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parhad is right

Posted by Ir@qi on September 03, 2001 at 20:54:12:

After reading the article below about the convention with statements from Jacklin Bejan I am convinced that what parhad has always said that this lady only cares about her personal ambitions, and her resume, more than she cares about Assyrians or doing the right thing, is true.
If you read her statement below you will not know that the largest number of Assyrians, namely those living in Iraq has been subjected to Sanctions for the last 11 years, which has resulted in death, destruction, and dispersion of the Assyrian comunity in Iraq, which will have tragic effects on the largest and
(REAL) Assyrian community in the world (not to mention the effects on other none Assyrian Iraqis).
Rather Jacklin used her 10 minutes under the sun to generate hate, resentment, and religious anger against the innocent people of Iraq, thinking that this will gain her some points with the racist, and the religious fanatics, who will read this article.
Frankly if I was an Iraqi back in Iraq who have been building churches for Iraqi Christians, the huge Assyrian library, and language center in Neinavah, speaking proudly for hours every day about the Assyrian civilization on Iraqi TV, have Assyrians in high position in the Iraqi government......(all this is going on today and every day, and despite the sanctions), if I am an Iraq living in Iraq and hear this from Jaki, .....well,.... I am not sure what will be my reaction....!!!
But apparently Jacklin Bejan care about Jacklin Bejan, she doesn't mind climbing to the top on other people misery, wither in Baghdad, Tel Keef, or in San Francisco.
Apart from that, what I have heard about what have happened in the convention leave left no doubt in my mind about who is right, and who is wrong.
I am sure parhad report of the events as he posted him here is true, he is smart enough, to say it as it happened since this happened in public, with witnesses, and he is posting in public too (although I think he should not do this because this will put him in disadvantage as the other side hide their strategy, and keep quite so they will not incriminate themselves)
parhad is acting as a brave man who has nothing to hide, qualities you do not find these days with so many sneeky sharks around.
But consider this, they reportedly came to him on Sunday asking him to sign a contract, and they used as an excuse to do this, that some thing bad happened LAST YEAR !
Well they had a lot of time from last year, until LAST SUNDAY to inform him and all the others of this contract. Not only they should have told him about this contract before Friday, but the contract or a note off, should have been part of the application, and posted on the web page weeks ago.
What is parhad supposed to do after he brought the heavy stuff hundred of miles away, put it up, and then find out a day later that ooopppsss !! there is a "contract", you have to sign the day of the show or leave.
And what if he doesn't like the contract, or the contract is illegal, discriminatory, or unfair to him, is he supposed to pack up and say thank you to Jacklin's Bouncers, and dirve off with his load ?
What about the Assyrians who saw the statues covered and were eager to see them, did Jaki care about them ? Do the Assyrian statues, with all the great messages they give to these Assyrian people who came from all over the world, do they belong in "Storage", or in the eyes and heart of every Assyrian to see ?
And so what if parhad asked a question, he has the right to get an answer to why an important project of his was
delayed, and obstructed, which hurt him and the community. Politicians are supposed to answer to the people even when they ask provocative questions, and the answer should not be by sending "Bruno", or "Uncle Venie" to silence the person, and intimidate him with the security, and block his art show as a bonus.
Jacklin claim to be against the persecuting of Assyrian, isn't this a form of it.
If an Iraqi or Syrian convention blocks the participation of an Assyrian artist wouldn't you call this discrimination Wouldn't you and Jaki cry out : "OHHH !!! they blocked him because he is Christian, or because he is of the Ashur religion"
What was done against parhad in my opinion is unethical, immoral, if not a violation of his freedom of association, freedom of speech, and may be (I am not a lawyer) involve discrimination, and improper procedure for informed consent.
I think (in my humble opinion) that the best way to resolve this is for Jacklin to settle this with parhad, by paying for the expenses he paid as a result of moving the statues 2 ways, and the expense of putting them up, and to make a public apology to him, and his fans for blocking his exhibition, and a written statement that they will not block him from showing in next year convention if he follows the convention universal, and reasonable requirements which are made know in advance. This is the least they can do considering his loss of valuable time, and the opportunity to show and sell his work.
I think an out of court settlement along these lines is the best for everyone, and people in the community who care to see this resolved without the spectacle of the courts should try to mediate this.


BY JESSIE MANGALIMAN
Mercury News

Persecuted and displaced from their ancestral home in the Middle East, Assyrians are finding a virtual homeland in cyberspace, a work started in Silicon Valley and continuing to gain acceptance.

That was the conclusion from a panel of experts at the 68th Annual Assyrian American National Convention in San Jose, a gathering that is expected to draw about 4,000 people from across the United States and abroad. The convention began Friday and concludes Monday with a picnic at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds.

``The Internet is key to our future activism,'' said Jacklin Bejan, convention chairwoman.

Assyrians are descendants of an ancient and once-mighty civilization in the Middle East, whose culture and language, Syriac, date back more than 6,700 years. Christian minorities in an Islamic region, they were persecuted for generations in Iran and Iraq. Assyria as a country no longer exists.

In August 1933, Iraqi troops massacred the residents of Semile, an Assyrian town in northern Iraq. This was the year that the Assyrian American National Federation was formed, in part to spread awareness about the plight of Assyrians.

Today, Assyrians say they continue to be persecuted in Iraq. Large numbers of Assyrians fled their homeland when war broke between Iran and Iraq in the 1970s and '80s, and also during the Persian Gulf War.

``When you consider that the Assyrian diaspora is spread in 40 countries, the Internet connects us, makes us a community,'' said Wilfred Alkhas, moderator of a panel discussion Saturday on the Internet. Alkhas is also publisher of Zinda, an online magazine about Assyria, at www.zinda
magazine.com.

``My dream is to have a real home in cyberspace,'' said Albert Gabrial, who runs a Web site, www.nineveh.com, about Assyrians.

Bejan, the convention chairwoman, remarked on the irony of a displaced people finding a virtual home in high technology.

``The Internet is where we will make our presence and get recognition of our genocide,'' Bejan said. She said the Internet is going to be instrumental in helping preserve the Assyrian culture and language.

The work on the Internet is critical in reaching a young generation of Assyrians, Alkhas said.

A few years ago, anyone searching for Assyrians on the Internet would have found only a handful of sites and sources. But today, there are dozens and new ones continue to be established by individuals and organizations interested in sharing Assyrian history and culture.

Scholarly works on Assyria are being consolidated on the Internet, ancient books are being digitized online, Bejan said. And education programs are being designed to refine teaching of Syriac to young kids.

An estimated 350,000 Assyrians are in the United States, many of them concentrated in Detroit, Chicago, and in the Turlock-Modesto area. A few thousand are in San Jose, convention officials said.

``Since we don't have a country to call home, this gathering is how we come together as a people now,'' said Atourina Rosh, 21, of Fremont. A student at San Jose State University, Rosh was attending the Assyrian convention for the first time. ``It's a really happy, fun weekend.''

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED
For more information on the Assyrian National Convention, see www.assyrianconvention.org.
Contact Jessie Mangaliman at jmangaliman@sjmercury.com or (408-920-5794).




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