from the EDITOR Better Way To Get Away Package From * Per Person, Per Night Mt. Pleasant, MI www.soaringeaglecasino.com Your Escape Includes: • First-Class Accommodations • Free Slot Play • Water Lily Or Firefly Buffet Breakfast Coupon • A Bonus Coupon Packet Experience More. For Reservations, Call 1-877-2-EAGLE-2 *Room rate is valid multiple nights, Sunday through Thursday, now through August 31, 2007. All package inclusions are per person. Certain restrictions apply. Offer based on double occupancy and availability. Subject to change or cancellation at any time. A new life and a new chapter Ihave had many titles in my life — writer, reporter, talk show host, producer, publisher, editor, author, press secretary — but on June 28 I earned the most important title I will ever have — mommy. I say “earned” because after 23 hours of labor, I feel like I did. My former colleague, Paul W. Smith of WJR, made note of the many hats I wear, wondering how I managed to have a baby with all that I do. I was flattered he congratulated my husband and me on air for the birth of our first child, Elayna Grace. Yes, I tend to carry around a full plate; the truth is I like to be busy but no role is more important than caring for my baby girl. I have been asked by so many people: what will give now that I have a child? Nothing, I hope. I just reprioritized my schedule and my life, putting Elayna at the top of the list. I will still be press secretary to Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano. I will still co-manage and serve as editor in chief to what I refer to as my professional baby — The Chaldean News. I will continue to produce and host my weekly talk show on WDVD and DOUG FM. Hopefully, I will publish another book. Right now, I start a new chapter of my life titled: Controlled by a 6-Pound and 20-Inch Princess. Nothing is more important than my daughter and husband. In the midst of putting the August issue together, the circle of life begins for my daughter while I function on little to no sleep. I thank all the readers for their congratulatory e-mails, notes and phone calls. In between changing diapers and burping a fed baby, the August issue came together. You will breeze through our cover story about a Chaldean athlete making waves in the world of kite boarding while raising money for cancer. Writer Jeremy Hull tells the story of Joe Bidawid and the world record he is set to make. Water sports can be a great deal of fun and sometimes the perfect way to spend a hot summer day but being on one of the many Michigan lakes can also be dangerous, even deadly. Omar Binno reports the facts on what really happened to his cousin, Ryan Binno, on Cass Lake. The 22-year-old drowned last month after jumping off a pontoon boat to swim with some friends. He never resurfaced and days later, divers found his body. On average, 100 people die every year on Michigan waters. I am always so puzzled on how so many people VANESSA DENHA- GARMO EDITOR drown in a lake. We not only report the news story but we provide a sidebar on boating safety. We know that many of our readers either live on lakefront properties or spend many hours on the waters during the summer. We want you to be safe. The Binno family now mourns a great loss. It has been said before but it needs repeating — life truly is short and God’s greatest gift. Now that I have a child of my own, I can’t bring myself to think about the family’s pain. Our prayers are with them. The summer months are a time for various activities. As always, we report about those events in this newsmagazine. This month we bring you several events including more photos of Chaldeans rallying for peace in Iraq. This event took place right here in Metro Detroit. We also have photos from Chaldean children participating in one of our sacraments — first Holy Communion. This past summer has been filled with festivals all around the Metro area. We have on display in these pages photos from the Arab & Chaldean Festival in Detroit as well as the ChaldoAssyrian Syriac Festival in Warren. And don’t forget to attend the second annual Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce Chaldean Festival being held in Southfield this month. In the meantime, I sit here inside my home office typing away with Elayna sleeping on the desk between my arms. Being a new mom, I now start a new chapter in my life while I watch the first pages of my daughter’s life being written. Alaha Imid Koullen (God Be With Us All) Vanessa Denha-Garmo vdenha@chaldeannews.com 10 CHALDEAN NEWS AUGUST2007 SE-1053_4.417x12_JCNAfinal.indd 1 7/26/07 11:36:33 AM
in OUR VIEW Fear-mongering and politics in Warren Warren Mayor Mark Steenbergh apparently flipped his lid over the possibility of the arrival of Iraqi refugees to the Detroit area. While he has never been known to let the facts interfere with a good political attack, his fear mongering was based on false statistics and a grossly misplaced attempt to exploit misconceptions about Chaldean people of Iraqi descent. It was also a thinly veiled attack on mayoral candidate Richard Sulaka who hails from Chaldean-Iraqi descent and is a threat to Steenbergh’s soon-toexpire regime. Steenbergh should tread lightly before he plays this political card. His attack should make all immigrants of Catholic faith in Warren shudder. Where would the Italians, Poles, Ukrainians and others be if Mark Steenbergh was mayor of Warren when their families arrived? But let’s set the record straight. First, Chaldean refugees will be arriving from Iraq by the dozens, not thousands. Community organizations and social services agencies have been preparing for months to help these people as they arrive. Further, the vast majority have near or distant family members here in the Detroit area who will take them in immediately. Second, last we checked, Warren was not the only city in Michigan or the only city with a Chaldean presence. Other likely destinations will include Oak Park, Detroit, Southfield, Shelby Township and West Bloomfield. Steenbergh’s concern about “a flood of refugees” into Warren smacks of bigotry and injustice. We are grateful that other elected officials have a dignified, caring and reasonable approach to the issue. Congressman Sander Levin immediately characterized the mayor’s comments as “misleading and inaccurate.” Steenbergh’s estimate of 16,000 refugees seems to be made up since no one from local, state or federal government has confirmed such a number. In fact, Levin’s office confirmed that Warren officials have “no basis” for projecting specific allocation of refugees to a specific community. What, then, was the mayor up to? One can only surmise that Steenbergh was endeavoring to roll out one of the oldest and dirtiest tricks in politics — fear mongering based on race and ethnicity. This is the approach of a coward, not a leader. The mayor of one of Michigan’s largest cities has decided to play politics with a humanitarian crisis in a way that degrades all immigrants. Thus, as the mayor’s term winds down thanks to term limits, he will join the ranks of politicians from a bygone era who did nothing but sew the seeds of discontent and anger, play on people’s vulnerabilities and attempt to take political advantage a human tragedy. Rep. Levin’s office confirmed that Warren officials have “no basis” for projecting specific allocation of refugees to a specific community. We are grateful that other elected officials have a dignified, caring and reasonable approach to the issue. Letters to the editor are welcome. Please keep your letter to less than 500 words and include your city. The Chaldean News reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length. Submit your letter via email to info@chaldeannews.com or mail to: The Chaldean News, Letters to the Editor, 26555 Evergreen, Ste. 250, Southfield, MI 48076 AUGUST2007 CHALDEAN NEWS 11
