Chaldean News: A Commemorative Edition of 'Chaldean Story' Series

METRO DETROIT CHALDEAN COMMUNITY VOL. 21 SPECIAL ISSUE JULY 2024

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HIRING? 

PLEASE CONSIDER INVESTING IN ONE 

OF OUR NEW AMERICANS. 

WHAT WE DO 

The Career Services Department at the Chaldean Community Foundation offers one-on-one assistance to help 

clients identify goals and develop careers. 

• Career Fairs 

• Employer Referrals 

• Job Application Completion 

• Training Opportunities 

• Resume Building 

• Mock Interviews 

• Cover Letter Writing 

• FAFSA Completion 

To inquire about adding your open positions to our job bank and hiring one of our 

clients, please call or email Elias at 586.722.7253 

or elias.kattoula@chaldeanfoundation.org 

Chaldean Community Foundation | 3601 15 Mile Rd., Sterling Heights, MI 48310

METRO DETROIT CHALDEAN COMMUNITY | JULY 2024 | VOL. 21 SPECIAL ISSUE 

4 From the Editor 

Telling the Chaldean story 

By Sarah Kittle 

HISTORY 

6 Chaldean Cultural Roots 

Innovations that shaped civilization 


8 Who Are the Chaldeans? 

From ancient lands to modern times, a small 

community continues to leave its mark 

By Cal Abbo 

10 Origins of the Written Word: 

Cuneiform 

By Adhid Miri, PhD 

12 Why Language Matters 

Saving Sureth 

By Cal Abbo 

SPIRITUAL LIFE 

14 Going to Church 

Changing traditions of worship from 

Tel Keppe to Detroit 

By Cal Abbo 

16 Detroit: The City of Faith 

Chaldean faith traditions featured in 

new PBS documentary 


18 Changing Education 

Chaldeans have changed how 

Michigan learns 

By Cal Abbo 

BOUND FOR MICHIGAN 

20 From Mesopotamia 

to the Motor City 

Part 1: Early Chaldean settlers successfully 

navigated the change from agrarian 

villages to an industrial city lifestyle 

Part 2: How pioneering Chaldeans created 

a community in Detroit 

Part 3: New ventures in a new land 

By Cal Abbo 

GROWTH & PROSPERITY 

26 Her Story 

Chaldean women making history 


28 Prime Time 

Entertaining the Iraqi Prime Minister 


32 Beyond the Silk Road 

Event explores four stories of trade and 

entrepreneurship 


36 Growing Pains 

Michigan marijuana business remains a 

perilous pot of gold 

The Risks of Cannabis 

By Paul Natinsky 

38 Thank You for Your Service 

A Salute to Chaldean American Veterans 


40 Dreaming Bigger Dreams 

A profile of Thomas Denha 


42 Sharing the Chaldean Story 

Nick and Randy Najjar contribute to the 

traveling StoryCorps series 

By Cal Abbo 

44 Numbers Paint a Picture 

Walsh College survey reveals 

striking demographic data about 

Metro Detroit’s Chaldeans 

By Cal Abbo 

CHALDEAN CUISINE 

46 In the Beginning: 

Mesopotamian Beer 


48 Spicing Up Michigan 

Chaldean cuisine becomes 

mainstream 

By Cal Abbo 

54 First Tango with Mango 

Iraqi Amba 


56 The Mexican Connection 

A mother and daughter prepare Pozole 

and reminisce of family memories 

By Z. Z. Dawod 

58 That’s Amore 

Tania’s looks to expand its 

‘stuffed pizza’ footprint 

By Paul Natinsky 

60 7 Mile’s Kabob King 

A Tribute to Bahi Jarbo 

By Crystal Kassab Jabiro 

ARTS & CULTURE 

62 Honoring History 

Birth of the Chaldean Cultural Center 

By Cal Abbo 

66 Beth al-Nahrain 

2nd Annual Writers of Mesopotamia 

Conference 

By Adhid Yousif Miri, PhD 

68 Chaldean Immigrant 

Media Pioneers 

In Michigan and the United States 


70 From the Archive 

Faisal Arabo, Chaldean Media Pioneer 

72 Weaving a Narrative 

The Rich Complexity of 

Middle Eastern Folklore 

By Dr. Adhid Miri & Sarah Kittle 

74 Music Men 

Omar Jarbo 

Raad Hakeem 

By Weam Namou 

78 From the Outside 

Chaldean Americans are a uniquely 

close-knit community 


80 Event 

West Bloomfield Group Tours the 

Chaldean Cultural Center 

Photos by Alex Lumelsky 

82 A Night of Culture 

Celebration is a highlight of the year-long 

Chaldean Story series 

By Cal Abbo 

CHALDEAN STORY CHALDEAN NEWS 3

FROM THE EDITOR 

PUBLISHED BY 

Chaldean News, LLC 

Chaldean Community Foundation 

EDITORIAL 

EDITOR IN CHIEF 

Sarah Kittle 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Cal Abbo 

Z. Z. Dawod 

Crystal Kassab Jabiro 

Sarah Kittle 

Adhid Miri, PhD 

Weam Namou 

Paul Natinsky 

ART & PRODUCTION 

CREATIVE DIRECTOR 

Alex Lumelsky with SKY Creative 

GRAPHIC DESIGNER 

Zina Lumelsky with SKY Creative 

PHOTOGRAPHERS 

Alex Lumelsky 

Daniel Moen 

SALES 

Interlink Media 

Sana Navarrette 

CONTACT INFORMATION 

Story ideas: edit@chaldeannews.com 

Advertisements: ads@chaldeannews.com 

Subscription and all other inquiries: 

info@chaldeannews.com 

Chaldean News 

30095 Northwestern Hwy, Suite 101 

Farmington Hills, MI 48334 

www.chaldeannews.com 

Phone: (248) 851-8600 

Publication: The Chaldean News (P-6); 

Published monthly; Issue Date: 

Special Edition, July 2024 

“Chaldean Story” Commemorative Edition 

Subscriptions: 12 months, $35. 

Publication Address: 

30095 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 101, 

Farmington Hills, MI 48334; 

Permit to mail at periodicals postage rates 

is on file at Farmington Hills Post Office 

Postmaster: Send address changes to 

“The Chaldean News 30095 Northwestern 

Hwy., Suite 101, Farmington Hills, MI 48334” 

Telling the Chaldean Story 

For two decades, the Chaldean News (CN) has 

been dedicated to narrating the rich tapestry 

of Chaldean history and culture. Thanks to a 

grant from Michigan Humanities’ Great Michigan 

Stories program, the Chaldean Community Foundation 

(CN’s parent organization), has helped the 

publication to not only widen its readership—both 

literally and intellectually—but also embrace a 

broader audience. 

“Who are the Chaldeans?” remains a central 

question driving our exploration. The Chaldean 

American community in Michigan continues to 

evolve, and we journey back to its Mesopotamian origins, 

celebrating its contributions such as the advent of writing, 

while stressing the vital role of language in cultural preservation. 

Religion forms a cornerstone of Chaldean identity. Understanding 

the depth of their faith, rooted from the conversion 

by Saint Thomas, is essential to comprehending this 

community. The Chaldean Catholic tradition, inseparable 

from its people, has evolved significantly, particularly in 

America—a transformation we delve into, examining shifts 

within the Church and its sacred Mass. 

Reporter Cal Abbo’s three-part series, “From Mesopotamia 

to the Motor City,” vividly captures the early Chaldean 

immigrants’ journey. Detailing their transition from rural 

Mesopotamian villages to bustling industrial hubs in Michigan, 

Abbo chronicles how these pioneers forged a new community 

in their new home. 

Chaldeans have thrived and prospered in their adopted 

homeland, leaving an indelible mark on southeastern Michigan. 

From the remarkable achievements of women in law to 

SARAH KITTLE 

EDITOR 

IN CHIEF 

the vibrant array of culinary experiences offered by 

Chaldean restaurants, their contributions resonate 

throughout the region. 

For many Iraqi immigrants, preparing the same 

dishes served by their mothers and grandmothers 

not only keeps cherished memories alive but also 

serves as a profound connection to their past. To 

honor these culinary traditions, we introduced the 

“Chaldean Kitchen” segment, dedicated to preserving 

not just the recipes but also the unique stories 

that accompany them. 

Recognizing the importance of celebrating their 

rich history, those who followed in the footsteps of the pioneers 

established the Chaldean Cultural Center, a unique 

institution of its kind. At the CCC, visitors are taken on a 

chronological journey through Chaldean history, enriched 

by intimate family photos and compelling oral narratives 

that bring their stories to life. 

Chaldean celebrations are synonymous with music and 

dance, integral to their vibrant cultural fabric. Instruments 

like the Tabul and Zurna, alongside dances such as the Khigga, 

play important roles in their special occasions. 

Finally, the contributions of Chaldean media pioneers 

were pivotal in shaping the Chaldean American community. 

Writers who had been silenced in Iraq found a new voice in 

America, and they utilized it to great effect. It is a privilege 

for us to uphold and carry forward their enduring legacy. 

Sarah Kittle 

Editor in Chief 

About Michigan Humanities and Great Michigan Stories 

Michigan Humanities celebrated 

its 50th Anniversary in 

2024, and to honor the occasion, 

the organization set out to uplift 

the work of their statewide humanities 

and cultural partners. Michigan Humanities 

offered a special $25,000 grant 

opportunity for projects highlighting 

untold stories in Michigan history, shedding 

light on underrepresented populations 

and communities in the state. 

The Chaldean Cultural Center is 

one of only five organizations across 

the state to be selected for this honor. 

With the help of its story-telling subsidiary, 

the Chaldean News, the Chaldean 

story was told through published features, 

podcast interviews, video shorts, 

public forums, and performances. 

Other partners to be selected included 

the Historical Society of 

Greater Lansing, with its exhibit 

“Origin Stories,” enticing visitors and 

residents to discover the rich history of 

Lansing through recorded oral history 

video stories. 

The Museum of Ojibwa Culture, 

“Tribal Youth, Our Future for Cultural 

Preservation” featured seven traveling 

exhibits on Native American Boarding 

Schools. This project was designed to 

help 1,275 Native American youth in 

the area to become future voices for 

cultural awareness and traditions. 

The Underground Railroad Society 

of Cass County was selected to 

produce “Documentary: The Underground 

Railroad and Its Legacy in Cass 

County, Michigan,” a documentary 

that tells the story of the Underground 

Railroad (UGRR) in Cass County, Michigan, 

and its legacy; a story almost lost 

to local, state, and national history. 

Wayne State University, “MI 

Native Stories.” The purpose of this 

project is to collect and share 10 Anishinaabe 

oral histories about 20th 

century Indigenous Michigan: three 

from Ojibwe communities in the Upper 

Peninsula, three from Odawa 

communities in the northern Lower 

Peninsula, three from the Bodéwadmi 

in Western Michigan, and one from 

the Waawiiyaataanong (Detroit). 

These five organizations pursued 

their goals over the course of a year, 

carrying out projects that culminated 

in a year of sharing, celebration 

and learning. 

4 CHALDEAN NEWS CHALDEAN STORY

PUBLISHER'S CIRCLE 

As the publication of record for 

Michigan’s Chaldean community, 

the mission of the Chaldean News 

is to preserve and archive Chaldean 

heritage and history, and to tell the 

ongoing story of Chaldean contributions to 

the communities in which we live and work – in 

Michigan and around the world. 

In the last 5 years the Chaldean News has 

substantially increased its readership and social 

media following, introduced new digital and website 

content and expanded storytelling and video offerings 

with the help of small grant funding. 

The Publisher’s Circle is a unique opportunity for community 

members to support the Chaldean News and its continuing 

mission to be a voice for the community, wherever they 

may be. With the warmhearted help of individual and 

organizational supporters we can ensure that this important 

resource remains to educate and connect the community 

while evolving to meet the needs of future generations. 

The Chaldean News has recently launched a CN app 

and will continue to expand into new media such 

as radio and TV, all with the goal of preserving our 

culture and telling the story of our people. You can 

take part in helping to preserve your Chaldean 

heritage by joining the Publisher’s Circle today. 

Jibran “Jim” Manna 

Martin and Tamara Manna 

We are grateful for the overwhelmingly 

generous support of our community. 

To learn more, visit chaldeannews.com 

or contact us at 248-851-8600 

Let’s grow the circle. 


CHALDEAN STORY 

We are pleased to present the first installment 

of a new year-long “Chaldean Story” 

series, made possible by a generous grant 

from Michigan Humanities’ Great Michigan 

Stories program. The grant allows us to fully 

explore the stories of Chaldean immigrants 

to Michigan, who have brought with them 

an ancient culture that has been carefully 

and lovingly preserved in story and art. 

Through feature stories, podcasts, and 

events planned for the next 12 months, we 

aim to tell the story of Michigan’s Chaldean 

community, and the contributions they’ve 

made to our state. As of 2023, more than 

160,000 Chaldeans call Michigan home. 

Chaldean 

Cultural 

Roots 

Innovations that 

shaped civilization 

BY SARAH KITTLE 

Where did Chaldean culture start? Chaldeans, 

Assyrians, and Syriacs – whatever 

they call themselves – are the descendants 

of ancient Mesopotamians, with a rich cultural 

history to be proud of. 

Mesopotamia, referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization,” 

was home to some of the earliest complex 

societies in human history. Located in the region of 

the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, it was the birthplace 

of many remarkable advancements that laid the 

foundation for future civilizations. Ancient Chaldean 

history is a part of Mesopotamia; its people 

kicked off a dynasty that would later be known as 

the Neo-Babylonian Empire. 

