March 10, 2003

The Lighthouse=20

THE ASSYRIANS OF NORTH = BATTLEFORD,=20 CANADA
A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

=93The Canadian West has no greater = settlement story=20 than that of the Assyrians who landed on Canadian soil, January 1, = 1903=94=20 (N. Battleford News Optimist, June22, 1979)

The first week of September 2003 is a historical time for the = Assyrians=20 of North Battleford as the local Assyrians, together with Assyrian = guests=20 from other cities in Canada and the U.S.A. will commemorate the = 100 years=20 of the arrival and settlement of Assyrians in this city. In its = December=20 18, 02 issue the Battlefords News Optimist, in an article titled = =93A great=20 Way to Mark Anniversary=94, states: =93Assyrians have made a huge = contribution=20 to the life of the Battlefords. They and their descendants have = started up=20 many important businesses and enriched the cultural and religious = life of=20 the area. They=92ve also been great contributors to the = agricultural=20 community.=94 The North Battleford Archives Committee =93with the = help of=20 members of the local Assyrian community, plans to preserve their = history=20 via computer and eventually see it go on line-complete with sound = and=20 video-on the Saskatchewan Archives website.=94 On the day of = commemoration,=20 the Archives Committee will make a historical presentation = honoring the=20 many contributions that the Assyrians have made to the community = and a=20 cairn will be erected on the site of the first encampment of the = Assyrian=20 immigrants.

The Assyrians are among the very first settlers of North = Battleford.=20 The mastermind behind this venture was Rev. Dr. Isaac Adams. He is = the=20 first and the only person who engineered a mass migration of = Assyrians to=20 North America. He initiated two resettlement projects to Canada: = one in=20 1902, the other in 1906. Both have been unique in the history of = Assyrian=20 migration overseas. They were the sole planned group projects = composed of=20 families=97and not merely men=97intended for permanent = resettlement abroad. In=20 hindsight Isaac Adams saved the lives of the people he brought = over to=20 Canada since thousands perished during World War I uprooting of = the=20 Assyrians in Iran and Turkey.

(=20 Dr. Isaac Adams and Family.)

=93The name of the Rev. Isaac Adams will always be cherished by = his=20 people here. He is enshrined
in their hearts as one who gave = them =91new=20 lamps for old=92 on these western plains; and guided their = footsteps in the=20 strangers=92 land.=94 (N. Battleford News Optimist June 22, = 1979)

Isaac Adams was born in the village of Sangar, near the town of = Urmia,=20 in 1872. At the age of six he lost his father who had gone to = Russia as a=20 migrant worker. Subsequently the village Agha (landlord) = confiscated their=20 land upon the pretext that his father had owed him money. The = mother and=20 five children were left in the care of their relatives. Adams = writes in=20 his journal that he came under the influence of the Presbyterian = mission=20 where he attended school. Upon reading the passage from the bible = that=20 says =93Cut thee out of thy country=85into a land that I will show = thee=92, this=20 modern day Abraham decided to leave on his own to the promised = land,=20 America (Adams 1900:24). In 1889 he entered the United States = border at=20 the age of 16 and made his way through the customs with less than = $6:00 in=20 his pockets when the regulations for entering the country required = a=20 minimum of $25.00. With the help of the Presbyterian Board of = Foreign=20 Missions, he studied to become a minister. Meanwhile having = learned the=20 ways of the middle class in the west and its fascination with the = things=20 =93exotic=94, Adams traveled throughout North America on a 45-day = lecture tour=20 dressed in his picturesque native costumes where he spoke on the = culture=20 of the Persians and the traditions of the Muslims and Christians. = He sold=20 his photographs and raised money with which he opened mission = schools in=20 various Assyrian villages when He returned to the old country. In = 1897=20 Rev. Adams returned to the United States to pursue his studies in=20 medicine. Three years later he graduated from the Grand Rapids = Medical=20 College. Having secured his American citizenship, Adams returned = to the=20 old country and married Sarah, the daughter of the prominent = physician,=20 Hakim Israel. Sarah was only 15 and it appears that her parents = were=20 hesitant to marry their daughter off to live in a far away land. = But Dr.=20 Adams could not be dissuaded. He persisted and finally overcame = their=20 hesitation.

( Dr. Adams=92 Diploma of Medicine)

As early as 1902 Isaac Adams had planned to settle a large = group of=20 Assyrians in California where the climate is close to that in = Urmia, and=20 where he believed that the Assyrians could exercise their = traditional=20 skills in the growing of orchards and vineyards. But when he = inquired=20 about the possibilities for homesteading, the immigration official = in=20 Sacramento enlightened him that public lands sufficiently large = for a=20 colony were no longer available in the region. This was true = because by=20 that time most of the land in the valley was in private holdings. = He had=20 better luck with Canadian immigration officials whose = government=92s policy=20 was to settle and develop Western Canada into a major wheat and = cereal=20 producing region in the country, and did not discriminate against=20 immigrants of a different creed or country (Hall 1975). So he took = a=20 colony of 36 men and women composed mostly of his own relatives = and=20 friends to Western Canadian prairies which were opened up for=20 homesteading.

( Dr. Israel and wife)

=93New Lamps for Old=94

It was in the Fall of 1902 that 36 Assyrians under the = leadership of=20 Rev. Dr. Isaac Adams, left on six horse-drawn carts (Arabanas) = from Urmia=20 towards the Turkish border. Their names make familiar reading to = the=20 Assyrians of California who are the descendents of these pioneers. = In the=20 group were Isaac Adams, and his family, his two brothers Joseph = and=20 Abraham with their families, their cousin Solomon Backus and his = family.=20 These were all from the village of Sangar. From the town of Urmia = they=20 picked up Esakan Shabaz, Odishoo, and Baba Shabaz and their = families. They=20 picked up Aushani, Samuel Jacobs and his brother Elishaw in = Gavilan. From=20 the town of Tabriz that was on their way, they picked up the = families of=20 Michael George and his brother Peter. These two families were = originally=20 from Sangar, and were related to Isaac Adams. Banosha, a lonely = woman, and=20 Samuel Baba also cast their lot with the group. A Turk nicknamed = =93Knife=94=20 joined them as well. Other families among the early pioneers = (1907) are=20 Jacob Adams, Elisha George and family, Sargis George, Benjamin = George,=20 Pete Badal, Shirin George (daughter of Michael George), and the = families=20 of Samuel Robin, Daniel Lazar and Samuel Lazar, Avshalim George; = Philip=20 and Able Tamraz.

After they crossed the robber-infested Iranian-Turkish border, = they=20 crossed over to Turkey. From Turkey they took the train to Israel = and then=20 to Hamburg in Germany, where they boarded a steamship called = =93Assyria=94 and=20 sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Halifax in Canada. On board = the ship=20 Abraham Adam=92s wife gave birth to a baby girl. They named her = =93Assyria=94,=20 after the steamship. They landed in Halifax on New Year=92s Day, = 1903. From=20 there they took the train to Winnipeg, where they spent the = winter. In=20 spring of the same year they traveled by train to Saskatoon, and = after=20 purchasing the necessary equipment there, they followed the old = Battleford=20 trail on carts. Then they ferried the North Saskachewan River and = landed=20 on the north bank. Their first act was one of worship. Dr. Adams = gave=20 thanks to God for His bounties and mercies and for keeping them = safe=20 during their arduous journey. They encamped in tents in a clearing = of bush=20 and poplar on a site where today stands the Saskatchewan = Provincial=20 Hospital in the city of North Battleford. (See maps) But the = northern=20 spring gusts drew them eventually to a dug out on the side of a = hill until=20 they built themselves a large one-story substantial house, 30 feet = by 50=20 feet with walls that were two feet through. (Wetton, Celia. = Saskatoon Star=20 Phoenix. date nd.). They lived in this communal hall like one = large family=20 until each family=92s residence was ready to move out. Dr. Adams = sent his=20 young wife to school so that she could learn English and home = economics.=20 Their first son John was born in 1908.

A visit to the North Battleford Cemetery is an excellent = statistical=20 source. The tombstones with Assyrian inscriptions are a historical = landmark signaling the presence of Assyrians oceans away from = their=20 original homeland. Mrs. Daniel Lazar wrote the inscriptions in=20 Aramaic.

( Mary Jacob=92s Grave)

The Assyrian Pioneers

Source: Old Tombstones with Assyrian Inscriptions

ESAKAN SHABAZ	1861-1936
ODISHAW SHABAZ	1857-1932
SAMUEL ROBIN	1899-1939
MICHAEL GEORGE	1850-1934	(Shirin=92s Father)
ABRAM ADAMS	1865-1915
SARAH GEORGE BADAL	1852-1918	(Peter Badal=92s wife)
AWEGAIL JACOB	1893-1919
ELISHAW JACOB	1877=961931
MARY JACOB	1891-1942	(E. JACOB=92S WIFE)
BENJAMIN GEORGE	1886-1969
JOZAL ODISHAW	1880-1945	(J. ODISHAW=92S WIFE)
JOSEPH ODISHAW	1874-1950
MARY SHABAZ BACKUS	1867-1942	(SHIRIN=92S MOTHER)
RACHEL GEORGE	1863-1949
SAMUEL LAZAR	1891-1947

The First Homesteads

In 1902 land was already surveyed and quarter sections = designated by=20 number. The number was on a steel pole in front of each plot. A = quarter=20 section could be purchased at $10.00 and another quarter could be=20 preempted for $3.00. The Assyrians filed for homesteads soon after = their=20 arrival. Dr. Adams purchased a quarter section where later the=20 Saskatchewan Provincial Hospital was built. Michael=92s homestead = later=20 became the Canadian Railway=92s Right of way. On a current city = map, Daniel=20 Lazar=92s homestead would be across the shopping mall.

In 1903 there were very few farmers in the area. The closest = town,=20 Battleford, was some miles away from the Assyrian encampment. The = town was=20 experiencing a setback as the railway had bypassed it in favor of = other=20 cities. Movement of cargo constituted a problem and imported goods = were=20 very expensive due to the high freight rates. Farmers were = therefore not=20 attracted to the area because they could not market their produce = if they=20 settled there. The Assyrian colonists engaged in subsistence = farming and=20 for their source of cash they went to town for any jobs available = in=20 unskilled labor, an arrangement with which they were already = familiar, as=20 they had practiced it in the old country. The colony prospered in = the=20 first few years. The land was virgin and it produced much more = than they=20 had ever had in one season back home. Sarah Adams is quoted to = have=20 remarked that the cabbages grew so large that they did not fit = within one=20 person=92s arms. Even work in town was much more remunerative = compared to=20 the old country.

In the meantime the Canadian Northern Railway officialdom = bought=20 large tracts of land around the Assyrian homesteads and to the = utter=20 dismay of the inhabitants of the town of Battleford, decided to = divert a=20 line, which was supposed to go through the town, to this area. In = a short=20 time a settlement arose which within a year developed into the = prosperous=20 town of =93North Battleford=94. New business and people, mostly = from England=20 or British settlers from Eastern Canada, poured in. In March of = 1906, a=20 year after the railroad reached the area; the settlement acquired = the=20 status of a village. Four months later the population had reached = 565, and=20 the village was officially incorporated as a town. This gave the = Assyrians=20 plenty of opportunity to find work. Some hauled bricks with a team = of=20 oxen; others laid water and sewer lines, or found other types of = work in=20 the booming construction market and on the railway. For example, = Moses=20 Backus as a new immigrant worked in the construction of King = Street=20 School. Later he hauled bricks with a team of oxen to build the=20 Saskatchewan Hospital, and laid water and sewer lines for the city = of=20 North Battleford. Esakan Shabaz opened a candy store. He also = invested in=20 the building of a billiard parlor. The three Adams brothers formed = a small=20 corporation. They bought a =93steamer=94 and a set of ploughs. = Their plan was=20 to plough other farmers=92 fields and work as =93land breakers=94. = Their very=20 first attempt was a disaster. A British farmer hired them, but the = steamer=20 failed to operate shortly after the work had started. As they did = not know=20 how to repair the machine, they were told to be gone. In the = autumn they=20 made a second attempt and bought a separator (a winnowing machine = which=20 separates the wheat from the straw) and instead of the steamer = they used=20 fourteen teams of oxen. This failed too because, as a British = informant=20 put it, =93It was out of proportion to their experience and the = farming=20 situation in the area where farming was still done on a small = family=20 scale.=94

In 1906 the settlers had saved enough money that they were = ready to=20 send passage money and bring their relatives over from the old=20 country.

Isaac Adams went to Persia in 1906, and in 1907 returned with = another=20 colony of 40 Assyrians. The new settlers purchased land in the = White Wood=20 area 7-8 miles N.E. of the town of North Battleford. This land = proved to=20 be of much better quality. It was flat, had excellent soil, and = was free=20 of rocks. The drawback was the crops on it were exposed to = freezing. A few=20 of the settlers who were exasperated with the rocks and the swarms = of=20 mosquitoes near the river plots of the 1903 settlement, abandoned = their=20 homesteads and relocated to the second site. But good land was not = enough=20 to ameliorate the situation for the Canadian farmer in those days. = With=20 the agricultural technology limited to human and animal power, it = was not=20 easy to break a sufficient amount of land for cultivation, = particularly if=20 the unit of labor was the family. Quarter-section farms were = inadequate=20 for dry farming. A half section would be viable, but then it = needed more=20 labor than one family could afford. The government expected to = develop=20 Western Canada into a farming region, but it was not prepared to = subsidize=20 the farmers. Consequently approximately 57% of (six out of ten) = farmers=20 failed and moved out to towns (McGinnis 1975). The Assyrians were = no=20 exception. Like most farmers they were part-time laborers, and as = farmers=20 they practiced mixed farming and livestock raising for = subsistence. Year=20 after year the crops failed; they were hit by frosts before the = farmers=20 had a chance to take them off the ground. Dr. Adams had to obtain = relief=20 for the hard hit families. By 1914 most Assyrians had moved out of = farms=20 and settled in a section of town that was called =93Chism = Town=94.

