A Toast to A New Nation

A deadly menace was facing us in the early days of January. Only a week into the new year, a call for the renaissance of the “Chaldean Nation” was made by a newly-appointed bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Detroit , Michigan . The call for Chaldean Renaissance was nothing but another fruitless attempt to win greater recognition prior to patriarchal elections.

Less than a month earlier, a jubilant “Band of Brothers” as Zinda Magazine called the group of Assyrian leaders meeting in London in December 2002, had announced the formation of a new leadership group whose members had appointed Mr. Yonadam Kanna as their representative in the Iraq of pre and post-Saddam regime. Saddam was in power and a somber feeling was slowly taking hold everywhere. Most of us felt that something was coming our way, but we did not know when, how, and what. None of us could even imagine that in less than four months Iraq would be fully liberated and an Assyrian leader would represent his people and the people of Iraq in a new Iraqi government.

Saddam Hussein and the divisive bishops are history. We now find ourselves facing a new ideological enemy. One that may be much harder to defeat than a cloaked bishop.

A little more than a year ago, we watched our leaders coming together in London and embracing one another as brothers whose only aim in life was the vision of unity for the Assyrian people – regardless of their religious and ethnic backgrounds. Watching them shaking hands and kissing gave us a renewed feeling of hope and courage to move ahead.

This feeling of oneness has once again subsided and our solidarity is slowly being replaced with anguish and despair. There is a growing sense that we are sacrificing our identity with a new characteristic perpetuated by a post-Saddam Assyrian Iraqis in power. The support for a “compound name” inside Iraq and the antipathy demonstrated outside of Middle East poses no small danger to the stability of the solidarity reached a year ago.

This widespread antipathy and incessant bickerings toward a political party in Iraq , a compound name, and an Assyrian church with ties to the Vatican are senseless exploitations of our wounded souls. They can only fog our sight and render us mute and inert in a time when we must aggressively seek every fabric of our national construction to reach unity and single-mindedness.

Some of us around the world see the Assyrian Democratic Movement a threat to our Assyrianism and its leader; and Yonadam Kanna, as an arrogant, hypocritical, self-absorbed, and self-indulgent person serving Kurdish and Shiite leaders. Yet, the same description has already been applied to every other political group and its leader in power since 1960's. The enemies of the Assyrian solidarity claimed that AUA was an instrument of the Shah of Iran , the ADO a Zionist movement; Sargon Dadesho, an agent of Saddam Hussein, and now Zowaa, a construction of Massoud Barazani in north Iraq . Frankly, the anti-Zowaa and anti-Compound Name sentiments are just media hypes directed at the uninformed public to gain popularity for the vanishing political parties outside of Iraq .

As expected the anti-unity spin doctors will continue to refuse a common leadership for Assyrians other than theirs in Chicago and Modesto . Their servile spokespersons on TV and radio and on the Internet forums will hear only what they want to hear. My advise: turn off your television and open your hearts and minds to the new reality of the Assyrian nation in the 21 st century: Saddam Hussein has been captured. Iraq is liberated and an Assyrian leader stands tall among the world leaders in Europe and the Middle East , representing his people and the entire people of Iraq .

We cannot dismiss public opinion in Baghdad and elsewhere. Yet we must move ahead toward a concrete goal, that is the vision of unity and self-determination perpetuated by likes of Dr. Freidoun Atouraya, Molfono Naom Faiq, and Raabie William Daniel. Above all political speculations, personal beliefs, and conflicting interests remains the highest vision of an Assyrian nationalist: a homeland for the Assyrian people in their native land of Bet-Nahrain. So let us welcome 2004 with a steadfast determination to create a new Iraq and renew our determination to stand united despite all superficial incongruencies.

Happy New Year!

Wilfred Bet-Alkhas
Editor

[Zinda Magazine thanks Mr. Fred Aprim for his regular contribution to the pages of this magazine in 2003. Mr. Aprim will continue to offer our readers his frank and perceptive observations in 2004 as a member of the Zinda Crew family of writers and reporters.]

The Assyrian and Kurdish Organizations in the Diaspora: A Comparative Analysis

The Kurds are doing everything right and Assyrians are doing almost everything wrong. The Kurds are preparing the foundation and infrastructure for their autonomous region while the Assyrian groups in the Diaspora are attacking their own brothers in Iraq . The Kurds are purchasing planes and opening airports; they are opening banks in northern Iraq and are calling foreign investors to start and, or, complete important Kurdish projects; they are purchasing lands in Assyria; and they are sending their students to U.S. universities.

