Nineveh 2020-2
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CULTURAL EDUCATIONAL SOCIAL Established 1964 Ancient Assyrian New Year Wish in Cuneiform “I write for your well-being on the occasion of the New Year –– May you be happy, May you remain in good health May the god who looks after you provide you with good things” Publication of the Assyrian Foundation of America Volume 45, Number 2, 2020 From the President Contents Dear Nineveh Magazine Readers and AFA members, 4 Gilgamesh Performance 23 Their Story Will Soon Drown: A Christian Professionals and Assyrian Children Family of Middle East Survivors For those of you who don’t know me, I am the new- Nuri Kino ly elected president of the Assyrian Foundation of America 7 Nineveh Magazine The Assyrian Foundation (AFA). Before I provide you with more information regard- 24 Dr. Emmanuel Ramsin ing my background, I would like to thank our previous In Memoriam president Jackie Yelda for the many years of hard work and 8 AKITU 1670 achievements that she provided to the AFA. I think I can Elizabeth Mickaily-Huber, Ph.D. speak for all of us when I say that we are sad to see her go. 25 Nineveh Donations Nevertheless, I look forward to taking on the torch and to June 2019 through November 2019 serving the AFA, as I have done previously in a variety of 10 ‘Extremely rare’ Assyrian functions. carvings discovered in Iraq 26 Ferdinand Badal Andrew Lawler In Memoriam I was born in Baghdad, Iraq at the Kamp Alghei- lani, also known as the Armenian Camp. I grew up in 12 For Iraq’s Christians, 30 AFA Fourth Quarter Member Meeting Habanniya and later lived in Baghdad. I attended St Joseph This Year Might Be Their Last Elizabeth Mickaily-Huber, Ph.D. Latin Primary School, graduated from the Jesuit Baghdad Reine Hanna College high school, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in 32 War in Syria Drives out 14 Seeds of Renewal Christian Community Business Administration from Al Hikma University. In 1970, I immigrated to the U.S. where I obtained an Mindy Belz in Tel Tal, Syria Courtesy of DW.com MBA from Amstrong University. Since 1991, I am CFO of the Ted Jacob Engineering Group in Oakland, California. 16 Assyrian Foundation of America 35 The Other Genocide of Christians On a personal note, I have been happily married to Jermaine (Yonan) Shabbas since 1974, have Sponsors Aid Projects in Armenia Raymond Ibrahim two children Atur and Nineveh Shabbas, as well as two adorable grandkids Amarissa and Matthew. Savina Dawood 36 Raymond Caram I joined the AFA in 1973 and have held various positions within the board, as well as the function 18 A Walk through Ancient Assyria Donna DeCosa of President from 1985 to 1988. Moreover, I joined the Assyrian Aid Society of America to help our Assyri- at the Getty Villa in Malibu ans back home since the Gulf War 1991 and acted as treasurer since 1992. Elizabeth Mickaily-Huber, Ph.D. 38 The British Betrayal Of The Assyrian Levies It has always been my goal to help my fellow Assyrian brothers and sisters, especially the ones Yusuf Malek back home. I have visited Atra, specifically northern Iraq many times to join Akitu festivals and to visit 20 Assyrian History for the our Assyrian Schools and children. To continue my efforts to help Assyrians in need wherever they may Non-Historian be, I am pleased to take on the position as President of the Assyrian Foundation of America (AFA). Professor Eden Naby 40 Assyrian With sincere good wishes, Sargon Shabbas Articles submitted for publication will be selected Address letters to: Crew: I am pleased to also introduce you to our newly elected by the editorial staff on the basis of their relative The Editor Dr. Ninwe Maraha (Editor) Assyrian Foundation of America (AFA) board members for 2020: merit to Assyrian literature, history, and current NINWE MARAHA Dr. Robert Karoukian events. NINEVEH MAGAZINE Dr. Elizabeth Mickaily-Huber President - Sargon Shabbas Welfare- Martin Jacob/ Acting Officer P.O. Box 2660 Tamara Odisho Benjamin Opinions expressed in NINEVEH are those of the - Martin Jacob - Chris Hamzaeff Berkeley, California 94702 Sargon Shabbas, Circulation Vice -President Social respective authors and not necessarily those of Secretary - Jean Karamian Membership - Linda Rasho NINEVEH or the Assyrian Foundation of America. [email protected] Donatella Yelda Treasurer - Sargon Warda Nineveh Magazine - Dr. Ninwe Maraha George Bet-Shlimon Assyrian Foundation of America established in Heather Bou (Layout Designer) Education - Dr. Robert Karoukian Building/Manager - Daniel Dekelaita Yearly subscription fees June 1964 and incorporated in the state of Cal- US...........................$40 ifornia as a non-profit, tax- exempt organization International ...........$50 dedicated to the advancement of the education of Assyrians. 