In 1910 the provincial government paid Dr. Adams a good = price for=20 his homestead because his land was selected for a government = project, the=20 Saskatchewan Provincial Hospital. He decided to move to California = and=20 establish a new colony there. He urged the Assyrians of North = Battleford=20 to join him. Only one of his brothers, Joseph, and Odishoo Backus = did. His=20 two other brothers Abraham (Abram) and Jacob stayed in North = Battleford.=20 Jacob was killed doing military service during World War I. = Abraham=20 (Abram) died in a fire in 1915. Abraham had eight children: two = sons=20 William and Paul, and six daughters. When Dr. Adams got settled in = Turlock, California he helped his nephew William to relocate. = William in=20 turn moved his sisters to Turlock. Assyria got married in Turlock = and is=20 buried in San Francisco. Abraham=92s other son Paul stayed in = North=20 Battleford and his offspring live in various cities in Canada. =
In=20 subsequent years more Assyrians joined the colony in North = Battleford=20 either on their own, or through the help of relatives already = there. In=20 1905 Joseph Odishaw moved from the United States to North = Battleford . In=20 1910 he helped bring his brother John, wife and three children = from the=20 village of Gavilan. John could not find land close to the other = Assyrian=20 settlers and his homestead was isolated; but he became the only = successful=20 farmer =93because his homestead was on a slope and his crops = escaped=20 freezing.=94 In 1972 his son Michael and his grandson Richard were = among the=20 most prosperous farmers in Western Canada.

Samuel Robin had immigrated from Urmia to eastern United States = in 1900=20 with three Assyrian priests. The four men homesteaded in = partnership in=20 Flint, Michigan. Samuel could not farm. He left for Ohio and = worked there=20 as a laborer for three years. Then he heard about the Assyrian = colony in=20 Canada and joined it in 1904. He homesteaded and in 1906 asked Dr. = Adams=20 to bring his wife Shirin from the old country. Later he also = brought=20 George, the son of his sister-in-law (his wife=92s sister=92s son) = claiming=20 that he was his own son so that the immigration authorities would = allow=20 the young man across the border. Samuel left farming and moved to = the town=20 and became a buggy driver.

Sam Esaw, one of the Assyrian refugees during the Kurdish = pre-World War=20 pillage of Gavar, had immigrated to Chicago with the help of the = Red=20 Cross. He joined the colony in 1912. Later he sent money to the = old=20 country and brought his wife Miriam and his brother Robert to = Canada. Sam=20 opened a confectionary store in N. Battleford; but went bankrupt = and=20 engaged in peddling for a while.

In 1923-24 twelve settlers came from Marseilles, France. They = were all=20 originally from the Urmia region, but during World War I they had = fled and=20 lived for several years in refugee camps, and then had gradually = made=20 their way from Baghdad to Marseilles, where there was a small = refugee=20 enclave at the time. These twelve individuals belonged to two = families.=20 One family consisted of David George, his wife and two children, = and his=20 niece Nina whom he raised as his own daughter after the death of = her=20 father, his brother. George had sent his younger brother Benjamin = to=20 Canada with the 1907 colony, and was now joining him. The second = family=20 consisted of the rest of Backus brothers. The history of the = migration of=20 the Backus family starts with the 1902 colony. There were six = brothers in=20 this family. The eldest brother Solomon had left Sangar with his = uncle=20 Esakan George with the first colony. In 1906 he had helped his = younger=20 brother Moses Backus to come to N. Battleford with the second = colony. The=20 two brothers homesteaded and sent money to their parents in the = old=20 country. As a consequence their father became so prosperous in = Sangar that=20 he was unwilling to immigrate to Canada. Instead, he asked his two = sons to=20 return to the old country. After the two brothers got their = passports and=20 were ready to return, World War I broke out in Europe and they = could not=20 travel. Following the uprooting of the Assyrians from their homes = during=20 the war, the Backus family lived in Baquba refugee camp. The two = Backus=20 brothers in Canada sent their parents passage money and helped = them to=20 relocate to Marseilles, France. In 1923 the parents were awaiting = their=20 visas to Canada. However, Peera, the father, had trachoma and was=20 forbidden entrance into Canada. Since his wife Sonia refused to = leave the=20 old man behind, one of the brothers Robert, decided to stay in = Marseilles=20 and came to Canada after the parents passed away several years = later. The=20 other two brothers, Envia, and Eli who was married and had a small = child,=20 resumed their journey and reached N. Battleford in 1924. They also = brought=20 a young woman as a wife for Odishoo, whose wife had passed away in = Turlock, California. The matchmaking was arranged by the parents = of the=20 girl and the Backus=92 who had become friends while staying in = Baquba=20 refugee camp. In 1936 one of the Backus brothers who was = unmarried,=20 returned to Marseilles, and with the recommendation of his parents = married=20 a distant cousin and brought her with him to N. Battleford. It = appears the=20 Marseilles transit colony served as a bridal reservoir for the = Assyrian=20 bachelors in North America.

In 1937 Tom Yonan joined the colony from England. Tom was = originally=20 from the Assyrian Tyari tribe of the Hakkari Region in Turkey. He = had=20 served as a levy during the British occupation of Iraq, and was = brought to=20 England by his superior officer after the British pulled out of = Iraq in=20 1933. He resided in England for two years and worked in the house = of his=20 former officer until the latter arranged a visa for him to = immigrate to=20 Canada. An Assyrian in Canada was needed to sponsor Tom before = immigration=20 authorities would allow him entrance into the country. Solomon who = had=20 helped many people, volunteered to do so for Tom too.

The latest addition to N. Battleford was a young man named Jack = Ismail=20 from the post-World War I Assyrian Settlement in Syria. He too was = originally from the Tyari tribe and related to Tom. They were clan = cousins. He came as a visitor in 1972 and stayed at Tom=92s for = some time.=20 He was determined not to return to the Assyrian settlement on the = Khabour,=20 in Syria. However, the immigration regulations made it virtually=20 impossible for him to obtain a visa. His efforts to stay with the = help of=20 the Assyrians in Canada failed. Then he met and married a charming = Canadian girl and was able to stay.

Many more Assyrians came to N. Battleford. But the rate of = emigration=20 from this city was much higher than that of immigration into it. = Most of=20 the Assyrian families applied for immigration visas to the United = States=20 and left to join their relatives there. Those who chose to stay=20 permanently in N. Battleford were either prosperous enough not to = want to=20 relocate, or their immigration applications to the United States = had been=20 rejected. The Assyrians who made North Battleford their hometown = proved to=20 be exemplary citizens.

They worked hard but with determination and perseverance; they = farmed,=20 established businesses and educated their children so that they = could=20 enrich the fiber and strength of their adopted = homeland.=94(Nordstrom, Inez.=20 =93People and Places=94. The Battleford News Optimist)

In 1972 there were 46 Assyrian men, women and children left in = N.=20 Battleford. Of these 26 were full Assyrian. None of the 1902 = settlers=20 remained in the city. They had either out migrated or had passed = away. Of=20 the 1907 colony only Shirin George Robin was alive.

Community Profile

=93An unusual group of people often referred to as = =91Presbyterian=92 began=20 arriving in North Battleford in 1903 from Iran.=94 (The = Battlefords News=20 Optimist, Sept. 25, 2002)

The Assyrians, with Rev. Dr. Adams as their minister, were the = first=20 Presbyterians in the region. When Dr. Adams left for Turlock = California,=20 they brought a new minister, Rev. Eshoo who continued providing = them=20 service in their own language until 1940=92s. (See group picture.) = Then they=20 joined the St. Andrews Church and remained its backbone = throughout. They=20 served in various capacities as treasurers, ushers, and elders of = the=20 church. The church choir was full of Assyrian youth and the = Assyrian women=20 were very active in charity work as members of the church ladies=20 auxiliary. Their handicraft and baked goods had eager takers. In a = special=20 ceremony at St. Andrews Presbyterian church on the 80th = anniversary of the=20 arrival of Assyrians to North Battleford, Lieutenant Governor C. = Irwin=20 McIntosh remarked: =93It is a matter of record today that almost = half of the=20 elders of St. Andrews are descendants of those first settlers. = They have=20 made a contribution to our city and to our country which belies = their=20 numbers.=94 (The Battlefords News-Optimist, 1983)

Assyrian Businesses

=93The candy industry in Canada is a big business but how many = are aware=20 that a few short years ago North Battleford had its own candy=20 manufacturing industry?=94 (Nordstrom, Inez. The Battlefords=20 News-Optimist)

The founder of the candy industry in North Battleford was no = other than=20 Esakan Shabaz who opened the Olympia Candy Store where he made his = own=20 candies. He was a skilled candy maker and his recipes include such = varieties of confectionery as sugar cream, caramels, assorted = toffee,=20 marshmallows, chocolates, buttercups, tutti-frutti, and peanut = brittle.=20 When Esakan passed away, his nephew Bob Shabaz inherited the = business.=20 Then Solomon Backus married Mary, the widow of Esakan, and the = candy store=20 as well as the billiard parlor passed into the hands of Backus = family. In=20 1959 Sandy Backus turned it into Sandy=92s Coffee Shop, a modern = day version=20 with soda fountain and marble topped ice cream tables.
There = were=20 other businesses owned and operated by the Assyrians of North = Battleford.=20 Among them are:

Madison Billiards Owner: Moses Backus later passed on to sons = Joseph=20 and Donald
Picadily Grill Owner: Eli Backus
Bob=92s Barber = Shop=20 Owner: Robert Backus
Patricia Confectionary Owner: Sam = Esaw
Lazar=20 Dry Cleaning and Tailor Shop Owners: Daniel and Sulton = Lazar
North=20 Battlejford Tannery Owner: Fred Lazar
Beaver Billiards Owner: = Tom=20 Yonan
Modern Billiards Owner Bob Shabaz
Battleford Furniture = Owners:=20 Richard and Chris Odishaw
People=92s Cab Owners: William and = Albert=20 George
J.R.=92s Distributors, Dispensing and Catering Owner: = Robert=20 Odishaw
Korner Store Owner: Shirley LeCore (Robins)
Capital = Grocery=20 Owners: John and Thirza Odishaw

Various individuals among the Assyrians of North Battleford = obtained=20 prominent positions in the community and in the country. Johnny = Esaw was=20 the vice president of sports for the CTV television network. Moe = and Jeep=20 George coached and managed some of the most successful hockey = teams in the=20 community=92s history, and along the way, helped many residents = have=20 successful hockey careers. Mike Odishaw, one of the many Assyrian- = descended elders of St. Andrews Presbytrian Church in North = Battleford,=20 was reeve of the RM of North Battleford for many years. Dick Robin = was a=20 member of the North Battleford Public School Board for many years. = In 2002=20 Chris Odishaw was not only the owner of a successful furniture = business in=20 the Northwest, he was in his second turn as president of the = Battlefords=20 Chamber of Commerce. David Odishaw operated a successful jewelry = store for=20 many years and also was a Chamber director.(The Battlefords = News-Optimist=20 Dec. 18, 02)

=93To forget one=92s ancestors is to be a brook without a = surce, a tree=20 without root.=94

The inscription above is on one of the four plaques that the = Assyrians=20 dedicated to depict their history in North Battleford. This was = done on=20 the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the settlement of the = colony in=20 this region. =93The plaques, housed at the Western Development = Museum, are=20 dedicated to the memory of the first Assyrian settlers in = Saskatchewan and=20 to their beliefs in religious freedom which led them here. The = contributor=20 of the historical material, Mrs. Margaret Stewart of the North = Battleford,=20 is the granddaughter of Michael George, one of the settlers who = arrived in=20 the area in 1903.=94 (Battleford Telegraph August 24, 1984). =

The=20 descendents of the pioneer generation of Assyrians who still live = in North=20 Battleford are:
Robert, Don , and Lydia Backus, Margaret George = Beach,=20 Richard Odishaw, Tom and Tim Yonan. These were full Assyrian.=20 Part-Assyrians were: Chris Odishaw, Sandra High Backus, Bob = Odishaw, David=20 and Don George, Kathy Beach (Margaret=92s daughter), David = Odishaw, Candice=20 and Mark Odishaw (Richard=92s children).

The Assyrians have remained zealous about their ethnic = identity, even=20 though assimilation and geographical dispersion has eroded many = Assyrian=20 customs that remained alive in the community until 1940=92s. Few = spoke=20 Assyrian at the turn of the 21st century. Nevertheless they have = preserved=20 their ethnic identity at the same time that they have remained = dedicated=20 Canadians.

Dr. Arianne = Ishaya
California

An Invitation to All = Assyrians

The Assyrians of North Battleford invite all Assyrian-Americans = and=20 particularly the descendents of the pioneer generation who now = live in the=20 United States, to participate in this historical centennial = celebration in=20 North Battleford. In this group belong the descendents of Isaac, = Joseph,=20 and Abraham Adams, the descendents of Odishoo Backus, Michael = George, and=20 S. Robin family; the descendents of the Lazar, and the Tamraz = families; as=20 well as Shabaz and Jacob families.

The descendents of George and Robin family now live in = Connecticut,=20 Ohio, Atlanta and Tennessee. The rest live in Los Angeles, San = Francisco,=20 and other cities in the Bay area.

GOOD MORNING=20 BET-NAHRAIN

DOMINICANS=20 PLAN TO OPEN NOVITIATE IN IRAQ

Courtesy of the Zenit News Agency (10=20 March)

(ZNDA: Rome) At a time when the wary are leaving Iraq, the = Dominicans=20 are hoping to step up their presence there.

This decision is reflected in a report by Dominican Father = Jean-Jacques=20 Perennes, vicar for the Arab world, on his recent trip to Iraq and = the=20 programs the Dominicans are sponsoring in the country.

Among the projects is the opening of a novitiate in the city of = Mosul=20 within the next two years and, if possible, the constitution of a = student=20 body in Baghdad.

The Dominicans direct a theological center in the capital, = which=20 attracts hundreds of Christians every week. They publish a = periodical=20 called Christian Thought and carry out pastoral activities.

An audiovisual center and permanent exhibition were inaugurated = in=20 Mosul, in connection with their activities for the poor and for=20 catechetical endeavors.

