FEBRUARY 2023

METRO DETROIT CHALDEAN COMMUNITY VOL. 20 ISSUE I FEBRUARY 2023
Love
in Bloom
MARRIAGES THAT
HAVE STOOD THE
TEST OF TIME
PLUS
Suraye Declaration of Unity
Pioneer Profile: Dave Nona
Celebrating the Gulf Cup

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FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 3

CERTIFIED
Diamonds Are Forever
Joe Yatoma, owner of Dash Diamonds with
co-founder and sister Delaina Yatoma
Joe Yatoma has been at the helm of Dash Diamonds
since its inception a decade ago. Yatoma’s wholesale
shop provides timeless, quality jewelry with cutting
edge designs that are sure to satisfy every taste and
occasion. Joe and his staff have over 20 years’ cumulative
experience in the diamond business. They offer an exquisite
collection of the finest quality diamond jewelry at wholesale
prices. When you enter Dash Diamonds, you can
expect to be greeted by Joe, or his sister and co-founder,
Delaina Yatoma, and their friendly, knowledgeable staff.
All are dedicated to providing personalized service and an
all-important education in diamonds – carat, color, cut, and
clarity, before you buy. It is the extra time Joe takes with
each customer, educating them on their purchase, that gives
them the confidence and trust in the quality of the merchandise
they are spending your hard-earned money on.
Every diamond engagement ring sold by Dash Diamonds
is certified by the Gemological Institute of America
(GIA). Dash Diamonds stands behind and guarantees
your satisfaction and happiness on everything they sell.
When you are spending thousands of dollars on the love
of your life or even yourself, you can rest assured that with
the knowledge and GIA certification provided by Dash
Diamonds that you are in good hands.
“The best thing about Joe and Dash Diamonds is their
customer service, second to none in the metro Detroit
area. Dash is about transparency, offering only GIA
certified diamonds and using state of the art testing
machines. Joe’s big competitor’s have millions of dollars
in overhead and cannot compete on value.”
Michael G. Sarafa
Dash Diamonds specializes in engagement rings and
center stones. From the beginning in 2016 every diamond
over $1,000 sold by Dash Diamonds has been accompanied
by a GIA certificate. In 2021 with the increased popularity
of lab grown diamonds, Dash Diamonds purchased
the Sherlock Homes 4.0 Yahuda Lab Grown Diamond Detector,
the newest and most accurate technology to detect
lab grown diamonds. Dash Diamonds’ policy is to place
every jewelry item purchased in the detector and to provide
each client with the verification report by email before
they even leave the store. You can have confidence and
trust that when you pick Dash Diamonds as your jeweler,
you will receive the best quality and value. They deliver on
this promise each and every day because Dash Diamonds
buys smart, and they don’t spend a fortune on advertising
or extravagant in store amenities. They are after all
a wholesaler, which is why you always get the best value
from Dash Diamonds.
“Dash Diamonds has the absolute best quality,
customer service and pricing in town. Joe is my go-to
guy for all my GIA certified diamonds.”
Fatin Kathawa
Joe is a long-time member of the community and will
always have your best interest at heart.
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER as your relationship with
Dash Diamonds will be after coming in to meet Joe Yatoma
and his one-of-a-kind team for the first time, or as a
returning customer.
Timeless jewelry – Rings that will make your special day unforgettable.
JANUARY IS FREE APPRAISAL MONTH
Come shop with us, and bring in your jewelry for a free appraisal anytime during the month of January.
7035 ORCHARD LAKE RD. WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI 48322 | (248) 757-2704 | DASHDIAMONDS.COM
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4 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023
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12/19/22 3:01 PM

METRO DETROIT CHALDEAN COMMUNITY | FEBRUARY 2023 | VOL. 20 ISSUE 1
ON THE COVER
16 Love in Bloom
Portraits of happy couples
By Sarah Kittle
FEATURES
18 Ingredients for Success
A look inside w3r Consulting
By Paul Natinsky
20 Pioneer Profile
Dave Nona
By Cal Abbo
16
28 The Arabian Gulf Cup
Celebrating Iraq’s win
By Weam Namou
DEPARTMENTS
24
6 From the Editor
Love Grows
By Sarah Kittle
7 Guest Columns
All you have is your name
By Mike Sarafa
22 Economics & Enterprise
Ark Angel Fund II
By Cal Abbo
24 Culture & History
Chai Al-Iraqi
By Dr. Adhid Miri
8 Suraye declaration of unity
By Chris Salem
9 Profile
Amanda Elias
By Paul Natinsky
10 Foundation Update
12 Chaldean Digest
Rebuilding & uniting churches, AAF II
30 Family Time
Youth mental health crisis
By Valene Ayar
32 Dr. Is In
Psychology of Love
By Shahad Jonna, PA
34 Art & Entertainment
Ivan Jaddou, shoe designer
By Cal Abbo
14 In Memoriam
38 Chaldean Scene
Photos of happenings about town
Photos by Wilson Sarkis
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 5

FROM THE EDITOR
PUBLISHED BY
Chaldean News, LLC
Chaldean Community Foundation
Martin Manna
EDITORIAL
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Sarah Kittle
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Cal Abbo
Valene Ayar
Shahad Jonna, PA
Sarah Kittle
Dr. Adhid Miri
Weam Namou
Paul Natinsky
Dave Nona
Christopher Salem
Mike Sarafa
ART & PRODUCTION
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Alex Lumelsky with SKY Creative
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Zina Lumelsky with SKY Creative
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Alex Lumelsky
Wilson Sarkis
SALES
Interlink Media
Sana Navarrette
CLASSIFIEDS
Sana Navarrette
Subscriptions: $35 per year
CONTACT INFORMATION
Story ideas: edit@chaldeannews.com
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Subscription and all other inquiries:
info@chaldeannews.com
Chaldean News
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Farmington Hills, MI 48334
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Phone: (248) 851-8600
Publication: The Chaldean News (P-6);
Published monthly; Issue Date: February 2023
Subscriptions: 12 months, $35.
Publication Address:
30095 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 101,
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Permit to mail at periodicals postage rates
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Postmaster: Send address changes to
“The Chaldean News 30095 Northwestern
Hwy., Suite 101, Farmington Hills, MI 48334”
Love Grows
I
write this in the midst of a winter storm, with
snow drifts blowing in the wind and many
school districts closed for the day. But the temperature
outside has no effect on the warming of
my heart when reading the articles in this edition.
Writing the cover story was a real treat as the
couples, especially the Denhas, remind me of my
own loving parents who, although no longer with
us, left a legacy of love and faith and family. My
parents struggled to send 9 children to Catholic school, survived
the death of their son by suicide and a couple of teen
pregnancies to boot.
Their marriage spanned 57 years and ultimately included
23 grandchildren and 26 greatgrandchildren. I will never forget
the poem that my dad penned for his life partner. I found
it on the picnic table that served as our dining room table
one Mother’s Day morning, accompanied by flats of flowers
for my mother’s garden. It is too long to include here, but the
line that stands out is: “Love is alive
and living things with nourishment
keep growing.” That is 100% true.
The couples that we featured in
the article have fed their marriages
and kept them growing over the years.
There’s no secret ingredient to a happy
union; instead, it’s the simple things—
like honesty and respect— that make a
marriage last. And laughter. We can’t
forget laughter. It is nourishment to
the soul as well as the partnership.
Speaking of partnerships, we are delighted to feature the
story of w3r Consulting. Patrick Tomina, one of the three partners,
has served on the board of the Chaldean American Chamber,
and w3r is a longtime supporter of the Chamber’s annual
events. Tomina, who is Chaldean, forged a fast bond with the
other two partners, who are African American, and the melding
of their cultures has created a unique business model.
The February edition also features a profile on Dave Nona,
one of the early members of the Chaldean Iraqi Association of
Michigan (CIAAM) and a pioneer of the Chaldean community
SARAH KITTLE
EDITOR
IN CHIEF
I will never forget the poem that my dad
penned for his life partner. I found it one
Mother’s Day morning, accompanied by flats
of flowers for my mother’s garden …
“Love is alive and living things with
nourishment keep growing.”
here in Michigan. A good man with a servant’s heart,
Dave wants us all to focus on the common good.
Our Culture and History section is once again
blessed by an article written by Dr. Miri, this one
about Iraqis’ love affair with tea, or chai. It’s one
of the world’s most popular beverages as well as a
sign of hospitality.
In our two guest columns, Mike Sarafa returns to
opine about the value of integrity and Chris Salem,
a previous contributor, writes about the importance
of unity among believers.
Fans of football (or what we in America call “soccer”)
around the world recently united in their celebration of
Iraq winning the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup. Not only did the Iraqi
team win the Cup, but the tournament in Basra also marked the
first time since 1979 that it took place in Iraq. That’s yet another
reason to celebrate. Weam Namou reports on the festivities in
different areas and provides photos of the celebrants as well.
We are also running stories on Ivan Jaddou, a successful
shoe designer; Ark Angel Fund II, the Chaldean American
Chamber’s expanded angel investment venture; and Amanda
Elias, who is doing her part for the community from the
Detroit mayor’s office.
This being the month of St. Valentine, we are also including
an article on the Psychology of Love. I hope you enjoy!
Sarah Kittle
Editor in Chief
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AND FOLLOW CN ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
6 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

GUEST COLUMN
All You Have is Your Name
Integrity. It’s an old-fashioned
concept; you sort
of know it when you see
it, or sometimes feel it.
I’ve seen integrity. I’ve
seen it in action, at Joe Yatoma’s
Dash Diamonds in West
Bloomfield. Diamond buyers
in the know are drawn to Dash
for its selection, its quality,
its value, and its guarantee
that each diamond selling for
more than $1,000 is certified
by the Gemological Institute of America—the
jewelry industry’s authority on
geological research and authenticity.
GIA tests and grades diamonds on the
four Cs: carat weight, cut, color, and
clarity. So, purchasing from Joe’s selection
of loose stones, fine jewelry, and
custom pieces brings not only quality,
but also peace of mind.
A few years back, Joe’s reputation
took a hit via one his vendors. Joe immediately
contacted all of his impacted
customers and explained the situation—some,
but not all, products from
this vendor included the tiniest of labgrown
diamonds. One client’s necklace
was sent to a laboratory and several of
those lab-grown diamonds were identified.
In all, the dollar amount of affected
diamonds in this case was less than
$500. Joe immediately addressed the
situation, changed out the diamonds
and satisfied the customer.
When Joe entered the diamond
business as the first Chaldean diamond
wholesaler in 2017, he operated with low
overhead, minimal marketing expense,
and employees that were all family
members. And what he saved in those
expenses he passed along to his customers,
sometimes at savings of up to several
thousand dollars when compared
to similar items offered at retail jewelers.
Those same jewelers didn’t really care
for the competition with Joe. A source
out of the Diamond District in New York
that sells to many Detroit area jewelers
told me, “Joe essentially undercut the
market and the big boys didn’t like that.”
Recall that necklace with the minuscule
lab-grown diamonds? The
client wanted to confirm its quality
and took it for testing to a competing
jeweler. The results showed a dozen
lab-grown diamonds, many more than
MIKE SARAFA
SPECIAL TO
THE CHALDEAN
NEWS
the previous test when, years
earlier, Joe identified and replaced
lab-grown diamonds
with naturally grown stones.
So why did the test from
this other jeweler identify
even more lab-grown diamonds?
Joe and the client had
the same question. Together,
they took it upon themselves
to send the necklace to the
GIA. Using the most sophisticated
testing available, the
GIA did identify two additional tiny
lab-grown diamonds which, again, Joe
immediately changed out. Remember,
we’re not talking about large center diamonds
here. These were near the clasp,
unseen by anyone. In fact, few jewelers
test these tiny diamonds at all.
What could have caused such wildly
contrasting test results of the same
necklace? Hard to say, but there’s no
doubt that the test run by Joe’s wellknown
competitor was faulty, either
deliberately or by mistake. Even
worse, the faulty test results found
their way onto social media from yet
another competitor.
This story about this one necklace—and
it only impacted a necklace,
no engagement rings were ever affected—has
been used by Joe’s competitors
to cast a cloud over Joe and
Dash Diamonds. As for Joe’s reputation,
his most important asset, it’s
been tarnished. Ironically, this issue of
lab-grown diamonds mixing with naturally
sourced diamonds is one that
all jewelers face—every jeweler, from
the biggest names in town, to national
chains, to independents like Joe.
What I admire about Joe is his passion,
and his commitment to his craft
for his customers. In addition to his
personal guarantee, every diamond
ring worth more than $1,000 comes
with GIA certification, and is laser inscribed
with the GIA certificate number.
Talk to Joe. Explore his store. Learn
from his expertise. You’re not simply
buying jewelry, you’re making an investment
in something you can trust.
Mike Sarafa is one of the original
publishers of the Chaldean News who
has recently rejoined as contributor and
host of a new podcast, Mike’s Musings.
All tobacco use can increase your risk
for a number of oral health conditions.
This includes e-cigarettes and smokeless
(spit). Talk to your dentist about any
tobacco use. Don’t let it affect your smile!
Delta Dental of Michigan
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 7

