cHaNgInG faces Chaldeans
cHaNgInG faces Chaldeans yesterday, today and tomorrow BY VANESSA DENHA-GARMO AND JOYCE WISWELL As time passes, as Chaldeans inter-marry and as several generations submerge themselves in American culture, a new face of the community may emerge. What will the face of the Chaldean look like decades from now? It is a question asked by some wanting to preserve the community’s identity. “There have been almost 100 years of Chaldeans living in the United States,” said Bishop Sarhad Yawsip Hermiz Jammo of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego. “I don’t really see an end coming.” One of the most important ways to preserve the Chaldean identity, the Bishop said, is to promote the use of Aramaic. “Aramaic has lasted through three millennia, and is continuously used by generation after generation,” he said. “It is very important here in the United States that parents teach their children Aramaic. You can be 100 percent American and still speak Chaldean. It is only an enriching factor; you lose if you don’t know the language. There is no justification for parents neglecting it and not teaching it to their children.” THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH It’s essential that Chaldean cultural organizations and youth groups promote the use of Aramaic, Bishop Sarhad said. But while language is important, it is the Chaldean Church that is the real glue holding the community together, he said. “The church is where you come together and interact in a positive and noble way,” he said. The church has become an even stronger entity in terms of preserving Chaldean heritage, said Mary Sengstock, professor of sociology at Wayne State University. Many Chaldean-Americans in their 40s to 60s attended Catholic schools where they were taught A BRIEF HISTORY Director Robert Alaux spent six years researching and writing the historical documentary The Last Assyrians (Les Derniers Assyrians). It focuses on the history of the Aramaic-speaking Christians from ancient Mesopotamia until their present-day existence in the Middle East. Alaux’s is the first film that tells the complete history of the Assyrian/Chaldean/Syriac people. History overlooks how they suffered from massacres, hunger and starvation during the 1915 genocide, and the international community has not protected them in their homeland after decades of mass exodus. In his 53-minute film, Alaux brings alive the history of the Chaldeans/Assyrians/Syriacs through archival footage, maps, animation and interviews with religious leaders, academic scholars and famous singers. Some of those interviewed include: the Patriarch of Babylon for the Chaldeans since 2003, Emmanuel III Delly; Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East Mar Dinkha IV; Mar Raphael I Bid Awid, Chaldean Catholic Patriarch from 1989-2003; Dr. Sebastian Brock of Oxford University; singers Linda George and Juliana Jendo; and Dr. Joseph Yacoub of Lyon University. In the documentary, Alaux explains that in the seventh century Nestorian monks spread Christianity to India, Mongolia and China to approximately 60 million people after three centuries. Ancient Aramaic scripts were found in these regions by Jesuit missionaries centuries later. In 1258 A.D. the Mongols invaded Baghdad and massacred the Muslims. Initially the Mongol invaders showed obedience to the Patriarch of Baghdad. But later the Mongols chose Islam and slaughtered the Christians. The descendents of the Aramaic-speaking people survived only in mountainous areas. For the most part the people were left undisturbed throughout the Ottoman Empire. They created more monasteries, safeguarded ancient Syriac scripts and lived simple, rustic lives close to nature. Eventually the Pope wanted to bring these people back into Rome’s fold. People who accepted his authority were called 34 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2006
eligion, but that of the Roman Rite. Now that the Catholic Church has closed many schools, the Chaldean Church has stepped in to teach its youth religion — from the Eastern Rite perspective. Sengstock has been studying Chaldean Americans for 40 years and written several books on the subject. “What’s interesting to see is, over the past 20-25 years, how ‘Chaldean’ they have become,” she said of the community. “After the immigration laws changed in 1965, and 1968, the Chaldeans from Iraq were more Arab, living in the cities and speaking Arabic. A lot didn’t even know Chaldean. There was never any indication to become Muslim, but they had a much more Iraqi/Arabic cultural pattern.” Now