1. On November 26, 2003 , the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq called an urgent summit "The Kurdistan Gateway International Exhibition and Conference" on December 8-10 in northern Iraqi organized by a London based Kurdistan Development Corporation: http://www.kurdistancorporation.com/html/gateway.html
   
2. On December 2, 2003 , the 101st Airborne Division's completed the renovations of the Hawler International Airport in Arbil and the first flight landed in the airport.
   
3. On Dec 7, 2003 , Kurdish officials in the northern city of Sulaimaniya signed a 4.2-million-dollar contract with a Turkish firm to build another airport in Sulaimaniya.
   
4. On December 8, 2003 , three students from the English department of the University of Sulaimaniya were nominated to get scholarships in the U.S.
   
5. In November, The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) launched a nationwide postcard campaign, urging Congressional leaders to take action on Genocide legislation marking the 15th anniversary of the US implementation of the Genocide Convention. The postcards featured moving photos from the Armenian Genocide, Jewish Holocaust, Rwandan and Cambodian genocides, as well as genocidal crimes committed against Ukrainians and Kurds: http://www.anca.org/anca/ancadesk.asp?adid=182

One wonders, how did the perpetrator and oppressor Kurd, who committed the Armenian and Assyrian genocide of WWI, and continues to do the same today in north of Iraq , become the victim while the victimized Assyrians failed to make the Armenian list? Isn ' t this because of the Assyrians ' failure and Kurdish successful diplomacy?

The above is just a sample. The Kurds may have not thought of all this on their own, however, the appropriate cooperation and unity when it is needed most helps. Most of this possibly is coming from the Diaspora Kurds with the help of perhaps Jewish groups and others including the Americans.

On the other hand, the majority of the Assyrian organizations in the Diaspora, especially those political in nature, have been and as usual, doing very little, almost none significant. What do they have to show for, ask many readers? Oops, they sense that they are on the hot spot. Oh, they say, let us shift the signs of our failure and incompetency over to those in Iraq ; let us attack them and blame them for changing our name, yeh. After all, such are the acts of failed groups; they tend to divert the attention regarding their own failures over to someone else, hoping that they become popular in the process. In most cases, the leaders of these failed organizations do not do the bulk of this dirty work; they push their foot soldiers, who in essence become their mouth pieces. These foot soldiers take their chances of being burnt or become heroes depending on the quality of the audience they have. In most cases, these poor foot soldiers have no idea what these leaders are planning behind the scene. They were almost nobody in society and today they feel important as they have their own cheap and useless programs on satellite TV.

I presented a hypothetical question on the Assyrian forum (see http://www.aina.org/bbs/index.cgi?read=15363 ) and asked for the readers' opinion.

I was surprised with the general tone of the responses: whether that in public but specially those in private. There is something very wrong when apologists (in most cases and not all) ignore the bulk or the essence of a topic and take the discussion into pity argument unrelated completely.

I needed a direct answer to a direct question, why cannot we have it. Lets have it in the open and see if this time around people (whether responding privately or publicly) will be more direct.

The ADM is building a home in Iraq . The ADM analyzed the situation in Iraq and realized that it is most beneficial for the Assyrians in Iraq to follow strategy (A). Now, if BNDP, AUA, ANO, etc. see that strategy (A) is not the most appropriate, what should they do as political organizations? As a political organization, BNDP, AUA, ANO, etc. must have their own agenda and strategy; a clear plan to achieve a clear goal; every political organization must have one. It must be there; written the day an organization is established. If they do not subscribe to strategy (A), where are their strategies and what are they doing as an alternative? How are they proceeding with their plans? How much have they accomplished out of these plans? In addition, do they have a timeframe regarding when they are going to accomplish these plans?

Fellow Assyrians,

The issue must not be since that guest and his wife (in my post on the Assyrian form) did not have a beautiful house like the one they visited; then they should destroy their friend ' s house just because they cannot have one like it. The issue is that if a big and beautiful house is what we need in life and we do not need the crummy old house we are in today, we must work harder to have that dream house. If we are satisfied with the crummy old house, we must then sit quietly and go about our business. If we cannot add a brick to this new house the ADM is building, lets not burn it.