GUEST COLUMN
The Suraye Declaration of Unity: Chaldeans,
Assyrians, Syriacs, & Maronites Unite
There is a tale of a oncefractured
group of
people with thirteen
different identities, thirteen
flags, thirteen different currencies,
and thirteen states.
They were all once divided,
yet they were all one people.
The British army exploited
their differences and used
their divisiveness to oppress
them. One day, the divided
group of people decided
enough was enough. They gathered in
a hot room on a summer day—July 4th,
1776, to be exact—and decided to focus
on their similarities and ignore their
differences. They made a long list of everything
they agreed on, which became
the Declaration of Independence.
With their newfound unity, the thirteen
colonies had the strength to overwhelm
the might of the British military,
which was the strongest military in the
world at that time. Eventually, the thirteen
colonies transformed into the fifty
United States. While our Middle Eastern
ancestors for the last five centuries
were busy complaining about different
identities, young nations like America
became united and powerful.
The division brought us to the
point of near extinction. Every generation
before ours focused on our differences
and ignored our similarities. On
December 16, 2022, we reached a turning
point. Four names, four flags, and
five patriarchs united under a single
identity: Suraye.
Suraye can be defined as a group
of Middle Eastern Christians linguistically
rooted in Aramaic.
Aramaic consists of two major subgroups,
Eastern Aramaic and Western
Aramaic. These subgroups split further
into different dialects. The Eastern subgroup
consists of the Chaldean (Sureth)
dialect and Assyrian (Surayt and Urmian)
dialects. There are also southern dialects
of Aramaic spoken by Mandeans,
who are followers of John the Baptist.
The differences between the dialects
lie in pronunciation and loan
words from surrounding majorities,
CHRIS SALEM
SPECIAL TO
THE CHALDEAN
NEWS
Suraye in Eastern Aramaic
looks like this:
such as Kurds, Turks, Arabs,
and Persians. Every subgroup
in the Eastern dialect uses the
word “Shlama” to greet people,
although it technically
means “peace.” In the Western
subgroups, the general
rule is to pronounce almost
every letter ‘A’ like it is the letter
‘O’. As a result, they greet
people by saying “Shlomo”
instead of “Shlama”.
For more than 500 years,
the Chaldean and Assyrian churches
were at odds with one another. One
thousand years before that, the Syriacs
were the first to splinter off. Shortly
after, the Syriacs were further divided
into Catholic and Orthodox subgroups.
For the first time in at least five centuries,
the five Patriarchs from these
groups came together and jointly declared
five “issues of common interest”
that we are one people with one history,
language, heritage, and shared identity.
They plan to use their combined
power to save and protect our identity.
The five “issues of common interest”
are: (1) Syriac spirituality; (2) the
Syriac presence in the Middle East
and pastoral challenges; (3) the Syriac
presence in the diaspora; (4) partnership
in testimony; and (5) the common
Syriac heritage. The diaspora is
any land inhabited by a group outside
their original homeland.
These five Patriarchs have made
history. The last generation that could
not set aside their differences will forever
be remembered as the last generation
that failed.
Notably missing were the Patriarchs
of the Melkite Church and the Ancient
Church of the East, both of whom are
linguistically rooted in Aramaic.
The Patriarchs emphasized the
importance of the ancient Suraye
heritage that unites us and constitutes
a rich sacred historical inheritance
stemming from their historical unity,
single Sureth language, and common
church and liturgical rites. They established
a committee to help preserve
the language at an academic level
worldwide.
The Patriarchs reaffirmed their
commitment to preserving and spreading
this heritage and emphasized the
importance of cooperation among the
churches at various levels. They also
made plans to establish a committee
to work out church and liturgical differences,
which could pave the way for
one united Church.
The statement also touches on the
ongoing challenges faced by the Syriac
community in the Middle East, particularly
the issue of migration caused by
conflicts and difficult living conditions.
The Patriarchs expressed their determination
to continue to support and care
for their spiritual children in these regions
and to work towards reducing the
negative effects of migration.
The statement also highlights the
concerns of the Patriarchs regarding
the dispersion of their flock in diaspora
countries and their determination
to continue to support and care for
them, despite the distance.
The Patriarchs further emphasized
the importance of transmitting the
Syriac heritage and culture to future
generations and stressed the role of the
churches in providing spiritual guidance
and support to the communities.
They outlined a specific plan of action
in a joint statement and called for
cooperation and collaboration among
the churches. Working together to support
the presence of our communities
in the Middle East, and working together
to preserve and spread our culture
and heritage.
Our ancient culture and heritage
are our anchors, rooted in the very
soil of our ancestors. It is a legacy
that must be cherished, protected,
In Western Aramaic,
it is written like this:
and passed on to future generations.
Through unity, our culture and heritage
will stay intact. We must work
together to preserve and spread it, to
keep the light of our faith bright.
This heritage shapes us, it is the
glue that holds our communities together
and our birthright. But without
cohesion, this heritage is at risk of fading
away, lost in history. Together, we
must work to nurture it, amplify its
message, and keep the light of our faith
shining. The Patriarchs have pointed
the way by calling for cooperation and
collaboration among the churches.
They remind us that our heritage
is a precious inheritance that must be
defended and passed on with care.
Chris Salem and his wife Ranna are cofounders
of Nineveh Rising, a non-profit
dedicated to preserving the culture of
people that live in the Nineveh Plain,
Iraq, and helping Christians worldwide
survive and thrive.
8 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

PROFILE
Amanda
Elias Helps
Revitalize
Detroit
BY PAUL NATINSKY
It was a marketing professor at
Wayne State University that lured
Amanda Elias away from her private
sector job to her current home as
a Senior Advisor to Detroit Mayor Mike
Duggan.
“The way he talked about Detroit
changed how I look at the city,” said
Elias. She wondered why people were
spending all of their money in the suburbs
and wondered if Detroit could
capture these dollars.
Lured from private sector
Elias had not planned to leave her job
with International Outdoor Inc., a metro
Detroit billboard company, but when
the offer from the City of Detroit came,
she saw that “Duggan was about to do
some cool stuff.” She was intrigued.
“The mayor was building the city
back after bankruptcy,” said Elias. She
was attracted by Duggan’s ambitious
revitalization plans.
When she joined Detroit’s economic
development team, Elias started off
overseeing all of the federal funding
opportunities coming out of Washington,
D.C. Elias said the federal Infrastructure
bill was taking center stage
at the time she started. She is now focused
on the Inflation Reduction Act
and has been assigned to manage opportunities
emerging from Lansing.
“My job is to oversee all of the spending
that is coming down the pipe in the
form of competitive grants and making
sure that the city has positioned itself
to be the most competitive to go after
that funding,” said Elias. “The strategy
is don’t leave a dollar on the table; we
have to go after everything.”
Duggan’s ambitions haven’t ebbed,
and Elias’ interest hasn’t waned as Detroit
sees new opportunities and faces
further challenges.
“The mayor’s biggest focus this
term is the physical landscape of the
city. I think what people will start to
see even more of is funding infrastructure
projects—anything that changes
the physical landscape of the city.”
Detroit as an event venue
In addition to rebuilding the city’s infrastructure,
Duggan has his eye on
making Detroit an attractive venue for
events, which will bring money and
jobs to a city long in need of both.
“We’re focused on pouring money
into commercial corridors and cleaning
up the corridors, we’re getting ready
for the NFL Draft in 2024—that’s a huge
focus right now—the mayor is obsessed
with the 500,000 people that the draft
will attract to the city and making sure
people want to come back here and are
excited to come back here,” said Elias.
Elias’ career has evolved in the
same timeframe as Detroit’s comeback.
She started with the mayor in
June of 2014 on the economic development
team as executive assistant
to Tom Lewand, who ran economic
development for the mayor. She then
worked her way up to workforce development
manager in 2018. After doing
that for a year, she decided she didn’t
like it and came back to the economic
development team as an economic
advisor. That was her last stop until a
year ago when she landed at government
affairs.
Overcoming frustration
Her work at the mayor’s office opened
Elias’ eyes to how frustrating the processes
and protocols of big city regulations
and operations can be, even to
veteran businesspeople.
“I really enjoy the operational part
of it and how to streamline it, navigate
it. To get people to their end goal,
whether that’s opening a business or
putting a shovel in the ground,” said
Elias. She enjoys helping people navigate
the city process. Business owners
and developers need apartments, right
of way, zoning changes, business licenses.
“No one really knows what to
do next or where to start,” she said.
In addition to her economic development
duties, Elias has become a de
facto Director of the “office of development
services,” her term for the yet-tobe-established
position and department
she envisions.
She is frustrated that people face
so many barriers when they try to get
projects done in the city. “There is no
website or guidebook to go to that is
intuitive. It’s the most important job in
the city and we don’t have it.”
A bright future
Elias is the most senior level Chaldean
employee in the Duggan Administration.
She grew up in Madison Heights
as the oldest of three children; she has
a younger brother and sister.
This suburbanite who has been
charmed by the City of Detroit sees a
bright future for her adopted city.
“A new Detroit, different than what
people remember from bankruptcy.
More money coming into the city for
infrastructure projects. That’s a huge
focus for us.”
Onward and upward, Amanda.
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 9

FOUNDATION UPDATE
Staying Warm
More than 200 coats were donated to the CCF’s
Little Scholars Program on January 13.
Little Scholars prepares children for kindergarten
through a variety of emergent literacy, early
learning, and developmental opportunities. The
program currently has a waitlist.
For more information regarding the Little Scholars
Program, call 586-722-7253 or contact Rachel
Rose at rachel.rose@chaldeanfoundation.org.
Attendees of the Alqosh New Year’s Celebration.
CCF Support Alqosh’s New Year Celebration
The Chaldean Community Foundation supported Alqosh’s New Year Celebration on December 31.
The event, broadcast via live stream, brought together thousands of people.
The Mayor of Alqosh thanked the Chaldean Community Foundation for the support of the event.
The Chaldean Community Foundation has also announced plans to open an office in northern Iraq. The
timeline is to be determined, but this would be the first satellite office for the CCF outside the United States.
The trio of donors, Justin Elias, Calvin Elias,
and Jason Hamama, were excited to share their
donation and see first-hand the immediate
impact the coats had on the families.
Building Stronger
Communities
The Chaldean Community Foundation
hosted Global Detroit and the Southeast
Michigan Refugee Collaborative for their
Annual Retreat on January 18.
The retreat focused on ways to improve
service to the refugee and immigrant
communities, with an understanding
of their needs.
The collaborative is comprised of over
30 service providers of refugees and immigrants
within Southeast Michigan; they
share common threads and best practices
in serving the overall community.
Group Photo of Global Detroit in the CCF’s Life Skills Center.
A Different Perspective
Merisa Musemic has been involved in the B.E.A.M.
Program since August 2019.
Merisa Mesumic has a different perspective than
the majority of us.
In honor of January being National Braille Literacy
Month, we wanted to share her perspective.
CCF’s Breaking Barriers program offers services to
those with visual impairments through the B.E.A.M.
(Braille, ESL, Acculturation, Mobility) Project.
Musemic has participated as a volunteer instructor
for the CCF’s B.E.A.M. Project since August 2019.
Her ultimate goal is to become a Braille transcriber for
textbooks and other professional publications. Working
with the B.E.A.M. students, she has become a trusted
resource, teaching the program participants how to use
screen readers, braille typewriters and more.
“I return home from volunteering, and I feel
fulfilled because I have learned something new,”
Musemic says. “I hope the participants are learning
from me. I know I am learning a ton from them.”
10 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

AWARD-WINNING ATTORNEY ALEXANDER A. AYAR
JOINS WWRP, P.C.
Alex is a highly respected attorney
who focuses his law practice on
complex litigation disputes. His
clients appropriately seek his
legal counsel in matters of the
highest importance, including
when the company is on the
line and a comprehensive legal
strategy from an experienced
lawyer is required.
A powerhouse attorney who delivers.
HONORS & RECOGNITION
Super Lawyers (Business Litigation, Michigan)
DBusiness Top Lawyers (Business Litigation)
Oakland County Executive Elite 40 Under 40
Up & Coming Lawyers, Michigan Lawyers Weekly (2016)
Attorney on the Rise, Chaldean American Bar Association (2016)
Special Tribute Recipient from the Michigan Legislature
Avvo Rating: Superb (highest rating)
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent Lawyer
(highest rating)
PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS
Judicial Advisory Committee, Eastern District of Michigan
Judicial Qualifications Committee, State Bar of Michigan
Character & Fitness District Committee, State Bar of Michigan
Client Protection Fund Committee, State Bar of Michigan
Past President, Chaldean American Bar Association
WE ARE HONORED TO
WELCOME ALEX TO THE FIRM!
Alexander A. Ayar, Esq.
380 N. OLD WOODWARD, SUITE 300, BIRMINGHAM, MI 48009 248.642.0333 WWRPLAW.COM
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 11

