LAST WEEK ZENDA BEGAN ITS FOURTH YEAR OF SERVICE ON THE INTERNET.   NEXT MONTH TO CELEBRATE THIS MONUMENTAL ACCOMPLISHMENT,  AS ONE OF THE LONGEST RUNNING ONLINE MAGAZINE OF ANY ETHNIC GROUP,  ZENDA WILL INTRODUCE ITS OFFICIAL "BET-WORLD WIDE WEB".  WE THANK YOU-OUR OVER 800 REGISTERED READERS IN 25 COUNTRIES- FOR YOUR SUGGESTIONS, CRITICISMS, & PRAISES FOR MAKING US THE MOST POPULAR SOURCE OF INFORMATION FOR ASSYRIAN INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES, UNIVERSITY SCHOLARS, INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCIES, RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS.  ZENDA HAS BECOME THE EYES AND EARS OF THE  ACTIVE AND SPIRITED NATION OF MODERN ASSYRIA.

WE ALSO REALIZE THAT WE ARE STILL A LITTLE SHORT OF OUR GOAL OF 1000 READERS BY THE END OF THE ASSYRIAN YEAR 6747.  WITH ONLY 6 WEEKS REMAINING WE ARE CALLING ALL OUR READERS TO HELP US REACH OUR GOAL BY SIMPLY INTRODUCING OUR MAGAZINE TO ONE OR MORE NEW READER(S).

WE ESTIMATE THE EXISTENCE OF OVER 8000 OTHER CYBER-ASSYRIANS WHO REMAIN UNAWARE OF OUR JOURNALISTIC SERVICE.  WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A CRIME AGAINST PROPAGATION OF INFORMATION AND PROGRESS, ENCOURAGING APATHY AND IGNORANCE.  ZENDA IS CONFIDENT THAT WITH OUR CURRENT READERS' SUPPORT WE CAN REACH OUR GOAL AND SOON ANNOUNCE THE SUBSCRIPTION REQUEST OF OUR 1000TH READER.

TO STIMULATE INTEREST AND PROVIDE OUR READERS WITH AN INCENTIVE TO CALL THEIR RELATIVES, FRIENDS AND FOES,  ZENDA IS OFFERING A ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION TO TWO ASSYRIAN MAGAZINES OF CHOICE TO TWO READERS WITH THE MOST NUMBER OF NEW REFERRALS BETWEEN FEBRUARY 23 AND MARCH 31.

SO WHAT IS ZENDA'S WISH FOR THIS YEAR?  TO TRIPLE OUR NUMBER OF SUBSCRIBERS IN 6748 A.Y.  FROM 1000 IN APRIL 1998 TO 3000 IN MARCH 1999.  ARE WE OVER OUR HEADS AGAIN?  WE'RE READY TO TAKE ON THIS CHALLENGE.  WE'VE DONE IT ONCE BEFORE AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN.

FEBRUARY 1995:    12 SUBSCRIBERS
FEBRUARY 1996:    96
FEBRUARY 1997:    315
FEBRUARY 1998:    813
FEBRUARY 1999:   3000

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZENDA!

the staff

(ZNRU: Baghdad)  Iraq's Christian church leaders urged the international community last Tuesday to avoid military force in a row with Baghdad over weapons inspections.   "We address our request to the (U.N.) Security Council and all responsible authorities of the world to consider peaceful negotiations and avoid war with its destructive results," the representatives of more than a dozen Christian churches said.  "There (are) no losses in peace but there are many possible losses in war," they said in a joint statement read by Archbishop Avak Asadorian of the Armenian Orthodox Church at a service in Baghdad.   "By this spirit our country will be free from this long-term suffering, which caused many deaths and disastrous effects on every level," he said.