If the moderate ADM is not doing enough to fulfill the dreams of the BNDP, AUA, ANO, etc. because of their limited power and conditions in Iraq or for any other reason, what holds the organizations that are present in a free society? What holds Bet Nahrain Inc. and its AssyriaSat from educating the world about what the Kurds have done to Assyrians for at least the last 200 years and until this very day? Is AssyriaSat capable of attacking fellow Assyrians but incapable from attacking Barzani and Talabani for their oppression; their inaction against Kurdish crimes against Assyrians in north of Iraq ; their marginalization of Assyrian presence in north of Iraq ; their plans to divide the Assyrian people into Assyrians and Chaldeans. Where are our priorities? What makes the AUA travel to Tehran to prevent the Assyrians there from attending the October 22-24 Baghdad Conference? If the AUA has been the only real Assyrian organization in Iran for some 35 years, how come that its leadership allowed the compounded name Chaldean and Assyrian (Chaldaya o'Atouraya) to be used as the official title of the Assyrian representative (who is from the AUA) in the Iranian Maglis (Parliament) until this moment. What makes ANO sign agreements with the separatist Chaldean groups of the Ghassan Hanna Shathaya and his representative Abd al-Ahad Afram in northern Iraq ?

Visit http://www.ankawa.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/topic.cgi?forum=4&topic=457

With the help of certain international groups, we see a Kurd laying the foundation for his future country; meanwhile, all we see from the Assyrian groups in the Diaspora are attacks through their personal media and satellite TVs and collaboration with certain separatist and questionable groups. Is this the Assyrian nationalism in the eyes of BNDP, AUA, ANO, etc? Why don ' t they learn from the Kurdish experience and help the Assyrians of Iraq instead of continuously placing roadblocks in their path? How long this madness will be tolerated?

Fred Aprim
California

AUA Spearheads the Assyrian Legislative Council from San Jose

On 22 December 22 at 7:30 p.m. the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) organized a political rally at the new building of the Assyrian American Association of San Jose, in Willow Glen, California. The purpose was to update the Assyrians on the situation in Iraq and spearheading the establishment of the Assyrian Legislative Council. The speakers at the gathering, which was attended by less than thirty individuals, were Senator John Nimrod, Secretary General of the AUA, Rev. Kenneth Joseph Jr., and Mr. Carlo Ganjeh, the AUA Secretary for the Americas . According to Mr. Ganjeh, the poor turn out was attributed to the fact that the invitations were sent late and due to the Holiday Season.

Rev. Joseph stated that there were some positive news to report when it comes to security, which has improved to large extent. There are many police on the streets and the capture of Saddam should help yet further. He was optimistic of the new ambassador of Japan to Iraq who is a Christian and since Japan is contributing $5,000,000 to help Iraq , it was vital that part of this contribution go to the minorities and Christians since most of the other help is used by the Moslem majority.

The most disturbing new according to Rev. Ken Joseph is that Iraq is destined to be ruled by the Islamic Shari ' a rule and that Islam is going to be Iraq ' s official religion. He described his several meetings with the various American leadership in Washington D.C. in the last few months and his presence at Ambassador Paul Bremer's special hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on 22 September. Paul Bremer had tried to avoid issues relating to the new constitution of Iraq in that special hearing. When asked whether the new Iraq was going to be secular or ruled under the Shari ' a (as in the case in Iran ), he downplayed the issue and referred to the British Christian Constitution. Bremer was reminded then and there that Great Britain does not have a constitution! When confronted with the question again as to whether the Iraqi constitution was going to state that Islam is the official religion of the state, Bremer stated finally that he did not know and that Iraqis themselves will decide that! Rev. Joseph was concerned about the non-experts who are deciding the fate of Iraq . He added that the Americans are pulling out from the Iraqi government on 1 July 2004 without any guarantees for a secular government and without any special rights for the indigenous Assyrians.

Mr. Ganjeh stated that there were some 800,000 - 1,000,000 Assyrian Christians in Iraq , who needed our support. He added that the AUA has hired Mr. Victor Kamber, a Democratic Party Consultant in Washington , to work for the Assyrian cause in a limited capacity and a budget of $25,000 has been allocated for this with the help of the AUA Foundation. Furthermore, he stated that the AUA is seeking the assistance of an American Christian Conservative lobbying group in Washington . A large budget is needed for this project. He added that the AUA is spearheading the formation of the "Assyrian Legislative Council" in San Jose and it will be expanded to cover other cities and the entire United States . This council will be based on membership and the fees collected will cover the costs of the lobbying efforts.

I was not sure whether to pay attention to the repeated comments of Senator Nimrod when his turn came to speak or to the Assyrian Tree of Life engraved on the wall in the newly renovated hall of the new Association building directly behind him. The Senator was woody as usual and repeated an old saying he always brings up which in short explains how he is always given the chance to speak as the last speaker (behind Carlo Ganjeh, Rev. Ken Joseph, Alphone Odisho, representing the Association in this case) and that he then gets limited time and thus he has to rush. Senator Nimrod stated that we must pray and ask for God ' s assistance so we succeed in our national struggle. He stated that on 15 November, the Iraqi Governing Council issued the Fundamental Law in Iraq . This Law should expire in February 2004 by issuing first Iraq temporary constitution and an interim Iraqi government by next June. He then explained in details how a complicated process should follow until the permanent constitution, elections, and president are put in place in Iraq by 2005. He added that this is the time that we have to make sure that Assyrians are represented before the February deadline is upon us. For this, he stated that in January 2004, the AUA and all the other political parties that had participated in Amsterdam and November 2003 Germany meetings will travel to Iraq to meet with the Assyrian leaders and the Assyrian Democratic Movement. He spoke further and in details about the "Assyrian Legislative Council" and hoped that it would in the end the place where the united leadership would merge.