CHALDEAN DIGEST
Chaldean
Patriarch:
Middle East
Christians need
unity to survive
A first communion mass was held in April in the St. George’s Chaldean Church in Iraq which was destroyed by the
Islamic State in 2014 and rebuilt through the Hungary Helps Program.
Millions Contributed to Renovating Churches
In the framework of the Hungary Helps
Program, the Hungarian government
protects communities threatened by
religious or other persecution, violence,
catastrophes, or the effects of
migration.
In a joint press conference with his
Lebanese counterpart, the Hungarian
Minister said that he was coming
from a country where war is raging
in the neighborhood, but the armed
conflict in Ukraine is having negative
effects not only in the region but also
throughout the world. The food crisis,
he said, is one of the most acute problems
in countries, citing, for example,
the efforts that are being made in Lebanon
to feed its population.
Chaldean American Chamber
Launches Ark Angel II Fund
The Farmington Hills-based Chaldean
American Chamber, which represents
approximately 25,000 Chaldeanowned
businesses around the state,
on Wednesday announced that it had
launched the $5 million Ark Angel II
Fund to invest in startups in Michigan
and elsewhere. A news release says
the fund has already identified investors
for the second fund — which follows
the $ 1 million first fund rolled
out in late 2020 — and screening for
new startup investments will begin in
the coming months, according to the
release.
Ark Angel’s first fund has invested
in seven companies.
“Our committee has reviewed and
closely analyzed literally hundreds of
potential startup recipients over the past
two years and is looking forward to continuing
to assist these innovative companies
in realizing short- and long-term
goals,” Tom Haji, the Ark Angel Fund
administrator, said in the release. “They
join a talented roster of initial recipients
that are already realizing success as we
close out Fund I.”
Early-stage seed and angel investment
deals were “resilient” in 2022,
according to the most recent Venture
Monitor report from Pitchbook and the
National Venture Capital Association.
– Crains Detroit Business
“I would like to express our deepest
respect to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan,
Iraq, and Egypt for taking in
people who have had to leave their
homes,” he said, pointing out that
these countries are now at the limits
of their capacity and that their burden
must be eased.
– hungarytoday.hu
Tom Haji, administrator
of Ark Angel Fund I & II
In a message titled
“The Eastern Churches
need a breath of
fresh air,” published
ahead of the Week of
Prayer for Christian
Unity, the Patriarch
of Baghdad, Cardinal
Louis Raphaël Sako,
warned that “future
Cardinal Louis
Raphaël Sako
generations will be without faith” unless
Churches overcome their differences to
address the reality of life in the region.
According to Agenzia Fides, the
Cardinal said that he found too many
priests proposing outdated ideas –
“what they said seemed to have no relation
to the present reality” – and that
many Church pronouncements “neither
touch the feelings of the recipients, nor
nourish their hope, nor give consolation
and refreshment.”
He said that the Eastern Catholic
Churches (the 23 independent Churches
in full communion with Rome) had
not garnered much benefit from the
Second Vatican Council or from the
Synod for the East convened by Benedict
XVI in 2010.
“Our strength lies in our harmonious
unity, which is a guarantee of our
survival and our continuity in spreading
our message,” he said.
The Cardinal, a consistent advocate
of Church unity, said last September
that he saw “nothing to prevent
the union of the Chaldean Church and
the Assyrian Church of the East.”
The Chaldean Church is based in
Iraq, where it makes up 80 per cent
of the rapidly diminishing Christian
population (estimated at 1.5 million in
2003, and 200,000 in 2021).
The Cardinal’s message for the Week
of Prayer for Christian Unity emphasized
the need to address these dangers rather
than pursue internal quarrels. “Church
leaders must overcome petty differences,
fanaticism and fear in order to
safeguard the Christian presence in the
Middle East,” he said.
– The Tablet
12 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

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FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 13

IN MEMORIAM
OBITUARY
Peter (Johnny)
John Yaldoo
Dec 31, 1953 –
Dec 18, 2022
Shone Toma
Jul 1, 1932 –
Dec 19, 2022
Iman Bacall
Jan 14, 1960 –
Dec 20, 2022
Hania Nafsso
Karmo
Jan 1, 1927 -
Dec 20, 2022
Michael Kiryakoza
Aug 7, 1947 –
Dec 20, 2022
Norma Hakim
(Naima Dalaly)
Humam Habib
Sarsam
Jul 1, 1936 –
Dec 20, 2022
Najiba Dallo
Jul 1, 1939 –
Dec 26, 2022
Gurjia Yousif
Hallak
May 4, 1926 –
Dec 22, 2022
Maike Fawzi
Shamoel
Dec 27, 2022
Souad Jamil
Jajou Ayar
Jan 7, 1944 –
Dec 23, 2022
Adnan Dabish
Apr 9, 1959 –
Jan 1, 2023
Bernie Mary
Garmo
Jan 30, 1944 –
Dec 24, 2022
Mariam Sidi
Jul 1, 1920 –
Jan 1, 2023
Mohanad Manuial
Yousif
Sep 1, 1958 –
Dec 24, 2022
Emily Anton
Abu-Joudeh
May 1, 1926 –
Jan 2, 2023
Norma Hakim (Naima Dalaly) was born to Hana and
Nerme Dalaly in Telkaif, Iraq in the early 1920s. She
passed to the fullness of life on January 9, 2023, surrounded
by her family. Norma, one of the founders
of the Chaldean American Ladies of Charity (CALC),
was the loving wife of the late Karim Hakim, devoted
mother to the late George (Faiza) Hakim, Joanne
(late Alex) Thomas, Patricia (Thomas) McCracken,
Dale (Doug) Waldon, Karen [(late Ronald) (David
McDonald)] Jalaba, Lorie (Danny) Harwood, Mark
Hakim, and Carl (Azucena) Hakim. Norma will be
forever remembered by her children, 19 grandchildren,
19 great grandchildren, and three great-great
grandchildren. She will be dearly missed by all the
people whose lives she touched.
Ferial Francis
Dadou
Jul 1, 1944 –
Jan 2, 2023
Manahel Kezy
Kirma
Jul 6, 1957 –
Jan 2, 2023
Haitham “Tom”
Zaki Zakar
Apr 14, 1961 –
Jan 2, 2023
Balkis Jerjees
Bahry
Jul 1, 1945 –
Jan 5, 2023
Margaret
Khami Najor
Aug 20, 1946 –
Jan 5, 2023
Fatin Toma Jabero
Jun 23, 1956 –
Jan 6, 2023
Hikmat Mikha
Danyal
Jul 1, 1939 –
Jan 8, 2023
Tony Jamil
Kas-Mikha
Nov 15, 1945 –
Jan 10, 2023
Nadhima Hermiz
Kilano
Jul 1, 1931 –
Jan 10, 2023
Sara Hirmez
Toma Ousy
Jul 1, 1932 –
Jan 10, 2023
Taleb Adou
Sep 1, 1946 –
Jan 11, 2023
Rijo Yousif Faona
Jul 1, 1925 –
Jan 11, 2023
Munim “Essam”
Sabri Jabouri
Feb 26, 1956 –
Jan 12, 2023
Tarik Shamoon
Pauls
Jul 1, 1948 –
Jan 12, 2023
Salah Hermiz
Akkam
Jul 1, 1939 –
Jan 13, 2023
14 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

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FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 15

COVER STORY
Love in
Bloom
Portraits of a
Happy Marriage
BY SARAH KITTLE
During an anniversary trip in 1998, Mike and Nedal Denha met Pope (Saint) John Paul II.
Many people say that the secret to a good
marriage is intimacy, commitment, and
communication; however, the ingredients
to a happy, healthy marriage vary across time and
across cultures.
With faith and family prioritized, it is no wonder
that the Chaldean community has so many couples
that have been married for so long. We interviewed
two of those couples to discover what goes into a
longtime happy marriage.
The Pauls’
Meet Barbara and Francis Pauls. They were married
on October 10, 1955, when Barbara was 14 and Francis
was 19. Like many marriages at the time, it was
arranged; Francis’ mom chose Barbara for her son.
They didn’t know each other at all and didn’t even
live near each other. Francis lived in Baghdad, and
Barbara in Araden, in northern Iraq.
Francis didn’t particularly want to marry – he was
young and carefree. Barbara didn’t even realize she
was getting married. “Someone told me ‘Barbara,
this is your fiancé,’ and I said, ‘no he’s not’ and I ran
away. I thought they were kidding. I was young, and
didn’t even know what marriage was,” Barbara recalls
through an interpreter.
They didn’t even have one date before marrying
and had no communication with each other before
becoming husband and wife.
So, the families must have known each other,
right? “My mom liked my wife and her family,” said
Francis. “That is why she chose her for me.”
“My parents knew he came from a good family,”
remembers Barbara, “so that is why they allowed me
to marry him.”
There was no engagement; each was told by their
parents that they would be getting married and to
whom. This was a brief period of time before the actual
wedding, which as they recall went something like
this: “Saturday afternoon, we got married at church.
Usually everyone goes home after - they go to their
parents’ house because even though they are married
the bride and groom do not go home together.
“On Sunday they go to church together, and after
church they go to the bride’s house. After lunch
they start the wedding outside. Then on the third day,
the priest goes to the groom’s house and prays over
the bed of the bride and groom. Thereafter, the bride
stays with the groom. The bride and groom don’t stay
together until the 3rd day.”
Francis still didn’t want to get married. For Barbara,
the most difficult part came with the realization
that she would not be going back home to her parents.
But it was their culture.
One of the cultural traditions that was brought
into the marriage was the Khigga dance.
“When we got married, at that time men and
women did not dance next to each other while line
dancing; they were separated,” Francis recalls. “The
day of our wedding, my mom brought new couples,
and engaged couples and they all danced in the line
(Khigga) together. It was the first time I saw men and
women dance next to each other.”
For themselves, Francis and Barbara created their
own family traditions. Every Sunday, they would go
to church together and have a family gathering after
Mass. They still see their kids every Sunday even
now, although Barbara sometimes misses church because
of her leg and back pain.
They’ve been married going on 68 years, yet
they’ve only celebrated one anniversary – their 60th,
because the kids surprised them. “It was a lot of fun,”
they recall.
Their relationship weathered some storms, including
a conflict between the Kurds and the Iraqi
government in the 1960s which drove Francis and
Barbara south to Baghdad. Another war, this one between
Iraq and Iran, drove them out of the country
altogether but not before sending their two eldest
children ahead to America.
Saturday afternoon, couples are married at church … On Sunday
after church they go to the bride’s house. After lunch they
start the wedding outside. Then on the third day, the priest
goes to the groom’s house and prays over the bed of the bride
and groom. Thereafter, the bride stays with the groom.
“It was a difficult time,” they recall. Francis traveled
with another son to the U.S. in December of 1980,
and Barbara finally arrived with the other three children
a month later. They had stayed in Italy for 14
months. Coming to America was not easy. It was “a
new country where we did not know anything, and we
had to start life all over again,” remembers Francis.
What got them through that difficult time? It will
come as a surprise to no one that the answer is prayer.
“We pray a lot,” says Francis, “especially the Rosary.”
Difficult times strengthened their relationship, but
patience and eventually love kept them together.
“Even though we didn’t marry because we loved each
other, we ended up loving each other a lot.”
Francis and Barbara were lucky. She says he is
16 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

Above: The Pauls enjoy a dance together.
Right: The Denha’s wedding portrait.
kind, has always helped her around the house and
has always been nice to her. He says she’s kind and
good, a good wife and mom. He also thinks she’s
pretty and a good cook. They both seem happy.
Francis sums it up nicely: “Our love built this
house.”
The Denhas
Meet Mike and Nedal Denha. They met in the United
States in 1968. Both were here, trying to make a living
in a new land independent from their parents.
Describing their marriage as a “true partnership,”
the Denhas tied the knot 55 years ago and have been
growing their relationship ever since.
In true Chaldean fashion, it was family that made
the match. (After all, it is a matter of fact that God will
use family members to manifest His will.) Nedal’s uncle,
John George, sent her to apply for a job with his
nephew, Mike George. Thomas Denha, there on business
with Mike, happened to get a glimpse of Nedal
and said to himself, “She would be a great catch for
Cousin Mike” (Denha). Thomas proceeded to plan a
family gathering that would bring the two together.
The rest, as they say, is history.
A letter was sent to Nedal’s parents in Baghdad, asking
for their permission to marry their daughter to Mike.
The Denhas were very well known in Iraq as makers
of tahini and their family was held in high regard, so
about a month later, blessings were sent for the union.
Nedal was happy with the match. “He was handsome,
a real gentleman,” she recalls. “He was also
humble and kind.”
As for Mike, he was wowed. “She was a very beautiful
girl, polite, respectful, and soft-spoken.”
Their first date was spent discussing all manner
of things. In a little restaurant on 7 Mile Road in
Detroit, Mike and Nedal talked about life, family,
Chaldean culture, and building the future—including
what they wanted for their kids and agreeing
on the importance of education.
They each spoke three languages – Arabic, English,
and Sureth. Growing up in Baghdad, Nedal’s
main language was Arabic, although her parents
spoke Sureth in the home. Mike, from Tel Kaif, spoke
in Sureth but was also fluent in Arabic and English.
The three languages competed to be the main one,
and Sureth survived.
Five months after their initial meeting, they were
wed in a ceremony that included most of the Chaldeans
in Michigan. “We were one big family,” said
Mike. “When someone got married, we pretty much
invited everyone in the community.”
Nedal had a small engagement party at her aunt’s
home, but the wedding was such a celebration that
Mike worried about the attendees getting home safely,
having had “too much fun.”
Much like the Pauls’ wedding, the ceremony was
extended. Mike and Nedal were married at noon,
then driven to their separate homes to prepare for the
rest of the day. Mike and the limo driver picked Nedal
up at 7PM to attend the wedding reception; from then
on, they lived as husband and wife.
For Nedal, the big realization was, “I’m not going
home anymore.” To be more accurate, her home had
changed. Home was now wherever Mike was. On this
foundation, they built an amazing legacy.
Along with all the Chaldean traditions they
brought into the marriage, the Denhas added their
own throughout the years. One that has passed on
to their children is the practice of planning not only
family vacations, but couples vacations, date nights,
and dinner with friends. Taking time for themselves
and each other was quite modern thinking for the
time but has come to be known as a “secret ingredient”
for couples today.
The communication that began on their first date
has served them well throughout the years, raising 6
children in a tight-knit family and still enjoying each
other’s company. In 1998, Mike and Nedal met Pope
(Saint) John Paul II on one of their anniversary trips.
That experience would be hard to beat. When asked
what they plan to do for their next anniversary, the
answer was spending it with family, talking about the
future.
Their best advice to young couples? Learn how to
compromise. That doesn’t mean always giving in, but
rather listening to each other and respecting the others’
feelings. Faith in God is critical, but faith in each other is
important as well. That comes from honest communication,
understanding, and trust. It builds over time.
And don’t lose your sense of humor. “We laugh
a lot.” Mike additionally offers, “Serve each other.”
Going into a marriage with high expectations almost
certainly guarantees dissatisfaction. Nedal gave this
advice to her children before they married: “Forgive.
Be faithful. Be honest. Communicate.”
How do they resolve disagreements? You wait a
bit and cool down before talking, they both agree.
And remember your favorite things about each other.
For Mike, that’s his bride’s amount of love for her
family. In addition to being a terrific mother, Nedal
kept a good relationship with his side of the family.
That’s important, especially in the Chaldean culture.
“She’s always been there when I needed her,” Mike
says with a smile.
“I love and respect how humble Mike is,” says
Nedal. “He’s a hard worker who provides well and
gives unconditional love to his family.
“Most of all,” says Nedal with a twinkle in her
eye, “he loves my cooking.”
Enough said.
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 17

