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=> Open letter to John Jospeh

Open letter to John Jospeh
Posted by Tiglath (Guest) - Thursday, October 21 2004, 8:41:37 (CEST)
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"I seriously believe that the single most important problem facing our Assyrian community and the reasons for our disunity stem from the fact that nobody takes us seriously on the question of our identity--not our friends, not our enemies. Actually, they all seem to know our history better than we do, be they [educated] Kurds or Arabs, the Syrian Orthodox or the Chaldeans , the Iraqi [political] parties or the scholars at Oxford, Harvard, Yale or Chicago, or the U.S. Census Bureau in Washington D.C., let alone the Department of State there.We seem to have an identity crisis and for no reason. We have an illustrious history as Christians, as speakers of the Aramaic language for centuries, as descendants of a number of great nations of the distant past. United with our other Christian brethren, the Suroyo and the Chaldeans, we--who also called ourselves Suraye/Suroyo in my boyhood days [and still do] --can fight for our basic human rights [in the land of our ancestors] and we will be respected for it."

Dear John,

I have only recently begun to understand our true identity. I'm frankly fascinated by your views on this subject. Unlike the "intellectuals" on AINA I believe that identity is a fluid ever changing non-tangible concept that we have yet to come to terms with.

Our identity is the strong foundation on which we should build anything that has lasting worth, yet our identity has been hijacked by "historians" like Fred Aprim who mangle history and quotes to suit their myopic religously based agendas.

I believe that ALL the people of Iraq, not just the Chrisitan minority, are the descendants of the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Arab and Ottoman Empires that have dominated Mesopotamia for the past 5,000 years.

I believe that we Chrisitian Assyrians were isolated in the mountains of Hakkiari where we were discovered in the 1800s using our religion and the Aramaic language as a barrier against religious and culutral assimilation into our brethren's Islamic majority.

I believe that the modern Kurdish identity is an amalgam of Persian, Arab, Ottoman (Turkish) and ancient Assyrian culture that took shape during the sweep of nationalism at the end of the 19th century.

Mustafa Barzani's very own father was protected by my ancestors' Tkhumnaye tribe before World War 1 when he was fleeing from the Turks.

So in claiming that when we were first discovered that our religion was Christian making us effectively Christian Kurds does make logical sense. And far from being offended and having an inferiority complex we should attempt to understand our identity more fully before accusing our true historians of working for the CIA.

The truth is that our identity is not so black and white, due to its 5,000 year old depth. Yes we are descendants and related to the succeeding Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Ottomans, Arabs and Kurds. There is no shame in attaching us to all of Iraq's identities.

Once this identity foundation is understood then it becomes possible to move forward and help our people - the Christian minority who have identified with their Assyrians ancestors - in coping with this new paradigm shift.

Our entire strategy.....our entire reason for being then changes dramaticaly not from securing a homeland for the Christian minority and living in a walled off ghettto, like our Israeli co-religionists, but in being true and loyal citizens of Iraq where we can become a legacy and not a liability in return for equality and human rights.

I would be greatly interested in your thoughts on this matter.



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