Iraq is embroiled in a dispute with the United Nations over access for U.N. inspectors, searching for Iraq's banned weapons of mass destruction, to eight so-called "presidential sites." The United States and Britain have threatened to use force to make Iraq comply fully with U.N. demands for unrestricted access.  Asadorian also appealed in the statement for an end to over seven years of economic sanctions, imposed on Iraq for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

He urged people to pray that God might "inspire people to what is for the peace and welfare of the nations and to put away from our nation this unfair embargo, which contradicts all human rights and all religious standards."

The statement was issued in the name of patriarchs and archbishops, pastors and fathers from Iraq's numerous Christian denominations including Chaldean, Syrian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, all Assyrian and Coptic churches.

"Sir , Please stop changing your internet address every week. We are so confused about this. Everytime I give your address of http://www.assyrianinfo.com/zendahome.html once more you have changed the address , when we lock zenda address under the most  favorite places and we click on it , it give us the last week , because of the address .  Now that we see you have changed your address again to zend0216.htm  , we are confused.  Please keep it under one address and stop playing with us like mouse and cat...It is my understanding  that  every Monday of the week , there is new issue .  If I am right , then why I don't see the issue on Monday , but I notice it on Tuesday or later days of the week.  Please let me know , so I can inform others to search for the new article."

Martin David
Chicago

Our temporary homepage is not ZENDA's official website.  We thank Mr. Homer Younan for allowing us to use his "Assyrianinfo" server and website to continue publishing our magazine on the Web.  If you wish to create a "temporary" bookmark to our main point of entry we recommend visiting our BIG Z site.  Mr. Younan of Grafeex and ZENDA are in the process of completing ZENDA's official website which promises to be a source of pride for our readers and a powerhouse of information and research into current events.

ZENDA is published every Monday.  We inform our registered readers of our new issue immediately after uploading of our files onto our servers.

George Atanous
Los Angeles

All donations to the Assyrian-Georgian Relief Fund address should be submitted to the San Jose office where all contributions are collected and via the Vatican Embassy and through the Chaldean-Assyrian Catholic Church transferred to Father Benny Yadegar's account in Tbilisi, Georgia.  In the near future, ZENDA will publish a complete report of Father Benny's progress and the current conditions of Assyrians in Georgia.

The following is a response from Mrs. Karmella Darmozadeh's brother, Emil, to our reader's inquiry:

Thank you for your follow-up on the Karmela's Health situation.  I know that recently I have not been reporting about Karmela actively, but I haven't been completely quiet either. I have sent e-mails to ALL members whenever there has been a major news and have received replies and questions from them, which I've been promptly
responding to.

Before I say anything else, I have to mention that Karmela is doing real well, thanks to all who have prayed for her and is rapidly recovering from her life threatening disease.  She is still in London and is under the Physician's care.

This is the good part and there is a bad part to this story too; that I think should be taken cared of by Karmela's family and not to be other fellow Assyrian's concern anymore: that is the bills piling up (Almost £ 80,000.00
on top of the nearly £70,000.00 that we've already spent) which me and my family think that we have to take care of by ourselves, because her case is no longer life threatening and we do not have to raise the funds immediately.

Considering this, me and my brother in London are spending all of our time trying to gain enough money to at least keep the necessary medical procedures going. I'm working so hard that have not been even able to update Karmela's Homepage since before her Transplant a few months ago. Now that I'm typing this e-mail, it is 2:15 AM and I'm still working at home on my computer. (I've taken a break to check my e-mail).

I agree with your reader that I have not been very active recently on the link, but I have my own reasons such as the resistance and un-happy reaction which I've seen from some active members of Assyrian on-line community
which have sent me e-mails announcing their un-happiness with me, turning a public domain to a "begging for money" forum!! even when I was not asking for money and was just keeping in touch to deliver a news about Karmela.

At the time, when my sister's life was in danger, I would not mind even arguing with these voices. But now that the danger is over, I do not see any reason to add to the tension that is already ruling over the on-line discussions
between our fellow Assyrians who seem to be dominating the link (or at  least behave like they do).

