threw first class fighting men against the Turks during the World War. The British are fully aware too, that the excuses against the Assyrians tend to justify the suspicions of the French and others who contended that the Iraq was not ready for nationhood."  Mar Shimun cables the Assyrian National League, "Arrived Geneva the; Fourth, engaged prominent Switzerland lawyer, Pushing Forward, Broadcast, The League of Nations must make some Provision for the future safety of our nation, and only by bringing before the; attention of the League our just demands can we hope for a homeland for those of our people who are even now uncertain of the safety of their lives,
 
Mrs. Charles S. Dartley
Assyrian Progress Magazine
September 1933
 

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          T  H  I  S    W  E  E  K     I  N    H  I  S  T  O  R  Y
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August 19, 1876:  dies, George Smith, the British archeologist, at 36 in Halab, Syria.  Smith with the assistance of the Assyrian archeologist, Hormozd Rassam was able to unearth the first copies of the Epic of Gilgamesh which contained the accounts of a great Deluge in Bet-Nahrain.
 
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                        B     R    A     V     O
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                     AAA OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

The Assyrian American Association of Southern California has recently become a member of the North Hollywood-Burbank-Studio City Chamber of Commerce which boasts a membership of 600 local businesses.  To kick-off their new membership the AAA of Southern California organized a "mixer" and brought over 500 local non-Assyrian business owners to visit the Assyrian center and become familiar with the Assyrian people, culture, and the Assyrian Center to use for their various social and business meetings and seminars.

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                    the   D I  R  E  C  T  O  R  Y
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ZNAA (Assyrian Academic Society-Chicago)
ZNAD (Assyrian Democratic Organization)
ZNAM (Archeology Magazine)
ZNAP (Associated Press International)
ZNBN (Bet-Nahrain Inc/ KBSV-TV "AssyriaVision")
ZNDA (Zenda: zenda@ix.netcom.com)
ZNMN (San Jose Mercury News)
ZNNQ (Nabu Quarterly)
ZNNV (Nineveh Magazine)
ZNRU (Reuters)
ZNSH (Shotapouta Newsletter)
ZNSJ (San Jose Mercury News)
ZNSM (Shufimafi Lebanese News)
ZNTM (Time Magazine)
ZNUP (United Press International)
ZNUS (US News & World Report)

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

CORPORATE ACCOUNTS
    3Com - Chicago (formerly US Robotics)
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UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS
 
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
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                     S     A     L     U     T     E
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Zenda wishes to thank the following individuals whose contributions appear in this week's issue:

Adrin Takhsh            Berlin, Germany        News Digest
Ashur Simon Malek        Ontario, Canada        News Digest
Firas Jatou            Chicago, Illinois        Good Morning BN
                                Literatus
M. Bateman                            Surfers Corner
Raman Mikhael            Chicago, Illinois        News Digest
 
and the following individual(s) for introducing ZENDA to our new readers:

Albert Gabrial        Turlock, California
Odet Toma            San Jose, California
Ninos Lazar
Sharokin Bet-Givargiz    Chicago, Illinois

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In Our Upcoming Issues:
 
    Sep 1:        No Zenda:  Staff on Assignment in Detroit
    Sep 8:        Assyrian National Convention Report
    Sep 15:    Issa Benyamin:  Letters in Motion
 

Would you like to know more about a particular topic on Assyrian culture, arts, history, langauge, politics, etc.  Drop us a note!
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