March 31, 2003

GOOD MORNING=20 BET-NAHRAIN

Kha b=92Neesan Message from North = Iraq

This article is written in Assyrian, and is in PDF = format.

News = Digest

OVER 4000 ASSYRIANS = RALLY IN SUPPORT=20 OF U.S. TROOPS IN CHICAGO

Courtesy of the Windy City Reporter (31=20 March)

(ZNDA: Chicago) The largest pro-American rally to happen in the = United=20 States to date was held in Chicago this past Sunday by thousands = of=20 Assyrian-Americans who support the U.S. operations in Iraq.

Assyrians are the indigenous people of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, = Syria and=20 Lebanon. They come from the vast area that was once known as = Mesopotamia,=20 with the heart or capital of their original homeland being located = between=20 the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, in what is now modern day=20 Iraq.

"There are about 95,000 of us living in the = Chicagoland=20 area," said Peter Dagher, an Assyrain-American who ran for Blago's = vacated=20 congressional seat as a Democratic candidate. "My brother is a = U.S. Air=20 Force pilot," he continued. "It's great for us to see how he went = from=20 being a typical kid with a messy room to a Lieutenant Colonel. = We're all=20 very proud of him and the others who are over there doing this = terrible=20 work and risking their lives."

Eddie Nissan, President of = the=20 Assyrian Social Club on North Pulaski Avenue, said many of his = in-laws=20 were able to get out of Iraq just before the bombing started, = gaining=20 safety across the border in Jordan. Born in Iraq with an advanced = degree=20 in engineering, Eddie Stated, "I don't understand the protestors. = They=20 have no idea what it's like in those countries, particularly in = Iraq under=20 the Hussein regieme. People disappear for no reason. They are = tortured and=20 murdered every day. I can't see why these kids protest when our = American=20 troops are doing good by getting rid of Saddam and his Baath = Party."

OVER CENTURIES OF PERSECUTION, = ASSYRIANS HAVE=20 KEPT THE FAITH

Courtesy of religonjournal.com (30=20 March)

(ZNDA: Chicago) Nearly forgotten by the world, 1.2 million = Assyrian=20 Christians live a precarious existence in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. = They are=20 the remnants of the great Assyrian Empire, which ruled Mesopotamia = =96 or=20 present-day Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey =96 thousands of years = before=20 Christ.

Assyria has played a central role in world and Christian = history. Its=20 capital, Ninevah, repented to Jonah. Ninevah later believed the = gospel=20 preached by the Apostle Thomas, becoming one of the first = Christian=20 nations. In the first century, newly converted Assyria launched a=20 missionary force that carried Christianity as far as China and = Japan.

Over the years since the Assyrian monarchy was abolished in the = 4th=20 century, Assyrians have lived with a minority status in the lands = they=20 once ruled, oppressed by the Persians, Mongols, Turks, Kurds and=20 Arabs.

Then in the 20th century, mass dispersion occurred. Four = million=20 Assyrians left the Middle East for 40 nations after the Ottomans = massacred=20 hundreds of thousands of Armenians and Assyrians in 1915. = Assyrians=20 believe that after World War I they were betrayed by the League of = Nations, which had promised them a homeland.

Throughout the centuries of persecution, Assyrians kept the = faith.=20 Today, the indigenous Christians of ancient Mesopotamia belong to = several=20 sects and denominations including the Chaldean Catholic Church, = the Church=20 of the East, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Syriac Catholic = Church, and=20 some Protestant denominations.

Assyrian Christians also have preserved a dialect of Aramaic, = the=20 language spoken by Jesus. Assyrians have "a special passion" about = using=20 and preserving Aramaic, Ronald Michael, president of the Assyrian = American=20 League, told religionjournal.com. Aramaic is passed down from = generation=20 to generation, said Michael, who speaks the language fluently. He = was born=20 in Beirut, moved to Iraq, grew up in the United States, and now = lives in=20 Illinois, where he is a member of the Church of the East.

The times are again perilous for Assyrian Christians, Michael = said.=20 Iraq, a secular nation, formerly allowed Christians more freedom = than many=20 other Middle Eastern nations. Yet anti-Christian sentiment has = risen as=20 Saddam Hussein portrays himself as a defender of Islam against the = imperialist West, according to political analyst Jonathan Eric = Lewis.

Saddam's Baath Party has implemented policies aimed at erasing = the=20 identity of Assyrian Christians as a distinct people. According to = Lewis,=20 this ethnic cleansing has included denying the ethnic identity of=20 Assyrians in government records, removing textbooks about Assyrian = history=20 and accomplishments, looting ancient artifacts, and killing = clerics.=20 Saddam might incite a bloodbath against the Assyrians now that = Iraq has=20 been invaded, Lewis said.

Still another threat to Assyrians comes from ethnic Kurds in = northern=20 Iraq. The area has been protected as a British and American no-fly = zone=20 since the 1991 Gulf War. Free from Saddam's control, the Kurds = have lived=20 at relative peace with Assyrian Christians, who have built = Christian=20 schools and churches.

Yet those 200,000 Assyrians are "very much under pressure to = toe the=20 Kurdish line," Michael said. An additional half million Assyrian=20 Christians live just outside the no-fly zone, and 750,000 to 1 = million=20 live in Baghdad. With the collapse of Saddam's regime =96 a common = enemy for=20 the Kurds and Assyrians =96 historic differences between the = groups could=20 resurface. Some Assyrians fear that, in the chaos of war, the = Kurds might=20 seek an independent state, grabbing oil-rich land and inciting = violence=20 and tyranny, according to ABC News.

What many Assyrians really want is a homeland of their own, = according=20 to Ken Joseph, whose Assyrian grandparents escaped from massacres = at the=20 hands of the Kurds occurring in Iraq in 1919. "If there is a = Jewish state=20 and Muslim states, there should also be a Christian state." He = said he=20 believes that most Assyrians living overseas would return if a = state=20 homeland was established.

For his part, Michael said he hopes for a democratic Iraq = "where all=20 citizens enjoy freedom of religion." After the war, Americans must = stay=20 engaged long enough to make sure the post-Saddam regime protects = all of=20 Iraq's minorities.

Unlike other Iraqi opposition groups, Assyrians are not trying = to grab=20 land or oil, Michael said. "We wish to survive, to build our = churches and=20 schools, to preserve our language, and to live as any human being = should=20 be able to live. Our challenge to Arab governments and the broader = Arab=20 world is to push as vigorously for Assyrian rights as they do for=20 Palestinian rights. Otherwise, they risk losing credibility and = appearing=20 to be hypocrites."

American Christians know little about Assyrian Christians, yet = "there=20 is a natural kinship," Michael said. And when American Christians = realize=20 that a portion of the body of Christ is struggling to survive, = Michael's=20 hope is that they will "commit themselves and reach out to = them."

ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS AFRAID FOR = RELATIVES STILL=20 LIVING IN IRAQ

Courtesy of Daily Herald (31 March); = Story by Cass=20 Cliatt

A bomb blast flashes behind closed eyes. Smoke shrouds the = scorched=20 crater that was her family's home in Baghdad.

Soldiers march past civilian dead. She can't see the faces. = Could it be=20 her uncle, her brother's wife?

Ashtar Shamoon wakes.

The clock reads 5 a.m. when she turns on the news in her = Arlington=20 Heights home.

Shamoon abandoned her vigil here just four hours earlier, but = worry=20 compels her to watch a war progress toward the city she used to = call=20 home.

"If I don't watch the news, it's like I don't care about it," = the=20 44-year-old Shamoon said. "It's still your country."

But fear has kept the hair stylist away from her homeland for = more than=20 20 years.

She is tormented by reports about other U.S. families sending = letters=20 to their fathers, sisters and sons in military service in the = Middle=20 East.

For Shamoon, the hold Saddam Hussein has over Iraq grips her, = even=20 here, stifling her with fear of maintaining too much contact with = her own=20 family.

She is among thousands of Iraqi expatriates who carried their = sense of=20 oppression to the Northwest suburbs, away from Iraq's borders. = They harbor=20 a dread here that continues to alienate them from families back = home.

"I have my brother's wife, his sister, her daughter, my uncle, = many=20 cousins," Shamoon said. "Now with the war starts, I've been = talking to=20 them every two days, but I'm scared even to mention their names. = Maybe the=20 government of Saddam Hussein just go after them."

Shamoon is one of about 80,000 Assyrian Christians in the = Chicago area,=20 a large majority of whom fled Iraq because of political = persecution,=20 according to the Assyrian National Council of Illinois.

As much as they fear that their families could fall victim to = the=20 ravages of the war, some worry even more that they could unleash = torment=20 on their own relatives.

"Sometimes, for example, if someone is talking against the = government=20 or against the regime in Iraq, they cut his tongue," said Isho = Lilou,=20 director of the Assyrian council. "If a man doesn't want to serve = in the=20 army, they cut his ear."

The punishment can be much worse for families seen as American=20 sympathizers, Lilou said.

"Basically, the government point of view is, whoever is = outside,=20 especially in America and they have relatives there, they treat = them as if=20 they are all Americans," he said. "And the regime hates = America.

"If there is communication, you don't know what will happen. = Some=20 people will either disappear or they get hit by a car," Lilou = said. "One=20 way or another, they are gone."

It's the main reason Shamoon hasn't been back to Baghdad since = she left=20 in 1981.

She and her family were among the estimated 1 million Assyrian=20 Christians in a country that's 97 percent Muslim. She says she = left=20 because Hussein's government asked her to spy on other Christians = who were=20 customers in the hair salon where she worked.

"To see what the people say about Saddam Hussein, if they like = him,"=20 Shamoon said. "I say I can't do that. I say I am a Christian. I do = my job=20 and come home. I said I can't talk politics."

Yet they kept at her for five months. Shamoon had to get out. =

She came to the United States with her teenage sister in 1981 = and=20 became a U.S. citizen 10 years later. Shamoon, her sister, now 40, = and her=20 73-year-old mother now live in Arlington Heights, afraid to ever = return to=20 Iraq.

But tomorrow, Shamoon will make one of her increasingly = frequent calls=20 home to Baghdad.

Since the war started last week, Shamoon's questions are always = the=20 same.

"Are you safe? Nobody is killed and nobody is bombing there? = How is=20 uncle, how are nieces and nephews? ... Do not go outside. Stay at=20 home."

Three minutes on the phone with her family is all Shamoon will = risk -=20 five at the most.

"I don't say anything about what's going on here," Shamoon = said. "They=20 (the government) listen on their phone when you talk, and maybe = someone=20 here, the Muslim people here contact them. You never know."

Louise Cainkar, a professor at the University of Illinois at = Chicago,=20 said many people might classify the fear felt by Shamoon and = others as=20 paranoia. But that doesn't make their fear any less real.

"It's the nature of the society when you live under oppressive=20 conditions and you know people are watching other people and = reporting on=20 each other," said Cainkar, who specializes in Arabs and Muslims in = the=20 United States.

"I think it's how most Iraqis feel, whether they're Muslim or=20 Christian," she said. "They're afraid to call their families. They = have=20 been traumatized by a watchdog society."

The potential to regain open lines of communication with her = family=20 makes Shamoon welcome the war, in a way.

"I'm glad they're going to get Hussein and they're going to = kill him,=20 but I'm feeling bad for a lot of people who are there - my family, = the=20 other Assyrian Christians and a lot of poor people," Shamoon said. = "They're going to die, too."

The last time Shamoon risked talking to her relatives, they = told her=20 they sit huddled inside, wondering how long the groceries they = bought a=20 month ago will last.

All of the businesses are closed and no one is working.

"They don't know what's going to happen to them, if they're = going to=20 bomb everything there," Shamoon said.

She rushes from work today, as she does everyday, and = immediately turns=20 on the news when she gets home.

Troops remain on the outskirts of Baghdad.

Shamoon will probably stay glued to her television until 1 or 2 = a.m.=20 again. She'll definitely try to call her family in Iraq = tomorrow.

The phone lines have remained clear so far, but Shamoon doesn't = know=20 how long she should rely on them - rely on the peace of mind so = many other=20 families get from hearing their relatives' voices on the other end = of the=20 line.

"If I can't hear nothing from them, I can't go to work," she = said. "I=20 would be nervous every day. I can't sleep."

ASSYRIANS WANT SADDAM OUT =

Courtesy of Chicago Sun Times (30 March); = story by=20 Dave Newbart

The mood among the Iraqi-born men who gather each week at this=20 Northwest Side club was unusually low-key Friday night.

Conversations moved fluently between Assyrian, Arabic and = heavily=20 accented English as they sat around tables smoking cigarettes, = drinking=20 beer and whiskey and eating beef kabobs well past midnight. But = unlike=20 most of these gatherings, no Iraqi music played in the background. = Some of=20 the men squeezed strings of "sipha'' beads to relieve stress.

As the war in their homeland unfolds, the members of Chicago's = Assyrian=20 Social Club are gravely concerned about the safety of their = friends and=20 family still in Iraq. Despite their fears, they are clear on their = thoughts about Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"We want Saddam overthrown by any means,'' said Sam Dibato, 66, = a=20 retired geologist who fled Iraq two years ago when he learned he = was going=20 to be arrested on false charges. "We are not supporting war. We = are=20 supporting a free Iraq.''

The mostly older men are part of Chicago's Assyrian-American = community,=20 which numbers nearly 100,000. Members of the community are holding = a rally=20 today at Warren Park in support of the U.S. troops. Organizers = said they=20 canceled the annual Assyrian New Year's parade scheduled for next = week=20 because of the war.

Like Dibato, thousands of Assyrians--who boast of being some of = the=20 oldest Christians in the world--have been persecuted and killed by = Saddam=20 Hussein's Baath party. Despite their religious beliefs, the men = said using=20 force to oust Saddam is the only option to save their country. = They say=20 that even knowing that innocent civilians have died and more will = die=20 because of the war. But they believe more people would perish if = Saddam=20 remained in power.

"He is cutting the ears off the people, cutting the tongues, = killing=20 people to stay in power,'' Dibato said.

That includes 10 members of Dibato's extended family, who = disappeared=20 from a village in northern Iraq in 1988 and are thought to have = been=20 burned alive when Saddam accused them of opposing his regime. = Dibato was=20 forced to leave when he was accused of the same. His mother, two = daughters=20 and two brothers remain in Iraq.

