Posted by pancho from customer-148-233-78-77.uninet.net.mx (148.233.78.77) on Saturday, January 25, 2003 at 4:06PM :
Letters From Zinda Magazine Readers
DR. EDWARD ODISHO’ ARTICLE
Dr. Edward Odisho’s article, which appeared in the last issue of Zinda, has captured the essence of what is facing us in this most critical turning point in our history. He presents:
****This not a critical turning point for us. Who is "us" anyway. Scratch this letter a little and youīll see the same dreary note about how the Assyrians...code for Christians, in the MidEast are disappearing. This is hardly a crisis since Youel and the rest of us gladly left. For some strange reason those of us who left are aghast at the thought that the rest may want to follow our example.
***I truly believe if the last plane was leaving Iraq, Youel would keep Christians from getting on...because he wants "us" represented back there.
1. An accurate evaluation of what is taking place now in our various communities.
***There was no such thing.
2. Analyses of what are the factors, which establishes the basis of uniting Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Suryanis into a single nation.
***Nothing remotely close to that was presented.
3. An approach to develop a strategy for an intellectual constructive dialogue to create a lasting unity of the indigenous people of Beth Nahrain.
***That is absurd and was the most absent, of all the other things that werenīt there.
This article is a must read for every member of our nation irrespective of his/her church affiliation,
***Notice what comes first..the church again. And it invalidates the rest. The only thing you can say about us for certain is that we are Christian...there isnīt a shred of evidence or sign that we are Assyrian.
political inclination, and social or economical status. All of us who are genuinely interested in the preservation of our national identity and safe guard our ethnic roots in the homeland must read, evaluate, and is ready to participate in this dialogue.
***Why in the homeland? Why do we go nuts trying to preserve in Iraq what we donīt give a damn for here in the United States? Why do we want a school in BetNahrain to teach our language and culture there when we have made nothing like it here? Does Youel care more for a strangerīs children in Iraq than for his own here? Must someone stop being Assyrian the minute they leave? Is this a way of addmitting there is NO Assyrian content to being Assyrian...that it can only be maintained in a hostile non-Christian country...but dribbles away the minute weīre surrounded by other Christians? How come we get "lost" so easily in Christian countries? Is the Assyrian identity just a convenient way to differentiate us from our Muslim neighbors...a way that keeps us from being called Christian Arabs?
How come these people who care so much for keeping people in "Assyria" canīt manage to do anything to keep Assyria in the people...especially in the West where there is no Saddam and really no obstacles whatsoever...on the contrary, where every aid and comfort is present such as the Jews and others benefitted from?
We must be on our guard that we do not let outsiders and certain misguided church leaders to sabotage our unity and snatch the political leadership of our people.
***There IS no political leadership...there is no religious leadership, there is nothing to sabotage but a dance party or two..there is no People. There are a lot of people trying to upgrade their resumes, there are people trying to advance the cause of a doomed Christianity in the MidEast, and try9ing to do it with a veneer of Assyrianism thatīs barely skin deep.
***Our entire claim to fame in the modern era is that we are NOT Assyrians...that weīre Christians and next, loyal Americans. We came into the modern era divided...and divided we remain, and shall.
Separation of church from our political and national activities must be ensured. Church leaders have a responsible and significant role to play in our unity but not to lead it.
***They do neither...they donīt lead anything...they canīt possibly provide unity when the whole point was to split into multiple sects.
It is their responsibility to instruct, educate, and persuade their parishioners to accept that we are all children of one nation.
***This guy makes as much sense as the one heīs praising.
It is imperative that we do not undermine the unity efforts because of our disagreement on the proper national name.
***What unity efforts...squabbling all together, at the same time, isnīt "unity".
Let us exercise patience, engage in the dialogue, and help people to have a clear understanding of our history and heritage. Our first objective is to ensure that all Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Suryanis will formally declare and publicly accept that we all belong to one nation.
***Oh when will you people get tired of this charade?
Let us all hope that Assyrian patriots, especially those active in national organizations, will find love in their hearts for our nation, understanding of the serious problems facing us, and compassion for our people who are still denied their basic human rights. It is time; we all come together, with open minds and loving hearts willing to listen, to forgive and to compromise. All this in anticipation of creating unity among our people for the sake of a glorious objective, the preservation of Assyrian national identity.
***There is no Assyrian national identity...there is no nation...there is no People...there isnīt even a national religion...there are only Christian factions each fighting for supremacy...by definition, almost, Christian Assyrians CANīT be unified.
Youel A Baaba
California
***Would you believe the guy baby sat me when I was six and he was in college in San Francisco? Iīd hoped to have had a better impact on him than this...doesnīt seem he benefited much from the experience.
-- pancho
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