FEATURE
Ingredients for Success
Three friends, two cultures and one great company
BY PAUL NATINSKY
Almost three decades
ago, three friends joined
forces for a professional
journey none of them could have
predicted.
Patrick Tomina and Eric
Hardy met at University of Michigan-Dearborn.
They came together
from very different backgrounds—Tomina
is Chaldean
and has roots in independent retail
businesses; Hardy is African
American and from a family in
which his father worked for General
Motors and expected his son
to follow a similar path.
Pat and Eric were initially
bound by their common interest
in engineering, but their
relationship deepened as they
worked together to form a company
based on their common interests
and values that each brought to the
equation.
“27 years ago, people didn’t really
understand our business relationship
because they’re looking at a Black
guy and a Chaldean guy and they are
thinking ‘Why are they so close? Why
are they doing business together?’ I
don’t think that happened that much
back then,” said Tomina.
Hardy summed it up in a sentence.
“Like-minded people, regardless of
culture, can come together.”
The first venture for Tomina and
Hardy was to form a company that designed
websites. Intended to be fun,
the venture was a hobby cooked up in
the U of M Dearborn computer lab.
And then there were three
Eventually, Hardy left engineering for
IT consulting. It was at this career stop
that he met Keith Echols. Echols was
working at Detroit Edison at the time
and was Hardy’s second client. The
two found themselves working deep
into the night on a project in the state’s
Thumb Region. On the long drive
home, the conversation deepened,
and they began to think there might be
something there, said Echols.
W3r team played fowling and threw axes at a recent outing at the Hub, in Novi.
Hardy said Echols, who is a few
years older than Hardy and Tomina,
was the first Black executive with
whom Hardy had worked. “He was a
demonstration of what was possible
for folks who looked like us.”
The idea of working together jelled
when the three came together on another
project. They decided to establish
a company based on the idea that strong
personal relationships and contributions
from different cultures could blend
with strong professional skills. The three
principals planned to harness this business
philosophy and use it to drive solutions
for their clients. Thus, was born
w3r, with Hardy as CEO, Tomina as CFO,
and Echols as Executive Vice President.
Technology at the core
Hardy says w3r “is a technology firm
at our core.” The company focuses
its effort mostly in three industries:
healthcare, financial services, and insurance.
w3r operates mostly in technology
spaces, handling challenges such as
cloud transformations, data management
and application development.
Branching out into healthcare, the
company now also owns a nursing and
case management practice and operates
a healthcare employment agency.
Diversity in w3r’s interests reflects
the company’s corporate philosophy,
which stems directly from its principals.
“It was the differences in our backgrounds
that allowed us to be successful,”
said Hardy. Tomina brought elements
of the Chaldean community to
w3r, Hardy and Echols brought Tomina
into their circle, including the National
Society of Black Engineers. The
trio never led with the fact that their
company was minority owned, though
it was obvious as soon as they walked
into a room, said Hardy.
The formula has worked well and
allowed w3r to form trust bonds and
long-term relationships with clients.
w3r did a recent pitch-and response
with a financial services client,
part of a 17-year relationship. The
project at hand is to help the bank
through its organizational move from
Michigan to another state. In this process,
the client will have to divest itself
of key property assets. w3r will work
to help them take the core operations
and put them in the cloud.
“We’re the guys behind the scenes
doing the architecture work as well as
the development work with the companies
to allow this modernization of the
environment to happen,” said Hardy.
The transition has to be seamless.
Conquering COVID
w3r’s corporate structure
helped it meet challenges outside
of its core business. The
company used its strong internal
relationships to weather
the COVID storm well. Hardy
credits the company’s roots in
engineering training among
the principals and a conservative
management style.
Tomina credits the company’s
closeness and strong communication
with its employees
for helping it retain employees
and develop flexible COVID
personnel policies.
“There were a lot of companies
that during or after CO-
VID, that had hard lines with
their employees. Many of our
employees are close friends of ours—
we go out to dinners together; we
see each other all the time outside
of work. We allowed our folks to do
what they wanted to do. So, if they
wanted to work from home, we provided
them with the tools to do that.
We didn’t put any hard lines down
that said ‘Hey, you’ve got to be in the
office three days a week, or you’ve got
to come back to the office full time.’”
Hardy said the company had one
of its best years ever coming out of
COVID as the demand for work-athome
technology spiked.
The home stretch
Hardy said the partners are driving
revenue to $100M in annualized
revenue over the next five years. At
that point they likely will have serious
conversations about succession
plans that help make the organization
younger. Just like the old days
the trio talk and see one another
frequently, so they are on the same
page.
However it shakes out in the end,
w3r’s journey has, thus far, been as
much fun as a college joy ride—with
the satisfaction reserved for grownups.
18 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

w3r posts $60M in revenue annually. The partners want to drive that number to $100M
in annualized revenue over the next five years. At that point they likely will have serious
succession discussions.
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 19

CHALDEAN PIONEERS
Dave Nona: Dedicated to a Life of Service
BY CAL ABBO
Dave Nona’s life began in Baghdad,
Iraq, where he was the
oldest child in a large family,
having six brothers and two sisters.
His father, a banker, moved the family
to Amarah, in southeastern Iraq, when
Dave was five.
“Like most [Iraqi] cities, Amarah
was predominantly Muslim,” Dave
said. “There were maybe 10 or 15 Christian
families, but we did have a Chaldean
church and a priest there.” Dave
remembers being the only Christian in
his primary school.
At the end of primary school, the
equivalent of sixth grade in the United
States, all Iraqis take the baccalaureate
exam to see where their academic
trajectory could lead. In 1959, when
Dave took the exam, he received the
highest marks in his city; Amarah’s
population was between 50,000 and
100,000 people at the time.
“The king had been overthrown
and there was a new government,”
Dave recalls. “Abd al-Karim Qasim was
the new prime minister. I remember receiving
a medallion from him for highest
performance in the city.”
During these early years, most of
Dave’s friends were Muslim, as Chaldean
families were hard to find in the
relatively small city. He still keeps in
touch with one of his closest friends;
along with their partners, they took a
couples’ trip up north earlier this year.
“There were maybe ten Chaldean
families in the city,” he said. “There
was a dentist, a doctor, and a few who
owned liquor stores.”
Baghdad College
Dave’s formative years were spent with
the Jesuits at Baghdad College, a prestigious,
private high school in Iraq that
offered an excellent education led by
Jesuits from the United States. It was
during these years that he made many
important connections and learned
the Catholic values that have guided
his life ever since.
“I had a great education,” Dave
said. “Not only a secular education in
the arts and sciences, but education
in values and ethics, philosophy, and
theology. And I witnessed the example
of the Jesuits’ dedication.”
“About half the students were Muslim,”
he said. “The Jesuits never used
the schools to evangelize. They were
very careful about that. They led by
example.”
Seeing a group of Jesuits come
from their comfortable life in the United
States to a place of political turmoil
and unrest in Iraq to teach underserved
students inspired Dave. He carries
that inspiration with him to this
day and talks fondly of how blessed he
is to have had those mentors in his life.
“God has given me a bit of talent
and lots of blessings, and I feel a
strong sense of responsibility,” Dave
said. “To whom a lot has been given, a
lot is expected.”
According to Dave, the Christian
tradition places heavy emphasis on
what he calls “the common good.” The
Jesuits taught him lessons about the
common good and expanded his view
of what his life should be about. It’s
this view that drives him to self-sacrifice
and work for his community.
The United States
Dave came to the U.S. on a scholarship
offer from the University of Rhode Island.
He finished a bachelor’s degree
at the Jesuit Al-Hikma University in
Baghdad before accepting the offer to
come to America. At the University of
Rhode Island, he earned a master’s
degree in civil engineering, specializing
in soils and foundations. After
he finished school in 1970, he moved
to Detroit, where he had several aunts
and an uncle.
His family immigrated to Detroit in
1973. After initially working in a bakery
for a while, Dave was able to find an
engineering job with a consulting firm
that required a lot of travel. After the
arrival of his family, he moved to another
engineering firm that did not require
travel. For decades, Dave served
as a consultant and eventually made
partner at the first firm he started with.
In the meantime, he got involved in
community organizations to further
the interests of Chaldeans in Detroit.
Notably, Dave served on the parish
council at Mother of God Church in
PHOTO BY ALEX LUMELSKY
Southfield. He joined some community
organizations, including the Chaldean
Iraqi American Association of Michigan
(CIAAM). Dave described the club as
mostly social, but many of the members
were interested in developing the culture
and position of Chaldeans in Detroit.
“We were young and ambitious at
the time, and a group of us were elected
to the board of directors of CIAAM,” Dave
said. “The Association was very small,
and they didn’t have too much money.
They didn’t have many activities because
they didn’t have a place to stay in.”
What the Association did have,
though, was a property next to Mother
of God Church. “They were two or
three years late in paying taxes and the
property was about to be foreclosed,”
Dave recalls.
Instead of letting it be lost, he and
other board members came up with
an idea to raise money. Detroit had
recently begun putting on ethnic festivals
downtown, including the Arab
World Festival. “We formed a Chaldean
dance group with Chaldean attire
and music. We had our families
prepare some food and sold it at the
festival,” Dave said.
Over the next few years, CIAAM
raised enough money to pay the outstanding
property taxes and salvage
the property, which would later become
the famed Southfield Manor. “I’d
like to think that the history of Southfield
Manor and Shenandoah would
have been different if the Association
had lost that property,” he said.
Just after Dave left Iraq, in the late
‘60s, Baghdad College was taken over
by the government and the Jesuits
were forced to leave the country and
head back to the United States. The
bond, however, would not be broken.
Beginning in 1977, the former students
and Jesuit teachers at Baghdad College
have arranged reunions across the
United States; in Boston, Detroit, Chicago,
San Diego, and more. One of the
objectives of the reunions was to raise
funds for the retirement of the Jesuits.
Dave’s Jesuit mentors from the
old country connected him with Manresa,
a popular retreat house located
20 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

The Arab World Festival in 1976
in Bloomfield Hills. “I’ve been going
there for a long time, since the mid
‘70s, on annual retreats,” Dave said.
He also helps them with some fundraising
and construction projects.
Dave is largely responsible for a
large endowment secured by the Chaldean
Church in Detroit. “In the ‘90s,
there was an embargo on Iraq due to
the gulf war. Fr. Jibrail Kassab, who
was a priest and then the Bishop of
Basra, Iraq, would make frequent visits
here,” he said. Dave made sure to
offer a small donation each
time he saw him because of
the hardship in Iraq due to the
embargo.
“On one of his visits, Bishop
Kassab indicated that the
Chaldean Patriarch needed
some funds for the education
of seminarians in Iraq. We
started a committee and began
fundraising to establish
an endowment for the education
of seminarians,” Dave
said. “Within few years, we
raised over a million dollars.”
By the time the money was
raised, however, the Patriarch no longer
needed it; another charitable organization
had stepped in to take care of them.
Dave and his committee noticed the
local church was beginning to see several
young men seeking vocations to the
priesthood. With the blessing of Bishop
Ibrahim, they moved the donations to
the Chaldean Church in Michigan. Since
then, the endowment has grown to over
two million dollars and has aided in the
education of numerous seminarians.
During the mid-1990’s, the late Fr.
Hanna Cheikho was given the responsibility
to establish a new Chaldean
Parish, St. Thomas, in West Bloomfield,
Michigan. “I was asked to help Fr. Hanna
with several aspects relating to the
formation and construction of the new
church,” Dave said, “and in particular,
in starting and sustaining a substantial
fundraising campaign that helped
to complete the construction of the
church building in a timely manner.”
In 1988, Dave was fortunate to
marry a wonderful woman, Kholoud
Abdulahad, who was also a civil engineer.
They have three fine children
who are very accomplished in the
medical field; Paul is a cardiologist,
Monica is a physician assistant, and
Matthew is a dentist.
The first Jesuit reunion in Chicago.
The Chamber of Commerce
and Chaldean Community
Foundation
“In the late ‘90s, Sabah Hermiz Summa,
a close friend of mine, approached
me about starting a new organization.
He envisioned a Chamber of Commerce
which was meant to serve the
business interests of the community,”
Dave said. “In the beginning I resisted,
but Sabah was persistent. After two
years I agreed to work with him.”
Dave set three conditions if he
was going to be involved in starting
the Chamber: first, we needed to raise
enough money to operate for at least
a full year, which they estimated at
$100,000; second, they needed to find
a good, paid Executive Director; and
third, we needed to have a strong, unpaid
Board of Directors to oversee the
entire operation.
“We raised enough money and
found a young man by the name
of Martin Manna who agreed to be
the Executive Director. We formed a
Board, and the idea clicked. In my
mind, the Chamber and what came
out of it, which includes the Foundation,
is probably the most successful
service organization in the history of
the community -- not only here, but in
Iraq too,” Dave said.
Dave praised the Chaldean
Community Foundation for
the work it does helping refugees
and immigrants as well as
strengthening the interests and
connections of the already-established
Chaldean community.
“It was timely when the Foundation
started because we were
getting many refugees from Iraq
as a result of the American occupation,”
he said. “The growth
and scope of services and the
type of people the Foundation
has, is quite frankly beyond any
expectations I ever had.”
Dave prides himself on being heavily
involved in the Chaldean Community
Foundation. He and his family
started a scholarship fund in the name
of their late sister, Yvonne Nona, who
died of cancer about 12 years ago. “She
had an interest and a passion for helping
Chaldean girls go to school and get
educated,” he said.
Dave also serves on the committee
for the Foundation’s Sterling Heights
Van Dyke Affordable Housing project,
which began construction this fall.
The Common Good
Dave’s life has been enriched by the
values he espouses and tries to act
upon. His incessant focus on the common
good and helping others has led
him down a path of service that he
wishes others would follow.
“The Chaldean community has acquired
a lot of the materialistic aspects of
American society,” Dave noted. “Many
of the negative aspects include excessive
individualism, hyper materialism, only
caring about oneself, and not caring
enough about the common good.”
While many in the community are
professed Christians, Dave said the
community can do more to actualize
its Christian faith and put it into action.
“In particular, I think we should
take more seriously what Pope Francis
advocates for; to address social justice
issues and concerns of humanity
according to Christian tradition and
faith,” he said.
“Working to combat poverty and
discrimination, providing education
to the poor… Caring about issues related
to the environment and treating
people with equality and justice.
These are all important aspects of the
Christian tradition that we claim we
belong to.” Dave mentioned he sees
a lot of hope and growth in younger
Chaldeans for adopting these values
and concerns because of the Catholic
education many are getting.
His dream, however, is to help establish
a small Jesuit school in northern
Iraq for refugees and the underserved.
“I know this may sound too
ambitious, maybe even a little crazy,
but the community here has been
blessed beyond any expectations we
had 50 years ago,” he said. “It’s not
only good for the people who are being
helped, but I think it’s also good
for the people who are helping.”
Chaldean Pioneers is a new series that
profiles extraordinary Chaldeans and
details the impact they’ve had on our
community.
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 21