The men believe most in Iraq shares their feelings about Saddam = but are=20 too afraid to speak out. But they also think many Iraqis aren't = convinced=20 the United States will back them if they rebel, considering they = were=20 abandoned following the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

"They don't trust anybody, not Saddam Hussein, not the American = government,'' said Khoshiaba Jaba, 50. Jaba took up arms against = Saddam in=20 1998, and witnessed the effects of a chemical attack on another = Assyrian=20 village in northern Iraq that left two people dead and 200 with=20 deformities. He left in 1990.

"We are a peaceful people,'' said Jaba, who now lives in = Skokie.=20 "Saddam is not.''

The men offered mixed views on the United States' role if = Saddam is=20 overthrown. One said he'd like to see the United States there = "forever,''=20 while another said he would oppose any American rule over Iraq. No = matter=20 what, most said they were likely to return to an Iraq free of = Saddam.

"Of course we'll go back,'' said Edward Isaac, 65, of = Skokie.

IRAQ BECKONS FEW LOCAL ASSYRIANS=20

Courtesy of the Modesto = Bee (28=20 March); by Melanie Turner

(ZNDA: Modesto) Though they have strong ties to Iraq, for some=20 Assyrians who immigrated here their country is a distant memory = and they=20 have no desire to return.

"No way," said 77-year-old Youab Yonan of Turlock, who left = Iraq in=20 1966, years before President Saddam Hussein came to power. = "Because what=20 am I going to see? Injustice."

Daniel's father-in-law and a fellow Assyrian, 77-year-old = Youab=20 Yonan, who left Iraq in 1966, says he constantly watches the = television=20 for news about the war

Others say they remember Iraq as a beautiful place and would = like to=20 visit in more peaceful times.

"I'd love to go, definitely," said Elki Issa, 31, of Modesto. = "Not now.=20 One day." She said it would be "something like Alex Haley going = back to=20 Africa and seeing your roots, where you came from."

Assyrians, a tiny minority in Iraq, say they have experienced = religious=20 discrimination for many decades in Iraq because of their Christian = beliefs.

But while most say it is past time for Saddam to go, a few have = differing takes.

When Yonan, a retired mechanical engineer and scholar, lived in = Iraq,=20 he said, there were no cars and no electricity. He walked two or = three=20 miles to school, he said. "Life was very, very hard."

These days, the longtime U.S. citizen said, he has nothing in = common=20 with people there. He believes the United States had no choice but = to go=20 to war because weapons of mass destruction are a danger to the = world.

"It's unfortunate that they came to this kind of aggressive = decision,"=20 he said, adding that Saddam could have opted for peace.

Bill Dadesho of Modesto was in his early 20s when he came to = the=20 Northern San Joaquin Valley from Baghdad in 1963. He said he is = not eager=20 to return, although he might want to see the places of his = childhood one=20 day.

Born in Mosul, a northern city where U.S. bombs have dropped in = recent=20 days, Dadesho said Iraq was not a nice place to live because of = the=20 religious discrimination.

"There's nothing there that's beautiful except that you were = born in=20 that place," he said.

The valley is home to thousands of Assyrians, some of whom = emigrated=20 from Iraq.

Three percent of people in the mostly Muslim country are = Christian, and=20 5 percent are Turkoman and Assyrian, while the largest ethnic = groups are=20 the Arabs and Kurds, said Marjorie Sanchez Walker, assistant = professor of=20 history at California State University, Stanislaus.

Beautiful memories

Bill Yonan, 44, Youab Yonan's son, left Baghdad when he was 6 = and=20 remembers it as a beautiful mix of desert and tropical greenery = along two=20 rivers that surround the city. "It was a gorgeous place," he = said.

His sister visited the country two years ago and was = disappointed to=20 find that military installations had replaced nightclubs and = casinos on=20 the river. But he said it would not be safe for a man to return. = He said=20 his U.S. citizenship would not protect him there, and he would = risk being=20 forced to serve in the military.

"I would love to go back there to my original homeland and = visit=20 Baghdad and visit my cousins," he said. "I'd love nothing = more."

Issa said her family is split, although she admits most of them = are for=20 the war.

"I question the motives of this administration," said Issa, who = was=20 born in the United States. "I believe if we wanted a regime = change, we=20 could have done it without destroying the country. The main losers = are=20 going to be the innocent civilians.

"Look how devastated we were seeing those buildings fall on = 9-11," she=20 said. "They're humans, just like us."

Jacklin Daniel, 44, of Turlock, who is of both Iranian and = Iraqi=20 descent and the wife of Bill Yonan, calls Saddam "evil."

Jacklin Daniel, 44, comments on the war in Iraq, her = family's=20 homeland.

Dadesho agreed. He said the United States should have toppled = Saddam=20 and his government years ago.

"Let's get this thing over with," he said. "Get our boys back=20 home."

IN REMEMBRANCE OF MILTON DANIELS = (28 FEB=20 1925 =96 14 MAR 2003)

(ZNDA: San Jose) Mr. Milton Daniels, the son of Younatan and = Nanajan,=20 was born in Hamadan, Iran on February 28, 1925. The second = youngest of=20 four sons, he attended Nusrat School in Hamadan and later = transferred to=20 the American Missionary School, where he finished the = Baccalaureate in=20 Mathematics program and graduated in June 1942. After graduation = and the=20 early death of his father, he was admitted to the Abadan Institute = of=20 Technology in Southern Iran on 5th September 1942. The Institute = was=20 established by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company that operated the oil = refinery in Abadan. Mr. Daniels studied Petroleum Engineering = there and=20 finished the five-year program in four years, graduating in June = 1946 in=20 the top ten percentile of his class.

Mr. Daniels was subsequently hired as a chemist by the Abadan = Refinery,=20 the largest facility of its kind in the world. He completed his = initial=20 training as a chemist rotating in different labs, i.e. Black oil = lab,=20 Aviation lab and Sulfur lab, and was assigned to work as the shift = chemist. After the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company was nationalized and = renamed=20 the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), he was promoted and = became=20 Aviation chemist, taking over a position held previously by two = British=20 Engineers. Mr. Daniels=92 next assignment was to serve as a = Process Engineer=20 in the Black Oil Movement Facility. He later became the manager of = Exports, Stocks and Shipping where he was always on call and = responsible=20 for handling 10-15 oil tankers on a daily basis.

On November 23rd, 1963 the same day that President Kennedy was=20 assassinated, Mr. Daniels was transferred to the Iranian capital = Tehran to=20 serve as an adviser to Mr. Saeed Naghavi who was in charge of = Special=20 Projects for the NIOC. At that time the government of Iran signed = the=20 first contract with the Soviet Union to deliver natural gas to = Russia and=20 the former Soviet Republics. Once again Mr. Daniels=92s ability, = dedication=20 and integrity were recognized and he was assigned as the Project = Manager=20 at Ahwaz Pipe Fabrication Company to oversee the production of up = to 42=94=20 diameter pipe for the installation of the natural gas pipeline = from the=20 gas fields in southern Iran to the Soviet Union. This enormous = project was=20 completed in 1977 and the pipes were manufactured and laid 92 days = early,=20 generating savings of nearly one million dollars a day. For this=20 impressive achievement, the late Shah of Iran awarded Mr. Daniels = the=20 =93Three Crown Medal of Honor=94, and the =93Grade Five Royal = Medallion=94 (*Note=20 =96 =93Grade Five Royal Medallion=94 was the highest designated = civilian medal=20 of honor, the first four Royal Medallions were awarded only to the = Military).

Milton Daniels=92 last promotion was serving as the Deputy = General=20 Manager of the Ahwaz Pipe Fabrication Company. He also served on = the board=20 of the NIOC and acted as the special assistant to Mr. Mossadeghi, = the=20 Chief Executive Officer of NIOC as a technical advisor. Mr. = Daniels=20 represented NOC at several regional and international conferences = and=20 seminars.

Mr. Daniels was in line to become the General Manager of the = Ahwaz Pipe=20 Fabrication Company when the Iranian revolution took place and he = decided=20 to retire. In 1979, after thirty years of loyal service, Mr. = Daniels=20 retired from the NIOC and immigrated to London, England where he = lived=20 until his passing.

Family

Milton Daniels is survived by his wife Larissa - the daughter = of Isaac=20 and Anna Radeh, whom he met in Abadan and married on August 4, = 1964, in=20 Tehran - daughter Monica, recently engaged, and son Richard who = recently=20 returned home after completing his education in the United = States.

Personal

Milton Daniels was active in the Assyrian community at a young = age. In=20 Abadan he joined the Assyrian Association of Abadan and = Khoramshahr early=20 on and soon was elected President. During his tenure as President, = the=20 Association secured land and built an Assyrian community center in = Abadan=20 that housed the Shooshan Primary School, the Church and the Social = Hall.=20 These facilities benefited Assyrians of all ages and enabled them = to=20 preserve their culture and heritage. After Mr. Daniels transferred = to=20 Tehran, once again his passion and dedication for his nation = continued. He=20 joined the Assyrian Association of Tehran, was elected President = and=20 served for two years.

Among the many attributes that made Milton so humble and unique = were=20 his larger than life heart and the spirit of giving without the = thought of=20 return. He gave indiscriminately and quietly. He gave to his = family, his=20 friends, and the needy. Among his many charitable contributions = was his=20 donation to the Assyrian Aid Society of America=92s Medical = Assistance=20 Project that supplied medicines and medical equipment to the = Assyrians in=20 Bet-Nahrain.

Milton had a very warm and sociable personality and liked = nothing=20 better than spending quality time with friends, sharing poetry, = jokes and=20 political discussions. He was charismatic, had a magnetic = personality and=20 attracted people from all walks of life. In recent years, as = illness=20 started taking its toll, he was forced to spend more time in bed, = but he=20 never gave up on friends and family, and kept in touch by phone. = He=20 nourished his mind by reading and often slept with books laying on = his=20 bed. He was an active man, a funny man, and a gentleman who loved = life and=20 loved to live.

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

WHERE DO ASSYRIANS=20 STAND?

Have people fallen into cheapening = peace to the=20 mere absence of war, as one Assyrian wondered. The problem = with the=20 so-called peace activists is that they live in the confinement = of=20 their blessed U.S. homes and borders and do not even have the = minutest=20 idea what the people of Iraq have experienced in the last 35 = years;=20 they might think that they know, but they still do not know = enough.=20 Has not the September 11, 2001, taught them any lessons?

Lately, the message boards of the various Assyrian forums = have been=20 flooded with articles by few self-claimed "peace activists," = who=20 unfortunately have brought the peace movement down to a petty = level of=20 politics. When we investigate these "activists," we realize = that the=20 majority of them are young Assyrians who were born in the = West. They=20 are members of middle-class liberal America, whose leaders in=20 Washington are trying to capitalize on this war and using it = to=20 recover from their onslaught defeat in Congress last = elections.

These young individuals have not experienced the brutality = of the=20 Baghdad regime and have certain idealist impressions about = life from=20 one side but selfish enough not to wish it for the Iraqi = people. We=20 cannot ignore the million dollar question, where were these = "peace=20 activists" yesterday when disasters and deaths were, and in = many cases=20 still are today, striking Bangladesh, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, = Chechnya,=20 Azerbaijan, Sudan, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, Somalia, etc. = etc. How=20 come that those very numbered few so-called "peace activists" = turned=20 to be so activists only today and only when almost every = decent Iraqi,=20 who by the way is directly affected by this issue, want to see = Saddam=20 Hussein out, under any price, as many in Iraq itself have = claimed=20 lately? If Iraqis want the tyrant Saddam out, why are these = fellows=20 protesting to save the regime?

Obviously, the so-called "peace activists" have limited = their noble=20 peace activities only to Iraq. This proves that these people = lack the=20 genuine concerns for the human race, as they claim. Fact is = that we=20 have not heard anything from them in near past tragedies that = hit the=20 Chechens, Somalis, Sudanese, Azeris, Bengali, or many other = suffering=20 people throughout the world; therefore, their behavior is = exactly in=20 line with those of special interest groups. Just listen to the = demands=20 of these so-called "peace activists"; they demand "no war on = Iraq."=20

Well, let=92s analyze what "no war on Iraq" means in the = final=20 analysis? It means simply leaving Iraq alone, I guess in the = peace=20 they understand, hence, leaving Saddam in power. One wonder, = why would=20 any decent person propagate the remaining of Saddam in power? = This=20 question has been asked for so many times, but we have not = received an=20 answer.

Can the Assyrians afford to sit on the sidelines? I believe = not.=20 The Assyrians have lived depressing times under this regime. = The=20 Assyrian Schools were closed and Syriac prohibited from being = taught;=20 Assyrians were prevented from giving their newly born Assyrian = names;=20 forced to register either as Arabs or Kurds in the 1977 and = 1987 Iraqi=20 general census; their political leaders were imprisoned and = executed;=20 Assyrian political life was prohibited; they were recognized = as=20 Christian Arabs in an attempt to Arabize them; and Assyrian = students=20 were forced to read the Koran in schools. These are only few = examples=20 of what Assyrians have experienced in the last 35 years. Do we = want=20 more of this?

Obviously, no human being want to see, live, or experience = war or=20 the suffering of innocent people, whether Iraqis or any = others. But in=20 this particular case, war is the only solution and alternative = to get=20 rid of a criminal and a tyrant. The Iraqi people have tried to = get rid=20 of this cruel regime but they have failed repeatedly. Iraqis = cannot do=20 it alone =85 they need a powerful country like the United = States to get=20 the job done. This is one of those occasions where through war = we can=20 envision hope at the end of the tunnel. Hope, oh how we have = missed=20 that word =85 a word we have lost for generations. War is = promising=20 Iraqi people, including the Assyrians, a free democratic = pluralistic=20 Iraq, should we not bless it? Considering the above, I say we=20 should.

God bless America
God bless the Assyrian people

Fred = Aprim
California

WHAT ABOUT THE = ASSYRIANS?

I have been surprised to see the lack = of,=20 actually NON-EXISTENT mention of Assyrians in the current news = and=20 media since the beginning of the events in Iraq!! Does the = world seem=20 to know ANYTHING these days??!! Or are they just as ignorant = now as=20 they were in the past?? Why are Assyrians always forgotten in = the=20 media?? Why is north Iraq always known as "Kurdistan" when = over a=20 million or so Native Assyrians also live in those lands?? = During the=20 First World War, Assyrians allied with the British against the = Ottoman=20 Turks and as a consequence lost over half their population and = their=20 ancestral homelands, a "gift" from the British in return for = their=20 help!!

All I seem to hear on the news, and I don't just mean CNN, = BBC,=20 etc... local Australian networks also, about the Kurdish = "struggle"=20 from the tyranny of Saddam, etc etc etc...

