Large Chaldean population in Sterling Heights to take part in shaping new Iraq

PUBLISHED: January 4, 2005

By Chad Selweski
Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Thousands -- perhaps tens of thousands -- of Iraqi-Americans will head to the polls in Sterling Heights this month to cast votes in the historic elections that will be held in their homeland.

Under the Out-of-Country Voting program, Iraqi citizens living in the United States will be allowed to vote, with polling stations established in five metropolitan areas. In the Detroit area, voting sites will be set up in Sterling Heights, Southfield and Dearborn. Iraqis from across Michigan and much of the Midwest are expected to cast ballots at those three locations over a 3-day period, from Jan 28 through Jan. 30, the day the first vote will be held in Iraq to elect a National Assembly.

"This is the first time in my life to experience, as an Iraqi, the chance to vote," said Nick Najjar, 44, of Sterling Heights. "I left Iraq in 1978 and I have voted as an American since 1988. But the Iraqis here, we left not because we wanted to leave. We left because of (former president) Saddam (Hussein). So, we want to express ourselves, our feelings, about the future of Iraq."

With voting slated in 11 countries outside of Iraq, it's unclear what the eligibility requirements will be for expatriate Iraqis to vote. Initially it appeared that the Iraqi interim government would allow anyone who was born in Iraq or whose parents were born there to cast a ballot. The final determination may limit voting to those born in Iraq. Voters must be 18 years old, born before Dec. 31, 1986.

Najjar, a member of the Sterling Heights Ethnic Committee, estimates that the number of Iraqis living in Sterling Heights ranges from 12,000 to 18,000. It is believed that more than 95 percent are Chaldeans -- Christian Iraqis. Not all will be eligible to vote, but Najjar predicts about half will cast ballots. It's impossible to project how many from outside the area will vote in Sterling Heights.

The United State is one of 11 countries taking part in the voting program. Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C., have been selected for polling sites by the International Organization for Migration. The IOM, working with Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, is organizing voting in the United States, Canada, Australia and several counties in Europe and the Middle East.

The Iraqi government has budgeted $92 million to pay for this worldwide voting process. The Geneva-based IOM works with United Nations agencies to organize voting across the globe. It projects that 1 million Iraqis living outside their country will be eligible to vote.

Nafa Khalaf, a board member for the Arab-American Institute's Detroit chapter, said he has already heard stories about Iraqis planning to travel 10 hours to vote in Los Angeles.

"This means a lot to many Iraqi-Americans," said Khalaf, 50, of Troy, who came to America in 1986 and has voted in four elections here.

As for the election in his troubled homeland, he said: "To me, even if we achieve 1 percent of the (expected) result, people will feel hope. That's step one. Stability in Iraq can only be achieved after a widespread election."

Martin Manna of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, based in Farmington Hills, said the Chaldean community is split over the violence-plagued situation in Iraq as the election approaches. Many still cherish the liberation of their homeland from the grip of Saddam, but others see a country in chaos where no one is safe. Most hope that the elections will put the war-torn nation on a new path.

As the vote approaches, Manna said, Chaldean-Americans are determined to give Iraqi Christians a stronger voice at the ballot box. Many Chaldeans express irritation that the worldwide media portrays Iraq as a land comprised of three groups -- Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. In addition, Chaldeans scoff at the notion that Christians -- Chaldeans and Assyrians -- represent 1 percent or less of Iraq's population. Manna said 5 percent is a more accurate figure.

"It's almost like we've been stripped of our identification," said Manna, 31. "A large number of us expatriates are here in the U.S. and it's important to us, since we're such a small part of the population over there, to increase their voice."

Manna hopes to vote in the election, though he was born in the United States. If he's denied, his mother, father, and five brothers and sisters -- all born in Iraq -- will go to the polls. Documents that prove birthplace will be the key to securing a voter registration card.

An IOM representative has held several meetings with prominent Detroit area members of the Iraqi community to launch the voting program, including one session last week in Sterling Heights. The polling place for Sterling Heights has not been chosen yet -- a large banquet hall is a possibility -- but training of 450 election workers needed for the Detroit area will begin soon at a Dearborn hotel.

Under the hastily arranged election process, voter registration will be held Jan. 17-23 for the approximately 150,000 Iraqis living in Michigan. Estimates of the number eligible to vote range from 80,000 to 120,000.