Work is not wanting," Father Perennes explained. "The bishops = offered=20 us other apostolic activities and the monks are not lacking = projects."=20

As a show of solidarity with Iraq's long-suffering people, the=20 Dominican monks and women religious said that they will not leave = the=20 country even if war breaks out.

SYRIAC CATHOLIC PATRIARCH CALLS HIS = FOLLOWERS=20 =91ARAB=92

Courtesy of the Daily Star (10 = March)

(ZNDA: Beirut) Syriac Catholic Patriarch Agnatios Butros VIII=20 Abdel-Ahad led prayers Sunday for peace in Iraq and for sharing = the heavy=20 burden of the Iraqi people, two days before an expected visit to = Baghdad=20 to support peace.

=93We, as an Arab people, pray with our Iraqi brothers so that = God keeps=20 war away,=94 said Abdel-Ahad in his sermon.
=93We are very = happy with this=20 visit because it comes in troubled times. We will say to the Iraqi = people:=20 we support you in your difficult situation,=94 he added.

Mass was attended by Environment Minister Michel Musa = representing=20 President Emile Lahoud, Beirut MP Nabil de Freij representing = Speaker=20 Nabih Berri, and State Minister Michel Pharaon representing Prime = Minister=20 Rafik Hariri. Deputy Premier Issam Fares was represented by his = adviser=20 Christian Oussi.

ECOLOGISTS TO HELP RESTORE MARSHLANDS = OF=20 BET-NAHRAIN

Courtesy of the Gainesville Sun (10 = March); article=20 by Greg Bruno

(ZNDA: Florida) As the Pentagon pushes ahead with plans for war = in the=20 Middle East, a group of international scientists, including a = University=20 of Florida ecologist, are gearing up for an unorthodox = environmental=20 project: restoration of Iraq's "Garden of Eden."

Bordered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the Mesopotamian=20 Marshlands once covered 3,500 square miles in southern Iraq and = Iran --=20 interconnected marshes, wetlands, and lakes that supported = endangered=20 birds, abundant fish stocks and an ancient wetlands-dependent = indigenous=20 population known as the "Ma'dan."

Regarded by biblical scholars as a possible site of the ancient = "Eden,"=20 the marshlands' historical roots run deep. The Sumerian = civilization,=20 authors of the first alphabet and early epics, are thought to have = inhabited the marshes around 3500 B.C., and in recent years, = nearly=20 400,000 Ma'dan, or marsh Arabs, called the area home.

But following the end of the Gulf War in 1991, Saddam Hussein = ordered=20 the widespread drainage and diversion of water entering the = wetlands from=20 the north, leading to a near 90 percent reduction in total = acreage,=20 according to a 2001 United Nations Environment Programme = report.

Now, a multibillion dollar effort, funded in part by the State=20 Department and overseen by the Iraq Foundation, a U.S.-based Iraqi = opposition group, aims to reverse Saddam's damage.

"We're starting off with the basics," said Thomas Crisman, = director of=20 the Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands at UF and one of about 15=20 scientists studying restoration plans. "We're trying to figure = out, `Can=20 we restore the ecology, and can we restore the culture of the = people who=20 lived in these marshes?' "

Since August 2001, international members of the "Eden Again" = task=20 force, as the project is known, have worked to develop a = restoration=20 framework, outlining strategies and identifying challenges in = returning=20 the wetlands to their pristine state.

In February, members of the advisory committee, including = Crisman, met=20 in Los Angeles to discuss the restoration hurdles, such as how to = meet the=20 needs of the area's indigenous people and methods to reduce = threats from=20 high salinity.

Once launched, the international team will seek to consult with = local=20 stakeholders, scientists and support staff, facilitating efforts = to return=20 the wetland's ecosystem to a point of ecologic functionality.

"Our project is not to do the restoration -- it needs to be = done by the=20 people of the region," said Suzie Alwash, a professor of geology = at El=20 Camino College in Torrance, Calif., and director of the project. = "Our job=20 is to promote the project."

Projects organizers said the status of the restoration is not = dependent=20 on U.S. war efforts, and would continue regardless of an = American-led=20 invasion. Alwash said she has already met with scientists in Iran = and=20 Kuwait to discuss the plans.

Final costs estimates are not available, and the level of State = Department participation is classified. But based on = square-mileage=20 estimates alone, returning the area to its historical state is = expected to=20 be pricey.

"If you take the southern third of Florida, dry it up and burn = it, use=20 it for military activities, that's what we have here," Alwash = said.

Comparing the project to the state's $7.8 billion Comprehensive = Everglades Restoration Plan, she added: "Maybe in a couple of = years we=20 will be able to get Mesopotamian Marshlands as good as the = Everglades are=20 now. But to get it back to a truly good condition could take = longer -maybe=20 decades."

News = Digest

IN A LETTER TO PRES. = BUSH AUA=20 SUPPORTS U.S. ACTION IN IRAQ

March 7, 2003
George W. = Bush
President of the=20 United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue=20 NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President;

Thank you for the excellent press conference of last evening. = Your=20 presentation was impressive and your message that Saddam is a = threat to=20 the United States and that he is a threat to the Iraqi people is = accurate.=20 Your stance is a reassurance to our fellow Americans that our = President=20 has put our safety as his first priority.

I believe that the future will show that your actions in the = case of=20 Iraq will have resulted in the saving of millions of lives = including those=20 of Americans. For a change America is standing for something in = the=20 beginning and demonstrating leadership as a super power of the = world. I=20 know it is not easy but don't let them compromise your rightful = position=20 on disarming Iraq.

Thank you for giving the Christians of Iraq (Assyrians) hope = that they=20 will be included as equal citizens in the future government of = Iraq.=20 Assyrians are the indigenous people of Iraq. They have been = persecuted and=20 discriminated against because they are Christians, because they = are=20 considered to be pro-western and finally because they are = pro-American.=20 This is valid because it was proven in WWI that they were the = smallest=20 ally of the West. In WWII the British Levi (Assyrians) saved = Baghdad from=20 being taken over by the Germans. They were betrayed and did not = receive=20 their promised independence at the Paris Conference. Assyrians = were=20 forgotten when Iraq was created and ignored their promised rights = by the=20 new Iraq government.

You have shown that you are a moral God fearing man and I thank = you for=20 telling the world that you pray for peace in Iraq. I might ask if = you and=20 the White House family will join with us on Sunday March 9, 2003 = in the=20 Worldwide Day of Prayer for Christians of Iraq. I have included = the=20 announcement for your information. We have received hundreds of = e-mails=20 from around the world stating that they would join us in prayer = for the=20 Christians of Iraq.

My only disappointment was that you mentioned the Sunni, = Shiites and=20 Kurds and did not mention the Assyrians as you had done = previously. When=20 we get mentioned the world takes notice and Assyrians are = encouraged and=20 know that you will stand behind your statement that "Christians = and Jews=20 must remain in Asia and Africa."

Our Assyrian Nation in Iraq and those around the world will = continue to=20 pray for your Presidency, your safety and your family.

Respectfully,

Sen. John J. Nimrod, Ret.
Secretary=20 General

OXFORD GRADUATE, MONK BECOMES SYRIAC=20 ARCHBISHOP

Based on an article by Nismettin Kaplan = in Mardin,=20 Turkey; translated for Zinda Magazine from Turkish by Isa=20 Nahroyo

(ZNDA: Mardin) Oxford University = graduate Nuri=20 Saliba =D6zmen, with the approval of 22 religious leader world = wide, in the=20 Syrian capital Damascus, was ordained an Archbishop of the Syrian = Orthodox=20 Church. =D6zmen=92s ordination was celebrated with with chanting = of hymns and=20 songs.

In Turkey the followers of the Syrian Orthodox Church have = increased in=20 number and now have three Archbishops serving their communities. = The=20 Assyrians in Turkey have been inhabiting this land for over five = thousand=20 years. The Syrian Orthodox Church also enjoys a substantial = membership in=20 Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordon, Israel, India, the U.S. and various = European=20 countries.

In turkey, Assyrians mainly live in the cities of Mardin, = Diyarbakir,=20 Hatay, and Istanbul. Until now there were only two archbishops = serving the=20 Istanbul and Midyat (a province of Mardin). Archbishop =D6zmen = will also be=20 serving the Mardin district.

After the death of Archbishop Mor Hanna D=F6lap=FCn=FC in 1969 = the=20 Archdiocese of Mardin had become vacant. Archbishop Nuri Saliba = =D6zmen is a=20 graduate of Oxford University and has a Masters Degree in Semitic=20 Languages.

The Syrian Orthodox Church representatives together with the = clergies=20 corresponded with twenty two religious representative worldwide = requesting=20 the consecration of Monk Saliba =D6zmen as archbishop. Following = the arrival=20 of the religious leaders in Damascus, His holiness Patriarch Zakka = 1 Iwas=20 conducted the religious ceremony and
Monk Saliba =D6zmen was = consecrated=20 as archbishop by the attending dignitaries. After the consecration = Archbishop =D6zmen was presented with a gold cross.

After 34 years Archbishop =D6zmen has become the first = archbishop to be=20 appointed to the head of the historical monastery where he had = received=20 his religious education in earlier in life.

After the ceremony in Syria, on his return to the monastery in = Turkey=20 Archbishop =D6zmen was met with the welcoming of the Assyrians who = had come=20 from several cities and towns to meet their new religious leader. = In the=20 monastery he preached to the people the message of peace and = called on his=20 flock to unite in peace and love.

Archbishop =D6zmen was congratulated by Turabdin Archbishop Mor = Samuel=20 Aktas and other community members who had come to greet him with a = kiss on=20 the the cross in his hand.

ASSYRIANS FIGHT TO BE NOTICED =

Courtesy of the Chicago Tribune (10 = March); article=20 by Sean D. Hamill

(ZNDA: Chicago) Assyrians around = the=20 world held a day of prayer Sunday to bring attention to oppression = faced=20 by their Christian friends and family in predominantly Islamic = Iraq.

Many Chicago-area Assyrians also hoped Sunday's global effort = would=20 illuminate a basic fact about them.
"We want the attention = because=20 people think we don't exist anymore," said Linda Mamook, 34, of = Morton=20 Grove, after attending a service with more than 800 people at St. = George's=20 Assyrian Church in Rogers Park.

Thousands attended similar services, lighting prayer candles = and=20 attending meatless and dairy-free Lent breakfasts afterward, in = the four=20 other Chicago-area churches, which together make up the largest=20 concentration of Assyrians in the United States.

Everyone interviewed at St. George's, 7201 N. Ashland Ave., = expressed=20 the hope that Saddam Hussein is removed from power. Nearly = everyone with=20 Iraqi origins had a story to illustrate Hussein's brutality.

"Even our [Assyrian] flag, you were not allowed to put it in = your=20 house," said Eilen Sommo, 39, of Chicago, who left Iraq 12 years = ago. "If=20 you did, they'd arrest the men in the house."

Her son, Gilbert, 13, was born in Iraq, but he was too young to = remember anything of it. Still, he talks with his relatives who = still live=20 there and has an opinion on what should happen next. "The thing = is, I want=20 them to attack to get rid of Saddam," he said after attending an = Aramaic=20 language class at St. George's on Sunday. "I was born there, but = I've=20 never been back, and I want to go back some day."

For now, that's impossible, his mother said.

"Maybe someday," she said, "when Saddam is gone."

As Christians, Assyrians are an ethnic and religious minority = in the=20 Middle East, where more than 2,000 years ago the Assyrian state = controlled=20 the region. They are quick to point out that they are neither = Muslim nor=20 Arab, and the language they speak is a modern relative of the = ancient=20 Aramaic that, scholars say, Jesus spoke.

But Assyrian-Americans have battled not only cultural = suffocation in=20 Iraq, where they can't teach their language, but confusion once = they have=20 settled in the United States.

"My name is Christina, but [after people look at me] everyone = always=20 asks if I'm Muslim," said Christina Abraham, 22, a political = science=20 student at DePaul University.
Abraham, who has black hair and = olive=20 skin, was born in the United States. Her parents immigrated here = in the=20 late 1970s from Lebanon and Syria, countries that, like Iraq and = Iran,=20 many Assyrians call their ancestral homes.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the confusion has been dangerous and = pervasive.=20

Leaders of another Chicago Assyrian church, St. John's, 1421 W. = Lawrence Ave., believe that an arson there less than two weeks = after Sept.=20 11 was a hate crime directed at them because someone thought the=20 congregation was Islamic, despite the Christian cross that stands = in front=20 of the church.

"We had notes left at the church before the fire saying `Are = you with=20 US or them?'" said Rev. Charles Klutz, St. John's pastor. "Even = the=20 policewoman who responded [to take the fire report] called us a = Muslim=20 mosque."

IRAQI EXILES TO HELP LIBERATE=20 HOMELAND

Courtesy of the Arizona Republic (5 = March); article=20 by Daniel Gonz=E1lez

(ZNDA: Phoenix) They live comfortable lives in the United = States,=20 playing soccer on the weekends and working at good jobs.

They haven't forgotten, though, about the plight of their = countrymen=20 still living in Iraq or their own memories of terror and = persecution under=20 Saddam Hussein.

So when the United States sent out a call for Iraqi volunteers = to help=20 the American military liberate their homeland, at least a dozen = Iraqi=20 exiles living in the Valley were among the first to sign up.

As many as 3,000 Iraqi exiles nationally will be trained at a = military=20 base in Hungary to work as mediators, translators and guides both = during a=20 possible war and its aftermath, according to a Defense Department=20 official.

"I told my wife, 'If something like this happens, I'm going to = be the=20 first one to sign up and help America,' " said Biton Biton, 38, an = Iraqi=20 exile in Glendale. "We are all happy about it. . . . This is the = happiest=20 moment because for us it means the beginning of the end."

During an interview last month, Biton and five other Iraqi = exiles who=20 have signed up to assist the U.S. military spoke excitedly about = the=20 prospect of helping overthrow Saddam, even though it will mean = leaving=20 behind their wives and children, their jobs, and, in some cases, = their=20 businesses.

"If we are going to die or not, we don't care," said Iraqi = exile Paul=20 Odisho, 36, of Glendale, who owns a swimming-pool and repair = business. "We=20 are living a beautiful life in America. We want the same freedom = for the=20 people of Iraq."