And not to mention the Shi'a in the south!! Absolutely no = mention=20 has been made of the Assyrians who are the true indigenous = people of=20 "Kurdistan" spanning a history of over 6000 years, even = speaking till=20 today, the Aramaic language, the language of our Lord and = Saviour=20 Jesus Christ. Indeed, Assyrians were the first nation to = accept=20 Christianity in the first century AD.

Already, over 250 Assyrian families fled Baghdad to the = northern=20 town of Dohuk, carrying only their personal clothing and = necessities,=20 only to be heading even further. There have been indications = that more=20 than half of Dohuk and Arbil's residents have already left = their homes=20 for villages further north in fear of possible exposure to = chemical=20 agents or bombings and attacks.

The Chaldean Assyrian Catholic Patriarchate in Baghdad was = even=20 damaged when there was allied bombing next to the building of = the=20 Patriarchate.

Are there NO Assyrians in the same situation, if NOT WORSE = than the=20 Kurds?? These items seem to speak of Assyrians from Baghdad, = even=20 Arbil, and even the Patriarch of the Catholic Assyrians = resides in=20 Baghdad!! Currently Assyrians in northern Iraq are protecting = their=20 churches and their homes. Their villages and the land where = they have=20 occupied even before the times of Jesus Christ.

Watching a documentary on one of our local channels here in = Sydney=20 the other week, the documentary was actually from the BBC in = London,=20 it angered me when all they could talk about and interview = were Kurds=20 and Shi'a!! At one stage a "Christian Minority" was mentioned, = did=20 they happen to mean the Assyrians?? Who knows??!!

The Christians of Iraq, namely the Assyrians, but ALSO a = large=20 minority of Armenians, are not yet ready to claim anything = more than=20 freedom of worship and practising their own culture while = pursuing a=20 policy of tolerance for whoever may come to power and most = importantly=20 if the ruler is elected DEMOCRATICALLY. The Assyrians, as = practising=20 Christians and as the indigenous people of Iraq have had it = worse than=20 any other group and for a lot longer than anyone else. Yet, = all they=20 are seeking is to be able to stay Assyrians an to practice as=20 Christians and to have some sort of freedom in using their = language,=20 culture and customs within an area of administrative rights. =

The Iraqi census in 1977 forced Assyrians to register as = either=20 Arabs or Kurds, this was in line with the regime's policy of = forced=20 Arabisation of the Assyrians in an attempt to eliminate their = identity=20 and national consciousness.

Under Saddam's regime, over two hundred Assyrian villages = and=20 countless ancient Assyrian Churches and Monasteries were razed = to the=20 ground, Churches and Monasteries which had remained intact for = over=20 1600 years. The inhabitants of these villages were either = killed or=20 displaced. Non-Assyrians now inhabit these ancient Assyrian = villages,=20 in line with the systematic oppression, persecution and = summary=20 executions due to the distinct race and Christian beliefs of = the=20 Assyrians.

Michael Makras =
Australia

[Z-info: Mr. Makras has submitted his letter to a = number of=20 media outlets, Australian in particular. Zinda Magazine urges = other=20 readers to follow Mr. Makras=92 example and contact all local = and=20 national newspapers.]

PRO-U.S. TROOPS RALLY IN = SAN=20 DIEGO

A rally was called by Roger Hedgcock, = former=20 San Diego Mayor and now a host of a radio talk show, in = support of our=20 troops. As Assyrian-Americans who escaped the wrath of Saddam = Hussein=20 we wanted to show our support for our troops, since they are=20 liberating Iraq and our Assyrian people. The main organizers = from our=20 side were myself, Jinan Jacob, Peter Oraha, Majdolin Oraha, = and Ashur=20 Barcham.

Melis Jacob
California

MAKING A MARK

Your emails are always a pleasure to = receive. I=20 am an Assyrian living in Sydney Australia. I have been here = for almost=20 3/4 of my life. It is an absolute pleasure to hear that my = fellow=20 Assyrians are making a mark in the Netherlands and other parts = of the=20 world.

This makes me extremely happy and proud of my origin. As = much as I=20 share my knowledge to whoever I come across regarding the = Assyrians=20 who are caught in the War in Iraq, I always try to educate the = public=20 as to what has happened to these innocent victims of this = terrible=20 regime.

There is so much to discuss and educate the majority and I = have=20 demonstrated in the rallies that we experienced not just in = this=20 country but in the world as well. I would love to write = further but I=20 have to move on with my work here and just to let you know = that I am=20 an artist and graphic designer.

But let me congratulate you and your staff members on the = fantastic=20 work that your are all doing at Zinda Magazine.

John = Tooma
Australia

KEY TO DETROIT, V. = 2

At first I thought the article you = posted on=20 Saddam and Jacob Yasso of Detroit was truncated and that you = had=20 carefully edited it to suit your politics (I am still = uncertain as to=20 whether this was in fact the case), but it appears as though = there are=20 two different versions by two separate writers. Below is the = longer=20 one, courtesy of the Associated Press. I think you should = display=20 it:

Saddam Once Received Key to Detroit =

Alexandra R. Moses
Associated = Press Writer=20

Saddam Hussein donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to = a=20 Detroit church and received a key to the city more than two = decades=20 ago, soon after he became president of Iraq.

The events contrast sharply with the attack Saddam's regime = is now=20 facing from a U.S.-led coalition, reflecting his changed = relationship=20 with the United States since Washington helped Saddam covertly = in his=20 1980-88 war with Iran.

Saddam's bond with Detroit started in 1979, when the Rev. = Jacob=20 Yasso of Chaldean Sacred Heart congratulated Saddam on his = presidency.=20 In return, Yasso said, his church received $250,000.

"He was very kind person, very generous, very cooperative = with the=20 West. Lately, what's happened, I don't know," Yasso, 70, said=20 Wednesday. "Money and power changed the person."

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick did not immediately return a = phone=20 message seeking comment.

Yasso said that at the time, Saddam made donations to = Chaldean=20 churches around the world.

"He's very kind to Christians," Yasso said.

Chaldeans are a Catholic group in predominantly Muslim = Iraq. Among=20 prominent Chaldeans is Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq = Aziz.

A year later, Yasso traveled with about two dozen people to = Baghdad=20 as a guest of the Iraqi government, and they were invited to = Saddam's=20 palace.

"We were received on the red carpet," Yasso said.

Yasso said he presented Saddam with the key to the city, = courtesy=20 of then-Mayor Coleman Young. Then, Yasso said, he got a = surprise.

"He said, `I heard there was a debt on your church. How = much is=20 it?'" Yasso said.

Saddam donated another $200,000.

In the 1980s, Iraq and the United States were allied in = their=20 mistrust of Iran, which held hundreds of Americans hostage = under the=20 regime of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Yasso called Saddam an American puppet.

"The job the United States trusted to him is done; now he's = no=20 good," he said.

There are tens of thousands of Chaldeans among the roughly = 300,000=20 Americans of Middle Eastern descent in the Detroit area. About = 1,200=20 families attend Sacred Heart, said Yasso, who came to the = United=20 States in 1964.

Some church members disagreed that Saddam was once kind. =

"When he became president, I leave everything and run = away," said=20 Nadhim Franco, 66. "I came here. I was dishwasher. I came = here, I was=20 happy."

IT=92S EASY TO BE = HEARD

I justed to wanted to let all readers = know that=20 there is a direct way to support Assyrians in Iraq. How you = wonder?=20 Easy. Simply lobby the US Government.

Check out the following website:=20 www.geocities.com/assyrianlobbygroup and follow the=20 instructions...(note: I suggest using the first link = pertaining to "US=20 CONGRESS MEMBERS") and then select any Congress Members you = wish.

Johnny = Chamaki
Australia

Surfer's=20 Corner

RALLY FOR = AMERICA

A rally in support our American and coalition troops will take = place on=20 Friday, April 4th at Nathan Phillips Square -Toronto City Hall, at = 12=20 noon, Toronto, Ontario

Many Assyrian Canadians who live far have decided to take a day = off=20 from their work to participate and support the American and = coalition=20 troops.

Two Assyrian organizations from Hamilton, Ontario, "The = Assyrian=20 Cultural Association" and "Assyrian Students' Association of = Mohawk=20 College" are planning to march on Friday, carrying Assyrian flags = and=20 placards. The placard will carry many messages such as "Assyrian, = the=20 Indigenous People or Welcome and support the American and = Coalition Troops=20 in our homeland".

Other Assyrian organizations from Toronto are expected to be in = the=20 rally.

We call all Assyrians to come and join us and bring more = Assyrian=20 flags. For more information,
please contact Mr. Ninab Tomma at = (905)=20 549-6449.

Ashur Simon = Malek
Canada

HUMAN RACE WALKATHON IN MOUNTAIN VIEW, = CALIFORNIA

The Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the Assyrian Aid Society of = America=20 is once again participating in the Human Race Walkathon. The = Walkathon is=20 a festive occasion where thousands of people gather every year to = support=20 honorable causes and charity organizations of their choice. You = can=20 participate in this event either by walking 5K on behalf of AAS or = sponsoring the participants in the walk, by making pledges. This = year's=20 Walkathon will be held on Saturday May 10th, 2003 at the Shoreline = Park=20 located on 3070 N. Shoreline Blvd. in Mountain View. This year = National=20 Semiconductor is sponsoring our chapter and will match your = donations. We=20 urge you to support this event in this critical time of war in = Iraq, as=20 the money raised will be used to provide humanitarian relief to = Assyrian=20 refugees in our homeland.

For more information regarding the registration, please contact = Jermaine Soleymani at (408) 721 7014, or Nora Joseph at (408) 595 = 8516.=20 The deadline for signing up is April 10th, 2003.

If you are unable to participate in the walk but would like to = make a=20 donation to the Assyrian Aid Society of America through this = event, please=20 make your check payable to the Human Race and mail it to the = address below=20 by April 10th. Your donation is tax-deductible.

The Assyrian Aid Society is a charitable 501 (c) (3) = organization. All=20 contributions are tax deductible.

AAS-Santa Clara Valley Chapter
P.O. Box 23759
San Jose, = CA=20 95153
(408) 885 0705
assyrianaid@mindspring.com=

UPDATE ON 2ND WORLD ASSYRIAN = CONFERENCE IN=20 MOSCOW

PRESS RELEASE
Organizing Committee of the 2nd World Assyrian = Conference
=93Assyrians Today: Historiography and = Linguistics=94

The developments in Iraq and an extremely complicated situation = in the=20 Assyrian Diaspora in connection with the war in the historical = homeland=20 don=92t allow us to hold the planned conference in corpore on the = dates=20 planned before =96 from April 25 to 27, 2003.

Some complications also occur in connection with the fact that = a number=20 of the conference participants found themselves in a tight corner = because=20 they were intended to participate in the AUA Congress in Holland, = which=20 was postponed by the leadership of this organization until April = 26 =96 29,=20 2003. We don=92t want to become initiators of any split or mutual = suspicion,=20 that=92s why we express our consent to all the AUA Congress = participants=92=20 will.

However, reasoning from our nation=92s supreme interests, we = believe that=20 the 2nd Conference should not only be held in the nearest time = but, taking=20 into consideration the current situation, it should be enlarged = and become=20 more fruitful in solving the issue which is vitally important=20 nowadays.

In this connection, we took the following decision:

1. To hold the 2nd World Assyrian Conference in Moscow on = June 27 =96=20 29, 2003.
2. To take up the issues concerning historiography = and=20 linguistics at the conference meetings on June 27 and 28, = 2003.
3. To=20 hold a Satellite Symposium =93Tomorrow of Iraq=94 within the = framework of=20 the Conference on June 29, 2003 and invite the leadership and=20 representatives of all Assyrian national organizations, first of = all,=20 those of ADM, ADO, ANC, AUA and others to participate in this=20 symposium.

Meetings of the Second World Assyrian Conference will be = dedicated to=20 the following issues:

- The role of the Syriac language in formation of a modern=20 Assyrian.
- Ethno-confessional dialects in modern Assyrian=20 language.
- The present status of the Assyrian = Historiography.
-=20 Systematization and periodization of the Assyrian nation=92s = history.
-=20 New concepts in the Assyrian Historiography.
- The role of = Churches=20 in formation of the Assyrian history and modern Assyrian=20 language.

Considering intimacy of the issues admitted for the discussion = at the=20 2nd Conference (see Press Release of 12.10.2002) to the MELAMMU = programme,=20 headed by Professor Simo Parpola (Finland), we took a decision to = invite=20 Professor S. Parpola in order to coordinate issues concerning=20 historiography of the Assyrian nation with the above mentioned = MELAMMU=20 programme.

The Organizing Committee believes that all members of public,=20 scientific, political, and cultural associations of the Assyrian = Diaspora=20 will take an active part in the work of the Conference and in = discussing=20 its results in order to elaborate an objective strategy for = further=20 development and preservation of the Assyrian nation.

We apply to all those who wish to participate in the work of = the=20 conference and symposium to inform us of this before May 1, 2003: = P.O.=20 Box, 18, Moscow 127642, Russia. Fax: +7-095-208-2445.

E-mails: moscowconference2002@yahoo= .com
melta@aport2000.ru
eabadal@hotmail.ru
For = further=20 details of the conference, please use the W-site:
www.geocities.com= /moscowconference2002/

Organizing Committee
Moscow

RABI NIMROD SIMONO SCHOLARSHIP = COMMITTEE=20

As you might be aware the Rabi Nimrod Simono Scholarship = Committee is=20 currently accepting applications for any Assyrian student who sat = the HSC=20 during 2002 and is currently pursuing a tertiary education (In = NSW,=20 Australia).

The Scholarship scheme is run every year and is aimed at = helping=20 Assyrian students in their pursuit for further education. For more = information regarding conditions of entry and other relevant entry = procedures please visit our website http://www.geocitie= s.com/assyrianscholarship

We encourage students to participate and apply regardless of = their=20 results. This year the scholarship committee is considering = numerous=20 scholarship outcomes and awards.

Thank you all again and we hope that you can spread the word to = any=20 Assyrian student you are aware of which might be interested in = applying=20 for the Scholarship. We will keep all Zinda readers posted on = details=20 relevant to the award presentation night which will take place in = mid May=20 2003.

Peter Esho
Committee = Member

ASSYRIAN YOUTH FEDERATION OF MIDDLE = EUROPE=20 PUBLISHES NEWSLETTER

Enclose you will find the first Issue of EGARTHO- the AJM = Infoletter.=20 This is the official Online-Info of the Assyrian Youth Federation = of=20 Middle Europe and it is created in PDF format. It is written in = German,=20 but we can also integrate articles in English and Assyrian = (Syriac) in the=20 future.

