Subj: ZENDA I (Vol II,#51 ; 2/10/97) Date: 97-02-10 04:28:31 EST From: zenda@ix.netcom.com (ZENDA) To: zenda@ix.netcom.com Shvadt 10, 6746 February 10, 1997 zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz zz z zzzzzzzzz z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z zzzzzzz z z z z z zzzzzzz z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz z zz zzzzzzz z z Volume II, Issue 51 A Weekly Online Publication of ZENDA Assyrian Newsagency -Section 1 of 2- =========================================================================== T H I S W E E K I N Z E N D A =========================================================================== -Section One- The Lighthouse...................... Another Year is Behind Us Good Morning Bet-Nahrain............ No News Surfs Up............................ "My eyes were filled with tears." Surfers Corner...................... Database of Assyrian-American Veterans News Digest......................... James Pritchard, noted Archaeologist AAS Public Meeting INS Lottery News Bits........................... Assad in Coma for Two Weeks Saddam and Sajida US Increases Air Power in the Gulf -Section Two- Calendar of Events.................. Hannibal Alkhas Art Exhibition (2 days) Entracte............................ AAS Party Intelligentsia...................... Classes and Seminars Assyrian Surfing Posts.............. The Tomb of Semiramis Pump up the Volume.................. Scholar & Scholarship Back to the Future.................. The Sumerian King List Drawing the Image of Christ Literatus........................... William Daniel's The Darling Lips This Week in History................ Israel Younan Bravo............................... Syriac Concordance Program- English The Directory....................... News Sources Bshena.............................. Chicago & Fujitsu Salute.............................. Adrin and Lena =========================================================================== THE L I G H T H O U S E =========================================================================== ANOTHER YEAR IS BEHIND US This week ZENDA begins its third year of serving the Assyrian communities around the world. During the past two years, we succeeded in etching a permanent path to the email folders of over 500 Assyrian readers and organizations from Finland to Uruguay, New Zealand to Pakistan. The first issue of ZENDA was sent out in February 1995 to less than a dozen Assyrian surfers. At an astonishing rate of 5 subscription requests per week the growth of our electronic magazine has also become the most expeditious among all other Assyrian periodicals. Moreover, ZENDA remains the only "weekly" Assyrian periodical among all current Assyrian electronic and paper-form magazines in the world. When ZENDA's first issue was emailed the Internet was a relatively new concept. Today there may be as many as 8 to 10 thousand Assyrian email addresses on the Internet. Therefore, our rate of expansion remains insignificant relative to the number of Assyrian email addresses installed every day. As the Assyrian families continue to move away from the denser centers of Assyrian population an effective use of the Internet becomes necessary to maintain vital channels of communication. With each new subscription a new way of thinking is added to this growing family of online critics. Hence, ZENDA has and will continue its tradition of objective journalism, a notion rarely celebrated by the earlier Assyrian journals in diaspora. Our journey has not been without pain and agony. At times ZENDA has been labeled "a Zionist instrument", "enemy of the people", "anti-Christian", and its publishers and staff accused of being "on Saddam's payroll." Yet since the first day of its inception only 6 subscribers have requested to be removed from our list of weekly readers. ZENDA will remain true to its initial commitment to objectivity, freedom of speech, elimination of all types of censorship, and respecting all Assyrian cultural, political, social,and religious ideas and achievements. If a review, analysis or critique is said or written by an Assyrian or for an Assyrian then it is likely to appear in ZENDA. As one reader commented in a complimentary email, resonating with emotional inflections, ZENDA "listens...and never fails to surprise its readers." "I don't like surprises," replies Wilfred Alkhas, publisher of ZENDA, "but I like to know that every Monday morning Assyrians around the world come together to share a few tears, laughs, oohs and aahs." ZENDA will continue to do just that, simply because our readers continue to believe in the Assyrian cause, its glorious past and the promising future of the people of Bet-Nahrain. As always, we thank you for your continued support! Staff of ZENDA =========================================================================== G O O D M O R N I N G B E T - N A H R A I N =========================================================================== No News was received in the last week. =========================================================================== S U R F S U P ! =========================================================================== "I would like to thank you for putting the information about the CASA Valentine Bash in Zenda...Thank you once again for your help and support! Can you please post the following in your newsletter. We greatly appreciate your help in the past. The Valentine Bash sponsored by the Chaldean American Student Association at the