From zenda@ix.netcom.com Mon Mar 18 04:27:08 1996 Return-Path: zenda@ix.netcom.com Received: from ix7.ix.netcom.com (ix7.ix.netcom.com [199.182.120.7]) by emin16.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id EAA08220; Mon, 18 Mar 1996 04:27:04 -0500 Received: from sjx-ca12-15.ix.netcom.com by ix7.ix.netcom.com (8.6.13/SMI-4.1/Netcom) id BAA06393; Mon, 18 Mar 1996 01:19:14 -0800 Message-Id: <2.2.16.19960318092223.4597b430@popd.ix.netcom.com> X-Sender: zenda@popd.ix.netcom.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 2.2 (16) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Mon, 18 Mar 1996 01:22:23 -0800 To: zenda@ix.netcom.com From: Zenda Subject: ZENDA (Vol II, #7 ; 3/18/96) March 18, 1996 Volume II, Issue 7 ***** ***** * * **** ** * * ** * * * * * * *** * * * * * ****** * * * ** * * * * ***** ***** * * **** * * A Weekly Online Newsletter Serving the Assyrian Communities Around the World ===================================================== THE L I G H T H O U S E ===================================================== TAKE THE LEAD! Are leaders born or made? That is one of the oldest arguments around. Many assume that only those persons born with some special gifts can be effective leaders, but do not believe them! The best leaders are those who have acquired the ability to cope with the changing world and who have organized and motivated others to do the same. Assyrians scattered around the world today need effective leaders to direct and guide them. The authority will need to be organized in the future to ensure the survival of our nation as a whole. The men and women who take charge will need to understand their nation and govern with patience...Be willing to assume an authoritative role. It is true and simple. You cannot become a leader until you demonstrate a willingness to assume a position of leadership. This does not necessarily mean taking charge of every situation of group activity, but at some point you must step forward and make it clear that you will accept the role of supervising a project or guide a group. Get involved in school clubs and teams, and also work you way into a key role. There are also Assyrian youth clubs and church groups, which offer positions of leadership for you. All you need to do is become a member and be willing to participate. Getting started simply means saying "yes" instead of "no!" Everyone has the potential for leadership; you just need to tap into your own talents and abilities. -Marian Younan Modesto, California An Excerpt from an article published for Qalah: The Assyrian American Voice [Miss Younan is currently completing her undergraduate studies at University of California, Davis. A Zenda reader, Marian has consistently participated in the affairs of the University Student Body and has been elected as officer of the Student Body government.] ===================================================== G O O D M O R N I N G B E T - N A H R A I N ===================================================== U.S. DEPT OF STATE PUBLISHES IRAQ HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT (ZN: Chicago) U.S. State Dept. has released the 1995 Iraq Human Rights Practices Report in which the diverse ethnic populations of Iraq are described as repressed, abused, and continually harassed. The report explains "various abuses against the country's 350,000 Assyrian Christians." It notes that " most Assyrians traditionally live in the northern governorates, and the Government often has suspected them of "collaborating" with Kurds. Military forces destroyed numerous Assyrian churches during the Anfal Campaign and reportedly tortured and executed many Assyrians. According to HRW and Assyrian sources, the Government continues to harass and kill Assyrians throughout the country by forced relocations, terror, and artillery shelling." The report continues: "The Government continued to pursue its discriminatory resettlement policies, including demolition of villages and forced relocation of Kurds, Turcomans, Assyrians, and other minorities... The Government does not recognize the various political groupings and parties that have been formed by Shi'a Muslims, as well as Kurdish, Assyrian, Turcoman, and other Iraqi communities... Assyrians are an ethnic group as well as a Christian community. They speak a distinct language--Syriac. Public instruction in Syriac, which was to have been allowed under a 1972 decree, has never been implemented. The Special Rapporteur reported continued discrimination against Assyrians throughout 1995. According to opposition reports, many Assyrian families were forced to leave Baghdad after they had fled to that city for safety following the regime's suppression of the northern