The newsletter is available at http://www.bethnahrin.= de/Mesopotamien.htm.=20 Please do send us your ideas or content, which we can publish in = the=20 future issues. To download Acrobat Reader:
http://www.= adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Aryo Makko
AJM

Literatus

RECONSTRUCTIONS = OVERSHADOWS PLIGHT=20 OF SMALL NATIONS

Courtesy of Daily Cal, UC-Berkeley (21=20 March)

As an Assyrian-American and UC Berkeley alumna, I was both = thankful for=20 the exposure and saddened by the one-sided perspective given on = Assyrian=20 opinion of the current war in Iraq ("Students With Ties to Iraq = Hopeful=20 for Regime Change," March 20).

Assyrians comprise the largest portion of Iraq's Christian = minority.=20 Unique from Iraq's small minority communities, Assyrians are = distinct from=20 Iraq's population by language, ethnicity and faith. They have = suffered as=20 much as every other segment of Iraq's population under the current = regime=20 and their attempt to take refuge in the "safe haven" created in = Northern=20 Iraq has brought just as much hardship to them at the hands of = Kurds. The=20 Kurdish infringements on Assyrian rights, from land appropriations = to=20 targeted killings, are well-documented.

The "safe haven" is portrayed in the media as the Kurdish = democratic=20 experiment and self-rule, but most observers note that the Kurdish = Regional Government has hardly met the challenge, short of meeting = their=20 obligation under the mandates to share the pie created by the = oil-for-food=20 program. The Assyrian Democratic Movement, the political voice of=20 Assyrians in the enclave in Northern Iraq, has moved quickly to = harness=20 this opportunity; rebuilding villages and creating schools and=20 universities with curriculum instruction in Syriac, the Assyrian = language.=20

The Assyrian minority in Iraq is vulnerable whatever the = political=20 arrangement in Iraq, and their fate is no different from other = small=20 minority groups within Iraq, including the Yezidis, Turkomen and = Mandeans.=20 The only formidable minority that can assert its rights are the = Kurds. And=20 ironically, if a democratic Iraq were established, the smaller = minorities=20 are likely to be marginalized further if they are not explicitly=20 protected.

Assyrians have been well-represented in the post-Ba'athist Iraq = working=20 groups that are hammering out the policies and framework to be = implemented=20 once the current regime is removed. Whether their participation = will=20 extend to actual participation and involvement in the = implementation of=20 those plans is yet to be known. Many of these Assyrians have lived = outside=20 Iraq (like many of the Iraqi exiles that the Bush administration = is trying=20 to bring together) for decades and do not have the incentive to = return to=20 Iraq for the unpredictable challenge of nation-building.

The plan for a post-Ba'ath Iraq has not been unveiled, and that = should=20 leave us all uneasy. Iraq is critical in the Middle East regional = balance.=20 It is heterogenous in population, secular and carries enormous = economic=20 potential. The Bush administration calculates that these are great = ingredients in creating a model democracy for the rest of the = Middle East.=20

But any experiment will be conducted within full view of Iraq's = neighbors, all of whom are wary of any sort of fledgling democracy = developing on their doorstep. And all of Iraq's neighbors differ = on what=20 an ideal Iraq looks like. However pretty the picture drawn, the = reality in=20 Iraq in 2003 is one that will have to account for a population = that is=20 largely young, under-educated and heavily indoctrinated by fear. =

Our government has taken on the greatest challenge in this war. = The=20 true effort will come as the Ba'athist regime is toppled and a new = Iraq is=20 created. Whether the rights of Iraq's indigenous minorities is = protected=20 from the outset or that the chaos creates a free-for-all land grab = between=20 the Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish populations remain = possibilities.

So perhaps the fate of the Assyrians and Iraq's smaller = minorities will=20 gauge the success of the Iraqi democratic experiment.

After all, if the rights of the under-represented minorities = are=20 safeguarded from encroachment, the ideals touted as the war's = purpose will=20 be realized and perhaps some of the sacrifices of this war will be = redeemed.

Vivian Hermiz
California = Article

THE SPHINX'S BEARD

Courtesy of the KurdishMedia.com (27=20 March)

It is the level of awareness of the individual citizens that = first=20 needs to be elevated. Once achieved, this will inevitably be = reflected in=20 enlightened representatives and leaders. For representatives is = just that:=20 they represent and reflect their people, politically, = intellectually and=20 psychologically. No nation can expect the establishment of = priorities and=20 the keeping of commitments by its leaders without first = cultivating such=20 virtues in individual citizens.

The head of Egypt=92s celebrated Sphinx is collapsing. To = secure the head=20 to the chest, the- fallen beard must be restored. But the beard--a = nondescript slab of rock shaped like a stick of butter--is not in = Egypt.=20 It is in the British Museum, spirited off by British colonial = authorities=20 who refuse to return it. And so the Sphinx=92s head is now leaning = precariously forward.

The Egyptian government refuses to permit the fitting of a new = beard.=20 They believe that to alleviate the urgency of the collapsing head = would be=20 to forfeit the case for Britain=92s returning the beard. In fact, = Cairo=20 would rather the Sphinx lose its head than wear a false beard. = Colonialist=20 looters must be taught a lesson even if it means the destruction = of one of=20 the most celebrated monuments of the Egyptian people. Beyond = cutting off=20 the head of to spite his beard--and the British--Cairo managed = another=20 ingenious decision that lays bare its confused priorities.

Some of us remember the 1960s by American moon landings, others = by the=20 last ditch, Herculean effort of international teams supported with = international funds to save precious Egyptian antiquities from = drowning=20 under the waters of the Nile=92s Aswan dam. None of us ever = stopped to think=20 back then, or even now, of the callousness of an Egyptian = government=20 prepared to drown the country=92s ancient monuments in the first = place. None=20 blamed the Egyptians for cheerfully pressing ahead to destroy in a = single=20 stroke more of Egypt=92s heritage than foreign looters ever = carried off to=20 their museums and private collections. We simply assumed that = Egyptians=20 need the Aswan dam to feed themselves. Typically we failed to read = the=20 fine print that told another story.

In the articles and television documentaries that appeared at = the time,=20 foreign archaeologists, UNESCO architects and civil engineers were = seen=20 racing against time as the rising waters of the dam threatened to = wash=20 over and wash away their working sites. Near the end of operations = protective sheet-metal walls had to be urgently constructed and = incoming=20 water pumped out of the work area while dam waters rose above = their=20 foreign heads. The metal wall sand pumps kept the monuments from = drowning=20 as the foreigners, at great cost, proceeded with their removal to = higher=20 grounds. No one cared to ask why these foreigners were racing = against time=20 to save Egyptian heritage. The Aswan dam is Egyptian property and = the=20 filling of the dam controlled from Cairo. Yet no one thought to = ask Cairo=20 why it did not stop or slow the filling of the dam reservoir while = foreign=20 money and foreign talent was saving Egyptian heritage from = Egyptian=20 politicians.

Note that this breach of faith with Egypt=92s past was not the = work of=20 the colonial government of the British Empire, that stole the = Sphinx=92s=20 beard. Mind you, this was the work of the "nationalist" Egyptian=20 government of the internationally acclaimed Gemal Abdul Nasser. = This was=20 the same Nasser who, together with Nehru and Sukarno, founded the=20 organization of non-aligned countries; who single-handedly = invented=20 Arabism; who elevated Egypt to the leadership of the Arab world, = perhaps=20 even the Third World.

Impressed by President Nasser=92s fashionable rhetorical=20 pronouncements--as we are now with those of the marginally less=20 presidential Edward Said=97whenever found the courage to protest = the fact=20 that there was no need whatever to conduct this race against time = to save=20 Egypt=92s heritage. There was no emergency to fill the dam, other = than that=20 created by Nasser=92s impatience to wear the laurel of triumph for = having=20 tamed the Nile. And even this was done with Russian money and = Russian=20 engineers. Ultimately, what UNESCO and the ex-colonialist = scientists and=20 looters did not save, the Egyptians drowned.

Now Nasser is dead. The Egyptian monuments preserved by the = labor and=20 money of the same foreigners targeted by Nasser=92s eloquent = vacuities are=20 still hereon new hill-top pedestals. They bear witness to Egyptian = genius=97and folly. Meanwhile demands for the return of the = Sphinx=92s beard=20 continue to this day. Egyptians still blame ex-colonialists, = foreign=20 occupiers, Zionist enemies and the like for their own failures and = misplaced priorities.

Unusual? Not really. Kurds do this all the time.

Blaming oneself for everything that goes wrong was the hallmark = of=20 traditional stoicism, until we learned from Adam Smith, Karl Marx = and=20 Sigmund Freud that we could blame everything on others. With the = withering=20 of old-style capitalism and socialism, it may dawn on some of us = that=20 blame and credit rests on both sides--oppressed and oppressor, = occupied=20 and occupier. And some of us are even casting aside the victim = mentality=20 so that we can demand from ourselves better days--and get them. = The=20 Sphinx=92s head could be held high if we permitted ourselves = to-fit it with=20 a new beard. Of course, it is good not to forget who took the old = one.=20

In most writings, the Kurdish plight and lost opportunities for = Kurdish=20 self-determination have been squarely blamed on old empires, = semi-modern=20 colonialists, modern nation-states, multinational corporations,=20 multi-channel media and just about everything else. Had we not = lived=20 through the past ten years, we might be forgiven for upholding = this=20 tradition, for never questioning what really happened at the Paris = Peace=20 Conference of 1919, what precipitated the treaties of Sevres and = Lausanne,=20 or who bears responsibility for 80 years of lost opportunities and = misplaced priorities since then.

The latest opportunity for self-determination and independence=20 presented itself to the Iraqi Kurds on a platter in 1991 and 1992. = They=20 missed it. And the fault was their own. I write this to leave = behind the=20 record so that this latest missed opportunity does not get wrapped = in a=20 shroud of lies and presented to the Kurds of the year 2065 as yet = another=20 example of colonial treachery. Such is the fable surrounding = Sevres,=20 Lausanne and the rest.

Allow me first to tell the tale of the beard of the Kurdish = Sphinx as=20 it played out to the world of 1919-1922 before we proceed to the = latest=20 folly. At the Paris Peace Conference there appeared = representatives of all=20 who were or wished to be nations: ethnic groups, tribes and the = like. It=20 was the mart of all hopes. Woodrow Wilson was marketing=20 "self-determination" as the commodity of choice. As the head of a = young=20 super state armed with its own tenets of "manifest destiny" to = sanctify=20 its own expansion into the Americas, he had not much to lose by = promoting=20 the political rights of the disenfranchised in European colonial = empires=20 from Morocco to Mandalay. (In Manila, however, Wilson viewed = Filipino=20 aspirations for the same self-determination as a sacrilege against = American manifest destiny, (divinely prophesied by John = O=92Sullivan of New=20 York). The fact that the Europeans also thought of their imperial=20 expansion as destiny manifest was of no interest to Wilson. The = empire of=20 the Americans excluded, those of all others were put up for = examination=20 and everyone everywhere asked to deposit their claims and = representatives=20 at the Paris Peace Conference. And they did. Kurds, too.

Kurds quickly assumed stardom, if not super stardom, at that = Conference=20 as the only group asking for less than what the colonial powers = thought=20 they deserved! Thus while everybody asked for more, expecting to = end up=20 with a fair share, the Kurds asked for less and ended up with = nothing.=20

Let me explain. European ethnic maps of the northern Middle = East and=20 including Kurdistan had taken on an impressive accuracy by the = turn of the=20 20th century. A large, mufti-color sheet map drawn by the British = Royal=20 Geographic Society and published in 1906 depicted Kurdish majority = areas=20 with such accuracy that even today--93 years later--it remains = virtually=20 peerless. This map became one of the main working maps for that = region at=20 the Paris Conference.

Naturally putting first the interests of their own people = before those=20 of otters, the Armenian delegation to the conference fully ignored = this=20 map and presented one of their own for the boundaries of an = independent=20 Armenia. The Armenian delegation=92s map included all of present = Kurdistan=20 of Turkey, chunks of Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan, and large areas = populated=20 by Turks, Turcomans and Arabs thrown in for good measure. This = territory=20 stretched from Adana and the Mediterranean Sea to the coast of the = Black=20 Sea and the middle of Azerbaijan. Were the Armenians serious? Yes = and no.=20 But that is what diplomacy and the art of negotiation are all = about. Here,=20 I am not criticizing the Armenian delegation. On the contrary, I = am=20 commending them for thinking first and foremost of the interests = of their=20 own people. Would that the Kurdish delegation had done the same? =

Of course, the Armenian delegation knew that they were not = going to get=20 that vast territory they demanded in those preliminary stages of = the=20 Conference, nor could they have desired it. Armenians would have = ended up=20 as a small minority behind Kurds, Turks and Turcomans had they got = all=20 they asked for. They eventually boiled down their demands to those = seen in=20 the provisions of the Treaty of Sevres of 1921: an Armenia that = included=20 the Armenian Plateau, or ancient Armenia Major. The fact that even = in that=20 "boiled down" version of Armenia Kurds still outnumbered Armenians = was of=20 no concern. This Kurdish majority was at a manageable level; and = moreover,=20 a few mass expulsions of Kurds could have tipped the balance to a = more=20 desirable ratio. The Armenian demands were standard. Ask for a = lot; get=20 more than your fair share; immediately go to work to make it fair = by=20 remedying the ethnic facts on the ground.

Not so the Kurds. The Kurdish delegation to the Paris Peace = Conference=20 certainly used the British ethnic map; the Kurdish map of = "Kurdistan"=20 contains elements that could only have come about by utilizing the = British=20 map. But Kurdish territorial demands, reflected on the map they = submitted=20 to the conference, excluded all of north Kurdistan--from Van to = Ardahan,=20 from Mush to Maku. The Kurds had carefully excluded all the = territories=20 which Armenians in their "boiled down" version had claimed and = gotten=20 approved at Sevres. Only meekly does the Kurdish map transgress = Armenian=20 demands by including the city of Bitlis--the birthplace of the = renowned=20 Kurd, Sharaf Din Bitlisi, and author of the first Kurdish history. =

Here was a Kurdish delegation at the preliminary stages of the = Paris=20 Peace Conference, consciously and deliberately presenting for=20 consideration a truncated piece of their homeland that excluded = all of=20 northern Kurdistan, all Kurds west of the Euphrates river, all = Kurds of=20 Iran (except for a narrow strip near the borders), most Kurds of = Syria,=20 and all Kurds in the Caucasus. Mind you, this during the = preliminary=20 stages of the conference when the Poles demanded Berlin, reasoning = that=20 the land was theirs 1200 years earlier, and where the Armenians = asked for=20 Antioch because Tigran the Great held that town for 8 years--some = 2100=20 years ago!