Odisho and the other Iraqi exiles are Christian Assyrians, a = minority=20 group within Iraq, a predominantly Arab nation. All said they are=20 naturalized U.S. citizens.

An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Assyrian Americans live in the = Valley,=20 home to the nation's fastest-growing Assyrian population.

In September, the U.S. official recognized the Assyrian = Democratic=20 Movement, one of six major Iraqi opposition groups.

It began recruiting locally for volunteers to assist the U.S. = military.=20 Sam Darmo, the group's Phoenix representative, said he knows of a = dozen=20 Assyrians from the Phoenix area who have signed up.

"There are volunteers from Phoenix who have left already and = are=20 getting training somewhere. It's undisclosed," said Darmo, a = 47-year-old=20 Phoenix real estate agent.

Adam Benjamin, a member of the Assyrian Democratic Movement in = Chicago,=20 did not want to discuss details of the call-up to protect = Assyrians still=20 living in Iraq.

"As Americans, as Iraqis and as Assyrians we are backing = President Bush=20 100 percent," Benjamin said. "We need to get rid of the regime of = Iraq=20 because Saddam Hussein is a ruthless president that killed = thousands of=20 Iraqi people without reason."

Several Muslim Iraqi refugees have also signed up or want to = sign up to=20 assist the U.S. military, said Jabir Algarawi, president of the = Arizona=20 Refugee Community Center, a social service agency in Phoenix that=20 primarily serves Iraqi refugees.

"Believe it or not, I received a call from a woman. She has = four kids,=20 but she wants to be part of the liberation," Algarawi said.

American officials have reportedly ruled out the possibility of = using=20 the exiles in combat, but some may accompany ground forces in = Iraq.

The exiles said they understand the dangers and are willing to = fight.=20

"If that's what it takes, we are willing to do that," said Zaya = Zowaa,=20 41, of Glendale, who received word recently that he has been = selected for=20 the training and to report on March 15.

The actual training has begun, and the recruits were told to = expect to=20 be gone six months to a year.

The call-up of recruits begins the largest known U.S. effort to = train=20 Saddam's enemies since passage of the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act, = which=20 called for his overthrow and designated $97 million to train and = equip his=20 opponents.

Biton says he is motivated to assist because he said the Iraqi = dictator=20 killed his father in 1982.

As a teenager, Biton said he played soccer for the Iraqi = national team=20 but he was kicked off after he refused to join Iraq's ruling Baath = Party.=20 Fearing reprisals, Biton and a brother fled to Turkey and = eventually to=20 the United States.

"The government started asking my father questions," Biton = said. "Where=20 are your two sons? They came and took him away. He never returned. = They=20 said it was a heart attack. But my aunt says they injected him = with=20 something in the arm."

Odisho said he traveled to northern Iraq, a region outside the = control=20 of Saddam's regime, to visit relatives he hadn't seen since 1982. = Two=20 sisters living in Baghdad met him there. Odisho said he was = appalled by=20 the poverty they described in Iraq, where war, sanctions and = mismanagement=20 have destroyed the economy.

Zowaa said he left Iraq in 1978 at age 16 because he feared he = would be=20 forced to join the Iraqi army. An uncle was jailed under Saddam's = regime=20 for 10 years for not joining, he said.

Zowaa, father of four children ranging in age from 3 to 12, = said he=20 hopes he has the opportunity to return to Iraq as part of a = U.S.-led=20 liberation force.

"It's a dream," said Zowaa, who drives trucks for a living. "We = lived=20 there. We know what these people are going through. We want to see = Iraq=20 free."

[Z-info:=20 Zinda readers can reach the reporter at daniel.gonzalez@arizo= narepublic.com=20 or (602)444-8312.]

ASSYRIANS KEEPING THEIR CULTURE=20 ALIVE

Courtesy of the Chicago Tribune (9 = March); article=20 by Deborah Horan

(ZNDA: Chicago) With the unsteady hand of a 6-year-old boy, = Sargon=20 Hermez is learning to trace the sharp angled letters of his = ancestors'=20 ancient alphabet onto wide-lined paper at a North Side church.

The script is one of the last vestiges of the Assyrian empire, = which=20 covered much of the modern Middle East more than two millenniums = ago,=20 produced epics and invented one of the world's earliest writing=20 systems.

Like many other Assyrian parents, Sargon's mother wants to make = sure=20 her son can read the language, a modern relative of the ancient = Aramaic=20 that scholars say Jesus spoke. Fearing that their culture will = disappear=20 from Iraq, the seat of ancient Assyrian power, they are determined = to=20 preserve their traditions in exile.

Many find hope in the Bush administration's drive to oust = Saddam=20 Hussein from power, even if it means going to war, because it = offers=20 Assyrians a better chance at survival in their homeland.

A minority in Muslim Iraq, Assyrians are Christian--among the = first=20 peoples to accept the faith--and do not consider themselves Arab.=20 Massacred by Turks and Kurds in the early 20th Century and = forbidden from=20 teaching their language by Hussein's regime, about 1.5 million = Assyrians=20 live in Iraq today.

On Sunday the Assyrian community--including an estimated 80,000 = in the=20 Chicago area, more than in any other American city--is planning a=20 worldwide day of prayer to bring attention to their plight.

If war does bring a change of regime, leaders say, the United = States=20 must help guarantee that any new government in Baghdad safeguards = the=20 region's religious and ethnic minorities. Otherwise, they say, = Iraq's=20 Assyrians--the largest concentration in the world--may be in = danger of=20 vanishing through forced assimilation.

"We need to make sure that whatever government comes after = Saddam is=20 democratic," said Ronald Michael, president of the Assyrian = American=20 League in Chicago. "If we don't, we will have no way to protect = our=20 rights."

Already, Assyrian history and contributions to Iraq have been = erased=20 from school textbooks, community leaders say. The Assyrian = language is a=20 dying tongue. Iraqi censuses do not count Assyrians as a category, = because=20 the government does not consider them a separate ethnicity.

"You do not have the right to call yourself Assyrian in Iraq," = said=20 Aprim Rasho, who produces a weekly Assyrian-language television=20 program.

Many Assyrians are not granted Iraqi citizenship, particularly = if they=20 refuse to join the ruling Baath party, but also for lesser = infractions,=20 such as taking a traditional Assyrian name.

"Sometimes, when they wanted to get rid of us, they would put = us on the=20 Iranian border and say, `Now you are Iranian,'" said Rasho. "They = forced=20 us to move to Baghdad and encouraged Arabs to live in our = villages."

While they wait and hope for change in Iraq, Assyrians abroad = cling to=20 their culture.

In Chicago, Assyrians first began settling north of the Loop in = the=20 1860s, when their homeland was governed by the Ottoman Turks. = Later=20 generations moved to the suburbs of Skokie, Niles, Roselle and = other areas=20 as they joined the middle class.

Over the years Assyrians have kept a strong sense of identity = centered=20 on churches, where women wear colorful veils and prepare feasts of = stuffed=20 bread and dolma, or stuffed cabbage and grape leaves. Chicago is = also home=20 to the patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Mar Dinkha = IV.

Elders teach youngsters how to write the ancient Assyrian = language in=20 twice-weekly classes held at four of the five Assyrian churches in = the=20 Chicago area. The script looks like a cross between Hebrew and = Arabic and=20 probably derived from an ancestor alphabet common to all three = languages,=20 according to John Huehnergard, a linguist at Harvard = University.

In addition to the classes, Assyrians in Chicago produce two = television=20 programs, Rasho's "Ashur TV" and "Assyrians Around the World," = which=20 feature Assyrian-language plays and comedies, sports, = entertainment and=20 news, from the Middle East and from Assyrian communities in 40=20 countries.

Other community members print textbooks in Assyrian, and = priests use=20 the language when they recite the liturgy. Most Assyrians speak it = at=20 home, so their children grow up bilingual.

"If we don't use it, it's going to vanish," said Christina = Yousif, a=20 kindergarten teacher at Boone Elementary School and one of a = half-dozen=20 adults who teach Assyrian to children at St. George's Church, 7201 = N.=20 Ashland Ave.

Their diminishing numbers in Iraq, and Iraqi government = attempts to=20 "Arabize" them, have made Assyrians sensitive to how they are = identified=20 by outsiders. Most Assyrians prefer to count among their ranks = other=20 Christian groups whose ancestors came from ancient Mesopotamia, = including=20 Chaldeans and Syriacs. Some Chaldeans, however, consider = themselves a=20 distinct group whose ancestors split from the Assyrian Church of = the East=20 in 1552.

Although such divisions have strained relations, the groups = have been=20 working to create a united front, hoping their combined strength = will=20 allow them a voice in any future Iraqi government. Some talk of = joining=20 forces with Yazidis and Turkmens, two other minorities in Iraq, to = increase their political power.

"We would like to see both branches of this one nation unite = since all=20 their requests are the same," said Glenn Younan, founder of an=20 Assyrian-Chaldean organization called Bet Nahrain in Chicago. = "They both=20 want their villages and churches [to remain]. They both want=20 autonomy."

To that end, several Assyrians have been working with the State = Department's Future of Iraq Project to create a blueprint for a=20 post-Hussein democracy that they hope will safeguard Christian = rights in=20 Iraq.

After years spent feeling invisible, even to other American = Christians,=20 and neglected by more powerful Iraqi opposition groups, Assyrians = were=20 heartened in October when President Bush mentioned them by name = during a=20 speech in Cincinnati.

"We're raising awareness about the plight of Assyrians," said = former=20 Illinois state Sen. John Nimrod, secretary general of the Assyrian = Universal Alliance.

Assyrians have little patience for anti-war protests, which = they find=20 insulting to the Iraqi people.

"Those people demonstrate because they have not tasted the = brutality of=20 Saddam's dictatorship," said Edward Odisho, a professor of teacher = education at Northeastern Illinois University who sits on the = education=20 committee of the Future of Iraq Project. "Believe me, none of = those=20 demonstrators are Iraqis."

Rasho agreed. "The Iraqi people are sitting in their windows = waiting=20 for the American soldiers to come," he said.

Since the U.S. began protecting the Kurdish enclave in northern = Iraq=20 following the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the roughly 50,000 Assyrians = in that=20 area have fared relatively well compared with others in Iraq, = Assyrians=20 say.

With help from Assyrians in the United States, they have opened = 44=20 schools in the north, some of which teach entirely in their = language,=20 Odisho said.

Assyrians here hope these freedoms will survive the political = upheaval=20 a war may cause. Meanwhile, they will continue to teach the = Assyrian=20 language.

At St. George on a recent Sunday, two dozen children listened=20 attentively while Yousif pronounced the sounds of the letters she = drew on=20 a chalkboard. Dozens of other children and a few adults sat in = different=20 classrooms separated by white partitions in the church = basement.

Jackie Coma, 30, attended one of the adult classes "to refresh = my=20 memory," she said. Her two children, Maryann, 8, and Peter, 7, = practiced=20 writing in a third-year class nearby.

"It's my language. It's my parents' language. It's the language = Jesus=20 spoke," Coma said. "I don't want it to die with me. I want it to = live=20 on."

ASSYRIAN-AMERICAN CIVIC CLUB OF = TURLOCK REGAINS=20 BINGO LICENCE

Courtesy of = the=20 Modesto Bee (6 March); article by John Holland

(ZNDA: Turlock) The Assyrian-American Civic Club has a bingo = permit=20 once again, but when the games will resume is unclear.

The Turlock Police Department had suspended an earlier permit = in August=20 2001 because the club did not have the required nonprofit status. = That=20 status has since been obtained, and the department issued the new = permit=20 last week, police spokeswoman Rosemary Howser said.

"They have met all of the requirements to get the bingo = permit," she=20 said.

A recorded message at the club, on North Golden State = Boulevard, said=20 the bingo games "will soon reopen." The new permit puts the club = under=20 revised rules that the City Council adopted in November for all = bingo=20 operations in Turlock.

The new rules require monthly financial reports to the city, = annual=20 audits of bingo records and maintenance of separate bank accounts = for=20 bingo revenue. Also, armed guards hired for the games cannot be = affiliated=20 with the operators.

Meanwhile, the Stanislaus County district attorney's office = continues=20 to look into the Assyrian-American club's bingo operation. = Authorities=20 have not disclosed the nature of the case.

ANTI-WAR ARTISTS HONOR ANCIENT = ASSYRIAN=20 RELIEFS

Courtesy of the Dartmouth (7 March); = article by=20 Holly Shaffer

(ZNDA: New Hampshire) As part of a nationwide demonstration by = artists=20 against war in Iraq and its potential effects on ancient artwork,=20 Elizabeth Mayor -- a New England-based artist -- organized other = local=20 artists to bring their protest to the Hood Museum at Dartmouth = College in=20 New Hampshire last Wednesday afternoon.

The event allowed artists to sketch the Assyrian reliefs on = show=20 temporarily at the Hood Museum. Taken from what is today northern = Iraq,=20 the reliefs are an example of the type of art that would be = devastated by=20 a bombing campaign in the region.

Although very large, the = works are often=20 overlooked at museums, Mayor noted.

Similar conscience-raising events, in which artists sketched = art from=20 Iraq, have recently taken place across the country. The largest = protest so=20 far was held at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Joyce Kozloff, a painter who has also worked in mosaic and = ceramic=20 tile, organized the event in New York before attempting a national = commemoration of the history of Mesopotamia and present-day Iraq. = The Hood=20 Museum visit was one of the national stops.

Iraq contains a vast amount of ancient art, much of it still = under=20 excavation.

The reliefs in the Hood, originally from the 8th century B.C. = palace of=20 King Ashurnasirpal II, are an example of such work.

The six reliefs in the collection are taken from four rooms of = his=20 palace and show a variety of events glorifying the king's = life.

Among the themes reflected in the reliefs are fertility, = hunting and=20 the association of the king with genies.