uprising in 1991." The full text of this report can be obtained from the U.S. Dept of State. ===================================================== S U R F S U P ! ===================================================== "Thank you for your Newsletter. I am delighted and I am looking forward to the next issue. -Bernadette Miraziz Vienna-Austria -------------------------- "I have a somewhat unpleasant request to make: I'd like to be taken off the recipient list for Zenda. I have seen too many inaccurate historical references (calling Urartians ancient Armenians, for example), and too many articles with a hidden agenda (purporting the existence of non-Christian Assyrians in any capacity other than on an individual basis, perhaps so as to promote a secular agenda, for example) to be able to stomach this newsletter any longer. Perhaps you should cut back on the frequency of publication and take more time to check out the credibility of your sources. Don't get me wrong; I wish you well. Your efforts are commendable. Don't lose your zeal, despite what "naysayers" such as myself may say, but please don't forget that if it wasn't for Christianity Assyrians would have died out millennia ago. It's not wise to separate our God from our peoples. You should know better than anyone that in the Semitic world view church and state are inseparable, and rightly so. Thank you, and good luck with your endeavors." -David Baba San Jose, California [History is not the truth; it is only a truth among the many. Hence, ZENDA welcomes, as in the past, any corrections made to our "inaccurate historical references." Modern Armenians trace their roots to the Kingdom of Ararat (Hebrew) or Urartu (Assyrian). The first known Urartian king, Arame, ruled from B.C. 858 until B.C. 844. The first reference to Urartu was however made in B.C. 1275. By the sixth century B.C. the kingdom had collapsed as had the Assyrian Empire, a century before.] <> -------------------------- "Once again, it is my great good pleasure to write to you and your esteemed readers a brief notice concerning the new website address for Assyrian Church of the East. As of the middle of March 1996, CIRED's new website address is: (www.cired.org). This new arrangement has been accomplished with the help of Mr. Gilyana Chamaki-an Assyrian fellow from San Jose, CA. I always look very much forward to receiving your very informative and interesting newsletter. Indeed, you are advancing a new way of much needed communication between Assyrians around the world; it would be my pleasure to extend to you whatever assistance appropriate. God bless you and your efforts into bridging the thoughts of Assyrians and many others throughout the world." -Bishop Mar Bawai Soro Assyrian Church of the East U.S. -------------------------- "I really enjoy reading your electronic newsletter and I commend you for such an awesome work that you are doing, and I would also like to extend the same to your staff. I read the opening comment on your Monday 3/12/96 issue and I couldn't agree more, it has been said such a wonderfully about our people at large, it is a shame to agree with that , but again how can you NOT agree with the truth, and that is nothing but the truth. However, I just wanted to acknowledge to that article and put my two cents worth. Once again, may God bless you for all the hard work that you guys/gals are doing. I AM TRULY PROUD OF YOU ALL!!! ALAHA MINOKHON!! -Samson Badal, P.E., M.S., J.D. Canada -------------------------- "I am glad to find that so many Assyrians are getting involved with Internet, what Internet has done, is getting us closer to each other and making us understand each other in a much better way, but, i also believe that we should create a member room on AOL so we could talk to each other directly. SO, why don't we take advantage of this super information highway source available and make our own world even smaller." -David Youkhana Lincolnwood,Illinois -------------------------- "Dear Zenda Editorial Staff, in the March 4, 1996 issue of Zenda's P U M P U P T H E V O L U M E you used two words in the Assyrian section to represent a student. Here is a cut and paste of your writing: Teach Malapta [F] Teacher Malpanta [F] Malpana [M] Student Yaloopta [F] Yalpana [M] I have the following two questions for which I would like to read your answer: 1. How did you derive the nouns Yaloopta and Yalpana from Malapta? 2. Why did you use Yaloopta and Yalpana instead of Yaloopta and Yaloopa,or Yalpanta and Yalpana? 