Of course, I could have contacted Zenda which to my opinion is a True Free Tribune for Assyrians like me but I didn't and I apologize for my ignorance.

From now on, I'll be informing the Assyrian Community and the people who are interested in hearing about Karmela by sending e-mail to Zenda and I'm sure you people will publish them, if necessary...Thank you for all your kindness. Your Brother."

Emil Darmozadeh
London

One-hour program is broadcast every Saturday 19:00 to 20:00 by local (Moscow) time (16:00 to 17:00 -
World time UTC; 15:00 to 16:00 - Greenwich Mean Time).  The signal of our program is transmitted for:
Moscow and Central part of Russia - 31 m. (9815 kHz) or 490 m. (612 kHz);  Scandinavia, Great Britain - 49 m. (6130 kHz) or 201 m. (1494) kHz;  South of Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East - 49 m. (6005 kHz), 256 m. (1170 kHz) or 276 m. (1089) kHz.

Qala Atouraya welcomes any kind of co-operation.  Letters, contacts - our special joy.  The correspondence may be in Assyrian, English, French or Arabic and should be sent to:

Qala Atouraya (Assyrian Voice)
25, ul. Pyatnitskaya,
113326, Moscow,
RUSSIA.
Tel/Fax: (7-095) 131.25.75 c/o Roland Bidjamov.

Once more, thank you very much and Pooshoon b-sheina,

Roland T. Bidjamov
Editor & Assyrian Broadcaster
Moscow 

Saddam has done a good job of genocide to  my people .  He had forced us to leave our land and our loved one and live  in four corner of the earth.  Saddam has been the worst Evil of all.   Remember the Chemicals that was used by Saddam to kill his own people , those were an Assyrian People in an Assyrian Village.   The American Media called
them KURDS  because Assyrian too lives in the Northern of Iraq.  Northern Iraq was their base ever since the city of Nineveh or ever since the  Assyrian Country was in power .

When the Media  mentions  in the  news about Saddam that  killed his people Kurds , it is not a correct statement  , the statement must be changed to his people  ASSYRIAN .  There were  few  Kurds in that Village  , but the majority were Assyrian people , the dead were Assyrian and Kurds.   Since I have every right to hate Saddam and because of what he had done to my people and to the Iraqi people too , I like to present these question to you.

To kill a Snake , you must crush his head and not his tell, otherwise the Snake will live and will try to poison someone in the future.   Attacking Saddam’s  military  buildings  and destroying his abilities of manufacturing  chemicals is only good for a small period of time.  We are not accomplishing anything other than sustaining  him for small period of time .  Do you remember our last war with Iraq, we destroyed most of his building and his Bridges , Factories  and all of his Military Branches .   Saddam rebuilt his country within one year .  Baghdad was like it was never hit by a single Bomb.  Now again he is manufacturing his chemicals weapons .

America could and should have removed him from power , especially when we had the chance , but we did not , do you know why ?   Do you think our people are that navies  that they  can't figure out  why America did not remove Saddam from power , or are we nothing but Sheep that trust and believes everything our Media or our Government tell us .   Here  are the reasons why America want Saddam in power and in Iraq :

Saddam in Iraq with his chemicals weapons and his hunger for power is the biggest  threat to the region.  Saddam is like the wild Dog that people leave in their yard to scare the intruders  to the house or the family.  America want Saddam there and will never want to get rid of him . Saddam is America's biggest assets.

If Saddam was to be removed from power, there would be no threat in the region.  Arabia would  be in less threat and thus Arabia will ask American and their power to leave  Saudi Arabia , Kuwait , and all of the Arabian Islands.
America will lose control of Arabia .  America will lose the control of oil and its strategic location .   As long as there is Saddam or like Saddam in Arabia or in Iraq , America will enjoy the Arabian wealth and it will control Arabia for many years to come.