During the Q and A session, Mr. Edward Bet-Ashour, an ex-executive board member of the AUA and an adviser, stood and gave a lecture instead of a question and went on for quite some time until he reached where he was heading. He stated basically that the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM) has changed the Assyrian national name ... here, I was forced to stand up and interrupt him. I admit that for the first time in my life and in public meeting, I raised my voice in the manner that I did, which was inappropriate. I just could not imagine how in these crucial times that Assyrians are going through; our so-called leaders are still busy with attacking each other. I just could not see any other way to respond to such irresponsible action. I reminded Mr. Bet-Ashour that the AUA has been established since 1968 and historically Iran was its stronghold for years. The Assyrian representative in the Iranian Majlis (parliament), Mr. Yonadam Bet Kolia, is a high officer of the AUA and its representative in Iran and Asia . I asked Mr. Bet-Ashour to remind the audience about the title of Mr. Bet Kolia in the Iranian Majlis. He played ignorant and I repeated my question and reminded him that Mr. Bet Kolia ' s title is to this very day the "Assyrian and Chaldean Representative." This has been the title of all representatives in the Iranian Majlis since 1962 and the AUA has failed to correct this. Therefore, before attacking the ADM for adopting the ChaldoAssyrian title to unite our people in Iraq , he needed to clean the 40-years-old-mess in Iran first. I reminded Senator Nimrod and the audience that the Kurds were cruel and ruthless people who did not pray to the true and righteous God; who massacres us, however, they have succeeded to achieve so much in the last 12 years in particular. This they did, not by praying, but being united when needed. I said, we must unite and that is the bottom line.

I was told later in private that the Iranian government and a powerful Catholic group were against the Assyrians and thus they could not do much to rectify the situation. I returned and reminded this high official in the AUA that just like it is in Iran , the powerful Kurds in Iraq are using some ill and weak at heart Catholic Assyrians to create divisions and using others to impose this title Chaldean in north of Iraq and in Baghdad today as a separate ethnic group. I reminded another official of the AUA that it was easy to call for Assyrian only name in the Diaspora, it is quiet different when you are in Iraq facing a situation as we see in these crucial times.

I need to remind the reader about Rev. Joseph ' s statements about the Islamic al-Shari ' a rule in Iraq . This was confirmed lately by Dr. Noah Feldman, a close advisor to Paul Bremer. In an interview with a British newspaper, Dr. Feldman stated that the United States is failing to create a secular, pro-Western Iraq . According to Feldman , Iraq is bound to embrace the Shari ' a form of Islamic law, as the basis for the Iraqi constitution. Check here:

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/news/031215a.asp

Fred Aprim
California

ChaldoAssyrian Student Union Boycotts This Year's Elections

The Student Association of the previous northern Iraqi No-Fly Zone region was made of an umbrella Federation that included 19 Student Unions: 18 Kurdish Student Unions and the previously Assyrian Student Union (renamed ChaldoAssyrian Student Union.) The Turkoman were not represented under this, however, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) under Mas'oud Barzani had created a puppet group as the representative of the Turkoman students. The Turkoman United Front, the most popular group among the Turkomans, has refused to be part of this umbrella organization because it did not recognize the entire system put in by the two Kurdish parties of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) under Jalal Talabani. In fact, the Turkomans were not part of the Kurdish regional parliament. The Turkomans always believed that Turkey was going to protect their rights and be there when it was needed. The Assyrians decided to be part of such student federations because Assyrians needed to be inside these groups despite the fact that they could not sway the vote to their side. Being part of such groups gives the Assyrians the chance to be present in student meetings and thus a chance to be aware of what is going on.

Student elections in the past were confined in the three regions of Dohuk, Arbil, and Sulaymania. The Assyrians were not part of the Sulaymania ballots since they do not have a reasonable number of students in this governorate to justify participation. However, they have participated in the Dohuk and Arbil elections. The Assyrians had some 3000 high schools and college students eligible in this years' elections.