ECONOMICS & ENTERPRISE
Ark Angel Launches Second EXCLUSIVE YEAR-END REPORT Investment FOR ARK ANGEL FUND INVESTORS Fund 2022
BY CAL ABBO
In 2020, the Chaldean American
Chamber of Commerce started the
Ark Angel Fund as a way to bring
the startup market to Chaldean investors.
In addition, it supports emerging
businesses that can make a difference
in the region.
The first iteration of the Ark Angel
Fund succeeded in raising a total of
$1 million from 32 investors. All of the
funds have since invested in seven different
startup companies across several
different sectors. While the Fund
hears all kinds of pitches, it tends to
focus most of its attention on innovative
companies in the technology
sphere.
The fund is overseen by a small
team including Fund Manager Martin
Manna and Fund Administrator Tom
Haji. Three additional fund advisors
help in decision-making.
The first fund spent a lot of time on
its due diligence and careful consideration
of its investments. It screened
over 400 companies; of them, it considered
investing in 30; finally, it invested
an amount between $100-200
thousand in seven of those.
HOLO Footwear
HOLO’s journey began in 2020, when
co-founders Rommel Vega and Yuri
Rodriguez wanted to shake up the
footwear industry with two goals in
mind: sustainability and affordability.
They found that eco-friendly footwear
is difficult to find, and if you can, the
expensive prices are a barrier to entry
for those who love the outdoors.
Since it started, HOLO has found
reliable manufacturers and cheapbut-quality
recycled materials. It has
designed dozens of shoes and colorways,
all featured on its new directto-consumer
website. According to
HOLO, all of its shoes are made from
70-100% recycled material. Its real
claim to fame is its pricing: its most
basic model starts as low as $45.
Visit holofootwearinc.com.
Fixmycar
Fixmycar is a local startup that began
in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Its mission is
Annual Investor Report
Detroit Ranked #1 Emerging
Start-up Ecosystem
– Startup Genome’s 2022 Global Startup Ecosystem Report
AAF I
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
$1M raised
Thirty two
investors
Considered
30 pitches
out of 400+
companies
screened
Invested in 7
companies
AAF II
PROJECTIONS
60+ investors
Grow total Fund II
to $3M-$5M
$125K
Ark Angel Fund I
INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
$150K
$125K
“to make car ownership simple.” On ders. VADE users can simply drop their
a base Such level, early-stage it connects mechanics support powder fosters pack innovation, into a sealed bottle translating and into significant
looking economic for work with growth customers and who long-term shake it up benefits for a simple for solution communities.
to a
need car maintenance but can’t spend protein shake. This company is a great
so much time at a shop. Its mechanics example of how one small innovation
will travel to wherever your vehicle is can have a large impact.
to service Closed it. at 2x Working on 58 deals VADE in got 6 deals its first in the big break Expanding when to On track for
from its initial $40M private the pipeline at pipeline at new markets a near-term
On investment a deeper level, label Fixmycar deal; addresses
concerns of transparency Awarded Inc. and by Morgan Tank” and secured Puerto Rico an investment Worldfrom
$150M
$2.2M; it Backed appeared $10M, on the including TV show across “Shark the valuation of
convenience on all sides 500 of Master the car service
industry. It allows mechanics and baseball player Alex Rodriguez.
Stanley investor Mark and Cuban Hawaii and legendary
customers to use its service on their Visit vade-nutrition.com.
own time. Visit fixmycar.io.
Brand XR
VADE Nutrition
This up-and-coming digital technology
provides a platform for users to
VADE’s vision is all about easy access
to high-quality nutrition. “We believe create and publish Augmented Reality
that pushing the technological boundaries
of nutrition is paramount to er. Its user-friendly tools allow anyone
content without any coding whatsoev-
building a happier, healthier world,” with basic computer skills to create
its website reads.
something in Augmented Reality.
VADE has succeeded in creating a Augmented Reality is a relatively
water-dissolvable film which houses new technology that, when paired
virtually any kind of powdered supplement.
Their products range from or Virtual Reality goggles, adds some-
with a piece of technology like a phone
pre-workout to whey isolate protein thing new to your environment. The
powder. Its usefulness demonstrates most basic example of Augmented Reality
is a Snapchat or Instagram filter.
itself by eliminating the mess of traditional
protein and supplement pow-
While this technology is becoming
popular in the entertainment and
social media spheres, it has lots more
$100K
$125K
$146K
$200K
AAF II
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
Focus on revenueproducing
firms
Innovation, tech
& retail sectors
Raise
investor
minimum
to $50K
Raise
maximum
fund cap
to $5M
Almost 70%
of respondents
are potential
investors
Angel investing is often the primary source of funding for many start-ups.
uses to explore, and Brand XR is positioned
to become the go-to system
for this type of content creation. It has
many real-world uses in large-scale
projects that Brand Launching XR is exploring.
Direct-To-
In one instance, Consumer Brand XR partnered
with Wayne and State expanding University to
create a driving simulator all 146 in order to
REI locations.
study the effects of intoxication on
driving ability in a safe environment.
Brand XR has also partnered with the
Kennedy Space Center to create realistic
simulations of the International
Space Station. Visit brandxr.io.
AptumBuild Solutions
This company made their first prototype
in early 2020 and has taken off
since then. Why are simple structures
so difficult to build, requiring various
tools, knowledge, and specific materials?
AptumBuild set out to shift the
paradigm.
The new venture specializes in
ease-of-use mini-structures. It gained
some traction and was able to test
some of its models in the restaurant
22 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

“Always have a wonderful sales and service experience
at this dealership! Unlike others, all of the people are
nice and attentive. Yes, they do get busy, but that’s
what happens when you find a great dealership.
I highly recommend Audi Rochester Hills to anyone
looking for the experience and service. Will be coming
back in the future.” - Jennifer
“Great experience. Great deal, fabulous follow through
on the delivery” - Razique Turner
industry when COVID-19 forced restaurants
into alternative outdoor seating.
Its models are specially designed
to withstand cold temperatures and
wind.
This isn’t the only application of
AptumBuild, nor the most important
one. The company sees its structures
in many other places where its easy
tear-down and ability to be flat-packed
offer a huge advantage for military, humanitarian,
and commercial uses.
Visit aptumbuild.com.
Socialive
Socialive has branded itself as a cloudbased
remote video production platform
that’s perfect for large teams
working on a single project. Its platform
integrates with software-based
video editing tools and marketing automation
tools. It prides itself on easeof-use
and high-quality content.
Socialive’s platform can be used
for many purposes, including marketing,
virtual events, human resources,
communications, video services, product
marketing, and company learning,
among others. The platform is already
used by companies like Nike, Deloitte,
CVS, Oracle, Audible, Cisco, Morgan
Stanley, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and
many more. Visit socialive.us.
XR Health
This Virtual Reality-based healthcare
platform is revolutionizing certain
aspects of the healthcare industry. Essentially,
patients will use a VR device
to experience different kinds of care
and therapy.
Traditional healthcare requires
the patient to travel, often produces
unquantifiable outcomes, and leads
to subpar patient experiences that
leave them uninspired to adhere to
their plan of care. XR Health flips the
script by gamifying a treatment plan
for issues such as Autism Spectrum
Disorder, Stress and Anxiety, Chronic
Pain, Fibromyalgia, and some neurological
conditions. Its treatments are
considered in-network by most insurance
companies, and it is covered by
Medicare.
Since its launch, XR Health has observed
increased rates of adherence to
medical plans and patients with more
inspiration to rehabilitate themselves.
It has treatments that fall under both
physical and cognitive therapy as well
as providing one-on-one therapy sessions.
Visit xr.health.
Ark Angel Fund II
Having spent the funds from the first
round of investment, the CACC has
identified investors for Ark Angel Fund
II with a total goal of $2.5 million and
an upper limit of $5 million. The minimum
investment is $50,000 and the
fund expects to make 10-20 new investments.
To learn more about the fund, visit
arkangelfund.com.
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 23

CULTURE & HISTORY
Chai
Al-Iraqi
Iraq’s love affair
with tea
BY ADHID MIRI, PHD
As one of the world’s most popular beverages,
tea has fascinated us, stimulated us, motivated
us, and calmed us for well over two thousand
years. Tea, or “chai,” as we call it in Iraq, is an
authentic part of the local heritage. The Iraq’s long
love affair with tea is amazing and historic, although
it is difficult to cultivate in Iraq because it needs special
environmental conditions.
The history of tea includes the compelling story
of the rise of tea in Asia and its eventual spread to
the West and beyond. From the Chinese tea houses of
the ancient Tang Dynasty (618-907) to the Japanese
tea ceremonies developed by Zen Buddhist monks,
and the current social issues faced by tea growers in
India and Sri Lanka—this fascinating story explores
the history of this universal drink.
The tea story is infused with a blend of myth and
fact and is colored by ancient concepts of spirituality
and philosophy. According to legend, tea has been
known in China since about 2700 BCE. For millennia
it was a medicinal beverage obtained by boiling fresh
leaves in water, but around the 3rd century it became a
daily drink, and tea cultivation and processing began.
Tea holds a place near and dear to nearly every
culture on the face of this Earth. It is an affordable,
simple, and pleasant way to refresh, to enhance
natural immune mechanisms, and to preserve health
and beauty. Each cup of tea is a perfectly balanced
combination of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and
biologically active substances that increase vitality
and improve health.
Today, tea is the world’s most popular beverage
after water.
Whatever your cup of tea—green, black, white,
oolong, chai, Japanese, Chinese, Sri Lankan, American
or British—every tea aficionado will enjoy learning
more about their favorite beverage.
All the tea in China
According to William Shakespeare, “the most pleasant
things in life happen by chance,” and it was
chance that made the discovery of tea such an interesting
story. From imperial China to colonial America,
many myths and legends surround the history
Chai with Quori and Istikan
and chemistry of tea.
Whatever the legend, tracing tea’s original roots
proves difficult. It is probable that the tea plant originated
in regions around southwest China, Tibet, and
northern India. Chinese traders may have traveled
throughout these regions often and encountered
people chewing tea leaves for medicinal purposes.
For tea to become so important, someone had to
start drinking the leaves of the tea plant infused in
water. Although it is impossible to know who had
this crazy idea for the first time, a few legends offer
explanation.
According to Chinese legend, tea was born in 2727
BC, when the Emperor Shen Nong was purifying water
in the shelter of a tea tree and several leaves blew
into the pot. The resulting brew, of superb fragrance,
color, and taste, made the emperor rejoice. Tea soon
became a daily drink in Chinese culture and the emperor
is said to have praised the merits of tea and
contributed to its popularity.
In India, another legend tells the story of Prince
Dharma, who left his homeland for China to preach
Buddhism. He vowed not to sleep during his 9-year
mission. Toward the end of his third year, when he
was overtaken by fatigue, he grabbed a few leaves of
a tea shrub and chewed them up. They gave him the
strength necessary to stay awake for the remaining 6
years of his mission.
Whatever legend one chooses to believe, all research
on the subject tends to place the origins of tea,
as both a plant and as a beverage, in China.
For love of chai
The love story between Iraqis and tea was born, by
many accounts, during the British occupation of Iraq
in the years of World War I between 1914-1918.
Iraqis are addicted to black tea. It is often sweetened,
either with sugar (lots of sugar) or honey or jam
and is always served hot, even in hot weather or as a
thirst–quencher. On their happy and sad occasions,
in their visits or as hosts, in their formal and informal
meetings, and in negotiations, there is hardly a gathering
of Iraqis without their favorite hot drink: tea,
otherwise known as chai.
24 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