Most of us are aware that the wheel was invented 

in Sumer sometime in the fourth millennium BC. 

Originally used by potters to help shape clay, the 

invention led to use on carts and battle chariots 

as well as agricultural tools and mechanisms. But 

there are many other “firsts” to celebrate. 

Among the many inventions credited to Mesopotamian 

cultures, most notably the Sumerians, are 

the first written language, first code of law, first urbanization 

in the form of city-states, first astronomical 

calendar, and first numerical system based on 

60 (seconds in a minute, minutes in an hour). They 

also invented the idea of a 24-hour day and the concept 

of zero! 

Through chronicles of entrepreneurship, 

culture, and spirituality, we will tell 

stories of brave deeds, endless resiliency, 

and epic generosity, as remembered by 

those who witnessed these acts. We will 

explore the Chaldean immigrants’ path 

from party stores to boardrooms and will 

share their deep and abiding faith in God 

and their strong commitment to family. 

Everything that we have celebrated for 

nearly two decades will be highlighted in 

this series, which gives us a chance to follow 

the narrative from the beginning—the 

emigration from Iraq, through the journey to 

get here, to the present. We hope you enjoy 

reading it as much as we enjoy writing it. 

Cuneiform Writing 

Arguably the most significant Mesopotamian first 

was the invention of writing. Sometime around midmillennial 

3000 BCE, Sumerians—people of southern 

Mesopotamia whose civilization flourished during 

that era—devised cuneiform script, a complex system 

using wedge-shaped marks. Written on clay tablets 

and initially used for record-keeping, cuneiform 

gradually evolved into a sophisticated writing system 

encompassing literature, mathematics, astronomy, 

and law. 

The hundreds of thousands of texts discovered 

over the years by archeologists include royal inscription 

and treaties as well as everyday bookkeeping. 

Extensive libraries were kept in temples and palaces, 

and King Shulgi of Ur (ruled 2094-2047 BC) and 

Ashurbanipal of Assyria (ruled 668-627 BC) each 

made the claim to be able to read and write ancient 

cuneiform. Aramaic became intertwined with Akkadian 

during the reign of the Assyrian empire, and 

by the time Ashurbanipal was king, Aramaic spread 

throughout the Assyrian empire. 

The invention of written language not only transformed 

communication but also paved the way for 

the transmission and preservation of knowledge 

across generations. It was a pivotal moment in human 

history; cuneiform became the precursor to all 

subsequent writing systems. 

Code of Law 

Mesopotamia introduced the world to the concept 

of law and established legal systems. They also witnessed 

the earliest known legal code, known as the 

Code of Hammurabi. Created by the Babylonian king 

Hammurabi around 1754 BCE, this comprehensive 

set of laws covered various aspects of life, including 

commerce, family, and property rights. 

Hammurabi expanded the city-state of Babylon 


along the Euphrates River to unite all of southern 

Mesopotamia. The Hammurabi code of laws, a collection 

of 282 rules, established standards for commercial 

interactions and set fines and punishments 

to meet the requirements of justice. 

Hammurabi’s Code, which established the principle 

of “an eye for an eye,” was carved onto a massive, 

black stone stele (pillar). It laid the groundwork 

for subsequent legal systems, marking a significant 

milestone in the development of legal justice. 

Mathematics & Astronomy 

Mesopotamians were pioneers in mathematics and 

astronomy, making numerous groundbreaking contributions 

in these fields. They were the first to develop 

a numerical system based on sixty, one we still 

use today to count units of time. They also developed 

advanced arithmetic techniques including multiplication, 

division, and the concept of zero. 

These mathematical advancements enabled accurate 

astronomical calculations and played a vital 

role in various aspects of daily life. Mesopotamian 

astronomers mapped the stars, observed celestial 

bodies, and created the first known astronomical 

calendars. 

Trade & Commerce 

Mesopotamians were pioneers in long distance trade 

and commerce. They established extensive trade 

routes and connected not only with Egypt but regions 

as far away as the Indus Valley. Regular trade made 

it possible to plan purchases ahead and develop relationships 

with vendors. 

Their use of the clay tablet for record-keeping 

along with standardizing weights and measures 

made commercial transactions possible and laid the 

groundwork for a global trading system. 

City-States 

Another of Mesopotamia’s most noteworthy achievements 

was the development of the city-state system. 

Around 3000 BCE, city-states such as Uruk, Ur, and 

Lagash emerged, each with their own centralized 

government and complex administrative structures. 

By 3000 BC, Uruk was a walled city of over two 

square miles with about 1,000 inhabitants. These 

early city-states represented the first instances of 

urbanization, where dense populations settled in a 

central location, establishing the groundwork for future 

urban planning. 

Centralized Planning 

Mesopotamia’s cities were marvels of urban planning 

and engineering. They constructed monumental 

structures, such as ziggurats and temples, which 

served as religious and administrative centers. Ur, 

Babylon, and Nineveh were imperial capitals known 

throughout the ancient world. 

Centers of innovation and learning, these cities 

were where priests trained, poems and tales were 

studied and copied, laws were created, international 

treaties agreed upon, and financial contracts 

signed. When Alexander the Great conquered Mesopotamia 

in 331 BC, Babylon was considered the 

most spectacular of all cities. 

Art & Architecture 

Architecture on a grand scale is generally credited 

to have begun under the Sumerians, with 

religious structures dating back to 3400 B.C. The 

buildings are noted for their arched doorways and 

flat roofs. 

The society’s technical sophistication is evidenced 

in elaborate construction, such as terra 

cotta ornamentation with bronze accents, complicated 

mosaics, imposing brick columns and 

sophisticated mural paintings. Sculpture was 

used mainly to adorn temples. Facing a scarcity of 

stone, Sumerians made leaps in metal-casting for 

their sculpture work, though relief carving in stone 

was a popular art form. 

Ziggurats began to appear around 2200 B.C. 

These impressive pyramid-like, stepped temples, 

which were either square or rectangular, stood 

nearly two hundred feet high and featured no inner 

chambers. Ziggurats often featured sloping 

sides and terraces with gardens. 

The ‘hanging gardens’ were built in Nineveh 

by the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Scholars today 

have largely abandoned the idea of the Babylon gardens, 

which are attributed to errors made by Greek 

historians. 

Sennacherib also built an aqueduct from the 

mountains north of Assyria to transport water into 

the growing city of Nineveh. The engineering feat 

was so spectacular that it can still be seen through 

Google Earth. 

First Royalty 

Sumerians introduced us to the concept of royalty 

and declared that the king (literally “great man”) was 

descended from Heaven. The ruler’s primary obligation 

was to lead in battle, please the gods through 

temple building and offerings, maintain city walls 

and irrigation canals, and enforce justice. 

Sumerians were organized as a patchwork of citystates 

until Sargon of Akkad established the first true 

and lasting empire, one that all future Mesopotamian 

kings would emulate. The strongest dynasties, those 

of Ur, the Babylonian kings Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar 

II, and the kings of Assyria saw invasions 

from the Iranian highlands and tribal nomads from 

the northwest, but these invaders for the most part 

adopted and sustained Mesopotamian culture. 

Agriculture 

Mesopotamians developed sophisticated irrigation 

systems, including canals and levees, to control 

and distribute water for agriculture. These achievements 

in urban planning and infrastructure laid the 

foundation for future city development and resource 

management. 

Tablet with 

a Bilingual 

Dictionary from 

King Ashurbanipal’s 

Library, Neo-Assyrian 

period, 668–627 BC, terracotta. Musée du Louvre, 

Department of Near Eastern Antiquities, Paris. 

Mesopotamians pioneered innovative agricultural 

techniques to sustain their growing population. 

They utilized irrigation systems to control the flow of 

water, improving crop yields and supporting surplus 

food production. They also introduced the use of the 

plow, enhancing agricultural efficiency. These advancements 

in agriculture allowed for the establishment 

of larger settlements and facilitated the growth 

of complex societies. 

Legacy Left 

In his 1988 book History Begins at Sumer, author 

Samuel Noah Kramer identifies 39 “firsts” that 

originated with the Sumerians, including the first 

schools, first Great Flood story, first heroic epic story, 

first historian, first library catalog, first aquarium, 

and first lullaby. 

Visionaries and trailblazers who left an indelible 

mark on human civilization through their pioneering 

achievements, Mesopotamians influenced current 

culture to a remarkable degree. By pushing the 

boundaries of human knowledge and ingenuity, the 

Mesopotamians created a legacy that will continue 

to endure. 

Today, the descendants of ancient Mesopotamians 

— Chaldeans, or Assyrians or Syriacs — take 

pride in their heritage both in their native homeland 

and throughout the world, where they have been 

forced to disperse due to persecution. 

PHOTO © MUSÉE DU LOUVRE, DIST. RMN-GRAND PALAIS. 


FEATURE 

Who Are the Chaldeans? 

From ancient lands to modern times, a small 

community continues to leave its mark 

BY CAL ABBO 

From left: Mar Addai of Edessa; Through store ownership, Chaldeans established a significant presence in the city of Detroit. 

Detroit is home to a unique Middle 

Eastern community who 

call themselves Chaldeans. 

This article attempts to illuminate the 

Chaldean heritage and religion, tracing 

its journey from the grand civilizations 

of ancient Mesopotamia to the culturally 

rich villages of Northern Iraq. We 

will explore the profound legacy of the 

Chaldeans and examine the integral 

role of the Church of the East in sculpting 

their identity across millennia. 

Historical Roots of the Chaldeans 

The Chaldean story begins in the fertile 

crescent of ancient Mesopotamia, 

where they established themselves 

as a notable civilization. Renowned 

for their advancements in astronomy, 

mathematics, and governance, the 

Chaldeans played a crucial role in 

the development of early human culture 

and technology. Centered around 

the city of Babylon, the society was 

marked by significant contributions to 

the arts, science, and literature, laying 

foundations that would influence generations 

to come. 

Many Chaldeans today, especially 

those in Detroit, claim an ethnic heritage 

from the Chaldean tribes and civilizations 

best known for their accomplishments 

in Ancient Babylon. As a 

minority in the Middle East as well as 

the United States, their identity today 

is centered on this fact. 

After Babylon was conquered by 

the Persian Empire, hundreds of thousands 

or even millions of Chaldeans 

migrated to different areas of the Middle 

East. Many resettled in the Northern 

parts of Mesopotamia as a result 

and established the villages and towns 

that modern Chaldeans come from. 

The Church of the East 

The Church of the East’s origins are 

intertwined with the early spread of 

Christianity. Established in the 1st century 

AD, the Church played a pivotal 

role in disseminating Christian teachings 

across Asia, reaching as far as India 

and China. Its inception marked a 

significant chapter in the religious and 

cultural history of the region, fostering 

a distinctive Christian theology that 

was both adaptive and expansive. 

After the death of Jesus Christ, his 

apostles began to travel the world to 

spread the good news and Christianize 

the world. Famously, the Apostle 

St. Thomas began his travels to the 

far east. Some of the first people he 

encountered were the Chaldeans and 

the surrounding communities. These 

places were already heavily influenced 

by Jewish culture and doctrine and accepting 

that the Messiah had arrived 

was a simple task. 

Mar Addai and Mar Mari were crucial 

in Christianizing the Chaldeans. 

As St. Thomas continued on his journey 

to India, these two men stayed 

in the Middle East to Christianize the 

people there and establish churches. 

Today, our liturgy still reflects the lessons 

given from these two men. 

Over the years, the Church of the 

East became a cornerstone of Chaldean 

cultural identity. As Christianity 


CHALDEAN SCENE 

Beth Nahrain 

Art Show 

From November 3 through November 

5, pieces from select artists 

were displayed at the Chaldean 

Community Foundation 

for the 2nd Annual Beth Nahrain 

Art Show. Featured artists 

included Reni Stephan, Sabah 

Wazi, Azhr Matti, Wilson Sarkis, 

Mark Georgies, Cassidy Azzow, 

Fr. Patrick Setto, Emad Tammo, 

Habib Hannona and Savannah 

Meyer. Proceeds from the event 

benefited the victims of the 

Bakhdida wedding fire through 

a fundraising effort supported 

by Nineveh Rising. 

Clockwise from above: Chris Salem, Fr. Patrick Setto and Ranna Salem, organizer of 

the event; A family looks at the display; Attendees of the Art Show pause for a photo. 

Veterans Day 

Rededication 

On November 11, 2023, a small crowd gathered to witness 

the rededication of an almost forgotten relic at the corner 

of Walnut Lake and Inkster Roads. The Peace Memorial 

was originally raised by the now defunct Walnut Lake 

Women’s Club to honor area military members who fought 

in the Civil War and both World Wars. 

The memorial sits at the future site of the Chaldean 

Community Foundation’s west side campus, which will 

also house the offices of the Chaldean American Chamber 

of Commerce and the Chaldean News. The memorial was 

discovered during the demolition process for the new center, 

and CCF president Martin Manna vowed to not only restore 

the memorial but to rededicate it. The ceremony was 

initiated by Burt Green and Steven Kay and was organized 

with help from CCF’s Tom Hajji and Sharkey Haddad. 

From left: Burt Green and Steven Kay; West Bloomfield Historical Society’s Gina Gergory. 

spread and became a powerful movement, 

empires responded by persecuting 

its followers and leaders. This led 

to the tradition of martyrdom in our 

Church, which has influenced Chaldean 

culture and its extreme level of 

devotion and piety. 

The original Church of the East 

was a unique blend of Christian doctrine 

and Jewish ritualistic practices. 