This year's elections of the Student Unions were special due to the fact that Iraq was liberated and the Kurds expanded the election process to include Mosul and Kirkuk as well. The organizing committee of the elections visited all the five governorates of Sulaymania, Arbil, Dohuk, Kirkuk, and Mosul . However, the committee, which is controlled by Kurds, when visiting Kirkuk and Mosul did not visit with the Assyrian, Arab, or Turkoman city council representatives in the two governorates to coordinate with them the details of the elections or how they should be conducted. Their communications were solely with the Kurdish city councils in the two said governorates. To make things worse, they selected the December 24, 2003 , as the date for the Student Unions elections. As it is well-known throughout Iraq that the ChaldoAssyrian Christian students stay home on both the 24th and 25th of December because of Christmas. The Kurdish committee insisted to hold the elections on the 24th, when students were out of school, and the ChaldoAssyrian Student Union was forced to boycott this year ' s elections.

There is another important issue. Due to previous central and local government policies against the Assyrians in Iraq in general and north of Iraq in particular, there are Assyrian localities that Assyrian students make a small minority compared to Kurds. The ChaldoAssyrian Student Union fights in order to have the Assyrian students (wherever they existed) to hold their own separate elections and select their own representatives to the regional Student Union Federation. The Kurds have blocked such move, in order to force whenever a small Assyrian minority students existed to vote for Kurdish representatives. It is obvious that 20 or 30 Assyrian students in any school cannot win against 300 or 500 Kurdish students. As indigenous people, the Assyrians must be given special considerations in any kind of elections, including those of the Student Unions. The low Assyrian population is due to decades of central and local government policies against the Assyrians, who were forced to flee their ancestral lands in northern Iraq .

It is very unfortunate that the Kurds act in such manner, while they claim to be champions for democracy. The victims of yesterday are becoming the oppressors of today. They want to paint the entire northern Iraqi region with the Kurdish color and ignore the rights of the other groups in that region. It is vital that an International body of observers oversees northern Iraq to insure justice, equality, and true democracy due to the delicate demographic mixture of the region.

Fred Aprim
California

Assyrian Leaders from Iran Participate in the Baghdad Conference, Appear on Ashur TV

Four Assyrian leaders and notables from Iran participated in the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Conference of October 22-24, 2003 . Two of these leaders were interviewed by Ashur TV satellite station. Mr. Atour Khnanesho on November 29, 2003 , and Prof. Ronald Thomas-Zadeh on December 6, 2003 .

The following is a brief description of what the two leaders stated in their interviews.

1. Mr. Atour Khnanesho

Introducing himself, Mr. Khnanesho stated that he has been involved in Assyrian affairs for some 45 years. His activities have taken him through many parts of the world. In 1968, he was one of the founders of the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) and he was for 8 years (1984 – 1992) the Chaldean and Assyrian representative in the Iranian Maglis (Parliament) for eight years.

About the representation of our people in Iran and its circumstances, he stated that when the 1931 Iranian Constitution was written, only Armenians were recognized. In the 1962 constitution, however, our people were represented as Chaldean and Assyrians. He explained that the Catholic Church was powerful, and the Europeans missionaries, mainly French, had great impact in the country ' s affairs and using that title. It was for this reason that the name Chaldean and Assyrian was used despite the fact that there are no Chaldeans in Iran . After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the country wrote its new constitution. Here, few individuals and certain institution were the reason for this designation to remain; we were helpless.

Regarding the October 22-24, 2003 Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Baghdad Conference, Mr. Khnanesho stated that while in Iran we heard many rumors. Mostly focused on a claim that Assyrian groups, especially from the USA and Europe , were not participating and that the conference was going to be a ZOWAA only conference. When we asked around, many organizations and institutions told us that they would not participate. Mr. Khnanesho continued to state that the four of us (Prof. Ronald Thomas-Zadeh, Dr. Ninous Oraha, Victor Berin, and Atour Khnanesho) decided to participate because we have heard about the activities of ZOWAA. In Baghdad , to our surprise, we met many of those organizations who has stated that they were not going to attend. We learned later that 80 percent out of those received the invitations attended the conference. This was a great moment for us.

Mr. Khnanesho stated that he has attended many conferences in his lifetime, but nothing comes close to the Baghdad Conference. He stated that these are not the days of World War I; we agreed with this unified name because we needed to unite our people; we needed to express sympathy and respect for each other. We understand history, Mr. Khnanesho added, but we must embrace those who were lost with open arms; we cannot shut them off. We have to address our people with openness and understanding. Today there is a reality on the ground; we cannot say we will not accept Chaldeans or Suryan, especially when they are willing to come together. You can say I am Assyrian and the other will say I am Chaldean and in the final analysis, we will remain divided. We must not repeat the mistakes of 70 years ago. We are facing great challenges and it is significant that we do whatever it takes to unite, even if that meant using ten names.