many Chaldeans cling tightly to their ethnic identity, Sengstock said. “There is a determined effort on the part of Chaldean leaders, both religious and secular, to push the Chaldean entity. They know they are Americans but are very committed to be identified as being Chaldean and part of the church.” Contributing to that attitude, she said, is a fact common to many ethnic groups in the United States. The first and second generations often shy away from their heritage, wanting to be viewed as “American.” But subsequent generations come to realize they can be both American and still embrace their homeland. Marrying outside the Chaldean community is not something Chaldeans need fear, Sengstock said. “Chaldeans are a very close-knit community and in general, people don’t drift away,” she said. “Every ethnic group worries if they’re going to lose their children. I don’t see it eroding appreciatively.” In fact, Sengstock said, Chaldeans who marry non- Chaldeans tend to stay close to the community and bring their spouse into the fold, rather than drift away. Bishop Sarhad said he prefers viewing Chaldeans’ changing face with a positive attitude. “Maybe 5 to 10 percent of Chaldeans are marrying non-Chaldeans, but interacting with other ethnic cultures can be a positive. It is up to us what we make from our exposure to interacting with others,” he said. “You cannot contain a family 100 percent without somehow losing some of the members — maybe one will depart and rarely visit, but those remaining still continue as a family. If that member comes back on occasion, that’s a positive. “We are not static or paralyzed, we are a dynamic community,” the Bishop continued. “We do not want to be stones, we are a living community. It’s like a tree — it cannot stay the same every year, it grows and produces new fruits.” MAINTAINING AN IDENTITY The Chaldean community has a rich history dating back to Mesopotamia. In fact, Jesus Christ spoke an Aramaic dialect. “We try to keep our culture alive by talking to our kids and taking them to church,” said Ghaydaa Khaddor, who came to the United States 23 years ago at the age of 13. Although she speaks Arabic at home and not the Aramaic language, Khaddor said her children pick up the language at the Chaldean CHANGING FACES continued 36 chaldean on the STREET WHAT MAKES YOU A CHALDEAN? The Chaldean News’ Jennifer Korail recently visited parishioners at St. George in Shelby Township to ask them, “What makes you a Chaldean?” Many of their answers include pride in the community’s unique culture, language and food. “What makes us Chaldean is our heritage. We speak the Chaldean language and are descendents of Babylon, the Chaldean and Assyrian empires.” — Amera Mattia “My personality. I eat dolma, and I have a rosary in my car.” — Sal Koki “It’s my background and my culture. Our language, our delicious food. These things set us apart.” — Roni Shaooni Chaldeans of the Chaldean Catholic Church. Even though Chaldeans, Nestorians and Syriacs differed on religious details, they spoke Aramaic and they shared their Christianity and ethnic identity. During the 19th century ethnic groups began to identify strongly with the concept of nationalism, so Arabs, Chaldo-Assyrians, Kurds, Turks and Persians became more separated communities. During World War I the Turks massacred over one million Armenians, and hundreds of thousands of Chaldo-Assyrians and Syriacs. This tragic moment in history is more hurtful to these communities because past and current governments dispute what happened and do not want to acknowledge that an ethnic and a religious genocide took place. This pain and suffering carries from generation to generation in the collective memory of the people. When Saddam Hussein came to power he required submission from all ChaldoAssyrians, whom he considered Christian Arabs. In 1979 the Assyrian Democratic Movement was created. In 1991 the Assyrian Aid Society raised money for the reconstruction of Christian villages destroyed by Saddam, who was fighting the Kurds, and to build Syriac-speaking schools. With the Anglo- American invasion of Iraq in 2003, Islamic extremists threatened the Christians in Iraq, who have been seeking refuge in neighboring Arab countries and abroad by the thousands. With regards to the current population in Iraq, estimates range from 300,000 to 1 million. “The songs and hymns we sing in church. And also, the way my parents raised me.” — Ranen Mansor “Growing up in my Chaldean village in Mosul and having pride in my culture.” — Mike Sako “My family.” — Anthony Sako FEBRUARY 2006 CHALDEAN NEWS 35
