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=> A confused Assyrian

A confused Assyrian
Posted by Maggie (Guest) - Friday, September 16 2005, 1:11:48 (CEST)
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From the Political Junkie column



"Q: I came across your Aug. 19 column that contained information about my mom, Anna Eshoo, the U.S. representative from the 14th district of California. In this particular article, you listed members of both houses of Congress who are female, and then further identified those who are African American, Asian, and Hispanic. You might want to know that our ethnicity is Assyrian, a Middle Eastern group that, incidentally, has a significant population in Iraq. My maternal grandparents were born in northern Iran and came to the U.S. early in the 20th century. So, given that history, does that mean my mom should be listed as a minority in the Asian category?


I am asking this not necessarily because I think you need to amend your article, but because I find this an interesting question in the larger context of how Americans identify Middle Easterners and how we Middle Easterners identify ourselves. Assyrians, for example, are an Indo-European people who came out of the Caucasus mountains. Growing up, my family usually identified ourselves as "white." But especially now, in a post-9/11 world, the Middle East has taken on a whole new meaning for Americans, as well as Middle Eastern Americans. What box do we check on the form? Are we going to be contemporarily continental about this and go with "Asian?" Are we going to go back to our roots in the Caucasus and choose "white?" Or do we embrace the lack of an obvious answer and go with "other?"


To be honest, I am not even sure how my mom would identify herself, especially for the purposes of a congressional census. But I do think it bears some thought as we continue to grapple with the "tossed salad" that is the United States. --"

Karen Eshoo, Emerald Hills, Calif.



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