University of Michigan-Dearborn on February 15 has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused." Steven Kiryakoza CASA President Michigan "When I read the article 'I give you America my son' my eyes were filled with tears. If I decide to write my life story, I would probably name it differently. I would call it 'I give you my Assyrian legacy, Raqa, my child'--a legacy of destruction, death and being refugee of the world. We inheritted this legacy from the time we lost our country and became the Gypsies of the world. I remember all the stories I ever heard from my grand father, my father, my mother and all other relatives. Each one of the them has his or her own kind of experience, and we have our own. My grand father was from the same village as the writer of this article and I bet if the writer is still alive he might even know him. When he was alive he used to tell us all different horror stories of their life in Zirine and in Russia. My grand ma who was a midwife used to tell us stories of pregnant women having children in the middle of war where there were no hospitals and no medical help. My grandfather told us of the wars with the Kurds and how they killed Assyrians and how Assyrians retaliated. Then they were just stories and I To me they were never thought of them as facts of life. My mother's story was closer to home. In 1945, after Russians left Urmie, Iranian people began attacking and killing Christians. My mother's grandfather had cooperated with the Russians so his house was rubbed and then burned to ashes. My mom who was ten and her 5 sisters and brothers , ,ages 5 months to 8 years, were left on their own in the middle of winter to make their escape to the neighboring village, while everyone else was running for their own life. To make the story short it took two years for my mother's family to return to their own village and rebuild their life from ashes. Today it is our turn to taste the legacy of bitter immigration or as we say 'Raqa'. I think throughout our history we have abandoned our homes as many as 14 times. I wonder what history will call our Raqa? Are we going to leave our legacy to our children? Or is this the end for us and our legacy? I wonder if our children will understand when we tell them about our lives back in Middle East? Unfortunately for us, this legacy does not end with us. Our people back in the Middle East are still experiencing it daily and as long as they live in the nest of the enemies they will inherit this bitter legacy. For us who have managed to end this story of bitter immigration, mission has not yet ended either. But we remain the hope for those left behind. We are the means of survival for them. We should teach our children to remember their sisters and brothers back in Bet Nahrain and their obligation to them. This is the legacy we should leave them. Legacy of survival and nationalism." Lena Mushell San Jose, California "Your hard work and effort are quite evident in ZENDA and I wanted to thank you for serving Assyrians in this way. I'm sure without you this newsletter would not be possible and neither would the charity and help that Assyrians are getting from it. Please let me know if there is something I can do to help..God bless you and keep you." George Ishaya San Jose, California =========================================================================== S U R F E R S C O R N E R =========================================================================== ZENDA readers are invited to respond to the following request(s) by either directly writing to the author or sending a reply to ZENDA. *************************************************************************** A Database of the Assyrian-American Veterans It is great pleasure to read your Zenda weekly. Zenda is a window that has opened outward into the world for Assyrians around the globe to communicate with one another. May God lead you in your work always and may he grant you and Zenda success always. I would like to urge all Assyrian readers of Zenda to help me in establishing a database of Assyrian American Veterans, or for that matter, anyone outside the U.S. can also send in information even though my project at this time is US related, I will not dismiss any non-US information however I welcome it. I'd like to ask for Name, Address, Telephone, E-mail, of all those who served or are presently serving, or that any of Zenda readers know of. You can send this information to my direct E-mail address as follows: ESHA_TAMRAS@NOVELL.COM. I appreciate your assistance in this matter as I am working on a project specific to our Armed Services Men and Women that is an important component of our history. Esha Tamras San Jose, California =========================================================================== N E W S D I G E S T =========================================================================== PUBLIC MEETING OF THE ASSYRIAN AID SOCIETY IN SAN JOSE (ZNDA: San Jose) On Friday, 31 January 31 the Assyrian Aid Society of America held a public meeting at the Assyrian Church of the East Hall in San Jose, California. Dr. Alexander Malik introduced the executive board members as: Mr. Narsai David, President Dr. Lincoln Malik, Vice President Dr. Alexander Malik, Medical Assistance Program Project Leader Mr. Sargon Shabbas, Treasurer Mr. Ashur Yoseph, Special Projects Mr. Youkhanna Youkhanna, AAS Chapters Liason Narsai David indicated that this meeting was the first step in establishing a channel of communication