3. Since you used "oo" in Yaloopta, it indicates to me that you are using Vov-Rvasa. Is it not grammatically correct to use Vov-Rvakha? For the second word you show the following: Discipline Talmadta [F] 'VERB' Toolmada [M] 'NOUN' Disciple Talmedta [F] Talmeeda [M] Please be advised that all verbal roots in the Assyrian language are derived from the third person, singular, and masculine gender of the verb. Given this the 'VERB' for discipline is Talmid (feminine form is Talmida)." -Bellos Nisan Sunnyvale, California [The correct masculine form of the word "student" must read Yaloopa. We stand corrected. In Classical Assyrian, Yaleepa is the correct word for "student." However, in the Modern Assyrian language both Yaloopta and Yaloopa are used also (see A. J. Maclean's Dictionary of the Dialects of Vernacular Syriac). "Malip" is the causitve form of "Yalip" a Kreeha'd Reesha verb. Such verbs use Wow-Rwasa -oo- in their Mlatshemaha case (see Melta...by Nimrod Simono)] ===================================================== S U R F E R S C O R N E R ===================================================== At press time we have received no response to the question we posed last week: Are there any Assyrian IRC channels out there in the world? We have not been able to identify such a service exclusively used by the Assyrians on the net. Perhaps it is time we push the frontiers of the Internet communication a few fibers further. Any suggestions? ===================================================== N E W S D I G E S T ===================================================== ASSYRIAN ELECTION RESULTS IN IRAN'S MAJLIS (ZN: Tehran) According to last week's election results, Mr. Shemshoon Maghsoodpoor of Tehran has won a second-term in office, as the Assyrian Representative in the Majlis (parliament) of Iran. Other candidates included Misters Albert Younan of Tehran, and Victor Yahyakhan of the city of Urmie. AANF NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES MEETING (ZN: San Jose) The quarterly NEC meeting of the Assyrian American National Federation was held on February 23 in New Britain, Connecticut, U.S. At this meeting, the chairwoman of the Women's Committee, Miss Sharokin Givargiz, proposed the First Assyrian Women's Conference during the next Assyrian National Convention in Modesto, California. Miss Givargiz' proposal was passed and the proposal was later brought to the attention of Congresswoman Anna Eshoo's office in Washington D.C. Mr. Yatroum Zia, president of the AANF, accepted a proposal from California to allow posting of the AANF By-Laws on the internet. Other issues discussed included the annual budget, re-instatement of affiliates on probation, and the future of the AANF's membership in the Assyrian Universal Alliance. This last issue will be thoroughly discussed in the upcoming AUA Annual Meeting in Detroit. The next quarterly meeting will be held in San Jose, California during the Assyrian State Convention from May 27 through 27. All meetings are open to public. TORONTO ASSYRIANS CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY (ZN: New Britain) On March 6, in commemoration of the International Women's Day, Assyrian women of Toronto, Canada had organized the first Assyrian International Women's Day celebration. Hosted by the United Assyrian Youth of Canada, this memorable event brought together close to 50 women and 6 guest speakers. The evening began with the poetry of Amira Bet-Shmoel, selected from her album "Shamiram". The event was facilitated by Vardia Oshana-Yakhanis. Nano Ganja, President of the Assyrian Society of Canada was also among the speakers. Sharokin Betgevargiz, chairwoman of the AANF Women's Committee presented a slide show covering the accomplishments of the delegation of Assyrian women at the NGO Forum in Beijing, China. Two additional panelists stressed the importance of Assyrian women's ownership and management of businesses, as well as leadership role in political institutions. The evening's program concluded with Amira and Vardia's moving and inspiring speeches in calling for strength, solidarity and sisterhood. A NEW ASSYRIAN ORGANIZATION IN CANADA (SC: B.C.) On Sunday March 10, 1996, an election was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to establish a new Assyrian-Canadian Association of British Columbia (B.C.), Canada. The elected Exucutive Committee consists of the following individuals 1. Mr. Youash A. Gewargis - President. 2. Dr. Simon Francis Shamoun - Vice-President & General Secretary. 3. Mr. Edmon Michael - Treasurer. 4. Mr. Ashour Shmouel - Social & Athletics Activities. 5. Mr. Cyros Amiri - Public Relations & Communications. 6. Mr. Saper Gewargis - Cultural & Educational Activities. 