The Church’s liturgy, conducted in the 

Aramaic language, served as a living 

link to the Chaldeans’ ancient past 

that we still enjoy today. Over centuries, 

it shaped the spiritual, cultural, 

and social life of the Chaldean people, 

influencing their values, customs, and 

community structure. 

In the face of modernity and the 

challenges of genocide and diaspora, 

the Chaldean community has shown 

remarkable resilience in preserving 

their unique identity. Language, traditions, 

and strong family bonds are 

central to maintaining their cultural 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

heritage. The community has navigated 

the complexities of integrating into 

new societies while holding steadfast 

to their roots, showcasing a remarkable 

ability to adapt and thrive in diverse 

environments. 

The Chaldean diaspora in Detroit 

is yet another testament to the 

This report is made possible with generous support from 

Michigan Stories, a Michigan Humanities Grants initiative. 

community’s enduring spirit and 

adaptability. Having established a 

significant presence in the city, the 

Chaldeans have contributed to its 

culture, economy, and religiosity. In 

Detroit, they have balanced the preservation 

of their ancient heritage with 

the integration into American society, 

facing unique challenges and achieving 

notable successes. The Chaldean 

Church, adapting to its new environment 

in Detroit, has played an essential 

role in education, community 

building, and maintaining a sense of 

cultural and spiritual continuity that 

traces all the way back to the mission 

of St. Thomas the Apostle. 


FEATURE 

Origins of the Written Word: 

Cuneiform 

BY ADHID MIRI, PHD 

Mesopotamia, located in what 

is now Iraq, is considered 

the birthplace of writing and 

with it, recorded history. Its people 

also built the world’s first cities and 

developed the oldest known political 

and administrative systems and drafted 

the first known letter. The very idea 

of philosophy was introduced in the 

Epic of Gilgamesh. 

The earliest known writing was 

invented there around 3,400 B.C. in 

an area called Sumer near the Persian 

Gulf. The development of Sumerian 

script was influenced by local materials, 

clay for tablets and reeds for styluses. 

At about the same time, or a little 

later, the Egyptians were inventing 

their own form of hieroglyphic writing. 

Writing (visible signs of ideas, words, 

and symbols) emerged in many different 

cultures in the Bronze Age. Archaeological 

discoveries in ancient Mesopotamia 

show the initial power and purpose of 

writing, from administrative and legal 

functions to poetry and literature. Scholars 

generally agree that the earliest form 

of writing appeared almost 5,500 years 

ago in ancient Sumer and spread over 

the world from there via a process of cultural 

diffusion. 

Even after Sumerian died out as a 

spoken language around 2,000 B.C., it 

survived as a scholarly language and 

script. Other people within and near 

Mesopotamia—from Turkey, Syria, and 

from Egypt to Iran—adopted the later 

version of this script developed by the 

Akkadians (the first recognizable Semitic 

people), who succeeded the Sumerians 

as rulers of Mesopotamia. In Babylonia 

itself, the script survived for two more 

millennia until its demise around 70 C.E. 

Before the Written Word 

For thousands of years, long before the 

invention of the true written word, people 

used symbols to keep essential records. 

The earliest form of notetaking known in 

the Middle East, the “tally bone,” dates 

back 30,000 years. The bones recorded 

lunar months, which governed the ritual 

cycles observed by hunter gatherers. 

A mud brick bearing a cuneiform inscription is seen during excavation at 

the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu, now known as Tello, in Iraq’s al-Shatrah 

district of the southern Dhi Qar province on November 14, 2021. 

From 9000-3000 BC, people in the 

Middle East used clay tokens to record 

commercial transactions, sealing them 

into clay envelopes called bullae. A token’s 

shape symbolized either goods 

(animals, grain, trees) or specific large 

numbers. At around the same time, the 

seal, (a detail-engraved image identifying 

the sender of the message) was 

developed. The seal was pressed on 

wet clay by stamping, or in the case of 

cylinder seals, by rolling. 

Every human community possesses 

language, a feature regarded as a defining 

condition of mankind. However, 

the development of writing systems, 

and their partial supplantation of traditional 

oral systems of communication, 

have been sporadic, uneven, and 

slow. Once established, writing systems 

on the whole change more slowly than 

their spoken counterparts, and often 

preserve features and expressions 

which are no longer current in the spoken 

language. A great benefit of writing 

is that it provides a persistent record of 

information expressed in a language, 

which can be retrieved at a future date. 

Cuneiform 

Cuneiform is the earliest known writing 

system invented around 3400 

B.C. Scribes used symbols built from 

wedge-shaped impressions pressed 

into clay or carved into stone. Many 

languages and civilizations used cuneiform, 

from Sumerian to Persian. The 

rise, fall, and rediscovery of cuneiform 

tells the story of the written word. 

The invention of writing is considered 

the most important event in the 

intellectual history of humankind. It 

separates the prehistoric stage from 

subsequent historical stages. In this 

context, we must point out that while 

we believe cuneiform writing to be the 

oldest writing in the history of mankind, 

history must include Egyptian 

writing, which the Greek called hieroglyphics. 

It appeared in the same period 

but unlike the Sumerian writing, 

hieroglyphics depicted pictures rather 

than letters. 

The emergence of writing in each 

area is usually followed by several 

centuries of fragmentary inscriptions. 

Historians mark the “historicity” of 

a culture by the presence of coherent 

texts in the culture’s writing system(s). 

The four Mesopotamian civilizations—Sumer, 

Babylon, Akkad, and 

Assyria—were centers of science and 

PHOTO BY ASAAD NIAZI/AFP 

knowledge. The Sumerian cuneiform 

script was adapted for the writing of 

the Akkadian, Elamite, Hittite (and 

Luwian), Hurrian (and Urartian) languages, 

and it inspired the old Persian 

and Ugaritic national alphabets. 

Although it then disappeared when 

these cultures faded and new scripts 

(such as the Phoenician alphabet) developed, 

numerous clay tablets and 

stelae (such as those upon which the 

Code of Hammurabi is written) remained 

in use. 

While the cuneiform writing system 

was created and used at first only 

by the Sumerians, it did not take long 

before neighboring groups adopted it 

for their own use. By about 2500 BC, 

the Akkadians, a Semitic-speaking 

people that dwelled north of the Sumerians, 

starting using cuneiform to 

write their own language. However, it 

was the ascendency of the Akkadian 

dynasty in 2300 BC that positioned Akkadian 

over Sumerian as the primary 

language of Mesopotamia. 

While Sumerian did enjoy a quick 

revival, it eventually became a dead 

language used only in literary contexts, 

whereas Akkadian would continue 

to be spoken for the next two 

millennium and evolved into later 

(more famous) forms known as Babylonian 

and Assyrian. 

Writing Tools 

Writing was very important in maintaining 

the Egyptian empire, and literacy 

was concentrated among an 

educated elite of scribes. Only people 

from certain backgrounds were allowed 

to train as scribes, in the service 

of temple, pharisaic, and military authorities. 

The hieroglyph system was 

difficult to learn, but in later centuries 

may have been intentionally made 

even more difficult, as this preserved 

the scribes’ position. 

The development of the Sumerian 

script was influenced by local materials: 

clay for tablets and reeds for styluses 

(writing tools). They wrote on 

clay, on stone, on silver, on gold on 

papyrus and on deerskin, in cuneiform 

and with the alphabet in Akkadian 

and Aramaic. They never stopped 

writing. In times of peace and in times 

of war. Through famine and in times of 

tribulation. No other ancient civilization 

has bequeathed to the world so 

vast a corpus of documents. There are 


IRAQ MUSEUM / FACEBOOK 

PINTEREST.COM PINTEREST.COM 

Clockwise from above: Cuneiform inscriptions on the aqueduct at Jerwan; The artwork of Iraqi calligrapher Hisham Elbaghdadi; A ring with a cylinder seal from 

Mesopotamia set with rubies. 

about 130,000 mud slabs of Mesopotamia 

in the British Museum. 

Cuneiform writing continued for a 

few centuries BC and was adapted to 

write in at least fifteen different languages. 

The last dated cuneiform text 

has a date corresponding to A.D. 75, 

although the script probably continued 

in use over the next two centuries 

and was replaced by the Levant alphabetic 

writing that began to spread with 

the spread of the Aramaic language, 

especially during the reign of the last 

(South Chaldean) dynasty. 

The original Sumerian writing 

system derives from a system of clay 

tokens used to represent commodities. 

By the end of the 4th millennium 

BC, this had evolved into a method 

of keeping accounts, using a roundshaped 

stylus impressed into soft clay 

at different angles for recording numbers. 

This was gradually augmented 

with pictographic writing using a 

sharp stylus to indicate what was being 

counted. 

Round-stylus and sharp-stylus 

writing were gradually replaced 

around 2700-2500 BC by writing using 

a wedge-shaped stylus (hence the term 

cuneiform), at first only for logograms, 

but developed to include phonetic elements 

by the 29th century BC. About 

2600 BC cuneiform began to represent 

syllables of the Sumerian language. 

Finally, cuneiform writing became 

a general-purpose writing system for 

logograms, syllables, and numbers. 

From the 26th century BC, this script 

was adapted to the Akkadian language, 

and from there to others such as Hurrian 

and Hittite. Scripts similar in appearance 

to this writing system include 

those for Ugaritic and Old Persian. 

Nabu 

In the time of Hammurabi of Babylon 

(1792-1750 BC), the God Nabu (a 

divine patron of scribes) received the 

Sumerian Goddess Nisaba’s attributes 

and became the patron of writing and 

scribes. Nisaba was still venerated and 

didn’t disappear from the pantheon, 

but from that moment on, she was 

known as Nabu’s wife. Nabu was very 

important for the Babylonians and 

was adopted by the Assyrians as the 

son of their supreme god, Ashur. 

In the 1800s and 1900s, archaeological 

excavations revealed thousands 

of cuneiform documents, and the variations 

of the script across languages and 

time were slowly deciphered. 

While we can read cuneiform documents 

today, the majority—many hundreds 

of thousands—still survive unread, 

and the few hundred cuneiform 

experts worldwide face an impossible 

task. Fortunately, machine learning 

and artificial intelligence offers potential 

assistance. Scholars at many institutions 

are compiling databases and 

training machines to read and fill in 

gaps in these ancient texts. 

Calligraphy 

Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice 

of handwriting Arabic script in 

a fluid manner to convey harmony, 

grace, and beauty. It was primarily 

developed as a way of delivering the 

Word of God through the holy scripture 

of the Qur’an and is considered 

the quintessential art form of the Islamic 

world. Arabic letters decorate 

objects ranging from mosques to palaces, 

carpets, and paintings. 

The practice, which can be passed 

down through formal and informal education, 

uses the twenty-eight letters of 

the Arabic alphabet, written in cursive, 

from right to left. Originally intended 

to make writing clear and legible, it 

gradually became an Islamic Arab art 

for traditional and modern works. 

Arabic consists of 17 characters, 

which, with the addition of dots placed 

above or below certain of them, provide 

the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet. 

Arabic calligraphy is the artistic 

practice of handwriting based on the 

Arabic alphabet. It is known in Arabic 

as Khatt and the calligrapher as Khattat. 

Calligraphers are highly regarded 

in the Islamic culture. 

The art of calligraphy has universal 

appeal, and that is why it developed 

so quickly and became so sought-after 

from the Middle Ages onwards. Its 

beautiful proportions and exquisite luminosity 

are something that everyone 

can appreciate. 

An Arabic calligrapher employs 

a reed pen, called a Qalam, with the 

working point cut on an angle. This 

feature produces a thick downstroke 

and a thin upstroke with an infinity 

of gradation in between. The nice 

balance between the vertical above 

and the open curve below the middle 

register induces a sense of harmony. 

The peculiarity that certain letters 

cannot be joined to their neighbors 

provides articulation. The line traced 

by a skilled calligrapher is a true marvel 

of fluidity and sensitive inflection, 

communicating the very action of the 

master’s hand. 

In the early centuries of Islam, 

Arabic not only was the official language 

of administration but also was 

and has remained the language of religion 

and learning. The Arabic alphabet 

has been adapted to the Islamic 

peoples’ vernaculars just as the Latin 

alphabet has been in the Christianinfluenced 

West. 

The evolution of writing is a collection 

of significant events in the alphabet’s 

history accented by the civilizations, 

cultures and people who made it 

happen and correlated with world affairs. 

Our Chaldean News stories seek 

to breathe life into what is considered 

by many to be antiquated and old subjects; 

however, our themes constantly 

change, and we remain steadfast in 

our commitment to revisit history and 

revive our culture with articles, insight, 

and words. 

Sources: Iraqi Museum, Encyclopedia 

Britanica, Musée du Louvre, Sjur 

Cappelen Papazian, Shelby Brown, 

Christie’s Online, Andre Parrot (The 

Arts of Assyria). 


FEATURE 

ELIZABETH G. SØRENSSEN & JINGRU HØIVIK 

The Schøyen Collection MS 577, Oslo and London. Syriac Sertâ book script. 

Mt. Sinai, Egypt, ca. 11th c. From the Monastery of St Catherine, Mt Sinai. 

Why Language Matters 

Saving Sureth 

BY CAL ABBO 

In the heart of metro Detroit, the 

Chaldean community stands as a 

testament to the enduring spirit of an 

ancient people relocated. Rooted in the 

cradle of civilization, the Chaldean story 

is one of resilience, migration, and cultural 

preservation. Central to this narrative, 

and one that grants the Chaldean 

story its importance, is the Aramaic language—a 

linguistic bridge connecting 

modern Chaldeans to their storied past. 

