chaldean on the STREET
chaldean on the STREET What do you love most about Mom? By Anthony Samona Roses are red, violets are blue, from our Nanas to our Mamas, we will always love you! Don’t forget Mother’s Day on May 11. My mom always puts her kids and family before herself. I feel like she never has time for herself. She’s always doing the best she can to make myself and my siblings happy all the time. I don’t know where I would be without my mom, and I never forget to tell her that I love her every day. – Jessica Petros, 21 Sterling Heights I could write a book about my mama! She’s an angel. She could be having the worst day possible and no one would know it. There is no better feeling than coming home to a person filled with joy every day. I’ll never be worthy of all the love that she shows me, and I adore her for that. – Reema Shamoon, 23 West Bloomfield My mom is very easy to talk to and understands my siblings and I whether we are upset, happy or need the perfect advice. Most of all, she gives us her unconditional love whenever we need it. And let’s not forget about her amazing riza and maraka! – Shaher Matty, 27 Troy I love my mom because there’s never a time she says no. Anyone who knows her knows she does everything out of love. She’s the best role model I can ever ask for. If I ever become half of what she is, I’ll be lucky. – Natalia Abro, 19 Waterford What I love most about my mom is how after a long or stressful day, she always knows how to make me feel better. Whether it is with heartfelt advice, making my favorite meal or a simple hug, she never fails. – Tim Oram, 20 West Bloomfield What I love most about my mom is that she’s always there for me whenever I need her. She is very encouraging and I am very blessed to call her my mom. – Matthew Bakkal, 14 West Bloomfield Besides my mom’s great cooking, I love being able to go to my mom for anything. She has my back no matter what. I wouldn’t be who I am today without her. – Vallen Dikho, 24 West Bloomfield What I love most about my mother is her unconditional love — which she shows every day — her values that she instilled in me, and her patience. – Olivia Bahri, 28 Troy 36 CHALDEAN NEWS MAY 2014
a meeting of the minds in macomb Chaldean Summit fosters understanding By Eric Younan Macomb County educators, administrators, civil servants and public officials got better acquainted with the burgeoning Chaldean population at the first-ever “Embracing Our Community” Chaldean Summit at Macomb Community College (MCC) on April 3. The conference was presented by the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, Chaldean Community Foundation (CCF), Macomb Community College, the city of Sterling Heights and the Utica Community Schools and Warren Consolidated Schools districts. The goal was to foster better relations between the presenting organizations’ employees and Chaldeans with an emphasis on refugees and other recent arrivals to the United States. The idea was born out of a meeting originated by MCC President James Jacobs, Ph.D., in which he introduced Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and Chaldean Community Foundation to Christine Johns, Ph.D., superintendent of Utica Community Schools. Jacobs felt something had to be done to gain appreciation for the unique difficulties and opportunities of the recently arrived Chaldean community while helping those who were responsible for educating them to better understand their plight. “While we had a great discussion about the challenges and needs of the Chaldean community in Macomb County from our perspectives, we realized there were a great many other individuals and organizations who needed to be brought into the conversation for the greatest benefit of all,” Jacobs said. During the conference, attendees received an overview of Chaldean history and culture from Manna followed by panel discussions about community relations, education, law enforcement and employment. The community relations panel was comprised of several refugees of all ages whom have been in the United States for less than five years. They each provided a firsthand account of the horrific circumstances that made them flee their homeland and their struggles of acculturation, being accepted by their new neighbors and finding gainful employment. The education panel was led by Johns and Robert Livernois, Ph.D., superintendent of Warren Consolidated Schools. They touched upon the mutual struggle refugees and teachers face in educating students who are high school aged but have an elementary education. This is due to their status as refugees in countries such as Lebanon or Jordan where they were forbidden to go to school and languished as they awaited their chance to emigrate to the United States. The law enforcement panel was staffed by Sergeant Detective James Selewski, Lieutenant Detective Kevin Reese, Sergeant Jimmy Fawaz and Officer Jasin Hakim, who is Chaldean, of the Sterling Heights Police Department. They discussed the challenges of working with a population that carries a fear and distrust of police officers from back home. The officers also touched on the cultural sensitivity of dealing with crimes such as domestic violence that are serious offenses in the United States but widely accepted in the Middle East Debbie Szatkiewski, PATH coordinator for Macomb-St. Clair Above: Chief of staff of Utica Community Schools, Robert Martin, Ph.D., addresses the crowd. Left: More than 100 people attended the conference. Workforce Development, and Alfred Allos, CCF career services manager, educated the conference’s 123 attendees about the difficulties that language barriers and professional credentials earned overseas present to job-seeking refugees and employers who wish to draw upon their international experience. Robert Martin, Ph.D., chief of staff of Utica Community Schools and one of the conference’s organizers, said he hoped participants would gain new insight and possible challenges to their old attitudes. Based on feedback he’s heard the conference accomplished its objectives, he said, but the dialogue and efforts to understand one another must continue. “As Macomb County and Southeastern Michigan demographically shifts, it is important for community leaders to understand and embrace different cultures,” Martin said. “The Chaldean Summit is an important first step toward this embracing.” MAY 2014 CHALDEAN NEWS 37