7. Mrs. Cardelia Benjamin - Exucetive at-large 8. Mrs. Shamiran Ibbitt - Exucetive at-large Activities of the ACABC in the near future will include the Kha b'Neesan celebration of the Assyrian New Year 6746. TRIP TO THE HOLY LAND (EB: Turlock) Dr. Rev. George Shahbaz , Rev. Eshia Joesph and Rev. Oshana Kanoun are organizing a trip to the Holy Land (Isreal). The trip is scheduled for nine days starting Novemebr 5th, 1996 departing from San Fransico, California. For more information call Rev. Shahbaz at (209)632-4788 or (209)632-7296. ===================================================== D I R E C T O R Y OF THE N E W S S O U R C E S ===================================================== NQ (Nebu Quarterly) P.O. Box 59422, Chicago Illinois 60659 RU (Reuters) SC (soc.culture.assyrian) ZN (Zenda Reporters): zenda@ix.netcom.com ===================================================== C A L E N D A R OF E V E N T S ===================================================== New Dates & Updates See March 23, 24 ----------------------------------------------------- March 24 Sawa Khamis Qardakha of Arbela: His Poetry on Religion, Romance, Wine, Wisdom and Other Topics Oraham Yalda Oraham 5:00 P.M., Edens Banquets 6313 N. Pulaski Chicago, U.S.A. March 27 Lecture: The Struggle For Power in Northern Iraq Speaker: Wilfred Alkhas 3:00-5:00 pm Modesto Junior College Forum Building 101 Modesto, U.S.A. March 28-31 Assyrian Universal Alliance 20th World Congress Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. April 12-14 The Assyrian Art Exhibition 1996 Toronto, Canada (416) 972-0106 Voice (416) 650-1983 Fax May 24-27 Assyrian State Convention of California Fairmont Hotel San Jose, U.S.A. May 24-25 Memorial Weekend Games Chicago, U.S.A. May 25-26 2nd Assyrian Community Networking Conference Fairmont Hotel San Jose, U.S.A. June 1 Nineveh Choral Concert Conducted by Maestro Nebu Issabey Santa Teresa High School Auditorium San Jose, U.S.A. 8:00 pm June 9-11 The ARAM Conference Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A Thru Aug 15 "Beirut: Uncovering the Past" Profiles recent UNESCO archeology efforts The British Museum London, England Aug 29-Sept 2 AANF National Convention Red Lion Inn Hotel Modesto, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------- ENTERTAINMENT ----------------------------------------------------- March 23 Kha b'Neesan Party Assyrian American Association Yonkers, New York 8:00 PM Entertainer: Robert Sayad Menu: Chicken & Beef Kabob Donation: $35 (adults) $15 (minors) March 24 Assyrian STARS Athletic Teams All-Day Picnic/Athletic Tournaments BETA: 20000 Almaden Road San Jose, California 10:00am - 5:00pm March 30 Kha b'Neesan Party 92 Mclintock Street New Britain, Connecticut, U.S. 10:00 PM Dominos, Pingpong & Backgammon Tournaments Picnic, Art gallery, Drama & Dance Party Admission: Free Kha b'Neesan Party Assyrian American Association of San Jose Banker's Club 8 South First St (& Santa Clara) San Jose, U.S.A. Entertainer: Edmond Donation: $20.00 April 12 St. Mary's Annual Church Party Assyrian Catholic Church Scottish Rite Center San Jose, California Entertainer: Walter Aziz/Haroot Band Nights of Babylon DJ Donation: $30.00 ----------------------------------------------------- REGULAR MEETINGS ----------------------------------------------------- Fridays Assyrian Educational & Cultural Club at Modesto Junior College 1:00 pm Founders Hall 108 Modesto, U.S.A. ----------------------------------------------------- CLASSES ----------------------------------------------------- Thursdays Nineveh Choir: Maestro Nebu Issabey BETA: AAA of San Jose, U.S.A. 7:30-9:00 pm ===================================================== A S S Y R I A N S U R F I N G P O S T S ===================================================== New Site(s) Ancient Near Eastern Astronomy http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~hope/aneastro.html Babylonian & Egyptian Mathematics http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/ HistTopics/Babylonian_and_Egyptian.html ***************************************************** Ancient Mesopotamia http://sipparorinst.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/RA/ABZ U/ABZU_REGINDX_MESO.HTML Akkadian Language http://ruurq2.sron.ruu.nl/akkadian/ Assyria On-Line http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~jatou/./ Assyrian Collection of the Metropolitan Museum http://www.metmuseum.org/htmlfile/gallery/second/ near.html Assyrian Flag http://www.cesi.it/flags/assyria.html Assyrian Fonts ftp://scholar.cc.emory.edu/pub/fonts/mac ftp://scholar.cc.emory.edu/pub/fonts/windows Assyrian Local Union in Norrkoping, Sweden http://www.netg.se/Oppen/Org/a/ass/index.html Assyrian Server (in Sweden) http://www.cs.umu.se/~dprhi/assyr/assyr.html Assyrian Songs http://users.aol.com/assyrianme/songs/ assyrian.html Assyrian Woman Home Page http://www.nineveh.com/~agabrial/woman.htm Assyrian Youth Association of