from the EDITOR
from the EDITOR PUBLISHED BY Chaldean News, LLC Chaldean Community Foundation Martin Manna EDITORIAL ACTING EDITOR IN CHIEF Paul Jonna MANAGING EDITOR Paul Natinsky CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ashley A. Attisha, Esq. Jennifer Burlingame, DO Rony Foumia, RPH Shannon Habba Sarah Kittle Adhid Miri, PhD Anna J. Najor Paul Natinsky Halim Sheena ART & PRODUCTION CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Lumelsky with SKY Creative GRAPHIC DESIGNER Zina Lumelsky with SKY Creative PHOTOGRAPHERS David Guralnick Christianna Meyo CLASSIFIEDS Tania Yatooma Coronavirus means we all must work together SALES Interlink Media Sana Navarrette Tania Yatooma SUBSCRIPTIONS: PER YEAR CONTACT INFORMATION Story ideas: edit@chaldeannews.com Advertisements: ads@chaldeannews.com Subscription and all other inquiries: info@chaldeannews.com Chaldean News 30095 Northwestern Hwy, Suite 101 Farmington Hills, MI 48334 www.chaldeannews.com Phone: (248) 851-8600 Publication: The Chaldean News (P-6); Published monthly; Issue Date: April 2020 Subscriptions: 12 months, . Publication Address: 30095 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 101, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; Permit to mail at periodicals postage rates is on file at Farmington Hills Post Office Postmaster: Send address changes to “The Chaldean News 30095 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 101, Farmington Hills, MI 48334” As Chaldeans, we are bonded by blood and faith. Our rich and cultured history – which we have preserved and nurtured – gives the Chaldean American community a unique advantage for surviving turmoil and crisis. We have a deep and abiding faith and strong family ties. We support each other. It has already been difficult, no doubt, to refrain from spending time with extended family and attending Mass for communal prayer. We are a close knit community. When we found out that one of the first cases of coronavirus diagnosed in Michigan was one of our own, it was scary. PAUL JONNA ACTING EDITOR IN CHIEF Chaldeans, with all of our handshakes and double kissing, are probably some of the worst offenders when it comes to swapping germs. We at the Chaldean News are focused on the great strength of our community. We pledge to bring you the best of our great resources which include the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and the Chaldean Community Foundation. We reached out to our community members and they sent us stories of impact from the coronavirus, which you will read about in this issue. Our broad coverage of the community extends beyond the crisis to include some notable stories, such as Judge Hala Jarbou’s historic nomination to the federal bench. Our scholar-in-residence launches a new series on ‘Chaldeans around the World’ in this issue, with an examination of Chaldeans in Michigan to start. As we persevere and maintain social distance during this crisis, we are reminded how important family, friends and community are. We find ways to stay close despite the precautions, using technology and creativity to preserve our common experience and faith. God bless.. Paul Jonna Acting Editor in Chief BAN MANNA EXAMINER STEVE SUOLAKA EXAMINER InternationalDriverTesting.com AUTOMOBILE & MOTORCYCLE TESTING Road Skills Testing for Adults and Teenagers 30095 NORTHWESTERN HWY, SUITE 65A • FARMINGTON HILLS, MI 48334 DRIVER’S EDUCATION (SEGMENT 1 & 2) • TEENS & ADULTS WEST BLOOMFIELD HIGH SCHOOL 4925 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD • WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI 48322 248-535-5855 • BanManna18@yahoo.com • FREE MARKET ANALYSIS ON YOUR HOME • FREE HOME WARRANTY • AGENT-OWNED VIRTUAL BROKERAGE JIM MANNA Broker/Owner C.R.S., G.R.I., A.B.R. (248) 763-2622 CONTACT US TO JOIN OUR TEAM! 6 CHALDEAN NEWS APRIL 2020
GUEST column To be Known Knowledge is power: To have knowledge is power. To be known is power. What we do in this stage of history will greatly influence how our culture will survive. For a people who have existed between the Tigris and Euphrates since before it was called Mesopotamia, that is saying a lot. Chaldeans have experienced ethnic and religious persecution that has displaced us from our homeland, as documented by Minority Rights Group International. Many experts, such as Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart PhD in 1998, have detailed how this kind of oppression can cause the surviving members of a cultural group to suffer tragic ramifications of community destabilization that leads to poor health, which in turn leads to more destabilization. Many of us have anecdotal evidence of the burden of many diseases in the Chaldean community. However, if you search the medical literature for what is known and what is being done about Chaldean health, you might be surprised by how little you find. All that we know about Chaldean health comes from roughly a dozen studies. Together, these studies show significant disparities between Chaldeans and their European-White neighbors, and significant differences between Chaldeans and their Arab neighbors. But a handful of studies ANNA J. NAJOR SPECIAL TO THE CHALDEAN NEWS can accomplish little more than raise alarm for the urgent need for further investigation. The primary cause of this lack of information is how difficult it is to study Chaldean health. At the local and national level, health information is collected into electronic databases that can be accessed for research. You will not find a single Chaldean here. This is not because we are not in the databases. It is because we are invisible in them. Since healthcare records generally do not allow for documentation of our ethnicity, our unique health needs cannot be identified using these important research tools. Researchers work hard to get around this challenge. But without representation in health databases, they have used methods that have not been able to distinguish Chaldeans from Arabs or methods based on surveys (the most widely published of these surveys having several issues undermining its credibility). Health and research institutions should take an active role in addressing this issue. Forms that collect demographic information need to include options to self-describe ethnicity instead of only leaving an option for “other” or “multiple”. Institutions near larger Chaldean populations should provide the option to check “Chaldean”. This information is vital to assess the unique burden of illness in Chaldean communities, to advocate for the mobilization of resources to meet those needs, and to measure the effectiveness of those health programs. How can we improve the information created about us? We should encourage researchers who study us to involve us in the research process. The quality of the research will benefit from this, because we are experts in our own lives and our own needs. We should also encourage researchers to work with us and our community-based organizations to carry out community needs assessments and design, implement, and evaluate programs to meet identified needs. Through these methods, we can work with researchers to create knowledge that accurately represents and directly benefits us. The most important thing we can do for our community is also the simplest thing. Self-describe your ethnicity as Chaldean in the U.S. 2020 Census. An accurate count of Chaldeans in the Census is crucial for health researchers to determine which diseases have the greatest burden on our health. Additionally, demonstrating the number of Chaldeans will allow us to more effectively advocate for hospitals and databases to provide the option to self-identify as Chaldean. Lastly, substantial federal funding is allocated according to the Census, so every person uncounted is a loss of resources until the next Census ten years from now. Name a few words to describe your Chaldean community. What do you think of? For me: intertwined, supportive, wise, resourceful. The outlook for our future is far from We should encourage researchers who study us to involve us in the research process. The quality of the research will benefit from this, because we are experts in our own lives and our own needs. grim. Nevertheless, the challenges we face are real and growing. We have innumerable strengths, and we must bring renewed intentionality to using and building them to preserve our health and our culture. Anna J. Najor is a Chaldean medical and public health student who grew up by El Cajon, San Diego. She is devoted to help maintain and improve the wellbeing of marginalized communities. Subscribe today! 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