The Aramaic language, known today 

in its many names and dialects like 

Chaldean, Assyrian, Syriac, or Sureth, 

was once the lingua franca of vast 

swathes of the Middle East and served 

as the voice of culture and thought 

for many people in the region. This 

language, although it experienced a 

significant decline since that time, has 

become a defining feature of the Chaldean 

identity, especially as waves of 

Chaldeans migrated to new lands in 

search of opportunity and safety. 

A Unique Voice in Detroit 

When they arrived in Michigan, Chaldeans 

lived among a mosaic of immigrant 

groups. Each community 

brought its unique language and culture, 

although almost all were European. 

While there were some Middle 

Eastern immigrants who came to 

Detroit starting in the 1870s, many of 

them spoke Arabic, and most Chaldeans 

coming from villages could not 

easily communicate with them despite 

the cultural proximity. 

The Chaldean community stood 

out, not just because of its distinct 

Middle Eastern heritage, but because 

of its ancient Aramaic dialect. European 

and Middle Eastern immigrants 

could communicate with one another, 

respectively; a Polish immigrant, 

for example, could find other Polish 

people in the area and create a community 

there. An Arabic speaker could 

find others that speak their language 

too. Chaldeans, on the other hand, 

maintained a small circle of Aramaic 

speakers, most of whom they knew 

from back home, and learned to rely 

on one another. 

This linguistic distinction played a 

pivotal role in preserving the community’s 

identity. While many immigrant 

groups faced pressures to assimilate 

and abandon their native tongues, the 

Chaldean community’s commitment 

to its language became a beacon of 

cultural preservation, as Chaldeans 

most often learned their native tongue 

at home. This closeness of language 

and community helped spur Chaldeans 

to the forefront of business and 

culture in Michigan. 

Over time, however, the commitment 

to language in the diaspora has 

faded. As the community grows larger, 

and more generations of Chaldeans 

are born in the United States, relation- 


ships with non-Chaldeans grow, and 

the native language becomes less useful 

in everyday life. Chaldeans tend to 

focus on English because it’s useful in 

all contexts and with all Americans, 

not just Chaldean ones. Today, many 

Chaldeans born outside of villages do 

not speak their native tongue. 

A Language to Share 

Language is about more than words. 

It’s a vessel for stories, traditions, and 

values. For the Chaldean community, 

Aramaic is more than a means of communication; 

it’s a lasting inheritance 

from their ancient homeland, a tool for 

imparting wisdom to younger generations, 

and a symbol of their enduring 

presence. As the modern world continues 

to evolve, the Aramaic language 

serves as a poignant reminder of the 

timeless bond between ancestors and 

the generations that follow. 

The Chaldean community’s influence 

in Metro Detroit extends beyond 

its language. Their entrepreneurial 

spirit has left an indelible mark on 

the region’s business landscape and 

Chaldeans have a profound impact in 

the world of culture. Festivals, music, 

and culinary traditions have enriched 

the cultural tapestry of Michigan. Frequently, 

Chaldean words seep into 

the linguistic repertoire of Detroit and 

Michigan at large. 

Why does the language matter today, 

though? Since Chaldeans have 

assimilated and acculturated to Detroit 

and many use English as their 

first language, it might seem a trivial 

issue. Through this process, however, 

the community is prone to losing the 

very thing that shapes its identity and 

made it successful. 

Instead of letting our identity fade 

into obscure history, many Chaldeans 

choose to fight against full acculturation 

to American life and seek to reestablish 

Aramaic as a legitimate and 

useful language. As of right now, it 

faces a harsh reality of nonexistence. 

According to the United Nations Educational, 

Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 

otherwise known as UNES- 

CO, the Aramaic language spoken by 

Chaldeans is “definitely endangered.” 

This is a simultaneous result of 

years of oppression and war plaguing 

the community in the Middle East 

combined with the reality of assimilation 

in the diaspora. Some families encourage 

their children to learn English 

rather than their heritage language 

so they can advance further in the 

English-speaking world. Other parents 

keep the native language to themselves 

so they can talk with one another 

privately. These efforts exacerbate 

the negative effects of the assimilation 

process and discourage a continuation 

of the Chaldean cultural identity. 

How to Revive a Language 

Throughout history, languages rise, 

fall, and change immeasurably. Linguists 

trace the languages we use today 

and connect them with ancient 

languages of the past. In modern 

times, Aramaic goes by many names, 

including Sureth, Chaldean, Syriac, 

Assyrian, and more. 

Chris Salem founded the charity 

Nineveh Rising to send aid to the 

homeland and is involved in various 

efforts to rekindle the use of Sureth in 

everyday life. He claims that the community 

of Aramaic speakers worldwide 

can inspire a movement like the 

Hebrew revival to keep the language 

intact and in use. Indeed, there are 

some striking similarities between the 

Jewish and Chaldean histories. 

Few languages and linguistic communities 

have experienced a mass 

revival comparable to Hebrew and 

the Jewish community. Throughout 

their well-documented history, Jews 

have been persecuted, enslaved, conquered, 

and displaced; yet they maintained 

a crucial link to their cultural 

identity and religion that carried them 

into the modern age and afforded 

them the opportunity to resettle their 

ancient homeland. 

Around 130 AD, Judea revolted 

against the Roman Empire, but was defeated 

after a large war that lasted a few 

years. The population was massacred, 

the land of Judea was divided into three 

provinces, and many of the remaining 

Jews were forced to leave and resettle 

elsewhere in the empire. Historians 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

tend to regard this event as the virtual 

death of Hebrew as a vernacular language. 

Most Jews left in Israel spoke Aramaic. 

Hebrew was maintained, however, 

among the religious order and as 

a liturgical language. 

Over the last 150 years, Hebrew 

has experienced an extraordinary resurgence 

from its near-death. A strong 

Jewish nationalist ideology called 

Zionism took root among displaced 

Jews and inspired them to resettle 

Israel in a movement called Aliyah. 

Even before the beginning of WWII, 

more than 400,000 Jews had resettled 

Israel. Shortly after the war’s end, 

once the state of Israel was founded, 

Jewish immigration exploded, and 

nearly 800,000 people returned. Holocaust 

survivors made their way to 

the Holy Land. 

In 1890, only 43,000 Jews lived 

in the area that would later become 

Israel. Today, because of the Zionist 

movement, more than 7 million Jews 

live in Israel and nearly all of them 

speak Hebrew. Jews in the diaspora 

were spread throughout Europe and 

the Middle East, and over hundreds 

and thousands of years, began to 

speak the local language instead of 

their native tongue. They needed a 

language in common to understand 

their compatriots in their new country, 

and many Jews knew Hebrew 

from religious rituals. 

The revival didn’t begin, however, 

until the establishment of schools in 

Jewish settlements that taught Hebrew 

to children and adults. Since the 

language was used exclusively in religious 

tradition, however, it was incomplete 

and insufficient for everyday use. 

The shapers of the Hebrew revival borrowed 

words from other languages like 

Arabic, Aramaic, and many others. As 

time passed, Jews made concerted efforts 

to use Hebrew in meetings and 

public activities; finally, people began 

to use it for general purposes, and it 

grew exponentially from there. Jews 



around the world learn Hebrew to stay 

connected to their culture. 

The Jewish example offers a roadmap 

for reviving a language, but there 

are some important differences between 

our communities. The Jewish diaspora 

began thousands of years ago, 

but the Chaldean diaspora is less than 

200 years old. Zionism called Jews back 

to Israel after they were persecuted in 

other lands. This is not an option for 

Chaldeans, as our plight is reversed; 

we struggle with violence and persecution 

in our homeland, but Chaldeans 

are generally accepted and prosperous 

in the places we have moved to since 

leaving Iraq. Our traditional Catholic 

religion is well-suited for the western 

world compared to the vast differences 

between Judaism and western Christianity. 

In addition, Israel was granted 

statehood, autonomy, and legitimacy 

by the global community, but a state 

or province for Chaldeans in northern 

Iraq and eastern Turkey has been denied 

time and time again. 

Many Chaldeans recognize the patterns 

and are dedicated to changing 

them by making life easier for Sureth 

speakers. Just this year, the Assyrian 

community in Chicago reached 

a historic win by implementing a basic 

Sureth course, which students 

can take for credit, in their local high 

school. In Detroit, the Chaldean Community 

Foundation is developing a 

language assessment that bilingual 

high school students can take for a 

language credit. 

Other efforts aim to fully reestablish 

the use of Sureth in our community. 

Among the clergy, knowledge 

of Sureth is required, and Chaldean 

Mass in our native language happens 

weekly. Throughout Detroit, many organizations 

put on Sureth language 

classes, including the University of 

Detroit Mercy, the Chaldean Cultural 

Center, and St. Thomas Chaldean 

Catholic Church. When the Chaldean 

Community Foundation completes its 

facility in West Bloomfield, it plans to 

hold Sureth classes as well. 

“Our parents’ generation is a dying 

breed,” according to Chris. “Once 

they’re gone, they’re gone. It’s not like 

we have a massive influx of people 

coming into our community. All roads 

lead to Sureth in terms of community, 

unity, building bonds, and cultural 

significance.” 


FEATURE 

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHALDEAN CULTURAL CENTER & MUSEUM 

Dedication of the first Chaldean Church in Detroit, 1947 

Going to Church 

Changing traditions of worship from Tel Keppe to Detroit 

BY CAL ABBO 

The traditions, values, interpretations, 

and actions of Christians 

change drastically throughout 

history. As Chaldeans were likely 

among the religion’s first converts, our 

community has followed those changes 

and is still experiencing them today. 

Early Christianity 

In its earliest form, Christianity resembled 

very closely the Jewish practices 

and customs that immediately preceded 

it. This meant that it was easy for 

Jewish people to convert to Christianity 

and it was also relatively familiar 

for non-Jews. 

Churches in the Middle East, like 

the one that would become the Chaldean 

Church, used Aramaic as a liturgical 

language, which was the language 

spoken by Jesus himself and his 

disciples, who went on to Christianize 

large parts of the world. 

Early Christianity also featured a 

vast array of beliefs that were as diverse 

as the churches spread around 

the globe. Some areas of the world focused 

heavily on individual spirituality 

rather than the global Church and 

its unity as a cohesive religion. Theology 

was heavily debated in the first few 

centuries as Christians decided what 

to believe and what was unacceptable, 

eventually deemed heretical. 

Even more varied were the ways 

that Christians gathered to practice 

and celebrate their religion. In its 

most early days, when it was relatively 

unknown and stayed mostly within 

Jewish cultures, the Christian Church 

could use the old Jewish infrastructure 

to practice. 

As time passed, however, the Church 

began to experience persecution and 

even developed an identity of martyrdom. 

It was honorable to die for your 

religion, declaring your beliefs to the 

world. While this was an option that 

happened to many different people, 

it also inspired a more secret practice 

of the world’s newest religion. People 

would often practice in private or gather 

in the homes of friends and family to 

continue their customs undisturbed. 

Village-Style 

Some hundreds of years later, the beliefs 

and customs of Christians became 

solidified, and when Christianity was 

made the official religion of Rome, its 

followers became powerful and more 

confident. 

While Aramaic was still spoken 

and used, especially in the Middle 

East, the Roman Catholic Church began 

to develop and reify traditional beliefs 

into a more cohesive religion and 

regulate the customs that went along 

with the Church. 

In addition, the villages Chaldeans 

know today formed their own 

churches. In these places, the Christian 

religion was ubiquitous. People 

in the village community regarded the 

Church highly, its clergy were considered 

social leaders, and the physical 

church was considered a community 

gathering place, often the center of village 

life. 

Over the years, villages were attacked 

and persecuted in ways different 

than before. Now, these places 

were openly and proudly Christian. If 

some group, empire, or army wanted 


to persecute Christians in the area, 

they might sack an entire village, force 

the people to go somewhere else, or 

simply kill them for their beliefs. 

This type of existence for village 

Christians induced centuries-long 

periods of isolation and hermitage 

that still inspires some of the most 

religious people today. Among Chaldeans, 

it’s considered special to come 

from a village that has a long Christian 

history and one that stood on its feet 

in the face of attacks and persecution. 

PHOTO COURTESY MAR SHARB VIA FLICKR 

Modernity 

Village-style Christianity continued 

in the Chaldean community until it 

was faced with modernity. Some of 

the towns in which Chaldeans lived, 

like in modern-day Eastern Türkiye, 

became larger cities. In addition, 

plenty of Chaldeans moved to alreadyestablished 

large cities, like Mosul and 

Baghdad in Iraq. 

The experience of Christianity in 

these places was fundamentally different; 

instead of being widespread and 

accepted, Chaldeans were thrust into a 

minority status in their daily lives. This 

led to more frequent but less harsh 

forms of persecution, like second-class 

citizenship and daily discrimination. 

Church became an important place to 

retain your identity and prove that you 

couldn’t be swayed by persecution to 

abandon your Christian heritage. 

The final stage of this story is the 

transplanting of the community to the 

Western world. In this move, Chaldeans 

tried to bring their deep, spiritual, 

and historical church life into the 

materialistic and individualistic society 

that is the United States. Churches 

here are often regarded as secondary 

to one’s individual identity and unity 

is far less common. There are plenty of 

options to choose from when picking a 

church, and some Chaldeans in Michigan 

have chosen to leave the Chaldean 

Church entirely and join another with 

American roots. 

Melony Mikhail leads a youth 

group composed of high school teens 

at Mother of God Church, and she also 

started a bible study for adult women. 