Saddam is there and will not be removed from power  because if Iran start to give America or Israel any problem , America will unleash their wild Dog Saddam and will  start by  supplying him with war equipment  to defend the American interest in the region . Have we forgotten  the Iran -Iraq war, wasn't Saddam our Allies  , didn't we supply him with advisors and war equipment ?  So you see, it is only a game of our Government  . No matter how many life we lose no matter how many Iraqi people will die , as long America accomplish its mission.

The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq was staged by the American Government . Let us not fool ourselves , we know what happened  and what it took place between our Ambassador and  Saddam , have we forgotten that we are the one that gave Saddam the green light to go ahead and attack Kuwait ?  Analyze  the Golf war:

1. America got rid of all their old arsenal.
2. America took control of Arabia .
3. America established  in Saudi Arabia , the one place that was not allowed any Christian country to be in the Sacred  Muslim land .
4. America drained every penny from the Saudi and the Kuwaiti assets.  Both countries ended  paying billions of dollars  for its defense .
5. Arabia become dependence on our Power, thus we eliminated any other competitions in the region .
6. America took complete control of the peace process and forced the Palestine to abides  by their rules.
7. America  tested their electronic technology and the accuracy  of their bombs .

This time , there is more reasons for Saddam to stay:  all of the above , plus a diversion  for  Clinton’s  dilemma .

We could have gotten rid of  Saddam if we wanted him out of power.  We have done it before in other countries and we can do it again .  Do you remember that every time there was an upraise  of Iraqi people  , weather in the South or in the North , Saddam was notified by CIA.   Why did we not support the upraising to have got  rid of Saddam ? shouldn't we ask these questions and shouldn't our Government give us a truthful answer. I don't think that they will and that they can be truthful with us.  Because our people will not approve of them and their policies.  To many American died for no reason or for the benefit  of one person or one ruler or another.  Our solders ended with diseases  harmful to them and to their family . The only persons that came out right of that war it was (President Bush and his Son ). We did not forget the collapsed  of Saving and Loan during  Bush presidency , it was created by his  Son, everyone was talking about it in America , all of a sudden the Kuwaiti invasion was created.  We all forgot about that,  didn't we ?  Mr. Bush was rewarded by the American People and the best reward was giving to him by the Kuwaiti Government .  Mr. Bush  ended with good retirement  benefits and for a life time . Mr. Bush Jr.  Was cleared from all his activities and he was considered as son of a great hero , now he is Governor  and  a future
candidate of a Presidency.  Mr. Clinton too will come out of this war a hero . The American people will forget about his Dilemma .

When are we going to wake up and see how our  Government are using us as tools for their own benefits.  We shall demand from our Government to put stop to Saddam and his Clans.  Remove him from power remove him from life."

Martin David
Chicago

If you are an Assyrian student studying at a four-year college or university ZENDA urges you to apply for financial assistance to one of these national Assyrian organizations and request a scholarship application:

Assyrian American National Federation
Education Committee
4318 West Birchwood
Skokie, IL 60076

Assyrian National Foundation
P.O. Box 2620
Berkeley, CA 94702

Chaldean Federation of America
18470 W. 10 Mile
Southfield, MI 48075

(ZNDA: Toronto)  Last weekend, the Assyrian Voice of Canada celebrated the first anniversary of the inception of its two-hours radio show.  The program includes news and information for the Assyrian community in Ontario, with an emphasis on the younger Assyrian audience and the Canadian local governments.

Beginning 1 March 1998 the Assyrian Voice of Canada airtime will be reduced to only two hours every Sunday from 6 AM until  8 AM, on AM 1430 in Toronto, due to financial hardships.  To learn more about this weekly radio program contact Ashur Shamoun at (905) 279-6206 or ashour@ican.net.