between the Assyrian public and the AAS. He reported on the AAS projects including the building of medical clinics, housing, schools, roads, farming industry, publishing of Books, distribution of medicine and direct cash assistance. The first issue of AAS Newsletter "Tree of Life" was then handed to the audience members. Dr. Lincoln Malik, also the representative of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa) in the U.S. commented that the U.S. government is cognizant of the accomplishments of the AAS in benefitting the Assyrians in northern Iraq. It is unreasonable to ask for item by item accountability, he continued, because we should not assume that in northern Iraq one can walk into a store, make purchases and receive a printed receipt. The names of several U.S. and world agencies which have closely monitored the work of AAS was then reported. For more information contact Neil Karaman at 408-573-2808 or send email to: nkaraman@clarify.com. JAMES PRITCHARD, NOTED ARCHAEOLOGIST, DEAD AT 87 (ZNMN: Philadelphia) James B. Pritchard who lived in Haverton, Pennsylvania, and investigated the palace of King Herod in Jericho and the towns and villages of the Phoenicians died last month at age 87. He was the first to identify the locatio of Gibeon, a town mentioned dozens of times in Judeo-Christian Scriptures. James Pritchard is the editor of two-volume anthology of The Ancient Near East. NEW ROUNDS OF MILITARY EXECUTIONS IN BAGHDAD (ZNRU: Damascus) An Iraqi Shi'ite opposition group says that several high ranking officers have been executed in Baghdad after an abortive coup against Saddam Hussein. The Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), which has support in Iraq especially in the south, said in a statement the officers belonged to Saddam's special protection units and the Republican Guards. There was no independent confirmation of the report. Those executed included Brigadier Khudair Jasem Mohammed of the Republican Guards, Brigadier Munaf Star Aidan, a pilot, and Colonel Sultan Othman Saddam of al-Rasheed air base, the statement said. The other three were Colonel Najm Abdullah of al-Muthana military complex, Lieutenant-Colonel Hisham Shaysh Hussein al-Tikriti from the Military Combat School in Tikrit and Captain Majid Abde al-Basri, director of the public affairs at the defence ministry. The SCIRI which has offices in Tehran, Damascus, Kuwait and London works with other opposition groups to try to topple the Iraqi government. IMMIGRATION SERVICE LOTTERY (ZNSC: San Jose) From February 3rd through March 5th 1997 the State Department and Immigration Service (INS) of the USA will hold a "lottery" for 55.000 unrestricted Permanent Resident Visa (so called "Green Cards", actually they now are pink) which will allow the winners and their families to live and work anywhere in the U.S.A. without special sponsorship of any companies or individuals. Anybody can apply as long as they have at least a secondary education (equivalent to American "High School Diploma" = 12th grade) and at least 2 years of skilled labor training or college/university courses. In a family all members can apply singly to increase everybody's chances, because if only one wins spouses and children are admitted too. People born in any Middle Eastern country are eligible. There is no application form or fee. To enter, type or print in the English alphabet on a sheet of plain paper the following: Your Full Name Date of Birth (Day, Month, Year) Place of Birth (Ex: Urmie, Western Azerbaijan, Iran) Your Mailing Address Your Native Country (EX: Syria) Your Signature Enclose a photogrph of Yourself (1.5 inches by 1.5 inches) For more information call 900-884-8840. =========================================================================== N E W S B I T s =========================================================================== (ZNSC) A new 6747 Assyrian Sports Calendar featuring the legendary soccer greats, Aram Karam, Ammo Baba, Youra, and many more will soon be available. To Orders yours contact Layth Jato at Ljato@aol.com. (ZNRU) Syrian President Hafez al-Assad fell into a coma for two weeks late last year and was revived by Russian doctors in January, a British weekly newspaper reported on Sunday. Iraqi television Tuesday showed President Saddam Hussein and his wife Sajida -claimed by a U.S. military official to be under house arrest receiving well-wishers on the recovery of their son Uday. The Pentagon is sending an Airpower Expeditionary Force of about 30 planes and support personnel to serve in Operation Southern Watch. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- -End of Section 1 of 2 ----------------------- Headers -------------------------------- From zenda@ix.netcom.com Mon Feb 10 04:28:09 1997 Return-Path: zenda@ix.netcom.com Received: from dfw-ix2.ix.netcom.com (dfw-ix2.ix.netcom.com [206.214.98.2]) by emin16.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id EAA29161; Mon, 10 Feb 1997 04:28:06 -0500 Received: from walkhas-pc.3com.com ([139.87.93.19]) by dfw-ix2.ix.netcom.com (8.6.13/8.6.12) with SMTP id XAA13182; Sun, 9 Feb 1997 23:58:24 -0800 Message-Id: <3.0.32.19970210000116.0069a60c@popd.ix.netcom.com> X-Sender: zenda@popd.ix.netcom.com X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Pro Version 3.0 Demo (32) Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 00:07:06 -0800 To: zenda@ix.netcom.com From: ZENDA Subject: ZENDA I (Vol II,#51 ; 2/10/97) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"