She thinks the change in behavior of 

Chaldeans and their church habits is 

exacerbated by attacks on the family 

and children. 

“We are living in one of the most incredible 

times in history,” Mikhail said. 

Chaldean Catholics in Tel Keppe. 

“We have a 24-hour eucharistic adoration 

available at every church here.” 

Mikhail sees the increased availability 

of this adoration as an opportunity 

for Chaldeans to use the church 

more than they did in the past. “Before, 

it was very difficult to go to Mass,” 

she said. “I’d imagine there were only 

certain times when the church was 

available.” 

The Chaldean Church in the United 

States has also taken on many qualities 

that you would expect to see from its 

American counterparts. For example, 

some Chaldeans maintain their identity 

as Christians but consider their religion 

a smaller part of their lives with each 

passing generation. It’s common now 

for some families to avoid going to weekly 

Mass and instead participate in and 

attend church only on special holidays. 

Beshar Shukri is a Chaldean from 

metro Detroit who works as an accountant 

with the Chaldean American 

Chamber of Commerce. He was a 

life-long participant in the Chaldean 

Catholic Church but has since left 

and moved to a non-denominational 

church called Lord of the Harvest. 

Shukri noted the culture of shame 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

throughout the Middle East as well 

as the tighter-knit relations in the 

Chaldean community back home. As 

a result of the fractionalization in the 

United States, he said, we can’t monitor 

our community as tightly and keep 

one another in check. 

“In America, with all of its freedoms 

and diversity, we have the ability to remove 

ourselves from the community 

and cling to other identities,” he said. 

Shukri took advantage of those 

freedoms and began to explore and 

understand the history of church expressions. 

“I looked at Protestantism 

and saw the validity in their arguments 

and what they believe,” he said. Eventually, 

he left the Chaldean Church 

and joined another one, an option that 

would not be available to him if he still 

lived in his traditional village. 

In village life, Shukri sees a community 

connected and unified by 

Christ. “We’re identified collectively 

back home with our religion,” he said. 

“In America, it seems like we identify 

with status and wealth.” 

In Mikhail’s mind, people leave 

the Church for plenty of reasons. “It’s 

a denial of God and not a denial of 



yourself,” she said. “A lot of people 

are uncomfortable with the Church’s 

teachings.” 

“It’s all because people used to be a 

community and a family,” Mikhail said. 

“We have so much more freedom. Back 

home, things were tougher, and they 

had to rely on each other and God.” 

Paradoxically, it can appear from 

the inside that the Church is growing 

because of increased participation 

from youth. The clergy itself has seen a 

resurgence of youth and participation 

over the last few decades. 

In the old country, there were a few 

dozen people per priest, which meant 

nearly everyone was connected to a 

priest in some way. In metro Detroit, 

the number is closer to 10,000 people 

to one priest. 

“It’s difficult for a priest to serve 

thousands of people. He’s only human,” 

Shukri said. “Because there’s 

so much more opportunity in America, 

fewer people want to become priests.” 

In addition, Shukri thinks that the 

biggest hindrance is the celibacy of the 

priestly order. He suggests that allowing 

priests to marry would ease this 

tension. 

In the United States, Mikhail recognizes 

that living a Catholic life is not 

easy. She thinks the personal relationships 

with the clergy are extremely 

valuable and suggests people fall back 

on them to stay in the faith. 

“There was a point when we were 

so strong, and I think we will get that 

strong again,” Mikhail said. “We will 

be even stronger than back home.” 


COVER STORY 

Detroit: The City of Faith 

Chaldean faith traditions featured in new PBS documentary 


Nestled along the shores of a 

great river, Detroit’s story is 

one of triumph over adversity. 

From its humble beginnings as a 

French fur-trading post to its rise as 

the automotive capital of the world, 

Detroit has weathered economic 

downturn, social upheaval, and urban 

decay. Yet, amidst the challenges, one 

constant has remained – the power of 

faith to inspire, unite, and uplift. 

In a new PBS documentary, producer/director 

Keith Famie explores 

the aspect of faith through the lens 

of family – the family of churches in 

metropolitan Detroit. Saint John’s Resort 

in Plymouth hosted a premier of 

the new film on Sunday, March 17; it 

seemed fitting to explore faith on St. 

Patty’s Day surrounded by men in 

kilts, cassocks, and headdresses. 

The short film explores the Polish, 

German, Irish, Hispanic, African 

American, Scottish, Lebanese, Chaldean, 

Jordanian, Palestinian, Syrian 

and Armenian communities of faith. 

These are all immigrant communities. 

In a program for the event, Famie 

states, “We often take for granted 

just how hard that must have been for 

those early travelers who came to our 

country, often by themselves or to meet 

up with a brother or sister or cousin, 

in hopes that this new foreign land, 

where they do not speak the language, 

was going to become their home.” 

My father was first generation Scottish 

American, a Presbyterian who 

converted to Catholicism to marry my 

mother. He shared with me his wonder 

at the faith of immigrants, many who 

boarded a ship to a strange land not 

knowing if they would see their parents, 

family, or homeland ever again. 

Famie’s introduction in the premier 

program book goes on to say, 

“This is faith, not only in one’s spiritual 

beliefs, which I’m sure drove a certain 

level of confidence, but also faith 

in one’s self, faith in family and faith 

in their community who offered open 

arms to these weary travelers.” 

Prior to the screening there was 

a reception in the Wine Grotto that 

featured food from all the different 

communities. It was interesting to see 

how many of these groups prioritized 

faith, food and family, just like Chaldeans. 

Many of the communities share 

an emphasis on family celebrations. 

A photo of the store “Big Dipper” in 

1957, which was founded by the Jonna 

family, is seen in the film, as well as a 

beautiful Chaldean wedding. 

The film begins with Fr. Patrick 

Setto setting brush strokes onto canvas. 

“Painting is entering the spiritual 

realm,” he explains. He talks about 

the conversion of his community in 

the Middle East during apostolic times 

and how true Chaldean priests have 

been to the Mass, even speaking the 

same language as Jesus. 

Fr. Patrick discusses Christian 

churches and why he thinks having different 

practices shouldn’t keep faiths 

from supporting each other. That’s 

exemplified here in Detroit, where 

“church people” from many faiths do 

support each other, especially people 

that have been oppressed for their faith. 

A priest from Kirk in the Hills, a 

Scottish Presbyterian church in Bloomfield 

Hills, talks about “kirking in the 

tartan,” a practice where Scots wore 

their tartans to church under other 

clothes when they were banned from 

doing so as a show of support for all 

whose religious beliefs were oppressed. 

Armenians share a lot of similarities 

with Chaldeans. They, too, were converted 

by early apostles; in fact, they lay 


claim to the first Christian nation. The 

history of their religious oppression includes 

the Persian Empire, which tried 

to forcibly covert them, and the Ottoman 

Empire, which nearly erased them. They 

escaped to America and settled in metro 

Detroit. But they had no church. 

In an act of solidarity that local 

faith communities continue to exhibit, 

St. John’s Episcopalian Church 

on Woodward in Detroit allowed the 

Armenian worship community to hold 

services there until 1931, when the first 

Armenian church was built. 

Detroit is home to a vibrant array 

of immigrant churches that reflect the 

city’s status as a melting pot of cultures 

and faiths. From the Polish Cathedralstyle 

architecture of St. Florian Church, 

built by Polish immigrants in the early 

20th century, to the history-rich halls of 

Second Baptist Church, founded by 13 

African Americans in 1836 and serving 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 



as a stop on the Underground Railroad, 

each immigrant church tells a unique 

story of resilience, community, and cultural 

identity. 

Observing the timeline of Detroit’s 

historic churches is like watching the 

community develop in stages. These 

churches serve not only as places of 

worship but also as centers of cultural 

preservation and community engagement, 

offering support, resources, and 

a sense of belonging to generations of 

Detroit residents from diverse backgrounds. 

Through their architecture, 

traditions, and ongoing contributions 

to the fabric of the city, Detroit’s historic 

and immigrant churches continue to 

play a vital role in shaping the spiritual 

and cultural landscape of our city. 

The Detroit: The City of Faith film 

crew spent time with the “Ignite the 

Spirit” group at St. Joseph Chaldean 

Catholic Church this past January, capturing 

the congregation’s Eucharistic 

adoration, meditation and song and 

emphasizing the significance of music 

to religion. A social media post of 

the taping states that, “The melodies, 

harmonies, and rhythms in religious 

music evokes emotions and creates a 

sense of unity among worshipers.” 

The film is more than just a historical 

retrospective. It’s a celebration of 

the enduring faith that sustains Detroit’s 

residents through both triumph 

and tragedy. From the grassroots efforts 

of faith-based organizations to 

the innovative approaches to social 

justice and community development, 

we witness the profound impact of 

spirituality on the city’s ongoing revitalization 

efforts. 

“Having a great deal of admiration 

and respect for our Chaldean community 

here in Michigan,” states Famie, 

“I was so honored to be able to feature 

their rich story of faith as well as their 

community leadership in our film Detroit: 

The City of Faith.” 


FEATURE 

Changing Education 

Chaldeans have changed how Michigan learns 

BY CAL ABBO 

Chaldeans have lived and learned 

in Michigan for over 100 years. 

During that time, they have 

brought with them and transmitted 

their culture and traditions, including 

how knowledge is passed down and 

inherited. 

The defining characteristics of Chaldeans 

as it relates to education are family 

and community. Much of what one 

learns, contrary to the popular culture 

and system, is borne out of an informal 

education within the household or 

workplace. This understanding helps 

to frame the system through which new 

and ancient knowledge is conveyed. 

The most important consideration, 

however, is the speed with which these 

systems are changing and how Chaldeans 

have integrated into a traditional 

public/private school system. 

In Chaldean culture, men and women 

play vastly different roles within the 

family unit, which affects how knowledge 

is shared with them. Men and 

women tend to congregate with one 

another and learn from members of the 

same group, which perpetuates and accentuates 

gender roles and differences. 

In ancient Chaldean society, for 

example, young women learned from 

their elders how to run a household or 

raise children. They also learned crafts 

and technical skills as it relates to 

cooking food or making clothes. Men, 

on the other hand, often shadowed 

their father’s work or took an apprenticeship 

with another family member. 

There, they learned the ins and outs of 

productive work that could earn some 

money and support the family. 

This system shows vast differences 

from the American one that we 

are used to. Most importantly, there is 

little barrier to entry. One only has to 

be a part of a family or the community, 

and they are rewarded with access 

to knowledge, rather than buying it 

through tuition or offering their time in 

unpaid internships. This educational 

practice was crucial to the first Chaldeans 

who arrived in Michigan and the 

generations since. 

The ribbon cutting for St. Thomas Montessori School in West Bloomfield last 

December. 

A traditional education in the United 

States relies on public or private schooling 

that keeps even our smallest children 

as busy as a full-time job would. 

This process, however, offers only a 

small portion of the knowledge a teenager 

has when receiving their diploma. 

Learning occurs in all parts of our lives 

and throughout the day, not just during 

the time we spend in traditional school; 

and even then, we learn from our peers 

just as much as our teachers. 

While the very first Chaldeans 

came to Detroit for jobs in the auto 

industry, they quickly opened stalls 

at farmers markets and eventually 

full-blown grocery stores. By sharing 

knowledge and educating one another 

in this business, Chaldeans were able 

to replicate this model many times 

over and achieve community success. 

Fathers passed on their hard-earned 

knowledge to their sons, who took 

over and innovated the family store. 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 



At the same time, women passed 

around their traditions to one another 

and their daughters. As they adjusted 

to life in Michigan, Chaldean women 

took up various professions and duties 

and taught each other new strategies 

for going about life. They relied on 

one another to raise children and feed 

their families and recreate life that resembles 

the village, at least as close as 

they could in the great urban Detroit of 

the early 1900s, while their husbands 

and brothers earned a wage. 

As soon as the first Chaldean 

stepped foot in Detroit, however, the 

slow advance of assimilation began. 

The traditional roles played by men 

and women began to fade and merge, 

as did the memories of life in Iraq. The 

cultural identity of Chaldeans blended 

with that of other American immigrants 

and Americans in general; no longer 

were they endangered indigenous people, 

but a flourishing immigrant community 

that grew in power and wealth 

with each passing year. As such, Chaldeans 

began to enter the professions 

via colleges and universities. While 

these aspects of society were not entirely 

foreign to the community, as they 

had similar institutions in Iraq, they 

were previously reserved for wealthy 

and noble members of society. 

The all-important church, which 

was the center of village life, was transplanted 

to Michigan, but not without 

change. For the earliest Chaldeans, the 

institution maintained its lofty importance. 

In Iraq, the church served as a 

gathering place and pillar of the community. 

This is where children learned 

the customs of the community, how to 

act among their peers and elders, as 

well as how to participate in its traditions 

and religious beliefs through 

structured educational courses. In its 

early days in America, the church was 

essential and served a similar role, but 

its importance has since faded and its 

role in education has become similar 

to other Catholic churches in America. 

As a result, to reestablish their 

cultural influence and rectify imperfections 

in Michigan’s educational 

system, the Chaldean Church has 

begun to establish its own parallel 

educational system. Since the advent 

of COVID-19 and the subsequent pandemic, 

homeschooling and other nontraditional 

learning options became 

popular after public schools ceased inperson 

instruction. In January of this 

year, the Chaldean Church opened its 

very own Montessori school, which is 

open to children up to 6 years old. 