Surfs Up!
Letters From = Zinda=20 Magazine = Readers

RUSSIA NEEDS A NEW = STRATEGY IN=20 THE NEAR EAST

Russia=92s position regarding Iraq = and the=20 resolution 1441 provokes bewilderment and a negative reaction = among=20 many people. In addition, many Assyrians in Russia have a = twofold=20 feeling apropos of this. On the one hand, Russia=92s interests = prevail,=20 but on the other hand, the Assyrians=92 interests, = undoubtedly, require=20 the promptest overthrow of Saddam Hussein=92s = dictatorship.

My personal position concerning the subject under = discussion may be=20 of interest for Russia, which found itself in a rather = difficult state=20 because of the situation in Iraq. That=92s why, I=92ll be = sincerely glad=20 if I could somehow help in promoting Russia=92s status in the = Near East=20 and in choosing an optimal way for the Russian policy in this=20 intricate but very significant region of the planet.

The situation around Iraq is so urgent and fateful in a=20 geopolitical aspect that no country in the world, and = especially=20 Russia, can remain indifferent. In order to decide this issue = various=20 projects are suggested and apocalyptical prognoses are made at = times.=20 In particular, two concepts prevail in Russia: a) Iraqi = conflict is=20 being transformed in a new world war, therefore, Russia=92s = rescue is in=20 a strategy of supporting and realizing a peaceful solution and = in=20 providing safety, possibly, by creating an axis of=20 Moscow-Berlin-Paris; b) the idea of Euroasianity, presupposing = a=20 direct confrontation to American supremacy by means of uniting = with=20 Islamic world and the European countries, supporting it.

A more real picture could be revealed while analyzing the = situation=20 taking into consideration the results of policy in the Near = East=20 during the whole 20th century, especially following the = division of=20 this region after the 1st World War. Great Britain=92s = hegemony, based=20 on the ideas of =93pilgrims taken with oil=94 =96 Lawrence = Arabian and=20 Winston Churchill, was successfully realized in spite of all=20 counteractions. Moreover, a =93special opinion=94 of a = freedom-loving and=20 just France was satisfied with the fact that it received a = mandate=20 over the part of Transjordan (Syria). I presume that in the = current=20 situation the USA is also realizing its hegemonic ambitions, = it=92s only=20 important to know, by what means. In addition, France and = partly=20 Germany will get bits thrown down from the =93grand table=94, = and, will=20 undoubtedly be fully satisfied.

The USA policy in the Near East during the last 10-15 years = has=20 acquired new features, which, undoubtedly, reflect new ideas = in this=20 region and consider predicted possibility of forming and = successful=20 development of new forces, which were not considered before. = Thus, at=20 the beginning of this period, the Kurds forces were mainly = gambled on.=20 However, evident lack of a scientifically grounded ideology = and=20 practical programs on strategy and tactics of state = structuring among=20 Iraqi Kurds, outdated social and political structure, based on = feudal=20 and tribal relations, in spite of fine modern democratic = slogans, led=20 to the fact that actual independence in the north of the = country=20 during 10 years gave no political dividends either to them or = to their=20 American patrons.

During the last 3-4 years, the USA paid significant = attention to=20 Iraqi opposition, financing their numerous congresses and = meetings.=20 However, neither Iraqi National Congress, nor the Union of = Iraq=92s Free=20 Officers, which was quickly formed, justified the Americans=92 = hopes.=20 This motley opposition has rather great disagreements and = excessive=20 appetites.
Since the end of last year, the White House has = suddenly started to mention Assyrians and Christians of Iraq = in their=20 scenarios, as one of the main parties, the interests of which = should=20 be taken into consideration while distributing powers in a new = way.=20 Probably, this interest appeared at new Assyrian lobbyist=20 organizations=92 suggestion.

This new position in the USA policy toward Iraq allows me = remember=20 the article =93Russia and the Near East=94, which was = published by me=20 about 5 years ago in =93Nezavisimaya Gazeta=94 (=93The = Independent=20 Newspaper=94) (18.12.1998). Analyzing the situation in the = Near East in=20 general, I wanted to emphasize the fruitful policy, which the = Russian=20 Empire conducted in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th = centuries.=20 Numerous Orthodox missions and Consulates on the whole = territory of=20 the Ottoman Empire and Persia were strategically important = centers of=20 supporting the Christian world in the Near East and = concentrating=20 powerful pro-Russian forces around these centers. Support of = the=20 Eastern Christianity in the Near East can=92t become a factor = of blaming=20 Christian Russia for unjust and particularly mercantile = policy.=20 Whereas, any slight support of Islamic countries or Judaic = Israel=20 rendered by Russia leads to the wave of resentment from this = or that=20 direction.

The Near East, being a cradle of three major religions, can = gain=20 peace and relative order only in the presence of three = balanced=20 powers, depending on fundamentals of these three religions. = That=92s why=20 renewal of rights and potential power of the Eastern = Christianity will=20 become a basis for an absolutely new geopolitical distribution = in the=20 Near East. Forming of a Christian state, undoubtedly, will = become a=20 deterrent both for Pan-Islamism and aggressive Judaism and for = American hegemony.

Taking into account Russia=92s rich historical experience, = only this=20 country could essentially change the situation in the Near = East, by=20 means of supporting the idea of establishing a Christian state = and=20 becoming a real architect of new policy in this region.

Professor S.G. = Osipov
Russia

SETTING THE RECORD = STRAIGHT

Thank you for bringing to our = attention such=20 erroneous comments in the media about the our people, making = aware to=20 the Assyrian community the opportunity to respond and set the = record=20 straight.

Ashur Isaac
Australia

A DREAM THAT MUST BE = BORN

It is obvious today that the four = sides that=20 could decide the Assyrians future in Iraq are the United = States of=20 America, Iraqi Opposition Groups, Turkey, and the Kurds.

As Assyrians we have communicated with each one of the four = factors=20 above, in one capacity or another. The group that we are not = handling=20 appropriately in my opinion is the Kurds. I believe that we = have not=20 done enough to face the Kurds and their tyranny. When I speak = of the=20 Kurds, I speak not of the Kurdish people in general, but = rather the=20 Kurdish leadership. It is the Barazani and Talabani and their = close=20 circle who make the decisions. We witnessed what they did in = Salah=20 al-Deen Iraqi Opposition Groups meeting lately.

We must do something to face the Kurds and their plans of = dividing=20 the Assyrian nation and we must do it now. I suggest that both = the=20 California State Convention and the National Convention for = this year=20 be cancelled and two big conferences about Assyrians and the = future of=20 Iraq must be organized instead. Let us make this year = conventions as=20 the platform where true and real Assyrian unity is born.

I would like to see a radical change in Assyrians = collective=20 reaction and behavior; a change that is capable to provide a = real=20 challenge to what is facing the Assyrians. Let us invite as = many=20 Assyrian scholars, historians, notables, head of organizations = and=20 societies, authors, and thinkers as we can and address the = issues=20 facing the Assyrian nation and come up with a vision for = future=20 Assyrians and their representation.

The Kurdish leadership is playing a dirty and very = dangerous game=20 that we can no longer tolerate under any circumstance; it is = the=20 Assyrians' existence in Iraq in general and north of Iraq in=20 particular that is in the balance. We cannot afford to put = this dream=20 of Assyrian unity and united leadership off any longer. This = is=20 it.

I call upon the organizing committees for the California = Sate and=20 National Conventions to consider taking this task on their = shoulders;=20 let us bring the dreams of Dr. David Perley to life. Let us = not be the=20 generation that sat idle when the Assyrian identity and future = was=20 being challenged in front of our own eyes.

Fred Aprim
California

STAND TOGETHER AGAINST ARABS AND=20 KURDS

One member of the Canadian federal = government,=20 Ms. Carolyn Parrish, who is a member of a Liberal party, = commented=20 publicly on March 2nd =93Damn American. I hate those = Bastards!=94 Since=20 her comment came out, she has been receiving faxes, letters = and=20 messages in her answering machine from many Canadians outraged = by her=20 ignorant comment.

In Canada, we have three parties that are in the federal=20 government. The Liberal party, that is in power now, and does = not=20 support United States=92 military action toward Iraq. The = opposition=20 party, the Conservative party, which supports the United = States=20 completely, and a third party which holds less than a dozen = seats in=20 the federal parliament, the New Democratic party, (some label = it as a=20 communist party) which does not at all support the United = States.

The political view of the Assyrian Students=92 Association = of Mohawk=20 College stands strongly along side of the Bet-Nahrain = Democratic party=20 and the Assyrian National Congress in demanding an autonomous = state=20 for the Assyrians, and demands freedom and protection for = Assyrians=20 from Kurdish and Arab terrorist acts.

We call upon = Assyrian to=20 stand together, and not to work or help the Kurdish or Arab = political=20 or military parties, for they have shown terrorist acts upon = Assyrian=20 people. Unfortunately, few Assyrian parties became like sheeps = and=20 followed whomsoever called them. This did happen in Lebanon, = as=20 thousands of Assyrian died when they volunteered in fighting = along=20 side of the Lebanese Forces. When the war stopped the = Assyrians=20 received lowest consideration, in term of freedom, rights, = jobs,=20 education etc.

Today=92s situation in Iraq is the same as it was in = Lebanon, only=20 different players around the table this time. Assyrian needs a = shepherd that protects Assyrians from the Kurdish and Arab = parties.=20

God bless the United States in its effort in = eliminating evil=20 spirits. Those evils came into the Middle East, brining with = them=20 ideologies of assimilating cultures who are not Kurdish or = Arab,=20 stealing the rights of the indigenous people, the Assyrian. =

God bless the United States for being the nucleus in = bringing=20 democracy closer to Middle East and in waging war on = terrorism.=20

Ashur Simon Malek=20
Canada

OPEN HEART SOCIETY

Would you like to do a good thing and = help=20 others?

Let's donate food, medicine, clothes, toys, and various = equipment=20 for needy Assyrian families through the Open Heart = Society.

Open Heart Society (OHS) as a non-profit organization was = founded=20 in 2001 with a goal to help the needy Christians people in = Middle=20 East: Iraq: Syria, Lebanon, Iran, and in the Republics of the = Former=20 Soviet Union: Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan,=20 Tatarstan. Dramatic events and political changes in the Iraq = and=20 Former Soviet Union introduced these countries to many = political,=20 economical and social challenges. The organization is going to = provide=20 practical humanitarian assistance to the peoples of these = regions in=20 order to improve educational, economic, social and medical=20 conditions.

Visit our website at: http://www.geocities.c= om/openheartsociety

Vasili = Shoumanov
Chicago

WWW.ORKHA.COM

Yesterday we had a special cermoney = and prayed=20 in all our churches in Iran for our nation and all Christions = living=20 in Bet-Nahrin and all around the world. May Our Lord bless the = Assyrian nation.

Also please visit our website at www.orkha.com where we = have placed=20 several pictures about the Assyrian Nationnal Choir here in = Tehran=20 which had a program on 28 February. We will have a special = program on=20 19 march 2003 to commemorate the centennial anniversary of = William=20 Danial`s birthday.

Orkha.com is new and we need your help to complete it. = Please send=20 us anything which you think would be suitable and new to = display in=20 Orkha.

Yonathan Bet Kolia
Iran

[Z-info: His Honorable Mr. Bet-Kolia is the current=20 representative of the Assyrians in the Iranian parliament or = Majlis,=20 and the Secretary of the Assyrian Universal Alliance for=20 Asia.]

Surfer's=20 Corner

AKITU FESTIVAL = CELEBRATION IN=20 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

You and your guest are cordially invited to attend the 2nd = Annual Akitu=20 Festival, the 12-Day celebration of the Assyrian New Year 6753

Come and meet Marodeen at the Museum Store located at 1452 West = 9th=20 Street #B in Upland, California.

Thursday March 20th to Monday 31st
From 1:00 PM =96 8 PM = (closed=20 Sunday, March 23 & 30)

35% off on all artifacts and wearables in stock.

If you can=92t make it, you may fax your order at 909.931.7788 = or email=20 it at arodeen@hotmail.com

Check out our NEW web sit on March 20th at www.wawallap.com

DON=92T MISS THIS ANNUAL EVENT

Walter = Ebrahimzadeh
Wawallap.com

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM IN = WASHINGTON,=20 DC

Why a Summer Internship for Assyrian Students in DC?=20

Internship programs are recognized as a good way to gain work=20 experience. Many college students engage in summer internships in = their=20 home communities or in other settings. Public minded non profit=20 organizations, knowing how important it is to give young people an = opportunity to learn in a work setting, began providing funding = for these=20 positions about a decade ago in the belief that students who need = to earn=20 money during their school years can be included in the intern = concept if=20 they are offered stipends. Thus, the office in which the student = interns=20 gains the services of an energetic young person for summer work, = while the=20 student get funds from the donor.

The Assyrian community in the United States began promoting = internships=20 among young As! syrians in Washington.DC as a result of the = successful=20 experience of a few Assyrians who have gone on into fields such as = legislative work and law. Through these Assyrians our community=20 understands better federal government functioning. Internships = definitely=20 makes a difference in helping young people succeed in competitive = jobs=20 that allow them to work directly within the dynamic system of = American=20 politics.

How to Enter This Program

Eligibility: The internship program is open to full time = Assyrian=20 students (undergraduate or graduate). Eligible students receive = help=20 finding an internship in a Congressional office, government = agency, or=20 within the Executive branch. Preference is given to those majoring = in=20 political science, international affairs and other social sciences = and=20 humanities. Graduating seniors and graduate students in these = fields may=20 also apply. The number of paid internships is limited. Please = apply early.=20

Stipend amounts: Most Washington in! tern-ships are unpaid = positions.=20 But to make up for the loss of summer wages, Assyrians who are = accepted as=20 interns in Washington, D.C. will be offered from $3 to $4 K for = the=20 summer. This stipend will help cover living expenses, = transportation,=20 meals, as well as leave some extra cash. The student is = responsible for=20 his/her own medical insurance, travel, food, and any other things = such as=20 taxes (or returns) and the like.

To Apply:

Please e-mail (only) the = following :=20
- a current resume (include all contact information)
- a = one page=20 statement about why you want to intern in D.C. & what you hope = to gain=20 from this experience.

All information must be received by March 31, 2003. E-mail to = Lynnette=20 Farhadian at lfarhadian@hotmail.com.)