(ZNAF:  Cairo)  Coptic Pope Shenuda III has called for one pan-Arab position in support of Iraq.  "We should support Iraq and defend its people and territory, but  it's not enough to express feelings (of sympathy), there must be a  unified Arab position," the Egyptian Orthodox pope told a crowd of  more than 2,000 at a meeting that ended in the early hours last Wednesday in Cairo.  "The Arabs' problem is that they are divided. This allows some to exploit this division and use it against them," the pope said at the meeting at the Cairo Book Fair.  Responding to a question, he said that the Coptic Christian minority is  "not persecuted in Egypt" but called for the Egyptian government "to promote the election of Coptic candidates" in legislative elections scheduled for 2000.  No Copt was elected in the last legislative elections in December 1995 although Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appointed six Copts as members of parliament.  There are as many as 6 million Copts living in Egypt.

(ZNDA:San Jose)  During last Friday's general meeting of the Assyrian American Association of San Jose, Mrs. Jackie Bajan, president of the AAASJ, announced the unsettling news of her months-long findings into the affairs of another local Assyrian organization in San Jose.  According to the information contained in the documents presented to the members at this meeting, certain Assyrian individuals had fraudulently used the 501C Non-Profit status of a dissolved Assyrian organization and had established a new organization entitled "Nineveh Civic Club of the Bay Area."

On 12 December 1978 Assyrians of San Jose established the Assyrian American Civic Club of San Jose and were able to obtain 501C Non-Profit Status from the office of the Secretary of State in Sacramento, California.  Three years later a group of Assyrians left AACC and formed a new organization under the name of the Assyrian American Association of San Jose which to date has  been operating under a less restricted tax-exemption status.   In December 1991 the AACC and AAA agreed to merge and form the new AAA of San Jose.  The AACC was then dissolved and its assets ($ 42,000.00) transferred to the new AAA of San Jose.

Sometime in 1997, the current officers of the AAA acted to revive the tax-exempt status of the defunct AACC.  A letter was submitted to the Internal Revenue Service and the Secretary of the State.  It was then discovered that the AACC was never, as an organization, dissolved and had only undergone a name change.  According to official documents on 26 December 1996 Mr. Iskandar Kambar and a few others had declared themselves as the officers of this organization.  The Certificate of Amendment (Name Change) was filed on 14 February.

At last Friday's general meeting Mr. Kambar was present and explained himself "as an Assyrian brother herein requesting your forgiveness as good Christians my errors, for I and others are victims of a deception ."  Later in the meeting Mr. Kambar mentioned the name of Daniel Benjamin of San Jose as the "deceiver."

According to Mrs. Bajan, attorneys who have been consulted in the past two months have indicated that the AAA of San Jose may press criminal and civil charges if so desired.  The membership of the AAASJ  decided not to take any legal actions against Mr. Kambar and other officers of the Nineveh Club and in a moving show of affection applauded Mr. Kambar's "courage to come forth and ask for pardon."  The extent of this fraud, the identity of the organization between the years 1991 and 1996, and the abuse of tax-exempt status of a dissolved Assyrian organization are still unknow and are pending further investigation.  Mr. Daniel Benjamin and Mr. Miltan Sorisho are sponsors and producers of the Assyrian weekly television show "Assyrians Around the World" in San Jose, California.  Mr. Benjamin was a former member of the AACC and with Mr. Sorisho and dozens of other local Assyrians are involved in the establishment of a new Central Committee or Motva's San Jose.   The future role of Mr. Daniel in the Motva'd San Jose is at this time being questioned by local Assyrian organizations.

February 27	SAN JOSE It's Party Time! With Sargon Gabriel & Haroot Band 8:00 PM Awana of the Church of the East  680 Minnesota Avenue Admission:  $20.00 ($25.00 at the door) Purchase tickets from BETA, Etminan & United Foods
Thru March 8	CHICAGO In the Presence of the Gods:  Art from Ancient Sumer  The Smart Museum of Art  5550 South Greenwood Avenue  Free Admission A presentation of 43 4,500-year-old Sumerian temple offerings, including statues from Tell Asmar, tablets, carved stone vessels, and relief panels showing banquet scenes.
April 5	CHICAGO Kha B'Neesan Parade
July 4	SAN JOSE Assyrian Olympic Games