The Montessori method, named after 

Italian physician Maria Montessori, 

emphasizes each child’s individual and 

natural desire for knowledge. It uses an 

open style of learning rather than structured 

instruction and assignments, 

encouraging its students to engage in 

activities that interest them. The Montessori 

method as used in the St. Thomas 

school encourages empathy, social 

justice, and lifelong learning, according 

to a January article in the Chaldean

Crystal Jabiro 

News. “By God’s grace and with the 

community’s support, we hope to offer 

Pre-K thru 8th grade Chaldean Catholic 

education very soon,” said Fr. Pierre 

Konja in the same article. 

In our own right, Chaldeans have 

had a profound mark on Michigan’s 

education system. Members of our 

community have become teachers and 

administrators, and some have started 

their own educational ventures to add 

to Michigan’s trove of schooling. 

The Chaldean community in Detroit, 

following similar diaspora communities 

in the United States, has made attempts 

to incorporate its native language directly 

into the public or private school 

system. In Oakland County Schools, 

where many Chaldean students attend, 

a Sureth language exam is being introduced. 

If a student passes the exam, 

they can get high-school credit for 

knowing a second language, making it 

easier for recently migrated Chaldean 

students to succeed in graduating. 

At the University of Detroit Mercy, 

there is a full-blown Aramaic course 

that students can take for credit. Mahir 

Awrahem, a teacher who is active in 

the movement to restore and revive the 

dying language, instructs this official 

college course as well as other, unofficial 

courses, including some hosted by 

the Chaldean Cultural Center. 

St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic 

Church also holds its own classes to 

teach Sureth to those in Detroit who 

were not taught at home. Shamasha 

Khairy Foumia and Lina Yaldo developed 

a curriculum intended for younger 

children, but it can also be used as an 

introductory course for people 

of all ages who want to learn 

the language, according to Michael 

Antoon, who helps lead 

the program at St. Thomas. 

Chaldeans have contributed 

as much to the traditional 

education infrastructure as 

they have to a parallel one 

they created. Many Chaldean 

teachers are employed by 

public and private schools 

in our community. In many of these 

schools, Chaldeans dominate the student 

population and have a heavy influence 

on their school’s culture. 

Around the state of Michigan, 

universities, high schools, and even 

middle schools have loosely affiliated 

Chaldean American Student Association 

groups, better recognized by its 

acronym CASA. 

Crystal Jabiro is an educator at 

West Bloomfield Schools. She tries to 

incorporate what she sees as Chaldean 

values, such as charity, kindness, and 

empathy, in the school. In addition, 

Crystal started the first-ever 

CASA for middle school, 

bringing Chaldean culture 

to a variety of students at a 

younger age. 

In her U.S. history classes, 

where it’s relevant, Crystal 

teaches about immigration 

and acculturation. “I point 

out all the things that Chaldean 

people own here in West 

Bloomfield and metro Detroit,” 

she said. In her ancient history 

class, she teaches about Mesopotamia 

and has her students make their very 

own clay tablets. 

At Marian High School, a top private 

school for young women in and 

around Bloomfield Hills, the group 

has a significant influence on the rest 

of its school. Teachers and faculty estimate 

that Chaldeans comprise 30% of 

the student population. 

Claudine Denha Tella, who has 

taught at Marian for more than 15 years 

and leads the CASA group, offered her 

insights into the Chaldean influence at 

the school. According to her, 

Chaldeans bring a lot of culture 

and life to the school. 

Since she began her work 

there, the number of Chaldean 

students rose gradually 

from a few students in her first 

year to where it is now. A lot 

of the change is attributed 

to Chaldean enrollment in 

feeder schools as well as the 

congregation factor – where 

Chaldeans are, others tend to 

follow. 

Claudine Denha 

Tella 

Above: Michael Antoon’s Chaldean 

class in elementary school. 

Left: Marian High School 

CASA with Claudine Denha. 

The students and Claudine have 

influenced the school in many ways. 

Chaldeans are well-known for their 

prevalence in serving in school masses. 

In the spring, Marian put on a Chaldean 

Mass which helped show different traditions 

of Catholicism to its students. 

“If you have no Chaldeans here,” Claudine 

said, “there’s no Baghiya, no Mediterranean 

bar, among other things.” 

Claudine is referring to an instance 

when a group of Chaldean students 

taught some of their teachers how to 

dance Baghiya. Claudine got married 

last year and invited some of her fellow 

teachers to the occasion. Those teachers 

implored Chaldean students to teach 

them the dances and other cultural traditions, 

like what to wear, that would be 

good to know for the wedding. 

In the past, according to Claudine, 

students from other minority 

backgrounds, like African American 

students or Mexican immigrants, 

have found a home at CASA among 

the Chaldeans. “Chaldeans serve as a 

welcoming place for other minorities,” 

Claudine said. 

Claudine also tries hard 

to educate her peers on Chaldeans 

so they can be culturally 

informed and know how to 

handle certain situations. She 

gave a presentation last year, 

with the help of the Chaldean 

Community Foundation, to 

members of Marian’s faculty. 

According to her, the presentation 

was well attended, and 

the school gained a lot from it. 

Stories like these are common, with 

Chaldean teachers around the state 

exposing others to our heritage. Without 

Chaldeans, education in Michigan 

would look very different, and many 

schools would lose a significant aspect 

of our culture. 


FEATURE 

From Mesopotamia 

to the Motor City 

Early Chaldean settlers successfully navigated the change 

from agrarian villages to an industrial city lifestyle 

BY CAL ABBO 

Part I 

Few members of the Chaldean 

community in Detroit still survive 

and remember what the village 

was like in the early 1900s, when 

our pioneers made the brave and challenging 

journey to America. What 

drove them to accomplish such a feat? 

To understand the enormity of 

such a journey, it’s necessary to recall 

the reality of village life and its simplicity. 

The vast majority of Chaldeans 

in the Middle East lived in small villages 

or towns with populations of a 

few thousand people. A small number 

of venturing families in the Nineveh 

Plain region moved to large, urban 

areas like Mosul, Basra, and Baghdad 

for economic opportunity, education, 

or a professional career. 

Chaldeans in the village tended to 

be farmers out of necessity and tradition. 

They grew crops like wheat, 

lentils, chickpeas, melons, fruits, 

and barley. Modern misconceptions 

characterize Iraq as a barren and dry 

desert, but the area where Chaldeans 

lived was green and fertile. 

As villagers who farmed for a living, 

there was not much wealth or opportunity 

to create it in the Chaldean community. 

In addition, villages were mostly 

unprotected, and had gone through 

hundreds of years of invasions, persecution, 

and repression. Despite these 

obstacles, the village provided the one 

thing that money couldn’t buy: closeness 

of family and community. 

In the late 1800s, word of economic 

opportunities in America began to 

reach the ears of young and enterprising 

Chaldean villagers. These pioneering 

men grew tired of the constant persecution 

they and their families had to 

deal with as well as a lack of opportunity 

to exceed. While Iraqi cities offered 

higher education and professional careers, 

it was nothing compared to the 

stories coming from recent immigrants 

to the United States. Chaldeans heard 

tales of great wealth and a different life 

from Lebanese and Syrian immigrants 

who made the journey before them. 

During the period between the turn 

of the century and 1920, drastic changes 

took the world by storm. Industrialization 

finally reached its tipping 

point and began to create vast wealth 

for the masses. In addition, war and 

genocide plagued the Middle East – 

namely the Seyfo, in which hundreds 

of thousands of Assyrian, Syriac, and 

Chaldean people were slaughtered, 

impacting the hearts and minds of many 

Chaldean people in the Nineveh Plains. 

In the Seyfo, Telkaif often served 

as a safe haven for Christians who fled 

Kurdish and Ottoman violence. Villagers 

who were already there heard 

stories of ungodly torture and killings. 

Importantly, this was not the first time, 


nor the last, that a genocide like this 

would plague Middle Eastern Christians, 

and Chaldeans had the foresight 

to predict such occurrences. This further 

motivated them to move to new 

lands and start new lives. First, they 

had to overcome the pressures of family 

and community, which certainly 

weighed on their hearts when they 

first made the journey. 

In addition, the industrial age had 

finally reached America, and even the 

most menial labor was offered fairly 

high wages. Famously, Henry Ford 

advertised a $5-per-day wage to build 

cars in Detroit, which intrigued many 

Chaldeans. A few made their final 

preparations, said their goodbyes, and 

went on their way. 

The first Chaldean who immigrated 

to America from Iraq was likely Zia Attala. 

After arriving at Ellis Island, Attala 

went to Philadelphia to work in 

a hotel with dreams of opening one 

himself. Eventually, he saved enough 

money, and went back to his home 

country to start his own hotel. 

In the early 1900s, travel was much 

more difficult than it is today. The 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

earliest Chaldeans would have to trek 

through the Middle East, through Marseille, 

France, and take a ship through 

the Strait of Gibraltar. Eventually, 

some made it to Ellis Island and traveled 

to Detroit for opportunity. Others 

would continue the journey by boat to 

Mexico to meet up with Lebanese and 

Syrian immigrants. 

Because of the language barrier, 

when Chaldeans originally moved to 

the United States, it was difficult to 

secure the jobs they wanted as store 

clerks, traders, or a worker on Ford’s 

factory line. As a result, most of the 

early Chaldeans were subjected to 

substandard and menial labor as 

well as living conditions that were 

both worse than what they experienced 

in their homeland. If anything, 

however, Chaldeans are adaptive 

and resilient people who stuck 

out the hardship to witness the light 

at the end of the tunnel. 

Over time, Chaldeans began to 

learn the language and see the potential 

of life in America. They also 

frequently sent money and written 

messages back to their families in Iraq 

telling of the life they encountered after 

crossing half the world. 

The first Chaldean from Telkaif entered 

Detroit through Windsor, Canada. 

Yousif Shamam would quickly learn 

English and begin his career as a salesman. 

When he had saved enough money, 

Shamam called for his brothers to 

join him and he helped establish a business 

and work for each of them. This 

foundational act of selflessness and 



support would serve as the driving force 

of the community’s constant renewalby-immigration. 

By 1913, several Chaldeans 

made their way to Detroit and established 

a small community there. 

In 1915, according to research by 

Paul Manni, The Sunday Chronicle published 

an article about John Joseph with 

the headline “Chaldean in Ford Employ: 

Man Who Was Born in Region of ‘Garden 

of Eden’ Now a Mechanic.” The article 

went on to tell the story of Joseph, 

who lived back in the old country in a 

“one-room hut. The walls were made 

of clay, mixed with straw, and the roof 

consisted of a network of branches and 

marsh-cane, together with clay. The single 

room, although small, was still large 

enough to house himself, wife and two 

children, on one side, while the other 

served as a stall for the family goat.” 

Stories like this are much more 

common than they were reported. 

Soon, Chaldeans would adjust to the 

new life and begin to prosper. They 

would leave their menial labor jobs 

and venture into the store business, 

for which they would become known 

across the Detroit area. 


FEATURE 

IMAGE COURTESY WIKIMEDIA 

The Silk Road (in green) was a key trade route that ran through Asia from modern-day China to Eastern Europe, passing through what is modern-day Iraq 

(highlighted). Traditions of trade and commerce run deep in the Chaldean community. Paths marked in red represent other caravan routes. 

From Mesopotamia to the Motor City 

How pioneering Chaldeans created a community in Detroit 

BY CAL ABBO 

Part II 

Silk Road Roots 

Ancient Mesopotamia was home to 

many great civilizations over different 

time periods. Because of the people 

and their inventions, the area is famous 

for many things, even as history 

is taught today, and is credited with the 

birth of society and cities. Writing, agriculture, 

laws, math, astronomy, citystates, 

architecture, and many more 

aspects of modern-day society that we 

take for granted originated in this area 

and within these communities. 

Central to almost all these components 

are trade and commerce, responsible 

for furnishing these cultural 

elements around the world and developing 

them further. Often, Mesopotamia 

found itself playing a critical role 

connecting the Far East, the Middle 

East, and parts of Europe. 

Early trade in these societies, according 

to the World History Encyclopedia, 

involved basic goods like 

ceramics, grain, leather, oils, and textiles. 

Trade was conducted initially between 

city-states and in the beginning, 

these areas did not have the capacity 

or logistics to travel to other civilizations, 

many of which were too simple 

to be called such. 

Archaeologists discovered evidence 

that as humankind developed, 

ancient cities like Eridu, Ur, Uruk, and 

Nippur came into contact and experienced 

economic exchange with the Indus 

Valley civilization in modern-day 

west India around 7,000 years ago. As 

a result of this contact, Mesopotamia’s 

influence, as well as their tangible 

goods, may have reached as far as the 

Yellow River civilization in modernday 

China. 

When it began, this trade network 

would be traveled mostly on foot. 

Sometimes, these people were lucky 

enough to have pack animals to carry 

goods and supplies. A journey of this 

magnitude could take months or years 

to complete and likely involved other 

trade mediators, nomadic or settled, 

between the two civilizations. 

Early trade generated a critical 

moment in world history. It spurred 

economic development and led to 

the creation of many fundamental 

technologies. Trade of all kinds led to 

enhanced record-keeping and the development 

of cuneiform, the earliestknown 

writing in human history and 

perhaps the strongest comparative 

advantage leading to Mesopotamia’s 

wealth and dominance. 

Later, writing technology would 

encompass the full scope of spoken 

language, allowing for exponentially 

greater understanding of ancient societies 

as we uncover the past and chart 

the development of literature. 

From these records, historians discovered 

the existence of glass and textile 

factories in Mesopotamia that employed 

thousands of people. The economies of 

city-states relied on these trade routes 

for goods not available in their region 

and surplus grain that encouraged exponential 

population growth. 