Administration of the Program

The Assyrian Internship Program in Washington, DC., established = on the=20 suggestion of a former intern and current Assyrian activist, is=20 administered by the Washington, DC. Chapter of the Assyrian = Academic=20 Society. A committee within this Chapter helps with fund raising,=20 internship selection and placement, hospitality, mentoring and = other aid=20 that a student will need to become settled in Washington for this=20 temporary stay.

How to Sponsor an Assyrian Intern in Washington, DC=20

Assyrian organizations may become part of this effort to build = the=20 careers of our young Assyrians by pledging to provide $3000 or = $4000 for=20 each internship. All of this money will go to the students. All=20 administration is provided on a volunteer basis and no = administrative=20 funds are requested or needed.

Assyrian Internship = Program
Washington,=20 D.C.

Literatus

IRAQI CHRISTIANS' PATH = OF=20 PERSECUTION

While the winds of an Iraq war are gusting ominously, peace = advocates=20 from across the religious and ethnic spectrum are joining forces. = Pope=20 John Paul II turned more than a few heads on Valentine's Day by = hosting=20 Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz at the Vatican and asking = God to=20 bless Iraq. But these two men share more than just a desire to = avoid war:=20 Aziz is a baptized Chaldean Catholic=97Iraq's branch of Roman=20 Catholicism.

Given the ruthless and bloody history of Iraq's Ba'athist = regime,=20 critics have questioned Aziz's Christian credentials. Still, the = high=20 profile of a Catholic in Saddam Hussein's overwhelmingly Sunni = Muslim=20 government has become a source of intrigue and curiosity. And it = raises=20 the larger question: How has Christianity fared in the history of = Iraq=97the=20 geographic area that was once Mesopotamia? A few weeks ago we = examined the=20 origins of Iraq's Christian minority from Pentecost until = Constantine's=20 conversion in A.D. 312. Now we pick up their history from = there.

Despite severe Persian Empire persecution, the ancient = Mesopotamian=20 Church blossomed during the fourth century while allied with = Antioch,=20 which was a major early hub of Christianity in the Roman Empire. = In A.D.=20 410, at the Council of Seleucia, the Persian church declared its=20 separation from Antioch.

Soon after, these Persian Christians fell under the influence = of=20 Nestorian teachings. Nestorius (d. 451), a patriarch of = Constantinople,=20 was condemned as a heretic by the Roman Church for leading his = followers=20 to question Jesus' dual nature as fully God and fully man. Many = scholars=20 of theology now believe poor Nestorius was more misguided than=20 mischievous. He did not intend to separate the divine and human = natures of=20 Christ into distinct persons. But in his zeal to distinguish = between those=20 natures, he used unguarded language that led to his banishment and = the=20 persecution of his followers, who began fleeing the Roman Empire = in the=20 fifth century to seek refuge in Persia and Mesopotamia.

Over the next 600 years, the Nestorian Church developed into = one of the=20 most successful missionary-sending churches in all Christendom. = Active in=20 international trade, Nestorians spread as far as northern China. = Their=20 influence waned only when Islam gained regional dominance around = A.D.=20 1000.

Islam first appeared on the Mesopotamian scene in the seventh = century.=20 Ironically, it got its first and biggest boost from a = Christian.

At the time, the Persian Empire still exerted considerable = influence.=20 Persian ruler Chosroes II conquered Constantinople in 605 and by = 615 and=20 possessed every major city in the formerly Roman-controlled Middle = East.=20 But thanks to their leader's unquenchable lust for women, the = Persians'=20 Empire began crumbling by the mid-seventh century.

Despite his harem of three thousand wives and twelve thousand = female=20 slaves, Chosroes II demanded to have a woman named Hadiqah, the = daughter=20 of a Christian Arab named Na'aman. Na'aman stood up to Chosroes II = because=20 he wouldn't allow his daughter to marry a Zoroastrian. Chosroes = II,=20 enraged, trampled him with an elephant. Infuriated and emboldened = after=20 hearing the story, Arabs rose up and thoroughly defeated Chosroes = II. The=20 victory marked the beginning of a period of Arab assertiveness = that=20 culminated in the later Islamic conquests.

By 1000, an entrenched and powerful Islam had greatly curtailed = the=20 Christian influence in Persia and Mesopotamia. Already suffering = from=20 Islam's territorial and religious gains, the Nestorian Church was = further=20 weakened by internal dissent and corrupt church leadership.

But what really pushed Mesopotamian Christians into irrelevance = was the=20 thirteenth-century Mongol invasion of Genghis Khan. Khan had a = Christian=20 wife and was tolerant of Christianity. The Nestorians even tried = to forge=20 an alliance between European Christians and the Mongols against = Islam that=20 would open all of Asia to Christianity. But in the end the Mongols = chose=20 Muslim allies, and the Church in Mesopotamia and Persia faded from = sight.=20 The Christians who had once moved freely in Central Asia were now=20 suppressed, indeed utterly exterminated east of the Kurdish = mountains.

Roman Catholic missionaries did somehow reach Mesopotamia and = Persia in=20 the thirteenth century. These missionaries labored among the = Nestorian=20 Church remnant to restore doctrinal harmony. Finally, by 1553, = facing new=20 problems in Europe with the Protestants, the Latin Church gained = new=20 strength in the region by reconciling to itself some Nestorians. = Thus was=20 the Chaldean Catholic Church formed.

Based in Baghdad, the Chaldeans are today the largest Christian = group=20 in Iraq, with about 240,000 adherents as of 1995. The old = Nestorian=20 Church, now called the Assyrian Church of the East, claims about = 60,000.=20 The nation's two largest evangelical Protestant churches claim = about=20 13,500 adherents. By David Barrett's estimate, many believers in = the older=20 churches have also been touched by the rapid spread of the=20 Pentecostal/charismatic renewal.

All of these numbers would doubtless be much higher were it not = for the=20 bloody twentieth century. After World War I, Mesopotamian = Christians=20 initially benefited from the British Mandate by receiving special=20 privileges. But when the League of Nations created an independent = Iraq in=20 1932, Assyrian cities were burned and Christians killed for their = ties=20 with the former Western rulers.

In the 35 years since Hussein brought the Ba'ath Party into = power, he=20 has denied the separate religious identity of Iraqi Christians in = an=20 effort to construct a secular Arab nationalist state. He has tried = to=20 stamp out their Syriac language by banning it from many of the = schools. In=20 an effort to boost his Islamic credibility, Hussein has forced = Christians=20 to learn the Koran. And he has often lumped them in the same = ethnic=20 category as the Kurds, knowing the groups don't get along because = of=20 disputed land holdings in oil-rich northern Iraq.

With a history of world isolation, Iraqi Christians don't = maintain much=20 tolerance for traitors. So there's a reason the highest-ranking = Christian=20 in the anti-Hussein Iraqi National Congress calls Aziz the most = hated man=20 among Iraq's beleaguered Christians.

Collin Hansen
ChristianityToday
6 = March=20 2003

THE SUFFERING OF ASSYRIANS UNDER=20 ISLAM

The history of the Christians of the Middle East is shrouded in = obscurity as if a conspiratorial silence is determined to rivet = the last=20 nail in a coffin that the West has put to rest. Flourishing on = this=20 amnesia, we now see new histories taking over the achievements of = their=20 predecessors, strutting about with pretentious, gleaming vestments = of=20 civilizations looted through jihad usurpation.

In Tabari =96 the renowned 10th century Muslim scholars =96 we = read that=20 before the Islamic conquest, Iraq was inhabited by the two Peoples = of the=20 Book. In Islamic parlance it designates Jews and Christians. Jews = have=20 lived in Iraq-Assyria =96 which constituted a province of the = Persian Empire=20 =96 since their exile there by Nebuchadnezzar (586 BC). = Christianity spread=20 among the inhabitants through those ancient Jewish communities. = They lived=20 side by side in the same villages. Today there are hardly any Jews = left=20 from the numerous diaspora of antique lineage. As for Assyrian=20 Christianity, it has declined considerably from the time of = Arab-Islamic=20 invasion, and particularly in the past half century.

It is this history of a long agony, interrupted temporarily by=20 brilliant and peaceful periods, that Frederick P. Isaac, an = Assyrian=20 himself, has tried to recapture. His endeavour is not without = difficulties=20 as the frequent destruction of monasteries and churches =96 those=20 reliquaries of libraries and history =96 of massacres, looting and = exiles of=20 Assyrian villagers have spread a silence of death over the = centuries.

Isaac is an heir of this ancient Assyrian history, which he = recounts in=20 a simple and clear language. He also assesses his personal = experience,=20 which he decided to record at his son=92s request. The Assyrian = diaspora is=20 now questioned by their second and third generation anxious to = discover=20 its roots abandoned by the hasty flight of the persecuted, and = forgotten=20 in the tribulation of exile.

Isaac=92s book exposes the religious apartheid condition of = Jews and=20 Christians under shari=92a, the traditional Islamic law. He = deplores the=20 collusion, after World War I, of the Western colonial Powers with = Muslim=20 authorities against the indigenous religious minorities. The = latter were=20 betrayed and abandoned by England and France, the Mandate powers. = "Thus =96=20 he writes =96 Assyria was dismembered and its Christian people = described as=20 aliens, groups of different sects of unidentified = nationalities.....The=20 aim of the key power brokers was to deny the Assyrians = statehood."(p.130).=20 Though their country has been appropriated, he writes, the = Assyrians are a=20 nation in their own right.

In early 1922 the French and British colonial powers abolished = the=20 Assyrian Resettlement Project in their northern region of = Mesopotamia. The=20 rehabilitation program for the Assyrians was cancelled as well as = its=20 relief work and humanitarian assistance. The Christians were = scattered=20 without compensation, protection and shelter, they were robbed of = their=20 homes and treated mercilessly. England parcelled out Assyria and = "sold it=20 to the highest bidder of the four neighbouring Islamic countries." = Isaac=92s=20 book is a vibrant call to remind the world of an ancient Christian = people,=20 sacrificed to the West=92s policy of Islamic appeasement. "The = international=20 community has a moral obligation to relieve the Assyrians from = this=20 intolerable situation." The Mandate powers had dispossessed and = fragmented=20 a small nation, a crime that must be redressed.

Since the two World Wars, the desire of the Assyrians has = always been=20 to live free from Islamic rule, in their own homeland. But "the = West=20 dashed their expectation for independence from the Islamic = domineering=20 rulers." To comply with Muslim policy, Western nations never = considered=20 the Assyrians a separate people, says Isaac, rather they robbed = them of=20 their homeland and delivered them to their traditional enemies. = This=20 policy of duplicity still continues today by the silence of = Western=20 governments, the media, and intellectuals regarding the fact that=20 indigenous minorities in the Islamic lands "are subjected to = continuous=20 oppression and humiliation. They live in total anxiety. The are in = constant fear of losing their jobs, their properties and their = lives."

In his conclusion, the author describes how Iraq "distorts the = truth=20 and falsifies textbooks of history and ocial studies about the=20 Assyrians....as a part of its policy of the educational curricula = that it=20 teaches in schools." (p.176). This policy is general in all the = lands=20 Islamized by jihad. The same denial of Jewish and Christian = history that=20 preceded Islam is constantly enforced. It is epitomized by the=20 Arab-Israeli conflict where Israel is called a colonial and = usurper people=20 in its own land, a dismissal of the whole Biblical and = post-Biblical=20 history on which Christianity rests. Europe=92s collusion with the = PLO and=20 its replacement policy fits well the duplicity described by Isaac=20 concerning the Christians =96 but in the case of Israel, this = duplicity=20 which is consonant with the Islamic refusal of the Bible, destroys = Christianity itself.

Bat Ye=92or
FrontPageMagazine.com
4 = March=20 2003

"Indigenous Peoples Under The Rule of Islam" by Frederick P.=20 Isaac
Xlibris Corporation, USA, 2002.

[Z-info:=20 Bat Ye=92or is the author of three books on Jihad and Dhimmitude=20 (www.dhimmitude.org and www.dhimmi.org). Her latest study is Islam = and=20 Dhimmitude. Where Civilizations Collide (2002); see her = =93Eurabia: The Road=20 to Munich.=94 National Review Online, October 9, 2002.]

NEGOTIATING NATIONHOOD ON THE NET: THE = CASE OF=20 THE TURCOMANS AND ASSYRIANS OF IRAQ

Introduction

A central argument that has swirled around the contours of the = Iraqi=20 nation from its inception in the 1920s has migrated to the = Internet. The=20 argument pits the legitimacy of Iraq as a nation-state against = that of a=20 whole host of different =93national=94 communities settled within = the modern=20 state. The claim has been made that Iraq has never cohered into a = nation=20 because successive governments have prevented the assimilation and = integration of "the multiple histories of Iraqis" into "a single = narrative=20 of state power".1 The argument is more a Western construct than an = indigenous formulation. State-centered ideology is not monolithic = and has=20 its ebbs and flows: in certain periods (such as under the = monarchy),=20 Iraqis did indeed forge solid ties of marriage, commercial = partnerships,=20 and social relationships across ethnic and sectarian lines.2 = Moreover,=20 Iraqi nationalism appeals to certain groups more than others. = Various=20 observers have noted that, over the last eighty years, some of the = Kurds=20 and some of the Shi=92a have been somewhat more ambivalent about = their Iraqi=20 identity than others in the country. Recently, different ways in = which=20 social groups both inside and outside of Iraq are currently = reformulating=20 their ties to Iraq and notions of "Iraq" have appeared on the = Internet at=20 the same time that the country passes through one of the severest = tests in=20 its history.

Re-affiliation or re-identification with Iraq is apparent on = the World=20 Wide Web, where a significant renegotiating of history, ethnicity = and=20 religion is visibly gathering momentum on dozens of =93Iraqi=94 = sites. There,=20 particularist interpretations of history, culture and politics = intersect=20 with projections of national and =93pre-national=94groups, all of = which have=20 their own websites. This article is concerned with the sites of = two=20 important social groupings in Iraq, the Turcomans and Assyrians. = One of=20 the meta-issues in the debate is how best to make use of a = particular=20 community=92s history in the battle to re-envision a = collectivity=92s =93place=94=20 on the national agenda, even as that agenda is constantly shifting = due to=20 forces outside of the country=92s control. Perhaps most = interesting is the=20 way that these communities seek to relinquish their formal ties = with Iraq=20 the state as presently constituted, while at the same time = attempting to=20 reinsinuate themselves in the ongoing dialogue to remake the Iraqi = nation=20 of the future.