If not base ignorance--the British ethnic map was available and = was=20 indeed used by the Kurdish delegation--what prompted this Kurdish=20 magnanimity? Misplaced priorities, no doubt. Dispatched to defend=20 interests, this Kurdish delegation somehow deemed it out of = character with=20 the proverbial masculine generosity of their race to deny to = friends and=20 neighbors morsels of the Kurdish homeland. Never mind that the = generosity=20 of these Pahlawans ("champs") was achieved at the expense of their = own=20 miserable people.

This propensity for misplacing priorities and generosity = continues=20 today. Documents of the first session of the recently established = Kurdish=20 Parliament in Exile (first held in 1995 in The Hague) included a = curious=20 passage which vividly brought to mind the Paris Peace Conference. = Ratified=20 in 1995--a good 76 years after Paris--Article I of the Declaration = of the=20 Founding of the Kurdish Parliament in Exile entitled "The Peoples = of=20 Kurdistan and Religious Congregations," reads:

"In addition to the Kurds, there are the Assyrians and the = Armenians=20 living in Kurdistan. They too have suffered at the hands of the = invading=20 forces. Subjected to the policies of divide and rule, the people = of=20 Kurdistan have, at times, fought one another and forced one = another to=20 migrate from the common homeland. These factors have kept the = population=20 of Assyrians and Armenian slow. Today, in Kurdistan, they = constitute a=20 figure of some 10% of the total population. The people who live in = Kurdistan have differing faiths and various religions. A vast = majority of=20 believers are Muslims. This diversity of beliefs has enabled the = occupiers=20 of Kurdistan to pit one group of believers against the other, to = their=20 mutual detriment..." [Emphasis added]

Ten percent of Kurdistan=92s population is Armenian and = Assyrian? Say,=20 how many would that be? In the same document the Parliament = declared that=20 40 million Kurds are living today. This pronouncement translates = into 4=20 million Armenians and Assyrians living in Kurdistan today. Someone = should=20 inform the Armenians and the Assyrians of the good news! By the = prudent=20 decision of the Kurdish Parliament there are more Armenians and = Assyrians=20 living in Kurdistan than in the Republic of Armenia (and in a=20 yet-to-be-created Assyria).

Even were we to deflate the Parliament=92s figure of 40 million = Kurds to=20 a more conservative 25 million, still we end up with 2.5 million = Armenians=20 and Assyrians now living in Kurdistan. Armenian statistics = indicate 75,000=20 Armenians in Syria, 10,000 in Iraq, 150,000 in Iran and 75,000 in = Turkey=20 (Bournoutian, 1994, 183-86). This makes a total of 310,000 = Armenians=20 living in all of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Even if all of them = lived=20 on territories of Kurdistan - and most certainly they do not they = would=20 constitute about 1.2% of the total population? In reality there = are less=20 than 10,000 Armenians in Kurdistan, while Assyrians number some = 250,000.=20 Together, Armenians and Assyrians constitute about 1% of the = Kurdish total=20 and their numbers are dropping fast, thanks to the explosive = growth of the=20 Kurdish population and Assyrian emigration to the West. Where in = the world=20 did the Parliament find either evidence or justification for its = ten-fold=20 increase of these two minorities in Kurdistan at the expense of = the Kurds=20 they are supposed to represent?

But there is more. Kurdish parliamentarians go even further. = They=20 believe that even their figure of 4 million for Kurdistan=92s = Armenians and=20 Assyrians is too low. Read Article I again. It emphasizes that = "These=20 factors [strife and emigration] have kept the population of = Assyrians and=20 Armenians low." Then what is the- right figure, ladies and = gentlemen MPs?=20 20% or 40%?

Perhaps the reverse! Why not 90% Armenians and Assyrians and = 10% Kurds?=20 You see, it is not just the Egyptian leaders that would sacrifice = Egypt=92s=20 heritage to save their own faces. Kurdish leaders would rather = damn the=20 Kurds than damage their misguided magnanimity.

The damage does not stop at numbers. Take a closer look at = Article I=20 where in the Kurdish parliament pronounces that "...The peoples of = Kurdistan have, at times, fought one another and forced one = another to=20 migrate from the common Homeland." By implication, since Kurds are = still=20 where they were prior to the fights that forced others "to = migrate," it=20 was Kurds who forced every one else out.

Even the Armenians and Assyrians admit it was the Ottoman army = and=20 Talaat Pasha=92s brutality that forced them to leave or die. = Kurdish=20 parliamentarians must be the only representatives in the world who = attach=20 guilt to their people where there is little or none. This is in a = world,=20 mind you, where all other national leaders whitewash their = constituents of=20 all sins, old and new, big and small.

Without doubt, Armenians and Assyrians have their own able = leaders and=20 vociferous organizations around the world to fend for their = rights. Should=20 not Kurdish leaders and parliamentarians fend for Kurdish rights? = Or have=20 they never heard the old maxim, "If I am not for me, who will be = for me?"=20 Instead of worrying about the rights of "4 million" imaginary = Armenian and=20 Assyrian citizens, should not the Constitution of the first = Kurdish=20 Parliament in Exile concentrate on the tens of millions of real = citizens=20 of Kurdistan--the Kurds?

Where in the constitution of the Republic of Armenia are Kurds=20 mentioned byname? From 1991 to 1994 Armenia expelled nearly all of = its=20 Kurdish inhabitants. In the same period, the republic helped = Armenian=20 troops from Nagorno-Karabakh to thoroughly annihilate historic Red = Kurdistan in the Caucasus. These actions created 200,000 Kurdish = refugees=20 and caused an untold number of deaths, injuries and misery. But = one finds=20 not a word of remorse, not an expression of regret, or even an=20 acknowledgment from Armenian sources of these abuses of Kurds over = the=20 last 8 years. Kurdish parliamentarians went to great lengths to = express=20 sorrow and to apologize to Armenians for bloody events which = occurred 80=20 years ago and left 400,000 to 600,000 dead Kurds. Armenians, = Assyrians,=20 Russians and Turks have yet to apologize for these Kurdish = victims.

Exiled Kurdish parliamentarians, you are indeed worthy = descendants of=20 the Kurdish delegates to the Paris Peace Conference. But you need = not look=20 backward to 1919 and Paris. You have equally worthy count arts = today among=20 local Kurdish sheiks, aghas and political party leaders. =

New York=20 Times, May 3, 1991

In 1992 a Declaration of Self-Determination was issued from = Ankara by a=20 league of Kurdish sheiks and aghas calling itself the "Mosul = Vilayet=20 Council." That these Kurdish sheiks and aghas chose to resurrect = the long=20 obsolete Ottoman Turkish designator, the "Mosul Vilayet," is a = sure sign=20 that they were more eager to resurrect the claims of the Turkish=20 government than the claims of the Kurds. Furthermore, these = Kurdish sheiks=20 and aghas are ready to gift Kurdish petroleum resources in Kirkuk = to=20 "Turcoman families" and =92Turkish citizens" of Iraq. Their = declaration=20 reads: "Noting the Iraqi Government=92s devious attempt to regain = the=20 initiative and to save its most treasured booty, i.e., the Kirkuk = oil=20 fields it exploited at the expense of Kurdish tribes, some = Turcoman=20 families and some Turkish citizens as the sole apparent legal = owners of=20 these natural resources..." They subsequently proposed allocating = some 30%=20 of oil revenues to these "Turkish citizens" of Kirkuk.

By "Turkish citizens" these esteemed Kurdish sheiks and aghas = are of=20 course referring to the Turcomans of Iraq. And just how many = Turcomans are=20 in Iraq to deserve 30% of oil revenues from Kirkuk=92s fields? The = number of=20 Turcomans living in all of Iraq is some 360,000. This figure is = arrived at=20 by quadrupling their numbers since 1947, when an official Iraqi = state=20 census supervised by the British put the Turcoman population of = the=20 country at 92,000 (H. Batatu, 1978, 40). Of the current number = perhaps=20 half live in Kurdish territories. This makes for 180,000 Turcomans = in all=20 of Iraqi Kurdistan as of 1990. There were about 3.9 million Iraqi = Kurds=20 living in that state or as refugees outside in 1990. Therefore, = Turcomans=20 comprises about 4.6% of the population of Iraqi Kurdistan. The = mental=20 vacuity that moved these Kurdish sheiks and aghas to decide that = this=20 Turcoman population deserves 30% of Kurdish oil wealth mirrors = that which=20 moved the Kurdish parliamentarians in exile to conclude that their = own=20 invented figure of "4 million" Armenians and Assyrians in = Kurdistan is=20 actually "too low."

While Kurdish clan leaders and sheiks were busy in Ankara = giving away=20 30% of their nation 's wealth in 1991, the Kurdish political = leaders have=20 been even more generous in toying with the notion that they can = give away=20 Kirkuk oil and throw in the city for good measure. This remarkable = gesture=20 of Kurdish generosity was made by none other than Kurdish = political=20 leader, Mr.Jalal Talabani--himself a native of Kirkuk. This = declaration of=20 intent came in the New York Times of May 3rd 1991: "Mr. Talabani = said the=20 Kurdish opposition parties no longer regarded Kirkuk as an = integral part=20 of Kurdistan."

Kirkuk, not integrally Kurdish, Mr. Talabani? Should it matter = that the=20 city was built and named Arrap=92he over 3,800 years ago by the = Hurrian=20 ancestors of the Kurds? Should it matter that the family archives = of many=20 merchants of Arrap=92he have been unearthed, translated and = published, all=20 indicating that the city was a Hurrian metropolis, and not Semitic = (as=20 were Assyrians and Babylonians, and as Arabs are today). And the=20 Turcomans, of course, does not appear in the area for another = 3,000 years.=20 Should you consider, as a modern Kurdish leader that according to = Sasanian=20 sources, your ancestor Yazdankart (Domitianus), the king of Kirkuk = and=20 Sulaymania, felt sufficiently Kurdish to participate in the = defense of=20 other Kurdish federated kingdoms of Parthia against the invading = Persians,=20 losing his kingdom and his life in AD 226 defending other Kurds? = Mr.=20 Talabany, the same Sasanian records actually identify king = Yazdankart a=20 "kurt," i.e., a Kurd.

In spite of this history, Kirkuk, the birthplace of the = incomparable=20 Kurdish satirist, Reza Talabani, and the Talabani clan itself, is = thus=20 declared by Jalal Talabani to be not an integral part of = Kurdistan.=20 Preserved among the 3,500 year old archives of ancient Arrap=92he = is the=20 family clan name of "Tella"(Grosz, 1988; Dosch, 1981). Does this = name=20 sound familiar, Mr.Talabani? Try Tella-wand > Talawan > = Talaban.=20 Yes, your own family name and clan, Sir!

Now, why is it that 3,800 years of the Kurdish history of = Kirkuk, based=20 on habitation, doesn=92t impress this Kurdish leader, but the = claim of the=20 Turkish Government, based purely on conquest that ended 81 years, = does? It=20 is true that the Turks did occupy Kirkuk intermittently from 1563 = to 1917.=20 But for more than half of that time, Kirkuk was outside their = control and=20 ruled by the Persians or local Kurdish princes. From the 1750s to = the=20 1830s, Ottoman authority over Iraq was virtually nonexistent. = Georgian=20 Mamluks (mercenary soldiers) exerted hereditary rule from Baghdad, = with=20 the Kurdish principality of Baban dominating Kirkuk and other = neighboring=20 cities in central Kurdistan. (Longrigg, 1925, chaps. 7-11).

If prior conquest is to substantiate territorial claim, Turks = have a=20 much firmer claim to Athens, Belgrade, Sophia and Jerusalem which = they=20 held solidly for 500 years--Athens until 1829, Belgrade and Sophia = until=20 1878, and Jerusalem until 1917. Turks held Kirkuk for less than = half that=20 number of years. Neither Greek, Serbian, Bulgarian nor Israeli = leaders are=20 scrambling to return their homelands to Turkish rule. Only Kurdish = leaders. If ail to fathom why.

I recall the appearance in America of Massoud Barzani and Jalal = Talabani in August 1992. Following the requisite tour of = Washington and=20 meetings on and off Capitol Hill they arrived in New York for a = press=20 conference at the head quarters of Human Rights Watch. It was a = time when=20 dozens of new independent countries had just come into being = across Europe=20 and Asia. The Yugoslav mess had not yet begun. A new era of = national=20 self-determination had been ushered in a time of liberation, of=20 independence for both oppressed and not-so-oppressed ethnic = groups. On the=20 borders of Kurdistan, three new republics were declared: Armenia, = Georgia=20 and Azerbaijan, whose constituent ethnic groups also lived as = minorities=20 in both Iran and Turkey. In fact there were and are more Azeris in = Iran=20 than in the newly independent Republic of Azerbaijan.

Also in August of 1992, George Bush was running for = re-election. With=20 the faltering U.S. economy his crowning achievement to justify his = ambition for a second term was his "bloodless" victory over Iraq. = The=20 memory of over a million Kurds plowing through snow fields to flee = Saddam=92s wrath was still very fresh in the minds of = impressionable=20 Americans. Thanks to American public sympathy, the U.S. had just = set up a=20 "safe area" for the Kurds in northern Iraq, and the Kurds=B7own = forces had=20 secured over half of Iraqi Kurdistan. Mr. Bush often reminded = voters how=20 well he had pummeled Saddam and pampered the Kurds. A molested = Iraqi=20 Kurdistan was not some thing George Bush would permit in August of = 1992--a=20 few months before elections.

Against this perfect backdrop, I found myself in August of 1992 = among=20 the select audience in the company of Barzani, Talabani & Co.=20 Following their customary heaping of abuses on the head of Saddam = Hussein,=20 they called for more money for Iraqi Kurds--even those not present = in the=20 room. They spoke, and the gathering was opened for questions. As = it was=20 August of 1992, I asked what the most obvious question seemed to = me: "Why=20 aren=92t you two declaring independence? Don=92t you see this is = the time;=20 this is the window of opportunity that Kurds have waited for since = they=20 missed the last one in 1919." Said Talabani, "It is not = politically=20 realistic."