Long-distance trade gradually increased 

in volume over the centuries. 

This reality enhanced the development 

of animal domestication, leading 

to increased use, breeding, and expertise 

surrounding donkeys, camels, 

and horses. Eventually, inventors realized 

the usefulness of a circular wheel 

pulling platforms of goods to and from 

different places. It’s an appropriate coincidence, 

then, that many Chaldeans 

in modern times chose to move to the 

Motor City, which can trace its technological 

history directly to the invention 

of the wheel and supply carriage. 

Roads exploded in popularity. 

Outposts and settlements were added 

along trade routes and on paths to major 

cities. City-states and empires raised 

armies to defend these lucrative trade 

routes from highway robbers. As trade 

and civilization continued to develop, 


more and more individuals became involved 

in the industry and helped disperse 

goods once they arrived at their 

destination. Networking, merchanting, 

and warehousing grew alongside, and 

thousands of years of development and 

history informed the future of these 

people-groups. 

After this initial age of trade and 

civilizational development, even as 

the major Mesopotamian powers fell, 

trade routes prevailed. Some of the 

most important routes in history relied 

on the persistence and stability of the 

Mesopotamian region even after its 

golden age came and went. The Silk 

Road passed directly through Babylon 

and Baghdad to follow the mighty Tigris 

River. The Incense Route stretched 

south along the Arabian Peninsula 

and the Royal Road had stops in modern-day 

northern Iraq. These trails and 

others shaped the lives, knowledge, 

economy, and daily practices of Chaldeans’ 

ancient ancestors. 

Once Islam took hold and gained 

power in the region, centuries after 

the dawn of Christianity and the conversion 

of people living in the Middle 

East, Muslim rulers often ostracized 

the remaining Christians from larger 

society. Some examples of systemic 

persecution involved levying special 

taxes against Christians, preventing 

them from obtaining positions in 

government, requiring certain dress 

codes, restricting property ownership, 

limiting the number of churches and 

simplifying their architecture, depriving 

them representation in court, asserting 

social discrimination, and 

even restricting travel. 

One specific aspect of Islam helped 

shape the role of Christians in the Middle 

East. The Quran bans its followers 

from consuming alcohol. In many 

places, this was and still is enforced 

legally. More importantly, though, the 

Quran bans Muslims from selling alcohol. 

This left a niche for the region’s 

Christians to fill. Many Christians that 

lived in Muslim societies served alcohol 

through restaurants and stores to 

the general population — including 

Muslims who disregarded the Quran’s 

rules, passing down the tradition 

through generations, and building experience 

in the service industry. 

All these historical factors came 

into play when the community felt 

compelled to leave their homeland of 

thousands of years. War, genocide, 

persecution, and a lack of economic 

prospects resulting from village life motivated 

Chaldeans to find a new home. 

The process took time, but over the past 

century, the Chaldean community in 

Detroit now numbers close to 200,000 

people, according to recent data. 

After learning about the opportunities 

available to immigrants in Detroit, 

almost all related to the auto industry, 

a few brave Chaldeans in villages or urban 

areas decided to try it out for themselves. 

Some worked for the burgeoning 

Ford Motor Company, like John Joseph, 

“Man Who Was Born in Region of ‘Garden 

of Eden’” according to a 1915 issue 

of the Sunday Chronicle, whose story 

lives on in the newspaper archives. This 

new industry offered direct employment 

opportunities, but Chaldeans aspired 

to more and had more needs than 

the average American, ultimately wanting 

to bring their families and friends to 

the land of opportunity. 

Market Square (left) and Plum Market (right) offer an impressive array of fresh and prepared foods. 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

Beyond the Assembly Line 

Some decades before this, the nation 

experienced plenty of periods like the 

one Detroit was going through. The 

most appropriate example in this case 

is the California Gold Rush. Over a period 

of seven years, nearly 300,000 

people migrated west to find work opportunities 

and gold. 

Overall, the area developed rapidly 

and needed to accommodate the 

exponential growth of people. The 

most consistently successful people 

who moved west were not those who 

searched for gold themselves, but the 

newcomers who were wise enough to 

realize and act upon the opportunities 

to provide services like saloons, 

supply stores, restaurants, and housing 

to the community there. 

In this style, Chaldeans established 

themselves in Detroit, moving on from 

basic factory work into entrepreneurial 

territory and imagination. As many 

Chaldeans were farmers before their 

transition to America, they began with 

grocery services and stalls at farmers 

markets. Eventually, these developed 

into full-fledged stores where they 

could employ and teach new Chaldeans 

who arrived from Iraq. Detroit 

was forever changed by the Chaldeans 

who purchased and developed highquality 

stores in the area. 

Over time, some Chaldeans found 

a sense of responsibility to the upstart 

community and helped establish 

a pipeline for Chaldeans to come 

to Michigan, train as store operators, 

and eventually become owners and 

begin contributing to the economy. 

Specific men, like Mike George, 

whose legacy lives on in the hearts of 

all the Chaldean families he helped 

establish, financed business loans for 

new immigrant families. Even today, 

a loan fund in his name lives at the 


and helps immigrants attain a vehicle 

for a low interest rate. 

In 1962, the Chaldean community 

owned around 120 stores in Detroit 

and its metro area. By the 1990s, 

Chaldeans owned 1,500 stores. In 



many ways, the huge gamble paid off 

for the Chaldean community as they 

prospered with their new economic 

engine. Their status as immigrants 

whose native tongue was far from 

common in Detroit was not dissimilar 

to their status in the homeland, 

separated linguistically from Arabic 

speakers, religiously from Muslims, 

and culturally from city-dwellers. 

Trade continued to support and uplift 

the community even as it had in ancient 

times. 

Modern-day grocery stores have 

evolved from the smaller stores that 

once dotted Detroit’s landscape. While 

those still exist in the form of gas stations 

and liquor stores, in tandem with 

suburbanization, food and grocery 

have become a more centralized endeavor 

with larger and fewer stores. 

Plum Market and Market Square 

are two shining examples of the modern 

Chaldean grocery store. They offer 

high-end food items and serve 

hot, prepared food for their customers. 

This is a sign of the Chaldean 

entrepreneurial spirit, the attitude 

that brought the community this far. 

Since the establishment of community 

stores, Chaldeans have expanded 

their business into many different facets 

of life and encouraged their children 

to join the professions. 

Still now, as Chaldeans have 

moved away from the storied lands 

that are so well-documented in history 

books, many traditions stay with 

them. In Detroit, the Chaldean community 

has become famous for servicing 

all kinds of stores and selling 

staples like gasoline, alcohol, and basic 

food services. In fact, Chaldeans 

leveraged these historical skills to 

establish their families and peers in a 

new society while providing an essential 

service to its new community. 


FEATURE 

Mike George 

Mesopotamia to the Motor City 

New ventures in a new land 

BY CAL ABBO 

Part III 

The Chaldeans’ journey to Detroit 

is a story constantly being rewritten 

as the community grows and 

evolves. It would be relatively simple 

to characterize Chaldeans in the early 

1900s; their differences from other immigrants 

left them with few options besides 

the assembly line, menial labor, 

or starting their own farmers market 

stalls and eventually small storefronts. 

As Chaldeans found the growing 

need for integration into their new 

community as well as a certain independence 

from it, they realized that the 

neighborhood store business was perfect 

for them. Intimately familiar with 

farming and agriculture, they found 

synergy in buying and selling produce. 

In addition, their biggest advantage 

was the community trust established 

and maintained by faith and family, 

which they used to learn from and support 

one another in times of need. 

As time went on and new generations 

were born, however, they became 

acculturated and Americanized. 

Young, enterprising Chaldeans created 

business ideas that have survived decades, 

and their dedication to service 

and their community has rendered tremendous 

success. 

In addition, Chaldean immigrant 

families tend to act like others from 

different communities, emphasizing a 

complete education and pushing their 

children to become professionals in 

some high-earning field. Therefore, 

Chaldeans in Michigan have become 

doctors, lawyers, judges, engineers, 

architects, salesmen, managers, restaurant 

operators, athletes, and excel 

many more professions, as the Chaldean 

News highlights on a daily basis. 

This kind of integration is important 

for any immigrant group to 

become a productive and respected 

part of society. By expanding their 

scope, Chaldeans can interact with all 

kinds of people while maintaining the 

close-knit ties to their community that 

brought them this far. 

In some cases, the most successful 

businesses resulted only from the hard 

work and dedication to service that 

Chaldeans are known for. 


Mike George’s Melody Farms 

Mike George is one of the legendary 

Chaldean pioneers, and for good reason. 

He built a long record of service 

and support for his community while 

also demonstrating incredible business 

acumen. 

Scott George, one of Mike’s sons, described 

how his father got started in his 

famed career. “My grandfather owned 

a meat market in Detroit,” he said. “My 

father started delivering milk out of the 

market. They bought a van for $100 and 

just went door-to-door.” 

Scott’s uncle and his father, Mike, 

started Tom George Dairy and Sons. As 

years passed, the business grew, and 

Mike bought his own dairy company. 

Eventually, even while Mike was still 

running it, Melody Farms became the 

largest independent dairy in the Midwest 

with 450 employees. 

In a 2003 interview with the Chaldean 

News, Mike George commented 

on how his business got its name. “We 

were distributing milk through Wilson 

Dairy at the time,” recalled George. 

“It was homogenized milk. There was 

no 2 percent or low-fat at the time. We 

added vitamin D to the milk and as a 

result we had the highest butterfat 

milk of all the competitors. The more 

fat, the smoother the product.” In 

1962, the name changed to Mello-D to 

compliment the smooth texture and 

the vitamin D, eventually becoming 

Melody Farms. 

Saad Abbo’s U.S. Ice 

Saad Abbo’s family came to America in 

1972, when he was 10 years old. For the 

next ten years of his life, his family operated 

that store. One fateful summer 

day in 1984, which Abbo remembers 

as the hottest day in summer, the ice 

delivery service they used failed to deliver 

on a Thursday night, not showing 

up until Monday night. 

“My father was so pissed,” Abbo 

said. “When a customer walks in, they 

come and buy groceries and pop and 

other stuff. If you don’t have all the 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

items, they go to another store. We had 

a few customers just leave the buggy 

and walk away.” 

In his anger, Abbo’s father suggested 

the family start their own ice 

company. The rest is history. 

“My father was aggressive,” Abbo 

added. “We opened up the ice company 

and put a plant together. It was producing 

10,000 pounds of ice every day. At 

the time, we thought that was a lot.” 

Abbo and his brother bought a 

few trucks. After the first year, they 

had about 50 customers. Not bad for a 

startup, but it wasn’t something to start 

a career over. The following year, that 

number tripled to 150. After that, they 

really believed they could succeed in 

this business. So they sold the store. 

“The whole idea behind it is service,” 

Abbo said. “We built this thing 



around the idea that you don’t delay a 

customer. They call, and we were there 

every time.” 

In the beginning, it was the Chaldeans 

who helped Abbo and his family 

succeed. His high level of service 

and ability to keep prices down was 

appealing to the large community of 

store owners. Eventually word spread 

about U.S. Ice, and they deservedly got 

many more clients. A little over a year 

ago, Abbo decided to retire, and sold 

his company to Home City Ice. 

“We kept the price down in Michigan 

compared to every other state in 

the country,” Abbo said. “Since we sold 

the business one year ago, the prices 

have almost doubled from what they 

used to be, which is actually a normal 

price compared to the rest of the country. 

And the service is not there.” 

Abbo won the Chaldean Chamber 

of Commerce Businessperson of the 

Year Award in 2014 and was last year 

inducted into the Great Lakes Ice Association 

Hall of Fame. 

He attributes his success to God. “In 

the Chaldean community, there’s family 

and God,” he said. “The way we believe 

in God, no other community is like that. 

Church is the center of everything.” 

Saad Abbo 


Her Story 

Chaldean women making history 


In the tapestry of history, the contributions of 

remarkable women often remain woven in the 

shadows, their stories hidden beneath layers of 

time, patterns, and societal norms. Yet, within the 

rich and vibrant cultural heritage of the Chaldean 

community, a garment of strength, resilience, and 

empowerment emerges; one adorned with the narratives 

of extraordinary women who have defied expectations 

and altered the weave. 

Standing on her shoulders 

“I’m waiting for the day when we don’t use the word 

‘first’ when talking about Chaldean women,” said Honorable 

Hala Jarbou, the first Chaldean judge to sit on the 

federal bench. “I want to hear, ‘Here’s another Chaldean 

judge, or here’s another Chaldean fill-in-the-blank’.” 

Jarbou recalled being one of only three Chaldean 

students in her class in law school and is gratified 

now to hear friends and family talk about their kids 

(or their cousins) who are attending or have attended 

law school and medical school. “It’s amazing how far 

we’ve come,” she said. 

Jarbou followed Jane Shallal to the US Attorney’s 

Office and Diane D’Agostini to the bench. “We stand 

on their shoulders,” Jarbou remarked, including her 

mother and female relatives and all the Chaldean 

women who came before. “They know the word ‘sacrifice’ 

very well.” 

“Most of our mothers did not have a fraction of 

the opportunities that we have had, yet their wisdom, 

faith and strength permeate in their daughters,” said 

Honorable Judge Diane (Dickow) D’Agostini, the first 

elected Chaldean judge in the US. “When I graduated 

high school, people actually questioned my mom 

about why she would allow us to go to college, as it 

was rare in the ‘80s for Chaldean girls.” 