Answering a question, which claims that the four attendees from Iran were not recognizable and not reputable in Iran , Mr. Khnanesho stated that who we are speaks loud about us. Prof. Ronald Thoams-Zadeh is a Professor in Political Science; Mr. Victor Barin, holds a Masters degree and is the President of the Assyrian Council of the Church of the East in Tehran; Dr. Ninos Oraham is a well-known physician with over 40 years of service, and I have been involved in Assyrians affairs for 45 years. The four people are well-known and respected members of the Assyrian community and it is very unfortunate that we hear such things from certain individuals on their TV stations.

Finally, Mr. Khnanesho expressed his great pleasure for being part of the Baghdad Conference. It was as if all the participant had the same vision about the dangers facing our people and they all needed to act in response to that urgent call. They chose the Chaldo Assyrian unified name at the conference because they had to unite in order to survive; without unity, we will all lose, said Mr. Khnanesho. ChaldoAssyrians will not make any changes in our lives outside Iraq ; it just brought 600,000 brothers home. We will not survive by screaming Atour … Atour; it is not enough. Survival will not be accomplished through poetry. By this unified ChaldoAssyrian name we brought unity and with unity we bring empowerment. This is how we will survive, Mr. Khnanesho concluded.

2. Prof. Ronald Thomas-Zadeh

Prof. Thomas-Zadeh ' s message evolved around unity, which was the theme and focus of the October 22-24, 2003 , Baghdad Conference. All participants agreed on this vision that we are one people and that it was important to have one name representing us in the future constitution of Iraq . Starting from this focal point, the participants agreed easily on two points, which state that our name is ChaldoAssyrian, and out language and culture is Syriac.

Prof. Thomas-Zadeh stated that there are certain groups in Iraq who do not want our unity; they want our demise. These groups tried hard; they used certain Assyrians and Chaldean individuals to create unrest and division between the Assyrians and the Chaldeans. It is important to understand that people are brought up differently, we were brought up to be Assyrians, others were brought up to be Chaldeans and so on. These old problems need long time to resolve. We know history and it is clear, however, today we need this.

Unity, stated Prof. Thomas-Zadeh, is not a word we utter; it is something we must practice if we really mean saying it. We have been known by many names; however, today we see many of us working together as one people. The Assyrians of Iraq, stated Prof. Thomas-Zadeh, need the support of the Diaspora Assyrians; we need a global strategy to support our people in Iraq . In time, the empowerment of Assyrians in Iraq will turn around where they will be able to help Assyrians around the world.

Raabi Yonadam Kanna , as a member of the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) was invited officially by the Iranian government to visit Tehran . It was important that our people in Iran meet with him and listen to the latest news about our situation in Iraq . Permission was presented to the Iranian government to have such meeting and it was granted. We quickly made some phone calls and succeeded to gather some 250 people, despite the efforts of few individuals to block our efforts. In that gathering questions were asked and Raabi Kanna answered them all; it was a fruitful gathering. It has been a long time since such quality meeting had taken place in Iran . We understand what is going on in Iraq and we envision positive things for Assyrians, explained Prof. Thomas-Zadeh.

Prof. Thomas-Zadeh addressed the gathering in Tehran , he thanked Raabi Kanna and ZOWAA for their diligent work in Iraq . He stressed that division will not help us in these crucial moments of our history and after thousands of years of efforts to protect our presence in our ancestral lands. Prof. Thomas-Zadeh stated that we do not want to be recognized as Christians as we have been by previous governments. Division due to names have been the reason for our backwardness. Unity and intelligence will help us go forward and we will be able to protect our rights in our ancestral lands. He added, the power of a nation is in its unity and mental acuteness. If we unite and drop these empty signs and acts of divisions, we will concentrate of building schools and strong institutions and our people will progress. Prof. Thomas-Zadeh emphasized that the Assyrians of Iraq needed three things: Education, wisdom, and power. Unity, he stressed, was the most important of all, since it empowers Assyrians.

Prof. Thomas-Zadeh concluded the interview by stating that he knew that he was an Assyrian because he and his parents knew their history. However, if someone did not have the chance to know this fact, it does not mean that we attack or insult him or her. Wisdom tells us, added Prof. Thomas-Zadeh, that with unity we will have a chance to teach our history, language, and culture to our people. Our people are involved in many aspects of the process of rebuilding Iraq ; we have a good thing here. In every nation, there is that diversity of opinion, however, that does not mean leading our people to disaster. A person cannot be an Assyrian when he uses empty arguments to damage this nation; he cannot be the son of this nation. Prof. Thomas-Zadeh concluded by stating that the conference is not going to change our name and history; we have to show respect for each other and unite to catch up with the rest of world ' s civilizations.