Barzani, looking around to Western friends, said, "Ask them." = My=20 composure unraveling, I said, "There are new countries declaring = their=20 independence every day. There are three rights on your own = borders. George=20 Bush cannot afford to let the Kurds be slaughtered. And if he did, = what=20 could anyone do to Iraqi Kurds that hasn=92t already been done in = the past=20 five years alone. Don=92t you see that declaring independence will = give you=20 international standing, Will give you a voice in the UN, will = qualify you=20 for international aid, and will render an attack on you a = violation of=20 international law? Autonomy has no legal or international = protection.=20 Don=92t you see there are countries that would immediately = recognize you,=20 from Scandinavia to the Caucasus, from Greece to Cyprus to = Yugoslavia and=20 the world ... Hurry; you are missing this once in several = lifetimes=92=20 chance for your people. There is not much time left. Hurry, = hurry..."

But the Kurdish leaders were in no hurry to declare anything = like=20 independence for their stricken people. Instead they hurried to = avoid=20 offending foreign friends. Then, as now this mattered more than = answering=20 the call for freedom, a yearning transmitted to every Kurd through = mother=92s milk. What ever they are to their own people, to their = friends in=20 Ankara, Baghdad, Damascus, Erivan, eheran, Tel Aviv and = Washington, these=20 two Kurds are chums. The nature and direction of these friendships = are=20 historically documented and need no elaboration.

By December 1992 George Bush had lost the election, war in the = former=20 Yugoslavia had begun, international enthusiasm for ethnic=20 self-determination had evaporated, and academic pundits like = Amitai=20 Etzioni had begun to generate manifestos entitled, "The Evils of=20 Self-Determination" (Foreign Policy,89,Winter 1992-93). Kurds had = managed=20 once more to misplaced priorities, but this time big time.

Should the people be blamed? One might ask. Was it not the = Egyptian=20 government of President Nasser that planned the drowning and took = pleasure=20 in harassing the saviors of the historic heritage of the = Egyptians? The=20 governments of Saddat and Mubarak conjured up the controversy = surrounding=20 the Sphinx=92s beard. And is it not Kurdish leaders who misdirect = the Kurds?=20 Wouldn=92t better leadership have avoided repeating the historical = mistakes=20 of 1919 again in 1991?
In recent years, many Kurds have come = to=20 appreciate the better organized, systematic leadership of Kurds in = Turkey.=20 Might things have been different in 1991 and 1992 had this = leadership been=20 mirrored in Iraq? Iranians have a practical answer to this = question. In=20 1972 the Shah was asked bluntly by Italian journalist Oriana = Fallaci why=20 he did not treat the Iranians as decently as the king of Sweden = his=20 citizens. His response was equally blunt: "I will treat them like = Swedes=20 when they behave like Swedes." Iranians bitterly condemned his = statement.=20 Convinced that they deserved better, they proceeded to bring upon=20 themselves the Islamic Republic. They are now being treated as = they=20 deserve.

Benefiting from the Shah=92s adage, we can be sure that = switching=20 leadership results in more of the same. Governments and leaders = mirror the=20 ethos, the level of awareness, and the unity or disunity of their=20 constituencies. The whole is the sum of its parts. Why would a = leader, a=20 parliament or a peace delegation be better, or worse, than those = they=20 represent? The misplaced priorities of the Kurds are reflected and = magnified -in the misplaced priorities of their leadership. Since = 1992=20 less than a handful of Kurds even bothered to learn about or saw = fit to=20 protest the on-going abuse of their Kurdish kin by Armenians in = Armenia=20 and Azerbaijan. Nor have Iraqi Kurdish intellectuals in any = numbers=20 exposed or condemned their own Kurdish administration for their = abuses=20 since 1992.

Recently I was asked by a young Kurdish activist to participate = in a=20 program of solidarity with an Armenian group protesting an array = of=20 historical misdeeds against Kurds and Armenians at the hands of=20 others--from Turks to Azeris, from Genghiz Khan to Attila the Hun. = I=20 raised the issue of the current ethnic cleansing of Kurds in = Armenia and=20 Red Kurdistan and asked that he first demand from the Armenian = group a=20 statement of admission and condemnation from their government. = This, I=20 said, must occur before a joint any thing could take place. "Yes, = but will=20 you be able to attend?" he still asked!

Perhaps the Kurds--first the citizens and only then the = leaders--should=20 try the novelty of placing their own nation=92s priorities ahead = of those of=20 other peoples. It is the level of awareness of Kurdish individuals = that=20 first needs to be elevated. Once achieved, this will inevitably be = reflected in enlightened representatives and leaders. For = representatives=20 is just that: they represent and reflect their people, = politically,=20 intellectually and psychologically. No nation can expect the = establishment=20 of priorities and the keeping of commitments by its leaders = without first=20 cultivating such virtues in individual citizens. Change dictated = from=20 above translates to dictator; and we know too well that dictators = limit,=20 not expand social horizons. To this effect, in 1820 Thomas = Jefferson=20 wrote: "I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the = society=20 but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened = enough to=20 exercise that control with a whole some discretion, the remedy is = not to=20 take it from them, but to inform their discretion."

References =

H. Batatu, = The Old=20 Social Classes of Iraq (Princeton, 1978)
G. Bournoutian, A = History of=20 Armenian Nation (Costa Mesa, 1994, vol. 2)
D. Dosch, "Die = Familie=20 Kizzuk Sieben Kassitengenerationen," SCCNH 1 (1981)
K. Grosz, = The=20 Archive of the Wullu Family (Copenhagen, 1988)
S. Longrigg, = Four=20 Centuries of Modern Iraq (London, 1925)

Professor Mehrdad R. Izady

KURDISHMEDIA.COM ATTEMPTS TO = REWRITE HISTORY=20 - AGAIN

Beginning in the early 1990s when Mehrdad Izady finally got his = degree=20 at Harvard University, he has launched on an on again off again = campaign=20 to rewrite history in Northern Iraq and elsewhere with special = relevance=20 to Assyrians. He has passed himself off as a Harvard professor = when he was=20 a drill instructor in Persian and his dealing with established and = reputable Kurdish organizations have been less than honorable. =

Now, he has leashed his venom on Assyrians, yet again, from = what corner=20 of employment it is not clear, but certainly not from any academic = establishment that is known to anyone. That KurdishMedia.com = chooses to=20 disseminate his writings is not to its credit. On March 27, 2003, = Mr.=20 Izady proceeded to corrupt northern Mesopotamian history and = falsified=20 other issues relating to Kurdish population and Kurdish ethnic and = historical origins.

FALSIFYING GEOGRAPHY

In his article, attacking the recently established Kurdish = Parliament=20 in Exile, first held in 1995 in The Hague, Izady condemns the = Kurdish=20 leadership for settling for too little. He chooses intentionally = to ignore=20 some 5000 years of northern Mesopotamian Assyrian history and what = the=20 region of today's northern Iraq was always known as and in a = deplorable=20 way he depicted the demographic map of northern Iraq, southern = Turkey and=20 northeastern Syria as "Kurdish," based on a map by the British = colonies=20 less than a century old. He writes: "A large, mufti-color sheet = map drawn=20 by the British Royal Geographic Society and published in 1906 = depicted=20 Kurdish majority areas with such accuracy that even today--93 = years=20 later--it remains virtually peerless."

Referring to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and the failure of = the=20 Kurdish delegation to propagate this sudden historic British map, = he=20 writes: "Naturally putting first the interests of their own people = before=20 those of others, the Armenian delegation to the conference fully = ignored=20 this map and presented one of their own for the boundaries of an=20 independent Armenia. The Armenian delegation=92s map included all = of present=20 Kurdistan of Turkey, chunks of Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan, and = large areas=20 populated by Turks, Turcomans and Arabs thrown in for good = measure."

First, the malicious effort to ignore the Assyrians' presence = in the=20 north of Iraq and southeastern Turkey is obvious in Izady's = writing.=20 Second, the Kurds were not alone in the Paris Conference. All the = other=20 minorities of the Ottoman Empire were present in one way or = another,=20 including the Assyrians and the Armenians. The Assyrian = delegations=20 presented their own demands including an Assyrian territorial map = in which=20 parts of northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey were claimed as = Assyrian=20 regions (Werda 1990, 199-220). What makes the Kurdish map more = legitimate=20 than that of the Assyrians, especially when the Assyrians have = rooted=20 historical legitimacy in the region?

There are many issues involved when discussing the subject of = Kurds in=20 the Assyrian heartland (north of Iraq). Such issues do involve = migration=20 and forced occupation of land, among others. Historically, there = is=20 ambiguity when addressing the consistent presence of people known = strictly=20 as Kurds in northern Mesopotamia. For one, Kurds variously trace=20 themselves to Medes, then to Hurrians, and at other times to = others. To=20 present a historically reliable picture, Izady and others must = investigate=20 linguistic, cultural, and religious and any other common factors = such as=20 geographic density. A reasonable question arises that if the Kurds = actually existed in this area, what was the relationship between = the Kurds=20 and the ancient people for whom archeological evidence exists. How = did a=20 Mede or a Hurrian become a Kurd? Mere bluster is not evidence. =

From antiquity, people living in different regions have = produced=20 different crafts, building materials, ceramic styles, monuments = and cultic=20 installations. In very limited fashion, some of these traits and = habits=20 are alike, but very seldom we find that all these traits when = incorporated=20 with elements of language, culture, and religion, remain similar = among the=20 various ethnic groups. Northern Mesopotamia (Assyria) was always = Assyrian=20 in essence and the numerous excavations and discoveries in the = region is a=20 solid and overwhelming proof to this fact. Have any excavations in = north=20 of Iraq uncover artifacts that are coined Kurdish? I challenge Mr. = Izady=20 to list any for us.

The region of north Iraq was known as Assyria even in later = historical=20 Parthian references, centuries after the fall of Assyrian = political=20 system. It kept its Syriac name "Athur", i.e. Assyria (Parpola = 2000).=20 During early Christianity, the region of northern Iraq was named = Adiabene.=20 Gibbon, the eighteenth century British historian and one time=20 Parliamentarian, writes: "Ammianus remarks, that the primitive = Assyria,=20 which comprehended Ninus (Nineveh) and Arbela, had assumed the = more recent=20 and peculiar appellation of Adiabene, =85" (Gibbon 2001, 292). The = people of=20 Adiabene (Arbil, Kirkuk, and Mosul) were called the Adiabeni, and = by the=20 term Adiabeni, for the first century A.D. well-known Jewish = historian=20 Josephus, it was meant Assyrian (Whiston 1999, 543). Then the = region went=20 under Islamic Arab domination until the fall of the Baghdad = Caliphate in=20 1258 and the coming of the Mongols. However, northern Iraq = remained=20 predominantly Christian until the destructions of Tamerlane in = 1401. The=20 region's main language was Aramaic (Syriac) well into the ninth = and tenth=20 centuries. Arabic began to take over at the time since it was the = language=20 of the Koran, the holy book of the newly spreading religion of = Islam,=20 which began in the seventh century.

During the second half of the 2nd millennia, under Ottoman rule = (about=20 450 years), the north of Iraq was called "Mosul Vilayet" (Mosul = Province)=20 until 1921 when the region was separated from the Ottoman Empire = and made=20 part of what became known as Iraq.

My question is from where and when did this Kurdistan come? = Well, since=20 the turn of the twentieth century the Kurds have entered northern = Iraq in=20 great numbers from both Iran and Turkey. This migration = intensified after=20 WWII when the Persian Army put down the Kurdish rebellion in = northwestern=20 Iran and crushed the Mahabad Republic that Kurds had established = in 1946,=20 which had existed for a few months. Furthermore, Kurdish society = sets=20 little store in educating its women, and thus Kurds worldwide have = one of=20 the highest reproductive rates in the Muslim world. This factor = alone has=20 increased their numbers exponentially during the past fifty years = in=20 northern Iraq.

I challenge Izady to furnish census records justifying his = claims for a=20 Kurdish majority in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey up to = the late=20 nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Based on his exaggerated notions of Kurdish population in the = early=20 twentieth century, Izady brags about what he calls =93Kurdish = generosity=94 at=20 the Paris Conference because they did not demand larger deserved = regions=20 in Syria, =93from Van to Ardahan, from Mush to Maku,=94 mostly = Iranian Kurdish=20 territories and he goes on adding more regions.

I do not understand the logic of this supposed historian, = Izady. Is he=20 implying that history has no affect in determining a region=92s = background?=20 Is he implying that all decisions must be made based on what the = fact is=20 on the ground at this moment regardless of how that fact came to = be? Is=20 Izady ignoring acts of genocide, oppression, forced deportations,=20 persecution and harassment the powerful can inflict on the = weakened and=20 emphasizing only the game of numbers?

Did this supposed historian forget that in late 1914 the Kurds = backed=20 by Turks forced some 150,000 Assyrians out of their homes in the = Hakkari=20 mountains, in present-day southern Turkey and into Urmia region, = in=20 northwestern Iran? And later, in May 1915, these Kurds, aided by = the Turks=20 again and certain fanatic Persian Muslims, pushed over 10,000 = Assyrians=20 from Urmia to flee their homes and villages and seek refugee = status in=20 Russia? As the remaining Assyrians fought for months and lost = thousands,=20 the Russians returned to Urmia to establish some peace in the = region. But=20 in January 1918, the most horrifying tragedy was perpetrated by = the Kurds,=20 Turks and certain Persian elements, as some 100,000 Assyrians, = including=20 some Armenians, were forced again to flee as the Russians withdrew = for the=20 second time. This time this forced migration directed the = Assyrians into=20 Iraq, as these Assyrians of Turkey joined their brethren Catholic=20 Assyrians of the Mosul Plain (also known as Chaldeans) in 1920 = after=20 spending over two years in refugee camps in Baquba and Mindan. Let = me=20 remind the professor that in all, and between 1914 and 1925, = records show=20 that some 300,000 Assyrians were either killed or incapacitated at = the=20 hands of the Kurds and Turks (Malek 1935).

FANATICAL KURD IZADY ATTACKS KURDISH PARLIAMENT

Izady=92s malice against any Kurd who attempts a fairer = portrayal of the=20 Assyrian situation jumps from the venue of the Paris Peace = Conference to=20 The Hague meeting in 1995 of the Kurdish Parliament. Article I of = the=20 Declaration of the Founding of the Kurdish Parliament in Exile = entitled=20 "The Peoples of Kurdistan and Religious Congregations," reads: "In = addition to the Kurds, there are the Assyrians and the Armenians = living in=20 Kurdistan. They too have suffered at the hands of the invading = forces.=20 Subjected to the policies of divide and rule, the people of = Kurdistan=20 have, at times, fought one another and forced one another to = migrate from=20 the common homeland. These factors have kept the population of = Assyrians=20 and Armenian slow. Today, in Kurdistan, they constitute a figure = of some=20 10% of the total population. The people who live in Kurdistan have = differing faiths and various religions. A vast majority of = believers are=20 Muslims. This diversity of beliefs has enabled the occupiers of = Kurdistan=20 to pit one group of believers against the other, to their mutual=20 detriment..."