2 3 Why the Gilgamesh story and how did you manage to get the Between October 2019 and January 2020, every performance children involved in the performance? was sold out, in total 6 performances! We also performed for local schools. Whether adults or children, Swedes or Gilgamesh Performance The idea started following the reading and acting out of a multi-ethnic groups, the play elicited much emotion from children’s version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. We quickly real- the audience, causing them to laugh, cry, remember or dis- by professionals and Assyrian Children in Sodertalje, Sweden ized that we could do so much more. The children loved the cover the epic of Gilgamesh. story. The king, the goddesses, the heroes and the adven- ture mesmerized the children and we decided to take it one The Swedish Minister of Culture and Democracy, Amanda By Berolin Deniz, Sweden step further. We applied for and were granted funding from Lind, came to see the play and said in an interview done What and Who is LFI? the “Kulturrådet” (Swedish Arts Council) to organize a play by Assyria TV that she highly recommended everyone to version of the Epic of Gilgamesh involving youth between see the play and expressed total admiration of the young The aim and purpose of LFI (Läsfrämjarinstitutet) is to encourage early childhood reading. The reason for this is 10 and 15 years old. ensemble who performed above and beyond everyone’s ex- simple: Reading is fundamental for language development and increases a person’s chances to have good opportu- pectations. nities in life within a democratic society. Reading contributes to developing cognitive skills, empathy, imagination, By doing a play version of the story, we felt that we could at- educational and professional skills and enhances learning. Reading fiction (novels, poetry, etc.) also provides a cul- tract more readers and potentially even attract an audience Besides its overall success on stage, the play has been a jour- tural experience that opens the mind to new things. There’s nothing quite like reading a good book! Moreover, we see that doesn’t usually read classical books, doesn’t go to the ney of persistence and strength for the children who per- tendencies that groups in society who read less, succeed less. This creates a significant gap between children growing theater, or maybe an audience that doesn’t read frequently formed and for anyone involved in the project. These youth up in working-class families and those growing up in upper middle-class families. This difference is indicated clearly at all. Because we believe that reading is about democracy, have grown so much, both individually and as a group. We via test scores in elementary school children all over the country. doing a play ensured that we didn’t leave anyone behind. all learned a lot from this experience. What an incredible Moreover, if the Epic of Gilgamesh has survived for thou- adventure to witness a group of young people, all originat- As a result, LFI created “Läslandet” (Reading Land), a space where children of ages 3 to 11 can come along with their sands of years, surely it deserves to live for many more years! ing from the land of Gilgamesh, present the world’s oldest parents to take part in a reading program. However, this event is so much more than reading, actors read loud and literary work! act out stories for and with the participants. Reading in this way is enjoyable, physical, social and aesthetic, thus Our Assyrian cultural heritage is a literary one that the en- attracting children who are not keen on sitting alone and reading silently. We ensure that the books/stories/acts re- tire world has built upon. Themes found in the Gilgamesh flect the language and cultural experiences of the participants. For example, the characters in the book might dance story are ones found in the Bible, in Homer’s Greek adven- “sheikhane” or make a tasty tabbouleh salad. In this way, children can identify more easily with the characters and tures as well as in Arabic and European literature. Adam even feel that they are part of the story. mirrors the character Enkidu, as Odysseus parallels Gil- gamesh. Furthermore, the entire story of Noah and the flood is very similar to the story of Utnapishtim who Gil- gamesh seeks out in search of eternal life. Above all, this epic poem is eternal, with its beauty, plot and questions regarding the meaning of life, humanity, rivalry, friendship and sorrow. Indeed, we noted that the children who partici- pated in the play, although children of modern society, were able to identify with these themes within their own lives as young teenagers growing up in a postmodern world. Describe the audience’s reaction to this unique performance The standard version of the tale, compiled by Sîn-lēqi-un- ninni in the year 1300BC, was adapted into a play script by Berolin Deniz.