Fred Aprim
California

Assyrian Aid Society Calendar Project

The Assyrian Aid Society is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious organisation that raises funds for the benefit of Chaldassyrians living in Beth-Nahrain. The organisation operates on 4 continents, the UK , Europe , the US and Australia . Please visit our Australian website ( http://www.assyrianaidsociety.org ) or the US website ( http://www.assyrianaid.org ) for more information.

AAS-Australia puts out a very high quality glossy full colour calendar every year. You can see a sample of the pictures that go into the calendar at our websites. Dr Sennacherib Daniel, AAS-Australia ' s vice president, visited Beth-Nahrain last year, where he took many amazing photos. (Besides including some of these in our calendar he will also be producing a book on Chaldassyrians in Beth-Nahrain shortly!).

We ask Chaldassyrian businesses to sponsor the cost of producing the calendar, which is distributed among 50,000 Chaldassyrians around Australia (mainly centred in Sydney and Melbourne) as well as New Zealand . We believe it would be fantastic to have your business on the calendar as it would be a great way to promote/expose your business to our Chaldassyrian Australian community.

We ask for a minimum sponsorship fee of US$100. The more you donate the more often your business appears. The Assyrian Aid Society is planning to print the calendar at the end of Jan so it is really important to get our sponsors to commit, and therefore you wouldn ' t have to pay right away.

We hope that you will consider this offer and to know that every cent donated is sent to help our Chladassyrian communities in Beth-Nahrain to enable them to become more self-sufficient.

Please do not hestitate to contact me directly if you wish to discuss further.

Ninweh Daniel
Secretary
The Assyrian Aid Society- Australia
38 Alfred Street , Milsons Point
Sydney , New South Wales
Australia 2061
aas_au@yahoogroups.com

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Ninos Aho & Yosip Bet-Yosip's Trips to China & Australia

The World Congress of Poets – China

The World Congress of Poets is an organisation linked with UNESCO, and was established 33 years ago under the slogan “World Brotherhood and Peace through Poetry”. It is still going strong and the Chinese Poetry Society recently hosted the 23rd congress in Taiwan between 23 and 30 November. This year's main topics were Nature and Music. Among its 272 participants, most of them locals, we are proud to have had two famous Assyrian poets – Malfono Ninos Aho and Raabie Yosip Bet-Yosip.

Malfono Ninos read one poem in the eastern dialect “Shimsha d-Shrara” (the Sun of Truth), and one in the western dialect “Habtho d-Heto” (Grain of Wheat), and Raabie Yosip also read a poem in the eastern dialect “Ganta d-Alaha, Atri Bet-Nahrain” (The Garden of God, my Land Mesopotamia). English translations of all the poems were published along with biographies of the poets in the anthology of the Congress.

In their poems, Raabie Yosip and Malfono Ninos passed on their message about the 7,000 years of civilisation Assyrians gave the world, contrasted with our present predicament as a stateless and refugee nation – an ironic historical juxtaposition. Raabei Yosip's poem especially touched on how Mesopotamia has been occupied by foreign armies, whose chemical bombs have not only destroyed the ancient sites and natural beauty, but have also damaged the children and hence the future of Iraq .

Justice S. Mohan, Sec. Gen. Maurus Young & Congress Pres. Wang Chi Lung with Ninos Aho

The Congress program was as follows: 23-25 November in Taipei University , and then a tour of the island from 26-30 November. The highlights included poetry readings at the Vandana Buddhist Monastery on 27 November and at Ling-Tung College in Taichung on 29 November. During the opening and closing ceremonies, and all the poetry readings, the auditoriums were packed with keen students, numbering about 500 in all.

Whilst there Raabie Yosip and Malfono Ninos visited the Taiwan National Museum and were please to see displays comparing and contrasting Chinese and other world civilisations – including the Assyrians. They were also happy to see one of the displays mention that fact that in 635 AD, Christianity was brought to China by the Church of the East missionary Alopen. Some of the poets attending the Congress had heard about Assyrians before, but others hadn't. Most of them were happy to hear information that was new to them and see that Assyrians still exist and the Aramaic language is still a living language.

Poetry Evening at Mor Malke Church , Sydney

On Friday 12 December a poetry evening was held by the Babylon Cultural Association at the Mor Malke Syrian Orthodox church Hall in Greenacre. It was attended by more than 75 people, mostly members of the western Assyrian community.