Iraqis knew coffee before tea. Their cafes were
scattered across the cities, and initially, they did not
take to tea. The story goes that the English ordered
the owners of all cafes to serve tea only, forbidding
the service of coffee. Although tea was known, it
wasn’t popular until that time.
Chai is a word for tea in numerous languages; it is
used in Russia, Ukraine, Iran, and Turkey. The word
is derived from Chinese chá. Masala chai is a blend of
black tea and herbs and spices originating in India.
Today, tea (chai) is the number one drink in Iraq.
The country topped the list of Ceylon tea importers
in the year 2021. The International Tea Committee
includes Iraq in the list of the most tea-drinking nations
in the world, as one Iraqi citizen consumes 0.5
kg per year, a figure that is more than twice the global
average per capita consumption of 0.2 kilograms, according
to the committee’s statistics.
Iraqis prefer to drink dark tea; they call it “sangeen”
in the Iraqi colloquial dialect. They drink hot
tea in the summer as well as in the winter,
and the high temperatures that reach fifty
degrees Celsius in August do not prevent
drinking tea hot, and do not reduce the
demand for it.
The most famous tea in Iraq is one
made with “slow extraction” of tea on
charcoal, or as the Iraqis call it “royal tea”
or “Chai Milooki,” by placing tea leaves
and cardamom pods in an aluminum jug
next to a heated pan.
There is no set time or place to drink
tea for the Iraqis; in the morning with
breakfast, after lunch and dinner, straight
or with cake or local pastry – it’s all good.
Black or flavored
Black tea leaves include traditional types
such as Indian Assam and Darjeeling, or
blends from Africa or China. The black tea
leaves are harvested and undergo a production process
that includes withering, rolling, oxidation, and
drying. Some manufacturers use a blend of black teas
from across the world. The drying process also affects
the flavor of tea. Some black tea leaves are roasted
while others are pan-fired or steamed resulting in different
tasting notes.
Up to the mid-17th century, all Chinese tea was
green tea. As foreign trade increased, the Chinese
growers discovered that they could preserve the
tea leaves with a special fermentation process. The
resulting black tea kept its flavor and aroma longer
than the more delicate green teas and was better
equipped for the export journeys to other countries.
For a very long time, Europeans only drank black
tea, initially imported from China, then from India
and Ceylon. Contrary to oriental tradition and at the
risk of altering the subtle flavors, sugar and a dash of
milk were frequently added.
Flavored teas include any type of tea—white,
green, oolong, black—that has been scented or flavored
with fruit, flowers, spices, oils, extracts, and
natural or artificial flavors. Earl Grey, flavored with
bergamot and jasmine, is one of the most popular.
Earl Grey teas are flavored in one of two ways. The
tea leaves are sprayed or coated with bergamot essential
oil or extracts to infuse flavor. Alternatively, dried
bergamot orange rinds are added to the dried leaves
for infusion in water. Earl Grey teas that are coated
with oils tend to have a stronger citrus flavor.
It’s considered the best of both worlds when it
comes to combine flavor, aroma, the rich, malty flavors
of black tea with the uplifting citrusy tang of
herbal and floral teas. Earl Grey also delivers health
benefits that make it as good for you as it is delicious
to drink, that may alleviate digestive problems, boost
the immune system, and improve oral health.
While Earl Grey tea was popularized by the English,
it was not an English invention. Scented and
flavored teas are uniquely Chinese. Early Chinese tea
masters constantly experimented with ways to make
An Iraqi tea maker at a street cafe.
their teas more exotic, not only to capture the attention
of the reigning emperors of the time but also the
business of worldwide trade merchants looking to
return home with the unique flavors of the Far East.
From fragrant jasmine flowers and wild rosebuds to
bitter oranges and sweet lychee fruits, Chinese tea
masters infused all kinds of fragrance and flavor into
their teas during processing to create distinctive and
highly drinkable beverages.
One history of the origins of Earl Grey explains
that a Chinese mandarin tea master blended the first
Earl Grey tea as a gift for Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl of
Grey and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from
1830 to 1834. According to the Grey family, the tea
master used bergamot as a flavoring to offset the lime
flavor in the well water on Earl Grey’s estate, Howick
Hall, near Newcastle, England.
Earl Grey’s wife, Lady Grey, loved the tea so much
that she entertained with it exclusively. It proved
so popular with London society, she asked tea merchants
in London to recreate it. Exactly which English
tea merchant marketed the first Earl Grey tea
blend is somewhat of a debate in the world of tea.
But one thing is for sure—while the 2nd Earl of Grey
abolished slavery and reformed child labor laws in
England during his political leadership, he will be
most famously remembered for the beloved tea he
helped introduce to the world.
Al-Outrah
That is not to say that tea cannot be grown in Iraq.
Al Outrah, or Atrasha, is an aromatic shrub that belongs
to the geranium family. A beautiful green plant
native to the countries of the Mediterranean basin, it
is often grown in Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, and Syria,
especially in the garden of the house. It is a favorite
plant of our mothers.
An excellent source of essential oils, which are
often used in the manufacture of perfumes and cosmetics,
fresh leaves fromthe shrub are used to make a
tea. Fragrant Outrah gives Iraqi tea a delicious flavor;
some add one or two fresh leaves to a tea
pot to give it a distinctive aromatic taste.
Tools and accessories
Making tea requires tools that many
housewives race to acquire and no Iraqi
house is devoid of, each according to their
preference and capabilities. Some use
Russian Samovars to make tea, or aluminum
or stainless-steel jugs (Kettles); others
use ceramic jugs (Quori) that women
inherit from their mothers and grandmothers.
Many accessories and tools accompany
the preparation and serving of tea,
some of which have disappeared with the
changes of time and some others are still
struggling to survive, such as the tea pot
(Quori), which the electric kettle was unable
to remove from the throne of Iraqi tea.
The middle class used two vessels to prepare tea.
One, for boiling water—they keep its English pronunciation
(kettle) and used the word “kitlee”—and the
second vessel is used to prepare the tea. Made of Chinese
pottery, it is called the Quori.
The Quori is special, as it is associated with tea
and its manufacture. For the most part, Iraqis rely on
two Quoris for tea making, one of them larger than
the other. The little one, with tea and water, is placed
over the mouth of the big one, which is placed directly
on the fire, so that the tea is slow heated by the
water vapor. In the winter, there is no home without
an oil heater with two pots on top of it.
All possessions related to the tea industry have
developed over time and vary in architecture. Top
of the list in Iraq is the Istikan, preferred by the old
school; young people prefer to drink tea in cups. Tea
collectibles are passed down from generation to generation
— in particular, antique mugs, jugs, spoons,
and sugar-preserving vessels (Shakar-dan) that are
gold-plated or made of glass and silver.
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 25

CULTURE & HISTORY
Tea is served in Iraq in a small glass cup known as
Istikan; British soldiers in India during the colonial
period would take these home with them as gifts. To
distinguish between the Indian tea and the traditional
English cup of tea, the cup of Indian tea was called
“east-tea-can,” a name made from three words that
explain the origin of the mug: east + tea + can (pot).
The Iraqis combined the three words into one word
for ease, to become “Istikan;” the word spread in cafes,
neighborhoods, and homes very quickly. There
are other stories about the evolution of the term, but
this is the most believable.
When Pope Francis visited Iraq in March 2021, the
pontiff made a point of drinking Iraqi tea from an Istikan.
Al Shabander Tea House in Baghdad, Iraq.
Tea drinking rituals
One of the loudest sounds that can be heard as one
wanders in the markets and streets of old neighborhoods
in any Iraqi city is the sound of a teaspoon “Khashoo-ga”
ringing in the famous Iraqi Istikan. This
distinctive and well-known sound is due to the lightness
of the glass resounding when the small teaspoon
made of copper or aluminum is struck by it.
The importance of tea for the Iraqis appears in
the spread of tea sellers everywhere within the cities;
some of them are wanderers and others make small
kiosks on the sidewalks, between shops, and in the
markets to prepare and sell tea. A common sight in
Iraqi cities is to see people standing on the sidewalks
drinking tea from street vendors.
People are keen to serve tea after main meals or in
the afternoon hours with biscuits, cookies, or cakes.
Many Iraqis feel if they do not drink tea in the morning
at breakfast, they are subject to headaches and
dizziness throughout the day.
In the old days, café customers used to call out to
the worker, “Jeeb Chai for the Ustath” (“bring tea for the
gentleman”). Another would say, “I want it from Ras al-
Quori” (“direct from the tip of the pot—very hot”).
​There are several ways to drink tea in Iraq. Some
drink it with sugar, but in some areas of the Kurdistan
Region it is enjoyed in a way called “dashlameh,” or
bitter tea. The person who drinks it places a cube of
sugar under their tongue, a method that is common
in Iran and practiced in Iraq until recently.
Tea has social rules much like coffee; it can literally
measure the degree of respect for any visitor. If a
guest in the home or workplace is not offered a cup of
tea, it is considered a lack of warmth and welcome,
perhaps ignorance or even disrespect. In return, if
the guest refuses to drink the served tea, or returns
it, this indicates anger or an unfulfilled request. The
homeowner must serve a fully filled Istikan of tea;
otherwise, it means a detraction from honoring the
guest. It is natural for the guest to take two cups of
tea in one visit.
Tea occupies an important position in social gatherings,
not only as a hospitality drink, but as a social
mediator around which discussions of important
social matters revolve, such as concluding peace in
a disputed case, paying debts, mediation, reconciliation
or submitting marriage proposals.
There are traditions when serving tea which can
cause big problems for the host if the one who serves
the tea is not familiar with them. For instance, the
serving must start from the oldest or highest-ranking
person, then turn the presentation from the right until
the teacups are placed and served to everyone.
The spoon is especially important when serving
tea. It must be placed on the plate, and it is forbidden
to put it inside the serving mug; otherwise, it will
be considered a serious offense to the guest and can
lead to a major dispute, especially if there is a clan
problem that requires final resolution.
Iraqi women have their own rituals for drinking
tea, especially an inherited daily ritual called the afternoon
tea. “Chai al-Abbas” is considered one of the
most famous women’s rituals in Iraq. It is an invitation
to drink tea offered by women when God fulfills
their wishes, which are often related to children.
Sometimes, forgetting or ignoring some of these
traditions entails measures of consolation and an
apology from the homeowner or the host to their
guests.
From the first sip to the last drop, you’ll love the
distinctive flavor of Iraqi tea. It is a romantic script
about a worldly beverage written by tea leaves, played
by a cast of sugar cubes, Quori, Kittlee, Istikans, and
Khashoogas, supported by tea lovers and directed by
an Iraqi tea master called Chai-Chi.
Sources include Wikipedia, articles by Salah Hassan
Baban, Mayada Daoud, Munier Al-Habbobi, Karrar
Ali, Raid Jaafar Mutter, Amr Ahmmed, Mohammed
Khalil Gattan, Aisha Al-Ghamdi, Aseel Ferman,
Karam Saadi, Wafaa Elyan and Dr. Subhi Shehadeh
Al-Eid. Special editing by Jacqueline Raxter.
26 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

CHALDEAN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
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FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 27

FEATURE
Celebrating the Gulf Cup Around the World
BY WEAM NAMOU
Sterling Heights, Michigan
(15 Mile & Ryan)
Eevin Esho, 25, and his mother were
shopping at the Dream Market Supermarket
in Sterling Heights, at the corner
of 15 Mile and Ryan roads, when suddenly
they saw two people excitedly
running outside with Iraqi flags. More
people began rushing outside, cars
started honking their horns, and people
danced in the parking lot. Esho, too,
bought a flag from the adjacent store
and started celebrating with the crowd.
It was the afternoon of Thursday,
January 19, and Iraq had just won
the Arabian Gulf Cup 2023 championship,
defeating Oman 3-2 in Basra. The
team, “Mesopotamian Lions,” was
crowned with the Gulf Cup title for the
fourth time in its history. The last three
were in 1979, 1984, and 1988. The win
led to celebrations both throughout
the country and internationally.
“I was happy for the people of Iraq
and for everyone,” Esho said. “Soccer
brings joy and happiness to the country.”
Due to the cold and rainy weather,
Esho drove his mother home and then
returned to the shopping center where
he parked his car, stood on top of it,
and raised the Iraqi flag from 4 pm
until after 10 pm. “I was the last one
standing,” he said.
Esho has been in the United States
for 13 years, living in Texas until seven
months ago. He loves living in Michigan
but says it’s cold. That did not stop
him, however, from standing outside
in the cold for six hours.
“I saw people coming together and
wanted to be with them,” he said. “I’m
proud to be an Iraqi, and we have to
come together, to love each other. We
have a beautiful country and a respectful
culture, and we should not
forget the teachings of our parents and
grandparents.”
Sterling Heights, Michigan
(18 Mile & Ryan)
People were watching the game inside
of Casper Burger & Escalope in the
shopping center on the corner of 18
Mile and Ryan. When Iraq won, people
enthusiastically celebrated under
Eevin Esho celebrating the win at the 15 Mile & Ryan shopping center.
the shopping center canopy for a few
hours then returned home. A post on
social media brought them back at 7
pm, along with a DJ and a drummer,
the owner Aiven Alzain.
Men, women, and children gathered
under the canopy and danced
the depka, some wearing traditional
Iraqi attire, others had the Iraqi flag
wrapped around them. “It was a very
good feeling,” said Alzain. “Iraq had
not celebrated for a long time.”
Alzain, who has been in the United
States for 13 years, Facetimed his cousins
back home. “They were happy to
see everyone here celebrating,” he said.
El Cajon, California
Sam Sako, Hollywood filmmaker, said
that in El Cajon, California, the celebrations
were not as elaborate as those
in Michigan.
“We celebrated because we’re
happy for Iraqis, but the happiness is
not complete because out of 20 players
there is not one Christian player,” he
said. “I don’t want to bring up a negative
point, but the negative point is
there.”
Sako emphasized that the people
in Basra are the kindest, most hospitable
people he had met and shared
some stories of true longtime friendships
with Muslims. Still, he feels in
Iraq there’s double-standards and discrimination
against Christians.
“Our childhood memories are
there, but we had to escape because
we were persecuted,” he said. “No one
protected us, and as peaceful people
who fight with a pen not with a sword
or gun, we couldn’t remain there.”
Dearborn, Michigan
Ahmad AL Kaabi, a resident of Dearborn
Heights, was born in Iraq and
came to the United States in 2001. Other
than the spontaneous celebrations
that took place on the day of the win,
he, along with other locals organized a
celebratory event on Sunday, January
22 in Dearborn at a plaza on Greenfield
Road. It was sponsored by the Iraqi
American Foundation and Great Lakes
Logistics. While some considered cancelling
due to the snow, others insisted,
“No, we’re Iraqis. We’re not going
to cancel. The weather won’t stop us.”
Between 800 and 1,000 people
showed up and partied outside to
songs played by DJ Sam.
“We’re all fans of our soccer team
and were filled with pride,” said Al
Kaabi, who like the majority of Iraqis,
was awed by the way in which people
came together. “We tend to complicate
things through politics and issues.
At the end, it was young and diverse
players whose love and talent with a
soccer ball helped bring the country
together. We can all draw an example
from them.”
Ankawa, Kurdistan
Taher S. Maty is a journalist and film
director in Iraq. Although he doesn’t
like soccer, he broke into tears when
Iraq won. “Iraqis have suffered for over
41 years and finally they have something
happy to celebrate,” he said.
All businesses stopped in Ankawa
during the game. Everyone went into
the streets carrying the Iraqi flag. The
fireworks that night were more powerful
than the ones set off on New Year’s
Eve. Many passed out food, drink, and
tea to help others stay warm.
“Christians were praying for our
win,” he said. “Our feelings are even
stronger and deeper than many because
of our deep roots that go back
thousands of years,’” he said.
Basra, Iraq
Mansor Adwr is a Chaldean who was
born and raised in Basra and currently
lives there with his wife and children.
He attended one of the games and compared
the win to “A Gulf Wedding.”
“My family and I walked the Corniche
(waterfront promenade) at night
and stayed up until the morning,” he
said. He loved the way Iraqis spent two
28 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

