Assyrians make sure Iraq pays attention
Local community is eager to gain a representativein the nation's
government
|
By CHRISTINA SALERNO
BEE STAFF WRITER
December 26, 2005
For many Assyrians, the recent Iraqi election was more than
simply choosing a new government. It was an opportunity to have
a voice in their homeland, a place, they say, where their voices
have been drowned out for too long.
Assyrians with Iraqi roots living in Stanislaus County and
throughout the United States turned out en masse to vote in the
Iraqi election from Dec. 13 to 15.
Their support helped a slate of Assyrians receive the most
ballots in the United States - 6,857 votes, or 26percent - narrowly
defeating a Shiite Muslim coalition.
|
|
 Batta Younan, organizer
for the Assyrian Democratic Movement, included the party's logo
in an Iraqi stone carving at her Modesto home. She says one seat
in parliament is better than nothing.
NAOMI BROOKNER/THE BEE |
But despite the popularity of the slate in the United States,
it did not fare as well in Iraq, and the group might receive
only one seat in the 275-member parliament.
For people who never have had much representation in the Iraqi
government, one seat is better than nothing, said Modesto resident
Batta Younan.
Younan fled Iraq in 1980. She is an activist who worked to
support the Assyr-ian Democratic Movement slate, or ADM. The
party also is known as Zowaa, which means "movement."
Batta Younan, organizer for the Assyrian
Democratic Movement, included the party's logo in an Iraqi stone
carving at her Modesto home. She says one seat in parliament
is better than nothing.
NAOMI BROOKNER/THE BEE |
 |
Assyrians are a Christian minority in Iraq and make up less
than 3 percent of Iraq's population of about 26 million.
Thirty thousand to 45,000 Assyrians are thought to be living
in Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, making the region
home to one of the largest such populations in the United States.
Younan, an ardent supporter of President Bush and the U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq, said she believes democracy is taking place
in Iraq for the first time.
"If, someday, democracy comes to Iraq, this is going
to be the party to bring it," she said.
Fred Aprim, another party activist, said he fears the Shiite
majority will impose Islamic law in Iraq.
"We must have at least one vote in parliament, because
whatever comes out of parliament will be shown on national TV,"
he said. "Our voice will not be lost completely because
there will be someone there who will always be heard."
A former Modestan, Aprim lives in Hayward. He fled Iraq in
1980, and recalled his father and teenage brother being imprisoned
and beaten under Sad-dam Hussein's rule.
"Most of the people came here after 1970 and really understand
what is at risk," he said. "We never knew what voting
was until we came here."
U.S. citizens who were born in Iraq and hold citizenship there
were allowed to vote in the Iraqi election. Iraqis born in the
United States who could prove their fathers are Iraqi also were
allowed to vote.
Other parties supported
The ADM party doesn't have the support of all Assyrians. There
are political factions within the Assyrian community, and support
is split among several parties.
Sargon Dadesho is president of the Bet-Nahrain Assyrian Cultural
Center in Ceres and founder of the Assyrian National Congress.
He organized a caravan of about 150 people to go to the polling
station in Pleasanton during the election. Their votes did not
go to the ADM party, he said.
"The ADM has given up on its original objective to get
back our national rights in Iraq," Dadesho said. "They
are not asking for our national rights anymore, they are only
asking for educational and administrative rights in Iraq."
The Assyrian empire, which fell in 612 B.C., covered parts
of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. Assyrians remain a
minority in the predominately Islamic Middle East.
Many Assyrians suffered under Saddam's regime, watching as
their villages were razed and family members were imprisoned.
Others say they weren't persecuted, but were treated like second-class
citizens because they were Christian.
Tens of thousands of Assyr-ians have fled Iraq over the past
20 years, relocating to the United States, Australia and Europe.
Many Assyrians say they feel they have been ignored by the
media, while the Kurdish plight has received widespread attention.
"Everybody is looking at the Kurds, but the Assyrians
are never mentioned," Aprim said. "We want people to
understand why we are here and why this happened to us."
The ADM party was started on April 12, 1979, in Baghdad, Younan
said. In 1984, three of its founders were hanged by Sad-dam,
according to Younan.
The slayings created sympathy for the party, she said, and
drew attention to Assyrian suffering.
The party was driven underground. Leaflets and pamphlets were
distributed secretly by party supporters.
The party's goals are to unite Assyrians and help preserve
their culture, she said. In the past 20 years, the ADM party
has grown and gained significant support in the Assyrian community,
Younan said.
|
Thanks to all who contributed