ENGLISH	MODERN ASSYRIAN	GENDER	EXAMPLE
Newspaper	spaar/yooma	Masc	spaaryooma'd New York Times
Journal Article	mal/kham/ta	Fem.	khda malkhamta d' ZENDA:  A ZENDA article

               

BC (2000)

The foreign trade trends in ancient Bet-Nahrain can be traced through documents found in the city of Ur (southern Bet-Nahrain in Iraq).  During the reign of Ibbi-Sin (2029-2006 BC), merchants bought their travel provisions from the temple, acting as agents of the temple and under the control of the state.  The sea journeys during the time of Sumuel of Larsa (1984-1866 BC) were shorter, only half-way through the Persian Gulf and the merchants paid a small tax to the temple, not acting as its agents.  By the time Rim-Sin of Larsa (1822-1763 BC) comes to power, all voyages were financed and run by private business owners.  No special taxes were paid to the temple.

Babylonians, Saggs

The famous Assyrian physician and translator, Hunayn Bar Iskhaq is executed on the orders of Caliph Mutawakkil.

The Ashurbanipal Library Journal, Vol 3, No. 1 (1990)

We are brethren, but alas, we are separated brethren. This is the agony of our situation.  And let it be noted carefully that as long as there is a divided clergy, there will be a divided church; and as long as there is a divided church, there will be a divided people; and as long as there is a divided people, subsequently, there will be a divided nation; and as long as there is a divided nation, there will be divided goals, powers, and perspectives.  This is the end-result of a small mistake, or rather, the consequence of a small sin.

Our Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow, Dr. Peter Talia

February 23, 1915:  Turkish troops enter the Assyrian Catholic Church of Urmie (Iran) and remove the 60 Assyrian youth who had taken refuge in the church.  Hours later, all 60 are taken outside of the city to the Jewish Mount and summarily executed.

 .

Through the efforts of Dr. Sam Haddad of San Jose, California and the AEA members, the Assyrian Engineers Association is now an official affiliate of the Silicon Valley Engineering Council.  SVEC is a prestigious organization with such distinguished members as The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Silicon Valley Software Engineers, and over 30 other local, national and international affiliates.  Dr. Haddad, an active member of the Assyrian community in the south San Francisco Bay Area, an instructor at Santa Clara University, consultant to major Silicon Valley companies,  is the current president of SVEC.

If you are interested in joining the Assyrian Engineers Association or receive more information contact ZENDA at zenda@ix.netcom.com .

CORPORATE ACCOUNTS	UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS	PERSONAL ACCOUNTS
		Belmont, California

                             

This Week's Contributors:

Ashur Simon Malek	Ontario, Canada	Surfers Corner
Firas Jatou	Chicago, Illinois	Bravo
Rita Pirayou	San Jose, California	Good Morning Bet-Nahrain

               

Thank You For Referring ZENDA to a Friend:  

P.O. Box 20278 San Jose, California 95160 U.S.A.

---

The Directory of ZENDA News Sources

ZNAA (Assyrian Academic Society-Chicago)
ZNAD (Assyrian Democratic Organization)
ZNAF (Agence France-Presse)
ZNAI  (Assyrian International News Agency)
ZNAK (American Kurdish
ZNAM (Archeology Magazine)
ZNAP (Associated Press International)
ZNBN (Bet-Nahrain Inc/ KBSV-TV "AssyriaVision")
ZNCO (Compass)
ZNCN (ClariNews)
ZNIF (Iraq Foundation)
ZNDA (Zenda: zenda@ix.netcom.com)
ZNIN (Iraqi National Congress)
ZNLT (Los Angeles Times)
ZNMN (San Jose Mercury News)
ZNMW (Mideast Newswire)
ZNNQ (Nabu Quarterly)
ZNNV (Nineveh Magazine)
ZNQA (Qala Atouraya- Moscow)
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)