Counter-clockwise from above:
Ali H.O. Bnayan at the Basra
International Stadium, also known
as the Palm Trunk Stadium; Opening
Day – Basra International Stadium;
Celebration at Ford Woods Park in
Dearborn.
weeks hosting visitors.
“I’ve lived here all my life and never
had problems,” he said. “We go to
church every Sunday and have Muslims
who attend there too.”
Basra is the second biggest city in Iraq
and is close to the Iranian and Kuwaiti
border in the south. Its location along the
Shatt Al-Arab gives it importance.
Basra, Iraq
Ali H.O. Bnayan is an archaeologist
whose dream came true when he attended
the opening game even though
it was sold out. “My friend had an extra
ticket,” he said.
Bnayan loved how the Iraqis welcomed
and hosted their guests from
the gulf region, showing the true generosity
of Iraqis. “The win was an addition,”
he said.
He was emotional describing how
everyone from a musician to an artist,
teacher, and all other professions presented
the best part of themselves. He
wrote guests’ names in Sumerian, on
clay tablets and gave it to them. “It was
a simple but very meaningful gift.”
The diversity also touched his heart
with people dressed in their cultural
clothes like the Kurdish, Yazidi, Christians,
and Baghdadis. People brought
blankets and set up their tents outside
the stadium where they stayed the night.
The cold weather didn’t faze them.
“At the opening, when the lights
went out and they played the anthem
and then honored history of the Sumerians,
Akkadians, Babylonians, I
couldn’t hold back tears. We thought
of how much Iraqis had suffered, how
all the library books were destroyed
by the Mongols. This event raised our
spirits.”
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 29

FAMILY TIME
The Youth Mental Health Crisis: Today’s 800-Lb Gorilla
BY VALENE AYAR
In 1977, the medical community
abandoned the biomedical model
used in healthcare since its genesis
for a more comprehensive one
which better encapsulates the picture
of health—the biopsychosocial model.
Over the last half-century, countless
studies have proven that overall
health is dictated by more than just biology.
As the name “biopsychosocial”
suggests, our psychology and social
lives factor in just as much.
While we understand this on a theoretical
level, we seem to forget it on a
practical one. In our everyday lives, we
still seem to discount the importance of
mental health to our overall well-being.
There is a great deal of stigma surrounding
the topic of mental health
and because of that, it is often unaddressed.
This has had repercussions
on our collective well-being as mental
health issues only seem to be trending
upward at an astronomical rate. Especially
affected are the under-25 crowd.
What is mental health?
Before we can discuss how to promote
good mental health, we first need to
define it.
The Center for Disease Control
(CDC) defines mental health as “our
emotional, psychological and social
well-being.”
Mental health dictates every sphere
of our daily lives and seriously affects
our futures. From our ability to learn
new things, our school/work performance,
relationships, self-esteem,
physical health, personal hygiene, and
overall sense of well-being, there is not
a single aspect of our existence that is
not affected by our mental health.
Unfortunately, though, it is often
neglected and pushed to the bottom
of our list of priorities when, in fact, it
should be at the very top. This is particularly
true of our younger generation.
The Surgeon General’s advisory
In December 2021, the US Surgeon
General released an advisory entitled
Protecting Youth Mental Health. It is
worth noting that the Surgeon General
only releases these advisories in
the direst of circumstances and health
crises, ones that require immediate
awareness and intervention.
Mental health issues among today’s
youth have been described as the new
public health concern. In the last 30
years, we have moved from the dangers
of drunk driving, teen pregnancy, and
smoking to serious mental health issues.
Among those issues, self-harm and suicide
rates are extremely prevalent.
The CDC reports that suicide rates
are on the rise nationwide after almost
2 years of decline. Reports say there has
been a sharp increase in ER visits since
2019 for patients between 10 to 24 years
of age being treated for anxiety, mood
disorders, and self-harm. According to
those same sources, suicide rates have
risen by a staggering 60 percent since
2018 among that same age group.
While this information is not very
uplifting, it needs to be addressed
to drive home the severity of the epidemic
we are facing. And it only seems
to be getting worse. Because this is an
issue many do not like to discuss, it requires
some cold, hard truths to garner
the attention and gravitas it deserves.
It’s not all doom and gloom,
though. I come offering solutions to
combat this issue.
An ounce of prevention
It is universally understood that when
it comes to physical ailments, preventing
disease through good choices and
a healthy lifestyle is far better than
treating it after its onset.
It is no different with mental health.
While there are genetic components
connected to several mental illnesses,
there are far greater environmental
ones at play. Simply having a
predisposition to mental illness does
not automatically lead to a diagnosis.
Often, this “nature” component can remain
completely dormant in a person
throughout their entire life, provided
there is a good “nurture” component
to offset it. That’s where you come in.
Prepare U
There are many resources online
which give invaluable information
and guidance for parents looking to
promote good mental health practices.
One resource rises above others.
The Prepare U Mental Health Curriculum,
created by leading experts in
mental healthcare, technology, and
research, is a breakthrough in mental
health and SEL education. Strongly supported
by leaders of both the Canadian
Psychological Association and American
Psychological Association, Prepare
U began locally in Michigan, and
has been successfully implemented in
school districts across North America.
This nationally recognized program
is the first-ever evidence-supported
experiential mental health
course deployed in schools and delivered
by everyday educators. They are
saving lives and reducing the effects of
trauma, anxiety, and stress while igniting
sparks of personal growth, family
health, and community engagement.
Through its programs for schools,
communities, and families, Prepare
U’s multi-faceted approach to delivering
mental health education and
resources is unprecedented. They are
arming adolescents and their support
systems with the tools necessary to
combat everyday challenges including
addiction, the effects of social media,
and interpersonal relationships
through learning self-care, boundary
setting, and emotional growth.
One of the programs Prepare U offers,
“The Home Edition,” is designed
as a self-paced course to provide
structure and help facilitate difficult
conversations around mental health
between adolescents and their loved
ones. Packed with a library of resources
and a “self-care zone,” it has been
utilized by families and communities
who feel safer in the comfort of their
own home to make breakthroughs in
their life and relationships.
Empowering our youth
This latest epidemic is not what many of
us grew up with; that is to be expected.
Every generation has its own climate
and issues of the day. To ignore this fact
of life spells doom for our current families
and for future generations.
Ignoring these issues will not make
them go away. In fact, ignorance will
only exacerbate them. We need to
educate ourselves on these matters
because with great knowledge comes
great power. And in this unpredictable
world we are living in, we can use all
the power we can possibly get.
Valene Ayar is a freelance writer
and can be contacted at valene@
thewritingwarrior.com. More
information on Prepare U can be
accessed at prepareu.live. Editor’s
Note: Kevin’s Song, Michigan’s largest
conference on suicide prevention and
awareness, is celebrating its tenth year.
More information may be found at
kevinssong.org.
30 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

PROJECT
LIGHT
THERAPY SERVICES
Therapy can be a big step toward being the healthiest
version of yourself and living the best life possible—our
professional therapists are here for you to access.
Through therapy, you can change self-destructive
behaviors and habits, resolve painful feelings,
improve your relationships, and share your feelings
and experiences. Individuals often seek therapy for help
with issues that may be hard to face alone.
In therapy your therapist will help you to establish person
centered goals and determine the steps you will take to
reach those goals. Your relationship with your therapist
is confidential and our common therapeutic goal for those
we engage is to inspire healthy change to improve quality
of life — no matter the challenge.
We invite you seek out the Light of Project Light! Serving
individuals ages 13 years and up. Please call to request a
Project Light Intake at (586) 722-7253.
For Your Best Health.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY: The CCF and Project Light is committed to your privacy and confidentiality and are sensitive to the stigma and stress that come with seeking
mental health support. Therefore, all counseling records are kept strictly confidential. Information is not shared without client’s written consent. Exceptions to confidentiality are
rare and include persons who threaten safety of themselves others or in circumstances of a court order.
LOOKING FOR A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
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FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 31

DOCTOR IS IN
The Psychology of Love
The psychology of love
and relationships is
a complex and multidisciplinary
field of study
that encompasses various
aspects of human behavior,
emotions, and cognition.
Love and relationships are
influenced by a wide range
of factors, including biology,
genetics, social and cultural
norms, and individual experiences.
Some key concepts that
influence the psychology of love and
relationships include attachment
styles, the role of hormones and neurotransmitters,
the influence of childhood
experiences, and the impact of
communication and conflict resolution
on relationship satisfaction. We
must also factor in how technology
and social media are affecting the way
we form and maintain relationships.
The brain is responsible for regulating
a wide range of emotions and
behaviors including attraction, attachment,
and bonding. Research has
shown that certain areas of the brain
are activated when people experience
feelings of love and attachment towards
a romantic partner. For example,
the ventral tegmental area (VTA)
and the caudate nucleus are thought
to be involved in the experience of
romantic love, while the anterior cingulate
cortex and the ventral striatum
are thought to be involved in the experience
of attachment.
Love changes us
Love can have a positive effect on both
the brain and the body. Studies have
shown that people who are in happy,
healthy relationships have lower levels
of stress, lower blood pressure, a
lower risk of heart disease, stronger
immune systems, better cognitive
function, including improved memory
and problem-solving abilities, and
better mental health outcomes than
those who are single or in unhappy relationships.
On the other hand, love can also
have negative effects on the brain and
SHAHAD
JONNA, PA
SPECIAL TO
THE CHALDEAN
NEWS
the body. Being in a negative
or toxic relationship can
have a detrimental effect on
mental health, leading to depression,
anxiety, and other
mental health issues. Breakups,
for example, have been
shown to activate the same
areas of the brain as physical
pain, and can lead to feelings
of depression and anxiety.
Moreover, love can lead
to obsessive thoughts and
behaviors, causing jealousy,
mistrust, and feelings of insecurity,
which can be harmful to both the person
experiencing them and the relationship.
The brain’s reward system
is likewise activated when someone
is in a romantic relationship, which
can lead to feelings of euphoria and
addiction. This can make it difficult
for people to leave unhealthy relationships,
even when it would be in their
best interest to do so.
Falling in love feels good. Our mood
is boosted as the brain releases feelgood
neurotransmitters. One of the key
hormones that plays a role in the formation
and maintenance of romantic relationships
is oxytocin. This hormone,
also known as the “love hormone,” is
released in the brain when people engage
in physical touch, such as hugging
or kissing. Oxytocin has been found to
increase feelings of trust and bonding,
empathy, and social connection. Dopamine,
a neurotransmitter that is released
in the brain when people experience
pleasure, is also thought to play a
role in romantic attraction.
Attachment styles
Another important factor in the psychology
of love and relationships is
attachment styles. Attachment styles
refer to the way in which individuals
form and maintain emotional bonds
with others and are believed to be
formed in childhood. Research has
shown that there are three main attachment
styles: secure, anxious, and
avoidant. Individuals with a secure
attachment style tend to have positive
and healthy relationships, while individuals
with an anxious or avoidant
attachment style tend to have more
difficulties in their relationships.
The way in which individuals process
emotions plays an important
role. Research has shown that people
who are better able to regulate their
emotions tend to have more successful
relationships. This is because they
are better able to communicate their
needs and feelings to their partners,
and they are better able to handle conflicts
and resolve problems in a constructive
way.
An important element to consider
is the impact of early childhood experiences
on adult relationships. Research
has shown that individuals
who experienced traumatic or neglectful
childhoods tend to have more difficulties
in their adult relationships.
They may have difficulties with trust,
attachment, and emotional regulation,
which can lead to problems in
their relationships.
Technology
In recent years, the impact of technology
and social media on love and relationships
has become an increasingly
important area of study. Research has
shown that the use of social media can
both positively and negatively impact
romantic relationships. On one hand,
social media can provide a convenient
way for couples to stay connected and
communicate with each other, even
when they are not together. On the
other hand, social media can also lead
to feelings of jealousy and insecurity,
and it can make it harder for couples
to disconnect from their screens and
spend quality time together.
Love, at its core, is complicated
because human beings are complicated.
There is no one formula. Each
person has their own life experiences,
thoughts, and feelings that comprise
who they are and alter their compatibility
with others. Some loving relationships
will last for a summer
season, while others will last for a lifetime.
Every person who comes across
one’s path has a lesson to teach them;
the ability to be open-minded and receptive
to the lesson is important and
will contribute to personal growth,
awareness, and development.
When the intricacies and complexities
of love and relationships is too
much to bear alone, the best course of
action can be to sit down and have a
conversation with a licensed professional.
Despite the stigma associated
with seeking professional assistance,
the ability and decision to ask for guidance
when necessary is indicative of
strength and can have a monumental
impact in one’s life.
Contributing writer Shahad Jajo Jonna
works at Jajo Psychiatry (734-331-6037).
32 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023