Interpretations of the past, Benedict Anderson=92s Imagined = Communities=20 makes clear,[3] may also be used to justify a minority group=92s = vision of=20 inclusion/exclusion in a reformulated Iraqi state. Presuming that=20 =93identity and community are to a significant degree constructed = and=20 subject to invention and reimagination,=94[4] I am interested in = finding out=20 how self-identified Turcomans and Assyrians are attempting to = overcome=20 political marginalization by means of the rational representation = of their=20 past and future. Dirk Hoerder points that nations or cultural = groups=20 =93assert special group rights against other groups which define = themselves=20 as nations, [but] the democratic state=85is theorized as neutral = and thus as=20 treating each and every person as equal, regardless of culture, = ethnicity,=20 religion, color of skin, gender, class or position in the life = cycle.=94[5]=20 How then are the Turcomans and Assyrians actively reshaping their = national=20 identities by manipulating history, ethnicity and information? And = how are=20 they confronting the reality of an undemocratic state?

Finally, since the Internet is not available to everyone, it is = important to ask where Iraqi sites are located in the =93real=94 = world. With=20 the exception of several Kurdish sites operating from the =93safe = haven=94 of=20 northern Iraq, and some Iraqi government sites relayed through = Jordanian=20 servers, the majority of cyber groups online emerge in the greater = Iraqi=20 diaspora. A large proportion of these are situated in north = America and=20 represent exiles, refugees and political dissidents whose broader = agendas=20 include social justice, political freedom, greater cultural rights = and=20 more representative government. The Turcoman and Assyrian web = sites=20 reviewed in this article are most definitely the expression of the = Iraqi=20 diaspora; none that I have looked at are situated in Iraq proper = or Iraqi=20 Kurdistan.

Ethnicity and Sectarian Affiliation in Iraqi Sites on = the=20 Web

Among the more sophisticated sites on Iraq on the Internet are = several=20 that refuse to openly call themselves Iraqi. Because of their = tortuous=20 relations with the Iraqi state, particularly the Baath regime of = the last=20 thirty-two years, as well as a direct consequence of the political = fallout=20 from the Gulf war, most Assyrian web sites marginalize their = national=20 connections to Iraq, and promote a quasi-separatist agenda that = bypasses=20 the state, but accentuate the long cultural and historic roots of = the=20 community in the region. On the other hand, most Turcoman sites = are=20 adamant about their Iraqi-ness, but equally ambivalent about their = connections to the Iraqi state. While the web has allowed both = communities=20 infinite freedom to actualize their national potential (if only in = the=20 virtual world), certain constraints inhibit both communities=92 = attempts at=20 further self-actualization online. Because Iraq still harbors a = sizeable=20 Turcoman and Assyrian population caught between government = strategies and=20 US designs, a clear realization seems to prevail among activists = on the=20 web that neither community is entirely free to redesign its = national=20 agenda; certain limitations most definitely take over when = co-religionists=20 or co-ethnics are leading precarious lives in the home country. = Coupled=20 with a genuine feeling that Iraq is indeed one of the national = homes of=20 both Turcomans and Assyrians, this residual connection to an idea = of Iraq=20 inevitably colors the interpretation of their community=92s = history, and=20 paradoxically reinforces their Iraqi identity in the process.

Of the many =93northern=94 Iraqi communities that have = contributed their=20 share to the makeup of the country, two of the most significant in = size,=20 cultural involvement and socio-political longevity are the = Turcomans and=20 Assyrians. Ties of cooperation, as well as a history of conflict = may well=20 intrude on their associations with each other, and yet there is a = certain=20 symmetry in viewing these two communities as a unity. One of the = most=20 interesting facets that characterizes these groups is their = transnational=20 reach coupled with their local focus. For instance, the wider = Turcoman=20 =93nation=94 spreads out from Iraq into Syria, Azerbayjan and = Turkey, while=20 Assyrians are to be found in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran and = Lebanon. Both=20 communities are the self-proclaimed heirs of two remarkably = important=20 civilizations that left their imprint on the region for centuries = to come,=20 of which their descendants are justifiably proud. On the other = hand, there=20 is a specificity to the Turcoman and Assyrian experience in Iraq = that is=20 directly related to their long affinity with the country. This is = why any=20 analysis of the negotiation strategies of these communities with = the Iraqi=20 state entails a reexamination of the way transregionalism affects=20 particularist identity in each specific case. [6]

Turkomans in Cyberspace

Most Turcoman (or Turkmen) sites are in the Turkish language, = whether=20 hosted by Iraqi, Syrian, Azeri or Turkish groups on the net = (although a=20 few have Arabic and English sections as well). With respect to = Iraqi=20 Turcomans, it is clear that the connection with Turkey shapes the=20 community=92s historical view of the world, and nowhere more so = than on the=20 web. Virtually all the Turcoman sites I surveyed dated the = community=92s=20 origin to the ninth century AD when one of the Abbasid Caliphs in = Baghdad=20 recruited Turkish soldiers to staff his army. Eventually these = same troops=20 became the force behind the throne, and even overthrew one Caliph = and=20 replaced him with another. The web site of the Turkmen Peoples=92 = Party=20 (www.angelfire.com/tn/halk/), one of the Iraqi Turcoman political=20 groupings, is particularly interesting in the way it Turkifies = every=20 invasion force, occupation army and government after the = Turkic-speaking=20 Mongols ransacked Iraq in the thirteenth century. This = Turco-centric angle=20 is so pervasive that the Turkish soldiery of the Persian Shah are = given=20 more importance than the Persian occupation of Baghdad itself, = while the=20 Ottoman Empire=92s reconquest and control of Iraq are subsumed = into the=20 wider narrative of =93Turkish=94 expansion without a thought given = to the=20 multi-ethnic plurality and diversity that made up the Ottoman = experience.=20 Finally, more astounding still, and completely unsupported by = historical=20 facts, is the claim that, =93The Turks have ruled Iraq from 833 to = 1924.=94

The Iraqi Turcomans=92 focus on Turkey is conditioned by = Turkey=92s =93big=20 brother=94 role in northern Iraq after the Gulf war and the = reality of=20 regional politics. In the wake of Iraq=92s defeat in the Gulf war = of 1991,=20 the Turkish Republic has been re-energizing its support for Iraqi = Turcoman=20 groups, trying to stave off the specter of a potential Kurdish = state and=20 bolstering Iraq=92s territorial integrity in the face of = Turkey=92s rival in=20 the region, Iran (see www.for= eignpolicy.org.tr/ing/books/oguzlu_09.html).=20 The Iraqi Turcomans=92 emphasis on Turkey=92s position in northern = Iraq is=20 also complemented by the realization that regional alliances, both = of a=20 formal and informal kind, must be initiated among the many=20 Turkish-language groups in neighboring countries, such as in = Syria, Iran,=20 Armenia, Azerbayjan and Turkey itself, in order to provide a = counterweight=20 to the Iraqi Turcomans=92 political isolation.

It is the Iraqi Turcomans=92 attempt to strike an equitable = balance=20 between these regional proclivities and their community=92s = wholesale=20 identification with Iraq as their country of origin that provides = a=20 dilemma that has yet to be solved satisfactorily. For while all = the=20 Turcoman websites I looked at unequivocally back a unified Iraq,=20 characterized by democracy, human rights, freedom and a=20 multi-parliamentary system, these same sites also refer back to = the=20 historical injustices committed against the Turcomans from as = early as=20 1936 onwards. The ambivalence towards the Iraqi state is = manifested in a=20 number of ways. For instance, the community historically = assimilated=20 faster than other minorities in the country, in part because most = of its=20 members were Sunni Muslim and Turcophile, two assets that allowed=20 Turcomans easy access, and integration into the post-Ottoman Sunni = elite.=20 As early as 1921 and definitely by 1947, Iraqi Turcomans had begun = moving=20 to Baghdad and other cities in Iraq, and begun the process of=20 acculturating into an Arab environment.[7] And yet most websites = skirt the=20 issue of voluntary assimilation altogether (perhaps because it = dilutes a=20 Turcoman political platform?); their ire is reserved for Iraqi = government=20 attempts to forcibly deport Turcomans from their ancestral = homeland in the=20 north of the country to locations further south at an accelerated = pace=20 from about 1970 onwards (See www.turkmencephesi.org/english.htm). = The=20 Iraqi government is also criticized for defaulting on language and = cultural rights, political assassinations of prominent Turcoman=20 politicians and army officers, and favoritism to other minorities = in=20 Iraq.

And yet there is hope that in a post-Saddam Hussein era, the=20 three-million strong (by their count) Turcoman community will once = again=20 regain its position in society. This is apparent from the = relations its=20 members have forged with other non-Arab minorities in the north = such as=20 the Kurds. For despite fierce contestation over Kirkuk, the city = claimed=20 by Turcomans as well as Kurds, the Turcomans have moved towards = acceptance=20 of a future federal arrangement for Iraq, in which indigenous = communities=20 have a chance to preserve their autonomy in a decentralized state = system=20 (see www.kurdishobserver.com/2000/11/26/hab01.html). The = interesting thing=20 to note about the Turcomans is that, as the most assimilated = minority in=20 northern Iraq, they seem to feel that they have no other agenda = but to=20 stay where they are and to defend themselves against the = encroachment of=20 the Iraqi state. Short of a Turkish invasion of northern Iraq that = might=20 set off a chain of events in which the Iraqi Turcomans would then = revert=20 to the =93mother=94 country, (at present a remote possibility), = the Turcomans=20 have no intention of declaring independence from Iraq. As their = websites=20 make very clear, the Turcomans have a long history of attachment = to the=20 country that goes well beyond a resigned acceptance of their=20 socio-political situation in a dictatorial state. The Turcomans = value the=20 fact that Iraq as a whole, and especially the northern part of the = country, is the established homeland from which their fathers and=20 forefathers spread out all over the country, and they are = justifiably=20 proud of their achievements in the making of the country, and its=20 traditions. Were it not for the depradations visited upon them by = Iraqi=20 governments of the past as well as the present, the Turcomans = quite=20 conceivably would have no qualms about returning to Iraq, to live = side by=20 side with other minorities in a state that guaranteed their civic, = socio-cultural, political and economic rights. And while all = diasporic=20 communities subscribe to the myth of =93return,=94 the Turcomans = may be the=20 one Iraqi group that will actually fulfill it.

Assyrians on the Net

In comparison to the paucity of Turcoman sites on the web, = there is a=20 veritable plethora of Assyrian cyber communities, quite a number = of which=20 are hosted by various Assyrian groups in North America, Europe and = Australia. Indeed, the San Jose Mercury News reported in its = September 2,=20 2001 edition(http://www.assyria.ninevah.com), that =93persecuted = and=20 displaced from their ancestral home in the Middle East, Assyrians = are=20 finding a virtual homeland in cyberspace.=94 A typical website is = that of=20 the Assyrian International News Agency, which sets down the = Assyrian=20 credo, in all of its bold simplicity, in this way: =93Assyrians = are not=20 Arabs. Assyrians, including Chaldeans and Syriacs [of which = Maronites are=20 a branch], are the indigenous Christian people of Mesopotamia and = have a=20 history, spanning seven thousand years, that predates the Arab = conquest of=20 the region=94(www.aina.org). While this is the view held by the = majority of=20 Assyrians around the world, it is nonetheless the equivalent of = throwing=20 down the gauntlet to non-Assyrian Iraqis. By not equating = themselves with=20 an Arab civilization that =93Arabized=94 the majority of Iraq=92s = native=20 population, and by pointedly referring to Iraq as Mesopotamia even = after=20 eighty-odd years of its establishment as a nation-state, most = non-Assyrian=20 Iraqi Arabs would consider AINA=92s views as somewhat = anachronistic, if not=20 apolitical and narrowly nationalistic. Paradoxically, AINA=92s = portrayal of=20 Assyrian =93civilization [as] the foundation of Arab = civilization=94 rings=20 true with many Assyrians today, even as it continues to rankle = Arabs=20 wherever they are. Indeed, the fall-out from the Assyrians=92 = insistence=20 that they are just who they say they are took on such grave = dimensions=20 that on October 5, 2001 AINA lodged an online protest against the = Arab=20 American Institute, the Chicago Tribune and several other groups = in the=20 US, categorically rejecting the labeling of Assyrians as = =93Arab.=94 [8]

This theme is picked up by other Assyrian websites. One site = that tries=20 to bypass polemics and offer a perspective on the current = situation of=20 Assyrian Iraqis is that of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, or = Zowaa, a=20 highly interesting mix of political activism, historical narrative = and=20 visionary pragmatics (www.atour.com/adm/docs/history.htm). As the = premier=20 site of Iraqi Assyrians, it focuses on the development of Assyrian = activism in the country, and relates the history of oppression,=20 assassinations, deportation and exile familiar to most Assyrian = Iraqis.=20 But as Zowaa=92s representative in the US and Canada, Dr. Lincoln = Malik,=20 makes clear these massacres represent only part of [Assyrian] = history,=20 albeit its most painful part. We must look at history = comprehensively and=20 with purpose. Selective renditions of history may help win an = argument in=20 a coffee-shop, but are not useful for serious political = deliberations. To=20 be relevant, the discussion must focus on the ideas and strategies = offered=20 our people in the current historical era. Abstract discussions of = what may=20 have been, or ought to be, will not deliver our people from their = current=20 national dilemma.

