from the EDITOR
from the EDITOR PUBLISHED BY The Chaldean News, LLC EDITORIAL EDITOR IN CHIEF Vanessa Denha Garmo MANAGING EDITORS Denha Media Group Writers CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ashourina Slewo Monique Mansour Halim Sheena Crystal Kassab Jabiro Weam Namou ART & PRODUCTION CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alex Lumelsky with SKY Creative GRAPHIC DESIGNER Zina Lumelsky with SKY Creative PHOTOGRAPHERS Razik Ranon Crystal Kassab Jabiro Father Pierre Konja OPERATIONS Interlink Media DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Martin Manna CLASSIFIEDS Ashourina Slewo SALES Interlink Media Christen Jamoua SALES REPRESENTATIVES Interlink Media Sana Navarrette MANAGERS Vanessa Denha Garmo Martin Manna Michael Sarafa SUBSCRIPTIONS: PER YEAR THE 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: June 2018 Subscriptions: 12 months, . Publication Address: 30095 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 101, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is Pending at Farmington Hills Post Office Postmaster: Send address changes to “The Chaldean News 30095 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 101, Farmington Hills, MI 48334” Giving others a voice I sat at a Panera Bread holding back tears listening to Raad Kathawa talk about his daughter. Those who know him, I’m sure you don’t often see the side of him I did on this morning. He was a dad very much still in pain. I have tormented myself these passed two months. After working on a cover story about moms mourning the loss of their children, I sat down with Raad over iced tea, talking about Lindsay who passed away more than 30 years ago. Raad has asked Martin, Mike and me several times to write a story about St. Jude Hospital and it almost became expected every time we saw him. We fully intended to but the timing never seemed right, until now. Those who know Raad, know the boisterous and serious business man and community We are fully aware of the Church’s teachings on homosexuality and I encourage all of you to understand the teachings on this issue. doer. Few will see the father who still walks around with a broken heart. I sat at the restaurant after our meeting for two more hours, writing his story and wiping my tears. I usually like to write about my own dad and husband during the month of June as we honor dads but instead, I share the story of one man who finds ways to make room in his life for a daughter who left this world before she even entered school. We reached out to a few other dads in similar situations but no one else wanted to share their story. So perhaps Raad represents them all and is the voice of dads who will never forget their deceased children. I want to thank Lauren Kathawa for offering input with the article. This issue touches on a few stories tied into having a voice. Our cover story is a two-part piece regarding Iraq. VANESSA DENHA-GARMO EDITOR IN CHIEF CO-PUBLISHER In this issue we share the story of Chaldeans who expressed their voice in the Iraqi elections. Monique Mansour talked to Shoki Konja and others about Iraq. Ashournia Slewo gives an update on the deportation story in two articles. In one she explains the 212C Waiver and what that means. She also pens an updated piece on those detained one year later. This past year many people spoke up to help Christian Iraqis living in America who were picked up and held in jail as they fought against being deported. Much has happened this past year and we continue to cover the story. We also address a very sensitive subject that we have written about before but this time it is from the voices of twin brothers who have written two books about being gay. We are fully aware of the Church’s teachings on homosexuality and I encourage all of you to understand the teachings on this issue. We are in no means condoning the act of homosexuality; we are merely sharing their struggles about being gay. We share this story because it is a reality in the world, including in our own Chaldean community, and it still one that is often very difficult to address. Some people may not agree that we gave the twins our platform to express their voice by sharing their story and their book. I get it. I know it is a very controversial topic and expect various opinions about us discussing it. We may not agree with each other and that is okay but we should not be so closed off that we don’t allow others to have a voice. Alaha Imid Koullen (God Be With Us All) Vanessa Denha-Garmo vanessa@denhamedia.com Follow her on Twitter @vanessadenha Follow Chaldean News on Twitter @chaldeannews Proudly serving the West Bloomfield community and all their real estate needs for 30+ years! • FREE MARKET ANALYSIS ON YOUR HOME • FREE HOME WARRANTY • AGENT-OWNED VIRTUAL BROKERAGE C.R.S., G.R.I., A.B.R. Realtor and Associate Broker (248) 763-2622 CONTACT US TO JOIN OUR TEAM! 6 CHALDEAN NEWS JUNE 2018
YOUR letters Thank you Many thanks to Congressman John Moolenaar for his compassionate recent article in the Chaldean News. He correctly points out the hardship to our community when deporting Chaldeans who may have committed offenses decades ago, but have since built a law-abiding life, especially if they have U.S. born spouses and kids. We should all thank him for his efforts in introducing a bipartisan House resolution calling for the end of those detentions. I would also urge the Congressman to look at the source of the problem: a rather harsh immigration law enacted in 1996 where someone might be uprooted from his family and deported to another country he hardly knows. This might happen due to mistakes or “Let’s be more compassionate to those who may have committed mistakes long time ago, but had since repented, paid their dues to society, and have since established a new, law-abiding life.” conviction for offenses U.S. citizen might only get probation for. While the Chaldean community experienced the harshness of this law first hand, many others of different nationalities had been equally affected and suffered by it. Let’s be more compassionate to those who may have committed mistakes long time ago, but had since repented, paid their dues to society, and have since established a new, law-abiding life. – N. Peter Antone JUNE 2018 CHALDEAN NEWS 7