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HIRING
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Join our ever expanding team!
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FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 33

ART & ENTERTAINMENT
Ivan Jaddou:
The shoemaker
BY CAL ABBO
Ivan Jaddou has taken anything but
a traditional Chaldean path. He
forged his own way, forcing himself
into one of the world’s toughest
industries, mainly through sheer hard
work and inspired drive. At every turn,
Jaddou proved that he can compete
with and should be ranked among the
world’s top shoe designers.
Jaddou grew up in Dearborn, right
next to the Ford Motor Company World
Headquarters. His childhood was classic
Detroit with Chaldean garnish.
“I did elementary, middle, and high
school in Dearborn,” Jaddou said. He
also was selected for and attended
the Dearborn Center for Math, Science
and Technology (DCMST), an
exclusive, part-time high school with
an advanced curriculum. Many of the
courses offered at DCMST adhere to
the Advanced Placement program or
have a dual enrollment agreement
with a local college.
“I started by trying out a more
traditional route,” said Jaddou. “I
thought I wanted to do medicine and
be a doctor because I wanted to help
people. I shadowed my uncle, who has
his own practice, doing basic things
like taking blood pressure and vitals
and watching him work.”
While Jaddou acquired experience
in the medical field, he attended
Wayne State University and enrolled in
some basic, pre-requisite courses like
biology and chemistry. “I was so bored
that I spent all my time drawing in my
notebook instead of balancing equations,”
he said. “I started to get good
at sketching again, and it just so happened
to be sneakers.”
While this wasn’t Jaddou’s first experience
as an artist, it represented a
return to an older craft that he cultivated
in his childhood. “As a kid, I loved
to draw cartoons like Dragon Ball Z,
Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo, and
anything else on Cartoon Network,” he
recalled. “But I stopped drawing for a
while once I got into high school.”
Jaddou remembers a specific defining
moment in his late teenage years.
“It was a pair of Y-3 shoes,” he said.
The Y-3 series, made by the famed
Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto,
is renowned for its combination of elegance,
versatility, and extreme quality
at a reasonable price.
“These shoes lasted me longer
than any shoe I’ve ever worn,” Jaddou
said. “There’s something really special
about this product. At the end of
its use, even when it was worn down,
I actually ended up loving them more.
They charmed me and I wanted to
keep them. Even though they’re beat
up, I didn’t want to throw them away
because we’d been through so much
together.” Little did he know, Jaddou
would work directly on the Y-3 brand
years later.
Once Jaddou realized that medicine
wasn’t for him, the transition
was fast. He wasted no time telling
his parents he wanted to do design.
“My mother was so happy for me that
I found something I really love to do.
I’m lucky to have my parents the way
that they are, supporting me with everything
that I want to do and trusting
that it will work out,” he said.
But Jaddou had no professional or
academic art background and no real
portfolio to showcase his work. So, he
enrolled in art classes at Henry Ford
Community College, hoping to gain
enough experience to build a portfolio.
“I struggled a lot. I wasn’t one of
the art kids,” he said. “I had to find my
artistic side once again.”
In that moment, he went all in. “I
told myself that if I was going to do
this, I would do it 110%,” Jaddou said.
“I thought of my dad going to work every
day. Spending 14 hours on his feet
at the grocery store on a Sunday. I’d
like to think I inherited some of that
work ethic from him.”
Jaddou’s entire family except his
father spent that summer in San Diego.
“I spent the summer alone with
my father, working on my portfolio to
enter art school,” he said. Finally, Jaddou
was accepted to the College for
Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit.
“In the 2010s, there were all these
designer sneakers coming out. Lanvin,
Common Projects, Trussardi – there
was a new market of luxury sneakers
that hadn’t really happened before,”
he said. “I wanted to own these, but
they were too expensive. Some of them
were priced near $1,000.”
Jaddou took inspiration from these
new luxury brands and began designing
his own. “As a Chaldean, with the
entrepreneurial background of my
parents, I tried to start my own brand,”
he said. “I tried to enter the luxury
shoe market but wanted a target price
around $200. I partnered with a friend
studying business. We both put our
money in.”
Not long after, Jaddou and his
partner shopped their designs and
scouted potential manufacturers. “We
traveled to Brazil to try and develop
everything, but we lost our funds,” he
said. “We got to second prototypes and
we were looking at packaging.” They
soon realized that building a shoe
brand required more capital and time
than they could afford, so they abandoned
the project, but Jaddou added
his painstaking designs to his professional
portfolio.
Art school changed how Jaddou
saw the world. “It opened my mind
to a whole other world of design,” he
said. “Everything around us in the
man-made world is designed somehow.
Even if it’s not made by humans,
even if it comes from nature. It opened
my mind to take everything from a design
perspective.”
Jaddou reports that, at CCS, “you’re
acting on your creativity.” There are
fewer tests, but you still have to solve
problems and think strategically. Business
and design, for example, are inextricably
linked.
“In every business, if there’s a
product you’re selling, it needs to be
designed somehow, and there’s a designer
behind it,” according to Jaddou.
“Even if it’s a grocery store. Even
a mom-and-pop shop needs branding.
You need architecture, a façade, interior,
signage, branding, food products,
refrigeration. Everything is designed
somehow. Many businesses are successful
because of excellent design.”
Jaddou’s sparkling international
career really began on Career Day at
CCS. “The whole day, nobody came
to my work,” he said. “At the very last
minute, the Adidas recruiter comes up
to me and says, ‘I wanted to save you
for last.’ He told me about their internship
program in Portland, and I got it
that summer. I always had this dream
that my work would be so good that
people will invite me to other countries
and my work will take me around
the world.” Portland, it turns out, was
relatively close to home.
“I looked at this internship as a golden
ticket,” Jaddou said. “I was obsessed
with my work there. I never really did
anything else. I had to give it everything
and maybe it would lead to something
else. I stayed up late, thinking of new
concepts and sketches, and really impressed
some of my superiors.”
One day, one of the design directors
SHOES continued on page 36
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ART & ENTERTAINMENT
SHOES continued from page 34
from Germany came to visit the facility
in Portland. “One of my directors set
up a meeting between me and him. He
said, ‘Show him your stuff; I just want
you guys to talk.’ After the meeting, he
told me about the Adidas Design Academy
and invited me to apply.”
Adidas Design Academy is a twoyear
rotational program where a
young designer gets exposed to many
different departments and parts of the
brand. The Design Academy requires a
special project as a part of its application,
so Jaddou spent six months putting
together various ideas from his
previous work.
“There was something like 270 applicants
from all around the world,”
Jaddou said, “and they pick six of them
in the end. They filtered the applicants
through various rounds. Eventually,
I made it to the round of 75, and they
conducted an online interview. After
the interview, they eliminated all but
18 people, and everyone was invited to
Germany for three days.”
Jaddou described the long weekend
as a “Project Runway showdown.”
“They made us take the project we
had done for the last several months
and expand on it,” he said. “We had
four hours to change it in some way.
My project was an origami shoe that
folded up, and the laces went through
every pleat. When you tighten it, the
sole folded up and it changed the
shape of the shoe.”
During those four hours, Jaddou
remembered the enchantment of his
old Y-3s. “I added a mileage tracker
to the shoe and a screen on the inside
of the tongue displaying it,” he said.
“Not only did it create emotional attachment,
but from a technical side,
you could see how long the shoe lasts
before the tread starts to fall off.” Jaddou
also created a fake app where you
could see a leaderboard with your
friends’ shoe mileage.
Jaddou described the inside of the
Adidas headquarters as a “spaceship.”
During that short trip, he met people
from countries all over the world - Philippines,
Thailand, Sweden, France,
Barbados, and many more.
After the four hours passed and the
assignments were turned in, the judges
issued a group challenge. “They told us
to sit there and think of a concept based
on three words. After 30 minutes, we
shared our ideas with the group. Based
on those ideas, we had to create something
together as a team,” he said.
“We created a prototype of our
idea. I presented the idea to the judges,
and they loved my leadership,”
Jaddou explained. “I was the person
there that brought all of the individual
ideas into one concept. Finally, after
the competition, they invited me to the
Academy for two years.”
At the start of his Academy experience,
Jaddou lived in a smaller German
town and knew barely any of the
local language. Adidas didn’t provide
him with language courses, but his
workplace was so international that
he found it easy to communicate with
everyone in English.
By the program’s design, Jaddou
worked on many projects and in many
different areas of the operation. He
worked closely with the Adidas customization
tool - a web app that allows
a customer to design their own
shoe. He also contributed to high-end
collaborations with Raf Simons, Rick
Owens, and the legendary Y-3 line that
inspired his love for shoes years ago.
“I lived in Vietnam for three
months,” Jaddou said. “I worked inside
of a shoe factory as a technical
designer. That’s where I got a more
precise eye for design. Every millimeter
counts when you design a shoe, a
mold, or a sole. My job there was to
interpret a designer’s sketch from the
German office and make it feasible for
manufacturing; working with engineers
and bolt makers and everything
in between.
After the Design Academy, Jaddou
had spent one year as an intern and
two years as an apprentice working
with Adidas before being offered a
position. It was directing the MyAdidas
customization application which
he had worked on previously in the
apprenticeship, building colors and
palettes and deciding which materials
and shapes to offer.
“It was cool, but I really wanted to
design a product,” Jaddou said. “I really
wanted to design shoes from scratch,
from zero. A different offer came my
way from Reebok in Barcelona.”
After learning more about the company
and position, Jaddou took the job
with Reebok and moved to Barcelona.
His role was designing hi-tech, sport,
and lifestyle, which was right up his alley.
This new office was far from a headquarters;
it was a satellite office, and he
had to learn Spanish quickly. “Three
years of Spanish in high school doesn’t
do much,” he commented wryly.
Jaddou worked at Reebok for about
a year. “It didn’t work out in the end.
The projects we were doing ended up
getting dropped. We were working at
a satellite office, working on projects
outside of what the global team does.
And that relationship just ended up
disintegrating.”
After he left, Jaddou did some freelance
work to keep busy while looking
for a new full-time position. At
this point in his career, Jaddou was a
young, inspired, committed, and proven
design talent who had held roles
with and worked for the highest-end
design teams. Even then, it was more
than difficult to find another position.
“I always say that the hardest part
about a job is getting it,” Jaddou reflected.
“I counted 25 total interviews between
leaving Reebok and getting my
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next job. Often, I would get to the final
stage of an application and not receive
an offer. It was very disappointing.”
Each job had Jaddou submit a tensof-pages
long project proposal. He
submitted a 40-page project to a company
called Bershka that, a week after
he submitted, they told him they “really
liked.” Bershka, however, took issue
with one part of Jaddou’s proposal. He
offered to change it and send it back,
and they obliged.
“I made a different variation and
sent it back,” Jaddou said. “That’s how
I got the job. In a real-life situation, if
someone comes to you and says, ‘I
don’t know about this part,’ you have
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changes. Perhaps it was some kind of
test for them.”
For the last four years, Jaddou has
designed shoe after shoe for Bershka. “I
like it because we get to see the things
we design pretty quickly,” he said. “With
other brands it takes a while for you to
see your work come to life; there’s a lot
of bureaucracy in other companies and
products have to go through rigorous
testing in sports-oriented brands. At
Bershka, we make fashion products.”
Jaddou will travel with his team to
larger European cities like London and
Paris and Berlin to “see what’s going
on in the streets and see how people
are dressed, what’s happening in our
stores in those cities, and get a sense
of what the current market is like and
what we should offer for next season.”
While Jaddou loves his job at
Bershka, there is a niche he thinks he
can cover better. “Our price point at
Bershka is very low, so you don’t have
much room to play with premium materials
or products that are designed to
last a long time,” he said. “This is fast
fashion. Every season it changes and
there’s a new theme. It’s very difficult
to create something iconic within this
business model.”
At some point in his career, Jaddou
wants to release something iconic,
what he calls a “franchise product.
There are businesses that base their
entire company around one product.
Unfortunately, that’s not really what
we do here,” he said.
According to Jaddou, he wants to
take the opportunity to thank the community
that raised him and to provide
inspiration for others that might follow
in his well-styled footsteps. His budding
career as a world-class shoe designer
is just starting to gain ground,
and we await his next leap forward.
You can see Ivan’s work at ivanjaddou.
myportfolio.com.
FEBRUARY 2023 CHALDEAN NEWS 37

CHALDEAN SCENE
Everyone
knows that
Chaldeans
throw the
best parties!
From left:
Mortgage Pros
celebrate Christmas.
Is it a dance off?
Weddings are a
time of great joy
From left:
Travis and Monica tied the
knot on August 20, 2022.
Matthew and Serena were
married on September 16,
2022.
PHOTOS BY WILSON SARKIS
Top Notch’s
Christmas
Party
was a blast!
From left:
A blast of fun is
in the forecast.
All in on the
dance floor.
Shenandoah
brought in the
New Year
with style
From left:
Their NYE spread featured
a festive ice sculpture.
Happy New Year
to one and all!
38 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2023