While Assyrians agree that this statement should be = supplemented by a=20 broad apology and indemnity to Assyrians for the Genocide, Izady=20 castigates the Kurdish Parliament for making this bow in the = direction of=20 historical fact. After playing around with figures, Izady finally=20 concludes that even if the Kurds were considered to be as = conservative as=20 25 millions, then the 2.5 million (10%) Armenians and Assyrians, = in the=20 region he calls Kurdistan, is ridiculous. Juggling sarcasm and = ethnic=20 hatred, he reaches the conclusion that the Assyrians and Armenians = make up=20 1% of the population of northern Iraq. Izady flatly denies = historical=20 accounts that it was the Kurds who inflicted most atrocities = against the=20 Assyrians. Need we remind this fanatical throwback to the butchers = of=20 World War I as described in one whole chapter of the well-known = Blue Book,=20 referring in details to Kurds as the prime perpetrators of those=20 atrocities? Need we remind the self-proclaimed historian by the = diaries=20 and numerous correspondences of foreign officials and European and = American missionaries regarding the horrifying accounts Kurds have = committed against the Assyrians? Close to one hundred and twenty = pages=20 speak of these atrocities in Ara Sarafian's edited yet uncensored = version=20 (Bryce and Toynbee 2000). Izady sees the Kurdish parliament as a = defender=20 of Assyrians' rights while neglecting the rights of the Kurds. He = goes on=20 to declare the oil wealth of Kirkuk as a Kurdish commodity and = that Turkey=20 has no right to re-open the Mosul Vilayet (Mosul Province) issue = again. Of=20 course opening the Mosul Vilayet will eventually bring the = Assyrians in=20 the political picture again.

Let me remind the Harvard produced historian that after the = mandate of=20 Iraq in 1921, there were 400,000 non-Moslem minorities in Iraq = according=20 to the British civil administration. It is safe to say that = three-quarters=20 of these 400,000 were Assyrian Christians and lived predominantly = in=20 northern Iraq when the Kurdish population was estimated around = 800,000 in=20 the same period (Malek 1935, 22). This means that eighty years = ago,=20 Assyrians formed 33% of the population of Northern Iraq. Would = this=20 fanatic describe for us what accounts for this dramatic decrease = in=20 Assyrians and the increase of Kurdish population in northern Iraq = in a=20 matter of eighty years? And if the Assyrian population has fallen = to 10 to=20 20 % who is responsible for that?

KIRKUK CLAIMS

Basing himself on the unsubstantiated claim that somehow = Hurrians are=20 the ancestors of the Kurds, Izady claims that Kirkuk was built and = named=20 Arrap=92he over 3,800 years ago by his =93ancestors=94. Ignoring = the=20 well-attested fact that northern Iraq was entirely Semitic by the = early=20 Christian period, and Aramaic speaking, he claims that Sassanid = sources=20 (known to him only?) show that "Yazdankart (Domitianus), the king = of=20 Kirkuk and Sulaymania, felt sufficiently =93Kurdish=94 to = participate in the=20 defense of other Kurds=85=94 Additional reminder here is due since = throughout=20 the early medieval historical sources =93Kurd=94 is used as a = generic term for=20 =93pasturalists.=94 Fanatical Izady=92s claims cannot replace = historical facts=20 no matter to what level of sarcasm and invention he resorts.

It would be foolish to talk about Kirkuk and not mention the = Assyrians=20 and Turkomans. Although it is hard to say whether the Seljuks left = any=20 Turkish trace in Mesopotamia, we know that the Seljuk Turks = revolted and=20 had attacked many quarters of Baghdad, including the Christian = quarter in=20 A.D. 1054. This means that they were there. Still, the invasion of = Tamerlane in 1401 could have brought in some Turks. We know = furthermore=20 that during A.D. (1410 1508) the Turkomans Black Sheep and White = Sheep=20 dynasties ruled Iraq; hence, there are reasonable chances that = their=20 descendents have survived since then.

Additionally, Kirkuk was known as Arrapha (Arrapkha) during the = Assyrian Empire. After the Assyrians adopted Christianity = beginning in the=20 first century A.D. and the Greeks began their rule of today=92s = Iraq in A.D.=20 331, the city took the Christian name Karka d=92 Bet Sloke (a = Syriac or=20 Assyrian name, and not Kurdish, meaning "walled city of the = Seleucus=20 house"). The word Sloke is a corrupted version from the Greek king = "Seleucus" one of Alexander's generals, who ruled the region. This = Karkha=20 d=92 Bet Sloke was the center of one of the important Metropolitan = (bishop)=20 centers of the Nestorian Assyrians for centuries. Assyrian Church = records,=20 and other records, indicate that some 152,000 Nestorian Assyrians = were=20 slaughtered in Kirkuk (Karka d=92 Bet Sloke) by the Sassanid = Persian=20 Yezdegerd II in A.D. 448 (Wigram 1910, 138). This proves that = there were=20 many Assyrians in Kirkuk at that time still.

WHO ARE THE=20 KURDS?

I need to stress the fact that there is no single universally=20 agreed-upon meaning for the term 'Kurd'. Discussing what he called = the=20 'vague and indiscriminate use of the term Kurd', Vladimir Minorsky = underlines the extent of the confusion, by citing remarks by the = 10th=20 century Persian historian, Hamza Isfahani: 'The Persians used to = call=20 Dailamites =91the Kurds of Tabaristan=92, as they used to call = Arabs =91the=20 Kurds of Suristan=92, i.e., of Iraq. Other Arab and Persian = authors in the=20 10th century mean by Kurds any Iranian nomads of Western Persia, = such as=20 the tent-dwellers of Fars (Minorsky 1982/1943, 75).

Another contemporary scholar has drawn attention to his own=20 observation, during field research in Kurdish areas, that the word = 'Kurd'=20 may simply indicate the language that one speaks. He stated, thus: = =93When I=20 asked people in ethnically mixed areas whether they were Kurds of = [sic]=20 Turks or Persians, I frequently got answers such as 'I am Kurd as = well as=20 a Persian and a Turk'. The author concluded, =93When I insisted = and asked=20 what they originally were, some answered 'my father speaks all = three=20 languages'.=94 (Van Bruinessen, 1978, Utrecht: footnote 102: 430) =

The Kurds might call themselves whatever they want and claim = whatever=20 they need, but this must not mean infringing on the rights of = others; it=20 must not come on the expense of other people, including the = Assyrians, who=20 have historically the same if not deeper rooted rights in the land = many=20 people share today.

WHAT ASSYRIANS CAN LEARN FROM IZADY?

Izady strongly rejected his cooperation with an Armenian group = before=20 the latter issued statements rejecting the ethnic cleansing of = Kurds in=20 Armenia and Azerbaijan. He continues to state: "Perhaps the = Kurds--first=20 the citizens and only then the leaders--should try the novelty of = placing=20 their own nation=92s priorities ahead of those of other peoples." =

Indeed, Assyrians should learn a thing or two from this = statement. In=20 1961, the Kurds began their large-scale organized rebellion in = northern=20 Iraq and ever since they have continued their persecution and = harassment=20 of the peasant Assyrians even when many Assyrians had joined them = and=20 backed their struggle. The Assyrians were under the impression = that the=20 Kurds would help them since they were both fighting against common = Iraqi=20 oppressive practices inflicted on non-Arab ethnic minorities. But=20 thousands of Assyrians were forced to evacuate their villages and = move=20 south into large cities like Mosul, Kirkuk and Baghdad while, with = time,=20 the Kurds moved in and controlled the Assyrians=92 villages.

After the establishment of the Northern no-fly zone and the = so-called=20 democratic Kurdish government in northern Iraq in 1992, the = atrocities=20 against Assyrians increased dramatically as Kurds attempted to = purge the=20 region from the remaining Assyrians. Assassinations, rape, = harassment and=20 oppression against Assyrians have continued. Please visit = (www.aina.org)=20 for detailed description. This has been the Kurdish policy since = 1921 when=20 Iraq was being established. That explains why the Assyrians have = continued=20 to leave northern Iraq, leading to the increased percentage of the = Kurdish=20 population in the region.

Human beings in today's world can no longer afford to live in = the dark=20 allies of bigotry and fanaticism. I call upon the moderate Kurds = to reach=20 for all the Kurdish people, educate them, and address the = legitimate case=20 of the Assyrians in northern Iraq, their ancestral lands. There is = no=20 reason why different ethnic groups cannot live side by side, each=20 respected, protected, and its culture and heritage preserved.

Fred Aprim
California

Bibliography:

Gibbons, = Edward. =93The=20 History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire=94, Edited and = abridged=20 by David Womersley, Penguin Books, 2000.
Hitti, Philip. = "History of the=20 Arabs," 10th ed., New York: St. Martin's Press, 1970.
Malek, = Yusuf.=20 "The British Betrayal of the Assyrians," Chicago, = 1935.
Parpola, Simo.=20 "Assyrians after Assyria", Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies, = 2000.=20
Bryce, James and Arnold Toynbee. "The Treatment of Armenians = in the=20 Ottoman Empire, 1915-1916". Ed. Ara Sarafian, Princeton Gomidas = Institute:=20 Taderon Press, 2000.
Werda, Joel E. "The Flickering Light of = Asia,"=20 First ed. 1924, second ed. Chicago, 1990.
White, Paul. = =93Ethnic=20 Differentiation among the Kurds: Kurmanc=EE, K=E0z=E0lba=A7 and = Zaza.
Whiston,=20 William. Trans., =93The Works of Josephus=94, Hendrickson = Publishers, 14th=20 printing, 1999.
Wigram, W. A. "History of the Assyrian Church", = London,=20 1910.

THE FOUR FACES OF THE 1915-1918=20 GENOCIDE

On April 1, 2003, the Assyrians will celebrate their = traditional New=20 Year and remember the 1915-1918 Ottoman Genocide in which half a = million=20 of their forebearers lost their lives. This should remind us that = the=20 "Armenian genocide" also affected other Christian minorities such = as the=20 Assyrians, the Chaldeans and Greek Orthodox.

The title of this press service " Four Faces of the 1915-1918 = Genocide=20 " is a reference to the shared atrocities suffered by four = Christian=20 minorities of the Ottoman Empire=97the Armenians, Assyrians, = Chaldeans and=20 Greek Orthodox=97whose genocide at the hands of the rulers of = war-time=20 Turkey resulted in the annihilation of over two-thirds of their=20 population.

The four stories which follow tell of mass shootings, torture, = forced=20 migration for the survivors and the suffering of a people = displaced or=20 destroyed simply for reasons of their faith.

Katherine Magarian saw her father and dozens of other family = members=20 brutally slain by the invading Turks in the Armenian massacres = that began=20 in 1915.

The Reverend John Eshoo and Kerime Cercis described the = suffering of=20 the Assyrians and Chaldeans at the hands of the Ottomans in = details=20 available only from an eye-witness or a survivor. Maria=20 Katsidou-Symeonidou told of the exodus from her home village = during=20 Orthodox Easter of 1920.

As the last of the remaining survivors and now first and=20 second-generation descendents of the victims of the 1915-1918 = genocide=20 remember and respect the memory of those lost, Human Rights = Without=20 Frontiers Int. welcomes the recognition of the "Armenian Genocide" = by some=20 countries and supports the collective campaign for further = recognition to=20 include the Assyrians, Chaldeans and Greek Orthodox. Human Rights = Without=20 Frontiers Int. also encourages Turkey to sign and ratify the = Framework=20 Convention on National Minorities of the Council of Europe.

The Armenian Face: Katherine Magarian's Testimony

I saw my father killed when I was nine years old. We lived in = Palou, in=20 the mountains. My father was a businessman. He would go into the=20 countryside, selling pots and pans, butter and dairy products. The = Turks,=20 they rode in one day and got all the men together, bringing them = to a=20 church. Every man came back outside, their hands tied behind them. = Then=20 they slaughtered them all, like sheep, with long knives.

They all died, 25 people in my family died. You can't walk, = they kill=20 you. You walk, they kill you. They did not care who they killed. = My=20 husband, who was a boy in my village but I did not know him then, = saw his=20 mother's head cut off. The Turks, they would see a pregnant woman = and cut=20 the baby out of her and hold it up on their knife to show those = around.=20

My mother and I, we started running. They got one of my sisters = and=20 then one of my other sisters, she was four, but she ran away. My = mother=20 was hit by the Turks, she was bleeding as we went. We walked and = walked,=20 and I was saying "Ma, wait, I want to look for my little sister,"' = but my=20 mother slapped me, saying "No! Too dangerous, we keep walking." It = got=20 darker and darker, but we walked. Still, I did not know where. The = Turks=20 had taken over our city.

Two, three days we walked, with little to eat. Finally, we = found my=20 sister who had run away. Then we walked to Harput and I see the = Turks and=20 I want to run, but they are friendly Turks, my mother told me. She = said,=20 "You go live with them now, you'll be safe," and I was. I worked = there,=20 waiting on them, cleaning, but I was alive and safe. But I did not = see my=20 mother for five years. She was taken to the mountains to live, and = she saw=20 hundreds of dead Armenians, hundreds of them, who had been killed = by the=20 Turks, the bodies were all over.

Years later, my mother said to the Turks, "I want to see my = child," and=20 they let her come back. She came to the house at night. She did = not know=20 me, but I knew it was her. Her voice was the same as I remembered = it. I=20 told her who I was, and she said, "You are my daughter!" and we = kissed,=20 hugged, and cried and cried.

My mother later heard of an orphanage in Beirut for Armenians, = and we=20 went there after the Turks kicked us out of our country. I spent = four=20 years there, and again, I didn=92t see my mother until a priest = got us=20 together. In 1924, she came to this country to meet family who = left before=20 the genocide. Three times now, I have lost my mother.

Sometimes, near the anniversary of the slaughter, my mind goes = back=20 there. You know, when I was 14, maybe 15, I have a dream, Jesus = comes to=20 me and says "Give me your hand," and I want to get up and go with = him but=20 I cannot get up. Then I am in the mountains, where all the dead = were that=20 my mother would later tell me about, and I see flowers, every kind = of=20 flowers, no bodies, and it is beautiful. Then I see the ocean and = a boat,=20 the boat that would take me to Cuba years later. I think this was = God=20 saying to me that I would be fine. I was lucky to live, I guess. = God made=20 me lucky (1).