Sweden http://www.cs.umu.se/~dprhi/assyr/assyr.html Corpus Neo Assyrian Project: Helsinki, Finland http://www.helsinki.fi/science/saa/cna.html e.BABYLON http://www.nineveh.com/~agabrial/babylon.htm Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East http://www.cired.org Journal of the Assyrian Academic Society http://www.nineveh.com/~agabrial/jaas.htm List of Books on Babylon http://www.vuw.ac.nz/who/Jamie.Norrish/nephilim/ Bibliographies/babylon.html Mesopotamia http://www.singnet.com.sg/~edmonds/sumerian_ main.html Middle Eastern Cuisine (includes Assyrian dishes) http://value.net/~stoma/#clicking "Newsgroup" soc.culture.assyrian Nineveh Kids Homepage http://www.nineveh.com/~agabrial/kidsweb.htm Sumerian Culture/Dictionary http://webusers.anet-dfw.com/~adapa/Index.html Syriac Comp Inst http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/gk105/syrcom/ ===================================================== P U M P U P T H E V O L U M E ===================================================== ENGLISH ASSYRIAN Box Pooz-gaa-raa [M] Basket Qa-neez-qa [M] Tray Baab-boo-aa [M] Note: Pronounce "q" as in "qaatoo, CAT" _____________________________________________________ F = Feminine M = Masculine P = Plural ===================================================== B A C K T O T H E F U T U R E ===================================================== B.C. (1430) Kara-Indash, a Babylonian king, builds a temple in Uruk, the facade of which was made of bricks moulded in such a way that, when put together, they made up the figures of divine beings in low relief. This ingenius technique was later used by the Persians in Susa (Shush) and Persepolis (Takhte-Jamshid). << Georges Roux, Ancient Iraq >> A.D. (January 18, 1836) The first academic Assyrian school for Assyrians with only 7 pupils is established in Urmie, Iran. The school is now regarded as the first modern school in Iran and central Asia. << An Assyrian Calendar printed in Tehran-Iran, 1995 >> ====================================================== L I T E R A T U S ====================================================== THE ARRIVAL OF SPRING In Akkadian: c. 2000 B.C. um sessu sa yarah nisan umu u musi sitqulu yum sitta d yarh nissan yuma u leli istaqqal sessu beru umu sessu beru musi sitta beri yuma sitta beri leli Nabu u Marduk ana sarri beliya likrubu Nabu u Marduk l malka mari barhi Translation: On the sixth day of the month of Neesan Day and night balanced each other; Six Berus in a day and six Berus in a night. May Nabu and Marduk pronounce blessings unto the king, my lord. Note: Beru = 2 hours ====================================================== T H I S W E E K I N H I S T O R Y ====================================================== March 20, 1843: Paul Emil Botta, a medical doctor, explorer, and French consul in Mosul uncovers the ramains of Dur-Sharrukin, the capital city of Sargon II of Assyria. ====================================================== B R A V O ====================================================== On Saturday, a fundraising party for Congresswoman Anna Eshoo was organized by the Assyrian American Association of San Jose in the Awana of the Assyrian Church of the East. Nearly $10,000 were raised to assist the Assyrian Congresswoman from the 14th U.S. District in this year's November elections. ===================================================== W E L C O M E T O Z E N D A ===================================================== Zenda welcomes our new on-line subscribers from: CORPORATE ACCOUNTS TEMIC Corporation UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTS Cal State, Fullerton PERSONAL ACCOUNTS Union City, California San Jose, California ===================================================== A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S ===================================================== Zenda wishes to thank the following individuals & organizations whose contributions appear in this issue: Albert Gabrial Hollister, California Pauline Jasim Chicago, Illinois Carlo Ganjeh San Jose, California Dr. Emanuel Kamber Michigan, U.S. Sandra Gevarguize Yonkers, New York Mardook Betoushana New Britain, Connecticut ____________________________________________________ ZENDA will continue to print your comments and suggestions free of editing, as they appear in our mailbox. All letters will be printed in our SURFS UP! section unless directed otherwise. We urge you to submit your community events, personal accomplishments, and meeting/school times to Zenda no later than Sunday at 12:00 PM, Pacific Standard Time. ----------------------------------------------------- Our Next Issue will appear on Monday, March 25, 1996. -----------------------------------------------------