Always speaking for ADM, or Zowaa, Dr. Malik asserts that = Assyrians are=20 the indigenous people of Iraq, and not a national or ethnic, = religious or=20 linguistic minority. As such, their rights in Bet-Nahren, the = Assyrian=20 homeland (most of which is in northern Iraq, but also extends to = Syria,=20 Iran and Turkey) are guaranteed by the UN Declaration of Rights of = Indigenous Peoples and have the full weight of international law = behind=20 them. Assyrians refuse assimilation and will never accept forced=20 =93Arabization=94 by the regime, and yet they are =93loyal = Iraqis=85who love their=20 country, and will join the struggle to save it from the hated=20 dictatorship. In this [the Assyrians] are allied with the broad = masses of=20 the Iraqi people from the Kurdish north to the Shia Arab south.=94 = Therefore, everything must be done to protect and preserve the = Assyrian=20 community still in Iraq, =93under the banner of democracy in Iraq, = and=20 affirmation of [the Assyrian] national existence in [their] = homeland.=94

ADM=92s insistence that cultural rights cannot stand alone, and = must be=20 buttressed by political and civil liberties finds wide echo among = other=20 Assyrian political parties. One of these, the Assyrian Democratic=20 Organization or Mtakasta, claims a deeper affinity with Assyrians = in Syria=20 (www.atour.com). Ironically, the ADO has developed a wide rift = with the=20 ADM, which it accuses of highhandedness, excessive secrecy and = ill-advised=20 political alliances with various Iraqi Kurdish factions. But both = the ADO=20 and ADM are adamant that a political solution to Assyrian rights = must be=20 found within the greater Iraqi [or, in ADO=92s case, Syrian] = nation. The=20 vision of a supra-Assyrian nation endowed with cultural, religious = and=20 linguistic privileges and functioning as a collective standard to = which=20 all Assyrians should aspire is a useful panacea for the Assyrian = diaspora,=20 but untenable as a realistic alternative.

Finally, among the most interesting sites on the web is that of = the=20 Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, the only scholarly = publication=20 devoted entirely to =93serious research about the culture of the = Assyrians,=20 from and after the time it survived the demise of empire=94 = (www.jaas.org).=20 The premise of the journal is itself intriguing, and speaks to the = dispersal of Assyrian communities all over the world. Briefly = stated, JAAS=20 believes that it is high time for scholars to move away from the = study of=20 Assyrian civilization in Antiquity, and the legends of the = =93fall,=94 to a=20 study of Assyrians in the modern world, especially in the = diaspora. As a=20 leading Assyrian specialist states on the front page of JAAS, = =93confusion=20 [exists] between the annihilation of the Assyrian political system = [i.e=20 Assyria in Antiquity] and the annihilation of the Assyrian = people,=94 by=20 which the Professor is of course referring to the history of = oppression of=20 the Assyrian people by various regimes, Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish = from=20 the beginning of the early twentieth century onwards.

In two fascinating reviews of the Saudi anthropologist Madawi=20 Al-Rasheed=92s book, Iraqi Assyrian Christians in London: The = Construction=20 of Ethnicity in a recent issue of JAAS, a number of additional = points are=20 made with respect to the realities of Assyrian diasporic existence = in the=20 UK and elsewhere. While one reviewer gently takes her to task for = daring=20 to question the idea that present-day Assyrians are the direct = descendants=20 of Assyrians of old, and launches into a physiognomic = investigation that=20 ends up in the Assyrian section of the Louvre Museum in Paris (!), = another=20 criticizes her for conflating the five recognized =93Assyrian=94 = denominations=20 with the Church of the East (the Assyrian National Church). = Throughout the=20 reviews, the reader is continually made aware of the = =93ever-morphing=20 spectacle=94 of Assyrians forgetting parts of their historical = existence and=20 over-inflating others, and including some Assyrian denominations = while=20 forgetting others. Finally in view of the strong statements made = by=20 Assyrian political parties on the web, it is interesting to note = the=20 scholarly consensus on present-day Assyrians in London as being = virtually=20 apolitical, and so conservative as to be reclusive in all matters = except=20 religion and language.

The Use (and Abuse) of History.

I have already referred to Turcoman claims of a continuous = Turkish=20 political presence in the whole of Iraq =93from 833 to 1924,=94 an = assertion=20 far too metaphorical to be historically accurate. A similar=20 reinterpretation of history is made by other groups in the region. = In its=20 official letter to the Arab-American Institute, asking it to stop=20 identifying Assyrians and Maronites as Arabs, the Coalition of = American=20 Assyrians and Maronites (CAM) lays stress on several issues, all = of them=20 relating to the distinctive histories claimed by different peoples = in the=20 Arab/Middle East region. CAM asserts that Assyrians and Maronites = are=20 ethnically distinct from Arabs while the Assyrians also are = different on=20 the linguistic front; that both the Assyrians and Maronites = diverge from=20 the rest of the native peoples in the region by virtue of their=20 Christianity; that Assyrians are the indigenous peoples of = northern Iraq,=20 southeast Turkey, northeast Syria and northwest Iran while = Maronites are=20 the indigenous peoples of Lebanon, and finally, and this is the = clincher,=20 =93that Assyrians and their civilizations, and the Phoenicians of = Lebanon,=20 span seven thousand years and predate the Arab conquest of the = region=94=20 (www.aina.org).

Both the Turcoman and Assyrian visions of = religious-linguistic-cultural=20 differences and sweeping historical pretensions are matertially = assisted=20 by the freedom and, to a certain extent, the anonymity of the net. = But=20 freedom and anonymity quite often function as ancillaries to the = larger=20 Turcoman and Assyrian projects of regaining a political foothold = in Iraq=20 on more equitable terms than before. While recourse to the greater = Assyrian Empire or pan-Turkism is a necessary marker in identity = politics,=20 making possible the further in-gathering of diasporic communities = in=20 cyberspace around a central ideology of cultural inclusiveness and = pride=20 of place, the more pragmatic Turcoman and Assyrian political = leadership do=20 not accord history as privileged a position as political survival = or,=20 indeed, national regeneration. For instance, Mr. Ninos Gaboro, the = head of=20 the Assyrian Democratic Organization is on record as supporting = the=20 following positions:

That [the Assyrian leadership] concentrate on minimizing = dispersion of=20 our peoples, especially in the Middle East [and] that [the = leadership]=20 actively involve the educated segment of our society in the=20 decision-making process and every other political and economic = aspect of=20 our lives.

In order to do so, ADO or the name it goes by in wider Assyrian = circles, Mtakasto, believes that the most urgent objectives in = Syria, Iraq=20 and wherever Assyrians are settled, are to

Secure [Assyrians=92] national existence,
Awaken and = develop our=20 national identity;
Support unity among various denominations = and=20
Work for the recognition of Assyrian national existence in the = Middle=20 East,
all of which are legitimate rights (www.atour.com).

Similarly, the Assyrian Democratic Movement, (Zowaa for = Assyrians) is=20 for the strict enforcement of human rights for Assyrians in Iraq = because=20 =93Assyrians=85do not have an ancestral homeland outside of = Iraq.=94 Thus in=20 both parties=92 appeal for a reliable survival mechanism to = protect=20 Assyrians, whether in Iraq or Syria, the notion of a wider = Assyrian nation=20 independent of, and oblivious to, any successor regime that came = after=20 =93the fall,=94 is circumscribed out of necessity and pragmatic = consideration.=20

Conclusion

Eleven years after the Gulf war and the relentless caricature = of Iraqis=20 as a compound of Sunnis, Shi=92is and Kurds, the view Iraq as = another=20 Yugoslavia ready to break up into ethnic or sectarian enclaves = continues=20 to have a solid constituency of inveterate Iraq-bashers in the US=20 government and media. Inevitably, this construction relegates = other Iraqi=20 ethnic and religious communities,of whom it is are barely aware, = to an=20 obscurity which they most certainly do not deserve. Perhaps = because=20 neither the Turcomans nor the Assyrians fit readily into the = US=92s=20 strategic vision for Iraq (unlike the Kurds and the Shi=92a), both = groups=20 must fight for their existence using uncommon tools. Of these, the = Internet is the most versatile. At once virtual meeting place, = ethnicity=20 index, cultural club and political barometer, the Internet brings=20 diasporic communities together and shakes them up into a heady = mixture.=20 What emerges is a field of dreams that achieves its greatest = actualization=20 on the World Wide Web.By allowing the convergence of dozens of = sites on=20 greater Turkmenistan and Assyria to project the histories of = indigenous=20 peoples, and their collective visions of the future, the Internet = makes=20 possible the renegotiation of identities and nationalities that = had long=20 been relegated to the backwaters of exile. Unlike the facile=20 generalizations in the =93illegitimacy=94 thesis that present = Iraqi=20 nationalism as a brittle phenomenon held together by state = coercion,=20 Turcoman and Assyrian websites are fully agreed on their = Iraqi-ness, but=20 seek to define it on their own terms. Because both communities = view Iraq=20 as their homeland par excellence, and the Turcoman and Assyrian=20 populations still settled in the country as tangible proof of = their=20 civilazational heritage as well as their future promise, neither = community=20 thinks of questioning their Iraqi nationhood. Nonetheless, by = means of=20 their online agendas for cultural and political regeneration, and = their=20 re-imbued visions of citizenship in Iraq, Turcoman and Assyrian = activists=20 online are putting the world, and especially Iraq, on notice of = their=20 programs and intentions, and so beginning a vital and necessary = dialogue=20 to reopen the question of their long-awaited =93return=94 to the = homeland.

Hala Fattah
Royal Institute of = Interfaith=20 Studies
Amman, Jordan

[Z-info:=20 the above article was prepared for Going Native on the Net: = Indigenous=20 Cyberactivism and Virtual Diasporas over the World Wide Web, = edited by=20 Kyra Landzelius (Routledge), 2001.]

Notes

1 Charles = Tripp. A=20 History of Iraq. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, = 2000.

2 Hanna = Batatu. The=20 Old Social Classes and the New Revolutionary Movements of Iraq. = Princeton:=20 Princeton University Press, 1978, pp.47-50

[3] = Benedict Anderson.=20 Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of=20 Nationalism. London: Verso, 1991, pp.1-7

[4] = Michael C. Hudson,=20 =93Creative Destruction=94: Information Technology and the = Political Culture=20 Revolution in the Arab World, revised version of a paper presented = at the=20 Conference on Transnationalism, sponsored by the Royal Institute = for=20 Inter-Faith Studies,Amman, Jordan, June 19-21,2000.=20 (nmit.georgetown.edu/papers/mchudson.htm).

[5] Dirk = Hoerder,=20 =93Negotiating Nations: Exclusions, Networks, Inclusions.=94 = Histoire=20 Sociale/Social History Vol.XXXIII, November 2000, p.226

[6] Jon = Alterman,=20 =93Transnational Media and Regionalism,=94 Transnational = Broadcasting Studies=20 No.1, Fall 1998.(www.Tbsjournal.com/Archives/Fall98/Articles=20 1/JA1/jal.html).

[7] = Stephen Helmsley=20 Longrigg. Iraq, 1900 to 1950. London, New York and Toronto: Oxford = University Press, 1953, p.9 and p.381

[8] At a = conference on=20 Iraq at Villanova University, Pa., in 1988, which I was fortunate = to=20 attend, an Assyrian clergyman made the comment that Assyrians were = =93Iraqis, not Arabs.=94 An Egyptian Professor in the audience = immediately got=20 up from his seat to challenge the assertion, but failed to make = headway=20 with the clergyman.

Bravo

IRAQI WOMEN SPEAK OUT ABOUT LIFE UNDER SADDAM=92S = REGIME=20

Courtesy of the = International=20 Alliance for Justice (6 March); Brussels

Iraqi women from various parts of the country testified on 5 = March at a=20 roundtable event about how they have witnessed the killings and = other=20 atrocities resulting from three decades of Saddam Hussein=92s = dictatorship.=20 Together the women have lost more than 200 family members.

The women gathered not to mourn their losses, but to talk about = rebuilding Iraq=92s civil society and to identify solutions which = would lead=20 to freedom and democracy in Iraq. They were members of a panel at = a=20 seminar called "The Unheard Voices of Iraqi Women", organised by = the=20 International Alliance for Justice (AIJ), with Baroness Emma = Nicholson of=20 Winterbourne, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament=92s Foreign = Affairs=20 Committee.

The AIJ delegation also met with officials from the European=20 Commission=92s Directorate Generale for External Relations and = from the=20 Commissioner Chris Patten=92s cabinet.

"The European Union should understand that 95 per cent of Iraqi = people=20 are against the Iraqi regime. The women requested the EU members = to ask=20 for the Saddam Hussein=92s resignation, and to declare his regime = as=20 =92outlaw=92," said Aida Ussayran, member of the executive = committee of the=20 Union of Iraqi Democrats.

"We call on all the EU bodies, regardless of their position = towards=20 military enforcement of UNSC Resolution 1441, to fully support=20 establishing an international tribunal for holding Saddam = Hussein=92s regime=20 to account for the crimes it has committed against human rights = and issue=20 concrete political statements to that effect," said another = delegation=20 member.

AIJ calls on the European Union to invest in its relationship = with the=20 Iraqi people -- and not Baghdad=92s dictator -- to support the = creation of=20 an international inquiry on missing people as well as support the=20 rehabilitation of Iraq=92s Marshlands. There are four million = refugees and=20 900 000 internally displaced persons in Iraq. EU should support a=20 democratic future for Iraq, the rule of law, a new family code = respectful=20 of women=92s rights and a real participation of women in the = decision-making=20 process.

The Iraqi women, who have shared great suffering, also share = the same=20 aspiration: they want their country to be freed from the = repression of=20 Saddam Hussein=92s regime. They hope that their testimonies will = help the=20 international community understand the pain and mistreatments that = Saddam=20 Hussein has inflicted on the Iraqi people.

"For three decades, the Iraqi women have lived under an = extraordinary=20 brutal regime. Since October 2000, more than 150 women were = decapitated=20 under the pretext of prostitution", said Pascale Isho, delegation=20 participant and president of the Assyrian Women=92s Union.

According to Safia Al Souhail, AIJ advocacy director for Middle = East,=20 "Iraq has become a land of agony, dismay and fear; a country where = people=20 are ethnically cleansed. Iraq under Saddam has become a hell." =

[Z-info:=20 For further information contact Fran=E7oise Bri=E9 at = 33-1-48-00-03-20 or=20 aij@noos.fr
International Alliance for Justice is leading a = network of=20 275 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from over 120 countries = asking=20 for an ad hoc international criminal tribunal for = Iraq.]

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