The program lasted two hours (from 8:30pm to 10:30pm ), and began with poetry, mostly in Classical Syriac (kthobonoyo) read by young boys and girls from the Saturday language school run by the association. Malfono Tammuz Tammuz also read a humorous poem in the colourful Turoyo dialect.

Assyrian poets – Ninos Aho & Yosip Bet-Yosip

The highlight of the evening were poems recited by Malfono Ninos Aho, songs sung by Raabie Yosip Bet-Yosip, as well as speeches by the two concerning their recent participation in the World Congress of Poets in Taiwan .

Presentations of engraved pens were made to the poets by former association presidents. Also many CDs were sold as mementos of the occasion. Everyone left the warm gathering content and full of love and respect for the poets.

Special thanks to everyone from the Babylon Cultural Association for their hard efforts in making the evening a success.

“Assyrian Poetic Vision” at the Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club, Sydney

On Saturday 13 December a poetry night and party called “Assyrian Poetic Vision” was held by a group of Assyrian Associations in Sydney at the Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club in Fairfield Heights .

Among the organisers of the night were the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA-Australia Chapter), the Assyrian National Organisation (ANO), the Assyrian Liberation Party (GFA), and the Gilgamesh Cultural Centre. The event was attended by more than 300 people.

The poetry program began at 8pm and lasted until 10:30 pm , and was followed by a party that finished at 2:30am . The poetry program showcased two guest poets, Malfono Ninos Aho and Raabie Yosip Bet-Yosip who not only spoke of their experiences at the World Congress of Poets in Tawian, but also read some of their best poems. Raabie Yosip also sang a song by William Daniel. Background music was supplied by Ninos Toma (tamboura) and Brian Berro (flute and duduk).

There were two performances by the Assyrian Folkloric Dance Group, under the management of Joseph Dadisho. Prolific Iraqi writer Ghaylan also participated by reading work by prominent Iraqi-Assyrian poet Sargon Paulus. The Masters of Ceremonies were Nicholas Al-Jeloo and Margo Hawel.

Presentations of certificates to the two guest poets were made by former mayor Anwar Khoshaba and Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club president Diryawish Shlemon. After the end of the official program, the party began with performances by Sargon Gabriel and local singer Ninos Toma.

Ninos Aho at the World Congress of Poets in China

House of Iraqi Poets at the Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club, Sydney

On Sunday December 14 a poetry afternoon was held by the House of Iraqi Poets, in conjunction with the Gilgamesh Cultural Centre at the Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club in Fairfield Heights . It was attended by more than 150 people from the Iraqi community, many of them Assyrians.

The program lasted four hours (from 2pm to 6pm ), and showcased local Iraqi and Assyrian poets, as well as Malfono Ninos Aho and Raabie Yosip Bet-Yosip. Most of them showed their love for their Mesopotamian ancestors, and emphasised the safeguarding of Iraq 's antiquities and reviving our past glory. A play about Iraq was also staged.

Malfono Ninos read one poem in Arabic, as well as one the eastern dialect “Aturaya Khata” (the New Assyrian), and one in the western dialect “Habtho d-Heto” (Grain of Wheat), and Raabie Yosip also read a poem in the eastern dialect “Ganta d-Alaha, Atri Bet-Nahrain” (The Garden of God, my Land Mesopotamia). An Arabic translation was read by Dr. William Eshaya Warda. Among the other Assyrian participants was local poet Margo Hawel, and among the more prolific Iraqi writers that participated was Ghaylan.

The event was followed by an information night by the Assyrian Aid Society of Australia, detailing the present developments in Iraq and our people after the Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian General Conference. This was held from 6pm-9pm and included exclusive video footage of the conference.

Political Rally at the Assyrian Charity and Educational Community, Sydney

On Monday 15 December a Political Rally was hosted by Poets Ninos Aho and Yosip Bet-Yosip at the Ashur Club in Horsley Park . It was attended by about 70 people from all the different political parties and local associations.

The program lasted from 8pm to 11pm and in it the two poets presented a short history of the Assyrian nationalist movement and their perspectives on its future. Their conclusion dwelt on the formation of a network of pure nationalists that would achieve Assyrian national rights by 2050. The other alternative to this being either assimilated in the west or pushed out of the Middle East .

After a prolonged question time, with heated discussion on different current issues, Malfono Ninos concluded the evening with a reading of “Aturaya Khata” (the New Assyrian). This was their final event together in Australia .

Many CDs were sold as mementos of the occasion. Special thanks to Lenny Paul for his hard efforts in making more copies of the CDs for sale on such short notice. Special thanks also to everyone from the Assyrian associations and political organisations in Sydney for their hard efforts in making the tour of Malfono Ninos and Raabie Yosip a success.

Nicholas Al-Jeloo
Australia