The Assyrian Face: Reverend John Eshoo's Testimony

You have undoubtedly heard of the Assyrian massacre of Khoi, = but I am=20 certain you do not know the details. A large part of our people = had=20 migrated here and one fourth of our refugees were stationed in = Sardavar=20 (Khoi). These Assyrians were assembled into one caravan and all = shot to=20 death by guns and revolvers. Blood literally flowed in little = streams and=20 the entire open space within the caravan became a pool of crimson = liquid.=20

The place was too small to hold all the living victims for the = work of=20 execution. They were brought in groups, and each new group was = compelled=20 to stand up over the heap of the still bleeding bodies and shot to = death=20 in the same manner. The fearful place became literally a human=20 slaughterhouse, receiving its speechless victims for execution in = groups=20 of ten and twenty at a time. At the same time, the Assyrians, who = were=20 residing in the suburb of the city, were brought together and = driven into=20 the spacious courtyard of a house. The Assyrian refugees were kept = under=20 guard for eight days, without anything to eat except a handful of = popcorn=20 served daily to each individual. This consideration was by no = means=20 intended as a humanitarian act but merely to keep the victims = alive for=20 the infliction upon them of the most revolting tortures at a = convenient=20 time set for their execution.

Finally they were removed from their place of confinement and = taken to=20 a spot prepared for their brutal killing. These helpless Assyrians = marched=20 like lambs to their slaughter, opening their mouths only to say = "Lord,=20 into thy hands we commit our spirits." The procession of the = victims was=20 led by two green turbaned Sayids [the highest religious order in = Islam],=20 one with an open book in his hand, reading aloud the passages = pertaining=20 to the holy war whilst the other carried a large-bladed knife, the = emblem=20 of execution.

When the procession arrived at the appointed place, the = executioners=20 began by cutting first the fingers of their victims, join by = joint, till=20 the two hands were entirely amputated. Then they were stretched on = the=20 ground, after the manner of the animals that are slain in the = Fast, but=20 these with their faces turned upward and their heads resting upon = the=20 stones or blocks of wood. Then their throats were half in cut so = as to=20 prolong their torture of dying and whilst struggling in the agony = of=20 death, the victims were kicked and clubbed by heavy poles. Many of = them,=20 still labouring under the pain of death, were thrown into ditches = and=20 buried before their souls had expired.

The young and able-bodied men were separated from among the = very young=20 and the old. They were taken some distance from the city and used = as=20 targets by the shooters. They all fell, a few not mortally = wounded. One of=20 the leaders went close to the heaps of the fallen and shouted = aloud,=20 swearing by the names of Islam's prophets that those who had not = received=20 mortal wounds should rise and depart, as they would not be harmed = any=20 more. A few, thus deceived, stood up but only to tall this time = dead by=20 another volley from the guns of the murderers. Some of the younger = and=20 beautiful women, together with a few little girls, who pleaded to = be=20 killed, were forced into the harems of Islam against their will. = Others=20 were subjected to such fiendish insults that I cannot possibly = even=20 describe. Death, however, came to their rescue and saved them from = the=20 vile passions of the demons. The Assyrian victims of this massacre = totalled 2,770 men, women and children (2).

The Chaldean Face: Kerime Cercis's Testimony

I was thirteen years old when the massacre began. My father = worked for=20 the customs authorities in Siirt. I lived together with my = parents, Cercis=20 and Hane, my three brothers, Kerim, Yusuf and Latif, and my = grandfather.=20 Our house in the quarter of Ayn Saliba was raided in the spring of = 1915 by=20 twenty bandits. Within this raid, my father and my grandfather = were=20 stabbed to death. My mother, my brothers and I were taken to a = strange=20 village. After the city went through a big massacre, where all my=20 relatives had been killed and thrown into a big hole, the Kurds = brought me=20 to the other Chaldean girls in the village of Zevida where I spent = one=20 year. Every night the Kurds abused me.

A year later I went back to Siirt in the company of a Muslim = woman.=20 This woman brought me to Abdul-Ferid, the new owner of our former = home.=20 She believed Abdul-Ferid would feel sorry for me and, therefore, = help me=20 but this was quite the contrary. He threw me out of the house. One = Chaldean, who was serving as a nanny for a Turk, helped me. I = should carry=20 water for the family and care for the garden. One day when I = wanted to=20 take water from the source a soldier came my way.

His name was Abdullah and was carrying water for the hospital = of Siirt.=20 He kidnapped and brought me to his mother, Fatum Hanum. She showed = me the=20 hole where all the killed Christians been thrown in and said: "The = same=20 will happen to you if you don't follow our rules!" It was a = terrible=20 sight, all the bones and the hair of people lying down there. When = we=20 returned to the house she told me: "Did you get what I told you, = little=20 heretic?" I was so frightened that I even could not answer.

Abdullah was abusing me sexually and in many other ways. For = three=20 years I had to undergo this terrible treatment, I served for the = old witch=20 and followed everything she ordered. Then the famine began to = reign in the=20 village and everyone was suffering from hunger except the slave = driver=20 Abdulriza. His depot was full of food which he had stolen from the = Christian's houses. Abdullah could not look after his family any = longer.=20 Therefore, he told his mother to take his children and go begging = for=20 money but she had decided for the voyage to Istanbul. The voyage = lasted=20 three months and what Fatum and the children did to me in the = meantime is=20 too unbelievable to even describe. When we reached Istanbul she = sold me to=20 a Muslim woman, who knew one of my relatives. I begged her to = bring me=20 there and finally she did. Now I am living in my relative's house, = which=20 called Zeki Hirize and works as a shoemaker.

These are the names of my killed relatives: My parents Cercis = and Hane,=20 my brothers Latif, Yusuf, Kerim (killed by Abdul-Ferid who = inhabits our=20 former house), my grandparents on both sides, my uncles Pitiyon, = Tevfik,=20 Bulos and my aunts Hatun and Helena. All of our possessions, the = house,=20 furniture, gold, jewels, everything belongs now to Abdul-Ferid, = who has=20 taken everything (3).

The Hellenic Face: Maria Katsidou-Symeonidou's Testimony

I was born in Mourasoul village, Sevasteia/Sivas district, on = 15 August=20 1914. I remember the deportations well. In 1918, I was about four = years=20 old, when one day I saw my father in the village square. I ran to = him and=20 asked him for the pie he brought me every day from the = family-owned mill.=20 He replied: "Oh, my child! The Turks are going to kill me and you = will not=20 see me again." He told me to tell my mother to prepare his clothes = and=20 some food for him. That was the last time we saw him. They killed = him=20 along with another ten men.

I remember another time when a Turk warned our village, saying = that all=20 the young men should leave. This because the next day, Topal = Osman, would=20 be coming. Indeed, those that left, were saved. They still killed = fifteen=20 men, including the teacher, the village president and the priest. = Topal=20 Osman had caught three hundred and fifty men from neighbouring = villages.=20 He had them bound, murdered and thrown into the river that ran = through our=20 village. I still remember the echo of the shots. They were hauling = the=20 bodies by ox-cart for nine days to bury them. Most of them were=20 unrecognisable, as their heads had been cut off.

In 1920, around Easter, the Turkish Army came and told us to = take with=20 us everything we could. We loaded up the animals, but the = saddle-bags tore=20 open and most of us were left without food. On the deportation = march, the=20 Turkish guards would rape the women, one of whom became pregnant. = In the=20 Teloukta area, about half our group was lost in a snow storm. From = there,=20 they took us to a place without water, Sous-Yiazousou, where many = died of=20 thirst. Soon afterwards, as we passed a river, all of us threw = ourselves=20 at the water, people fell over each other in the rush and many = drowned. We=20 reached Phiratrima, which was a Kurdish area and they left us at a = village=20 near a bridge. It was here that the pregnant girl gave birth to = twins. The=20 Turks cut the new-borns in two and tossed them in the river. On = the=20 riverbank, they killed many more of the group.

The killings ended only with the agreement for the Exchange of=20 Populations (1923). This is how we were saved. I came to Hellas in = 1923.=20 As I was an orphan, I arrived with the American Mission, at Volos=20 (Thessaly). From there, we went to Aedipsos, to Larissa and = finally to=20 Aetorrahi village, Elassona district, where I settled (4).

(1) = Katherine=20 Magarian=92s story was originally published in the Boston Globe on = 19 April=20 1998.
(2) Excerpted from The Flickering Light of Asia, Reverend = Joel=20 Werda, Chicago, 1990, P. 156-58.
(3) Kerime Cercis was = interviewed in=20 1918 in Istanbul.
(4) Maria Katsidou-Symeonidou died in = November 1997.=20

Human Rights Without Frontiers Int. =
Avenue=20 Winston Churchill 11/33, 1180 Brussels, Belgium
Phone: 32 2 = 3456145 -=20 Fax: 32 2 3437491

A DAILY MESSAGE FROM INSIGHT FOR=20 LIVING

Constituting five percent of the Iraqi population, Assyrian = Christians=20 descend from a non-Arab, Semitic people who have 5,000 years of = history in=20 northern Iraq. Saddam's Baath Party officially denies the = existence of the=20 Assyrians as a separate ethnic group. Speaking Aramaic (the = language of=20 Assyrian Christians) in public carries great risk. An even greater = risk to=20 the Christians in Iraq is the prospect of possible = Muslim-dominated=20 government.

When the early church faced persecution and the apostle Peter = was=20 arrested, the response of the fellow believers was prayer:

So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being = made=20 fervently by the church to God. Acts 12:5 (NASB)

As brothers and sisters in Christ, let us also respond to the = needs of=20 Iraqi Christians with fervent prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Your Word tells me to remember those who are mistreated as if I = were=20 being mistreated (see Hebrews 13:2-3). Father, give my fellow = believers a=20 spirit of love, patience, and forgiveness as they suffer for the = sake of=20 Christ. Grant them boldness to speak Your Word and compassion to = share the=20 love of Christ with others who are afflicted in this conflict. May = they be=20 recognized as Your children, through whom live, for Christ's sake. = Amen.

Rev. Charles R. Swindoll
28 March = 28
From the=20 series: =93During This Time of Conflict=94

Bravo

U.S. GOVERNMENT TAPPING PHYSICS PROF'S KNOWLEDGE = OF IRAQ=20

Courtesy of the Western Michigan = University News=20 (28 March)

(ZNDA: Kalamazoo) The gravity = of world=20 events has thrust Emanuel Kamber, a professor of physics at = Western=20 Michigan University, into a new dimension.

More accustomed to giving classroom lectures on the science of = matter=20 and energy, the Iraqi exile has been called upon by the U.S. = Department of=20 State to help lay the groundwork for post-war Iraq. A member and = deputy=20 chairman of the Iraq National Council, Kamber has been helping the = U.S.=20 government plan for rebuilding Iraq since last June.

His state department activities have taken him around the = world,=20 including trips to Great Britain, Italy and in early March to = Washington=20 D.C., where he was part of a group that met with Vice President = Dick=20 Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Secretary = of=20 Defense Donald Rumsfeld. On March 3, he was also part of a panel=20 presentation at the American Enterprise Institute on the topic of=20 "Constitutional Issues and Federalism: Ethnicity and Justice in=20 Post-Saddam Iraq."

At the same time, Kamber's work has made him a source for such = leading=20 media outlets as the British Broadcasting Service and the Boston=20 Globe.

An Assyrian Christian--an Iraqi ethnic group numbering about 2=20 million--Kamber says it is vital that Iraq build a constitutional=20 government that recognizes civil rights and equality for all = citizens.

"What we hope for is an Iraqi government that is based on the = rule of=20 law," Kamber says. "I think that's very important. We don't want = another=20 general controlling Iraq. We don't want to have another military=20 dictatorship."

Born in Iraq, Kamber has not returned to his homeland since = 1980. He=20 says many people in Iraq support removing Saddam Hussein from = power, by=20 force if necessary.

"I think the Americans are really there to disarm Iraq," Kamber = says.=20 "I don't believe it's about oil. It's about disarming Iraq and = bringing=20 peace to the region."

A key to rebuilding the country quickly will be minimizing the = impact=20 of the current war, both on Iraq's infrastructure and its people, = Kamber=20 says.

"We call on the coalition forces to make every effort to = minimize=20 civilian casualties and damage to the infrastructure during the=20 operation," he says. "That is very important, because when you go = to=20 rebuild Iraq, it will be much easier if there is a little damage, = but not=20 that much. If you destroy the power stations and bridges and = every-thing=20 else, then it will be much harder and take much longer to = stabilize the=20 country."

Kamber says high-ranking U.S. government officials have assured = him and=20 other opposition members that damage from the war will be = contained as=20 much as possible.
But, Kamber adds, much of the war's final = impact=20 depends on what Hussein does to his own country.

"We don't know what Saddam is going to do," he says. "We don't = know if=20 he is going to fire his chemical and biological weapons on = coalition=20 forces or even his own people. Or he may hold the Iraqi people in = Baghdad=20 as hostages with him. There are all these rumors, but nobody can = predict=20 what Saddam Hussein is going to do.

Calendar of=20 Events

Visit the Zinda Magazine Calendar at http://www.zindamagazine.c= om/calendar

Thank=20 You!

Zindamagazine would like to = thank:

Ramin Daniels
(California)

Tomy Doomany
(California)

Banipal Ghazanchian
(Iran)

Tomas Isik
(Sweden)

Melis Jacob
(California)

Pauline Jasim
(Chicago)

Ronald Michael, M.D
(Chicago)

Rita Pirayou
(California)

Stavros=20 Stavridis
(Assyrians)

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ZINDA Magazine is published = weekly. =20 Views expressed in ZINDA do not necessarily represent those of the = ZINDA=20 editors, or any of our associated staff. This publication reserves the = right, at=20 its sole discretion, not to publish comments or articles previously = printed in=20 or submitted to other journals. ZINDA reserves the right to = publish and=20 republish your submission in any form or medium. All letters and=20 messages require the name(s) of sender and/or author. All = messages=20 published in the SURFS UP! section must be in 500 words or less and bear = the=20 name of the author(s). Distribution of material = featured in=20 ZINDA is not restricted, but permission from ZINDA is required. This = service is=20 meant for the exchange of information, analyses and news. To = subscribe,=20 send e-mail to: z_info@zindamagazine.com.=20

IN TWO WORLDS =

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RALLY FOR = AMERICA

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