noteworthy Community
noteworthy Community Rallies for Matt A November 20 fundraiser is planned to benefit Chaldean Matthew Sorisho, who was seriously injured during a hockey tournament on October 4. A crash into the boards left Matt, a senior at Detroit Catholic Central High School, with life-changing spinal cord damage. He is recuperating at Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor. “He has always been very strong willed so he is fighting. He is being really positive and knows at the end of this, he gets to come home and go back to school,” said his mother, Debbie. Friends and family are raising funds to help retrofit the family house in Novi to accommodate a wheelchair, and to pay for medical bills and other expenses. The National Hockey League has been instrumental in helping raise funds and cheering on Matt’s recovery. “We are staying positive and strong. He’s going to make a good life for himself,” Debbie said. “His goal is to go to college, and that’s what he’s going to do.” Matt has been playing hockey since he was a child. “We have traveled everywhere for hockey, including the Czech Republic for two weeks about three years ago,” Debbie said. “The whole hockey community has just been amazing.” The goal of the November 20 party at the Compuware Ice Arena in Plymouth is to raise 0,000. The event will include strolling food stations, wine and beer, live and silent auctions, live music, guest speakers and more. Learn how to get tickets and help the family by visiting their Facebook page, “sor18ho.” Justice at Last for Slain Store Owner The family of Mazin Khmoro, who was murdered outside his Southfield liquor store three years ago, has finally found justice. Bruce H. Butler was found guilty of first-degree murder on October 3 and will be sentenced on November 5. Butler’s first trial ended in a mistrial on March 11 after the jury deadlocked. “It was really Mazin Khmoro hard for us to go through this twice but thank God, justice has been done for my brother. He is resting in his grave now,” said May Khmoro. Butler shot and killed Khmoro, 48, as he was taking out the trash behind the family business, Cronin’s Liquor Store on Northwestern Highway. Butler later confessed to his brother-inlaw, who came forward 10 months after the killing. The family patriarch, Afram Khmoro passed away in late June. “I wish my dad was here to find out what happened,” May Khmoro said. She called her brother a “good guy who read the Bible every night before going to bed. He worked day and night just to make a living. He was a really, really good father and it’s still very hard for his wife and kids. There was nobody like my brother.” Taking the Stage The Chaldean community’s own opera singer, Ashley Maria Bahri Kashat, is performing at the Detroit Opera House in November as Flora in Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata. She is the first Chaldean American soprano to receive a Master of Music in Voice Performance Ashley Maria Bahri Kashat at The Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and currently studies in New York and Michigan, and also privately trains at the Metropolitan Opera House under the direction of assistant conductor Robert Morrison. The 1853 opera, which runs from November 16-24, is a romantic tragedy of forbidden love between a courtesan and nobleman. Visit MichiganOpera. org for tickets. Progress Made? Learn about Historic Telkaif Khairy Foumia, a Chaldean Church deacon, will give a presentation on his new book at Shenandoah Country Club on November 12. Foumia’s “An Episode in History of Telkeppe and Yousef II Maruf, Patriarch of Chaldean” gives detailed accounts of the patriarch (1694- 1712) and the history of Telkeppe (Telkaif) and its people. The presentation, which includes a question and answer session and book signing, takes place from 6:30- 8:30 p.m. in Ballroom 3. Admission is free and light refreshments will be served. The paperback book, written in Arabic, will be available for . The event is sponsored by the Chaldean Cultural Center. Schools Ask for Millages Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he will compensate Christians who were forced from their homes and property. He made the promise on October 10 as Mar Louis Sako and other church officials paid Maliki a visit in honor of the feast of Eid al-Adha. Maliki said he will put together a group to look into how victimized Christians should be compensated for the houses and property they lost to Islamic fundamentalists, and will punish those responsible. At Mar Sako’s request, Maliki agreed to support Iraq’s Christians so they don’t leave the country, and to guard churches against theft and violence. Mar Sako asked that Maliki broadcast a message of promoting A number of school districts are seeking school millages in the November election. The Walled Lake Schools Safety, Security and Technology Bond seeks .5 million to install video surveillance systems at all schools, reconfigure entrances and offices to make them safer, update security alarms and upgrade some technology. Troy Schools is seeking 5 million through 2020, also to beef up security and make other improvements. Farmington voters will be asked to approve two bonds, one for 4.6 million for safety, infrastructure and technology; and the other for .6 million for arts, athletics and technology replacement. Bond 1 must pass in order for bond 2 to be implemented. Scholarships Offered November 15 is the application deadline for two scholarships for Chaldean students. The Nadia Atisha Education Fund and the Samir Paulus Education Fund each provide financial support to Chaldean high school seniors and college students from Michigan. The Nadia Atisha fund provides three, one-time scholarships of Mar Sako Tightens Sales of Church Holdings Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako has formally prohibited the sale of land and houses belonging to the patrimony of the Church without permission “of the high ecclesiastical authorities.” The restrictive provision was made public in a statement on October 5 and makes explicit reference to the Holy See as a last resort call to grant licenses for the sale of properties belonging to the Church. The text, which was sent to Fides, recalls the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in the Middle East (signed by Pope Benedict XVI) along with other recommendations issued by the dicastries of the Holy See regarding the sale of church property, particularly in countries in the Middle East. The Patriarchate calls on all bishops and heads of monasteries to take charge of the recommendations contained in the note. Meanwhile, Mar Sako is urging displaced Christians to return to Iraq. “If you come back, we can utilize your skills and knowledge,” he said in an October 13 letter, according to a Fides news agency report. “If you do not come back, we will remain a minority, with no significance. But regardless, we will stay and not leave, [being willing] to eat bread and onions so that our Christian heritage and attestation may continue.” – Fides.com 0, and three, one-time scholarships of ,000, while the Samir Paulus fund provides one, one-time scholarship of 0. Learn more by calling CALC at (248) 538.8300 or email jshallal@CAL- Conline.org. harmony and peacefulness between Muslims and Christians during Friday prayers. – Ankawa.com Patriarch Louis Sako meets with Nouri al-Maliki. NOTEWORTHY continued on page 10 8 CHALDEAN NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
Community Bulletin Board Score! Ryan Sarafa poses with Coach Al Fracassa, the winningest high school football coach in Michigan history, who is retiring this year after 40-plus years at Birmingham Brother Rice. Capital Idea St. Fabian fourth graders visited state legislators in Lansing last month in an interactive learning experience about State Government. They were hosted by State Rep. Klint Kesto. 90 Years Strong Latif Arabo turned 90 on October 10 surrounded by friends and family – and his favorite magazine – at a party at his house in Southfield. Home Away from Home Everyone reads the Chaldean News – as proved by this picture of Linda Abbo, who was recently traveling in the Sahara Desert through Morocco. Calendar Girl Mary Arabo participated in the Ninth Annual Step Up for Downs Syndrome at the Palace of Auburn Hills on September 28. Mary, who is Miss December in the Down Syndrome Guild’s 2014 calendar, signed autographs at the event, which attracted more than 1,000 people. Have an item for the Bulletin Board? Send it to Chaldean News, 29850 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, MI 48034, or e-mail info@chaldeannews.com.