I imagine her mother’s response, at least internally, 

went something like, “Try to stop her!” 

“Those moments stay with me,” added D’Agostini. 

“Being an immigrant made me more driven,” said 

Jaclyn (Lossia) McQuaid, a by-any-definition highly 

successful automobile engineer who heads up GM 

in Europe. “When you have no established network, 

you have to make things happen yourself.” 

Her primary goal, she revealed in an interview a 

few years ago, is to show all young people, regardless 

of gender, ethnicity, social class, or physical ability, that 

they can take their passion and make a career out of 

it. As a young girl, McQuaid dreamt of designing roller 

coasters; she ended up being involved in automobile 

design at a pivotal time in the history of the industry. 

Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha is a pediatrician, professor 

and public health advocate who gained widespread recognition 

for her role in exposing the Flint water crisis. 

In “An Open Letter to Fellow Chaldeans,” composed 

in fall of 2020, Dr. Attisha wrote, “With all the 

hateful stereotypes percolating about immigrants today 

and a corrosion of the American Dream, it is important 

for us to tell our story of American success. We 

are immigrants engaged, active, prominent and effective 

in our communities, and have been for decades. 

“Understanding my role in Flint and how I see 

the world is also about understanding who I am and 

where I came from. My immigrant story – complete 

with the Arabic I spoke at home, our food, culture 

and social justice heritage – is unapologetically and 

proudly part of who I am. In a sense, it’s my superpower 

that has given me a heightened antenna for 

injustice and the courage to fight for justice.” 

A sensitivity to injustice comes with the territory 

for a people who have been driven from their homeland 

through persecution and terror. Dr. Attisha 

summed up her philosophy simply with, “My parents 

raised me never to look away.” 

That speaks to the core of what it means to be accountable, 

something that Renee Tomina, Senior VP 

with the Project Management Office at DTE, says is crucial 

for a good leader, along with the ability to inspire 

and to be totally authentic with your subordinates. 

“Authenticity – it’s the key to building strong, 

trusting relationships,” said Tomina. “This involves 

being vulnerable and letting your team see and know 

the ‘real you’...and having the courage to make the 

tough decisions.” 

“An effective leader cares more about being respected 

for their decisions rather than being popular 

for their decisions,” said D’Agostini. 

Jarbou, who calls D’Agostini “a trailblazer,” said, 

“I don’t like the word ‘leader’ or being designated as a 

leader because the way I look at it, I just do things the 

way they should be done.” If she must be classified as 

a leader, Jarbou strives to be a servant leader, one who 

would get down in the trenches to help her staff. It is 

about trust—trusting your people to do the right thing 

and then having their backs when they need support. 

Soft strength 

“Women are strong. Our mothers and grandmothers 

and great-grandmothers grew up in villages without 

running water and look how much they accomplished!” 

said Jarbou. “You have to put it in perspective. We have 

the luxury of living in the United States where there are 

so many opportunities and so many privileges. And the 

Chaldean culture installs a really strong work ethic.” 

“I think there is something inherent in the Chaldean 

culture, especially for women, that drives us 

to be strong, disciplined and have a passion for not 

wanting to disappoint others,” said Tomina. “I’d also 

add hardworking… from a young age, we are giving 

a lot of responsibility and expected to work hard to 

care for others, which also translates naturally to 

working hard in your professional life.” 

“As a child, I watched my mom handle my dad’s 

tragic death, make business decisions, navigate a lifealtering 

future and raise three kids under the age of 

nine, all while being an immigrant,” shared D’Agostini. 

“My worst day will never compare to what she experienced 

at age 27, so her example and strength give me 

the strength to do my job.” 

McQuaid said in an earlier interview that her father 

taught her to take the occasion to “beat hard,” 

in other words, overcome adversity. If you look at 


CHALDEAN NEWS 

APP IS HERE 

each challenge as an opportunity, it 

helps you come out on top. Her siblings 

are equally driven, with her twin 

Jamie high in the ranks at GM, Jennifer 

(McManus) a principal at her own law 

firm, and Jessica making a career in 

the nursing profession. 

“We didn’t invent leadership,” 

explained Jarbou. “We’ve all learned 

from each other.” 

“As a leader,” said D’Agostini, “I 

am still learning.” 

Earning her place 

In past decades, “Nobody would hire 

a woman,” said Jarbou. Even if they 

stuck it out and graduated law school 

or medical school, those that were hiring 

almost always preferred a male 

candidate. It was a far more difficult 

situation than what women must put 

up with now, although sometimes it 

still takes extra effort. 

Like the attorney who wouldn’t 

stand when Judge Jarbou entered the 

courtroom. It took a week of court and 

a nudge from the court officer, but she 

finally earned his respect and he stood. 

It’s just that a male judge wouldn’t have 

to earn the respect. He’d already have 

it, by nature of his position and his sex. 

“I learned early on, during college, 

how to get comfortable being the only 

woman at the table or working on a 

project,” shared Tomina. “That dynamic 

followed me into my career. It 

helped me prepare to be confident and 

know I deserved a seat at the table.” 

“Being a woman leader is all about 

balance to ensure you don’t get labeled,” 

explained Tomina. “Holding 

people accountable can easily get you 

labeled as aggressive or abrasive. At 

the same time, you do not want to be 

run over, which is where that balance 

comes in. This is also where authenticity 

plays a role – if you are being true to 

yourself and have built strong, caring 

relationships, you can achieve both.” 

The ability to keep learning and 

adapting may be the strongest trait that 

makes these career women so effective; 

some other attributes that make 

good leaders include compassion, said 

D’Agostini, and “a really strong moral 

compass,” said Jarbou. “We’re always 

going to try and do the right thing, and 

we’re going to work really hard to do it.” 

Honigman Law Firm, one of the 

top law firms in Michigan, has 8 young 

female Chaldean attorneys on staff. 

They have formed a dinner group 

where they meet every few months 

and discuss Chaldean issues as well 

as law life. The group includes Diane 

D’Agostini’s daughter. 

“Things have changed dramatically 

in the last 40 years,” said D’Agostini. 

“Chaldean women are empowered and 

are visible in nearly every profession. 

I’m just waiting for the first Chaldean 

astronaut.” 

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Winner will be notified by email on March 31. 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 




COVER STORY 

PHOTOS BY ALEX LUMELSKY 

Prime Time 

Entertaining the Iraqi Prime Minister 


The motorcade stretched a mile 

long down Walnut Lake Road to 

Shenandoah Country Club (SCC) 

on Thursday, April 18. Iraqi Prime Minister 

Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani was 

in town to speak with the Iraqi American 

community and its leaders, having 

first traveled to Houston to speak with 

Iraqi immigrants there and visiting the 

Islamic Institute in Dearborn before 

coming to West Bloomfield. 

The prime minister arrived at the 

country club around 9:45 pm and was 

received by a delegation including 

Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce 

(CACC) and Chaldean Community 

Foundation (CCF) president Martin 

Manna, Bishop Francis Kalabat, head of 

the Chaldean Church in Michigan, and 

Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta, head of the 

Chaldean Church in California, along 

with Iraqi American businessman Shakir 

Alkhafaji, Shenandoah Country Club 

president Neb Mekani, and former SCC 

president, Raad Kathawa. 

His arrival at Shenandoah was orchestrated 

with efficiency. Those waiting 

to greet him in the lobby were instructed 

where to stand and who could 

shake his hand. Bishop Francis Kalabat, 

the spiritual leader of the community, 

was permitted to greet the prime 

minister. The atmosphere was festive 

and reminiscent of a small-scale version 

of the Pope’s visit to Iraq. 

The Chaldean Community Foundation 

even had employees and volunteers 

dressed in historical Iraqi 

Chaldean village dress calling out the 

traditional halhole greeting, which Al 

Sudani seemed to enjoy. Security was 

so stringent that the girl who presented 

the prime minister with flowers, 

Caitlyn Hakim, had to use Manna as 

the go-between. 

Prime Minister Al Sudani had a 

quick tour of the Chaldean Cultural Center 

(30 seconds per exhibit) guided by 

CCC staff Mary Romaya, Weam Namou 

and Judy Jonna and aided by SCC board 

member Raad Kathawa. Some observers 

made note that the prime minster 

defied Islamic tradition and shook the 

hands of the three women who run the 

Cultural Center, showing them respect 

and even asking questions about the 

center’s exhibits to better understand 

the immigrant Chaldean Catholic community 

here in Michigan. 

Al Sudani is the most modern and 

secular prime minister Iraq has ever 

had, and it is the hope of many that he 

will be the one to bring Iraq into the 

21st century. He was instrumental in 

returning Cardinal Louis Sako, who 

had been exiled in Erbil following the 

stripping of his title by the Iraqi president, 

to Baghdad, and is known for his 

support and protection of Christians 

and other minority groups in Iraq. 

The prime minister received a 

very warm welcome when he finally 


entered the ballroom. The energy in 

the room was palpable as the crowd 

of hundreds rose for a standing ovation. 

They had waited for the prime 

minister for hours, parked in overflow 

parking, stood in long lines, passed 

through tight security involving metal 

detectors and a physical pat down, 

and surrendered their mobile phones 

to attend this dinner, which notably 

included no alcohol. 

This was an historic occasion and 

was seen as such, suggested by the 

fact that some people brought their 

children to witness it. Martin Manna 

welcomed the audience and thanked 

the prime minister for his consideration 

and the myriad planners for 

making the important visit happen. 

Manna then outlined the various 

points that the Chaldean Community 

Foundation has engaged with the 

prime minister about, including but 

not limited to the restoration of Cardinal 

Sako to his rightful position, the 

implementation of Article #125 of the 

Iraqi constitution, which upholds the 

rights of minorities, a call for the formation 

of a committee to investigate 

the illegal confiscation of Christian 

properties and land, a lift of the discriminatory 

alcohol ban, and efforts 

to resolve outstanding issues with the 

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) 

and disputed territories. 

Bishop Francis Kalabat spoke following 

Manna and before introducing 

the prime minister, delivering a heartfelt 

speech in Arabic that focused on 

unity, faith, hope and loyalty to both 

Iraq and the United States of America. 

The Chaldean American community 

has thrived here because of the freedoms 

and rights bestowed upon them 

as US citizens. 

Al Sudani, for his part, expressed 

gratitude for the $30 million contribution 

from Iraqi Americans to retore villages 

in the Nineveh Plain and voiced 

his pride in Iraqi communities in the 

United States and worldwide. He 

stressed that Iraq is for all Iraqis and 

that the country needs the expertise, 

experience, opportunities and initiatives 

of Iraqi leaders in America, saying, 

“The Chaldeans and Iraqis outside 

Iraq are a precious fortune.” 

The prime minister mentioned his 

visit to Washington, DC, where he had 

previously met with Manna as well as 

with President Biden. He said that it 

comes at a time of “delicate and sensitive 

circumstance” indicating the situation 

in the region. He discussed the 

conditions with President Biden and 

the escalation of conflict as well as 

each other’s role in deflating the tensions 

and working to achieve stability 

for all countries involved and affected 

by the hostilities. 

Al Sudani stated that the objective 

of his visit was to “move relations with 

the United States to a new stage, which 

includes activating the provisions of 

the Strategic Framework Agreement.” 

According to the US Embassy website, 

“The Strategic Framework Agreement 

(SFA) for a Relationship of Friendship 

and Cooperation between the United 

States and the Republic of Iraq guides 

our overall political, economic, cultural, 

and security ties with Iraq. The SFA normalizes 

the US-Iraqi relationship with 

strong economic, diplomatic, cultural, 

and security cooperation and serves as 

the foundation for a long-term bilateral 

relationship based on mutual goals.” 

An additional aim was to review the 

work of the Supreme Military Committee 

between Iraq and the International 

Coalition and to set a timetable for actionable 

items. The prime minister’s 

calendar also included meetings with 

the US Secretary of State, the Secretary 

of Defense, the Secretary of Treasury, 

the National Security Advisor, the US 

Chamber of Commerce and senior officials 

in the oil and gas industry. 

Of course, his main priority is Iraq 

and Iraqis. Unlike his predecessors, Al 

Sudani was born and raised in Iraq. He 

is well educated, holding a bachelor’s 

degree in agricultural science and a 

master’s in project management from 

the University of Baghdad. He’s young 

for a leader (54), married, with four sons. 

His political journey began as the 

mayor of Amarah, an appointed position 

which provided him a close understanding 

of the myriad issues facing 

Iraqi leadership and from which 

he rose up the political ladder. His 

government’s agenda has prioritized 

delivery to ordinary citizens and has 

shown commitment to addressing critical 

issues with the KRG. 

That is why the event was so important 

to the people in that room. 

During dinner there was discussion, 

in which the prime minister noted 

the permanence of the Chaldean 

American community in Michigan as 

evidenced by the Chaldean Cultural 

Center and Shenandoah itself. 

After dinner, he met with highranking 

members of the community 

for a business roundtable. Al Sudani 

extended a personal invitation to community 

business owners and investors 

to visit Iraq and meet their counterparts. 

He stated that Iraq has a growing 

economy and cited projects in 

industries such as hotel/hospitality, 

housing, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, 

education and tourism. 

It was said that the hotels in Baghdad 

always operate at a 90% capacity 

and that there is a real opportunity for 

investors in the hospitality sector. With 

Raad Kathawa presents to Weam Namou, Prime Minister Al Sudani and others at the Chaldean Cultural Center. 

so many Chaldean American Chamber 

of Commerce members in the hospitality 

industry, investment in Iraq appears 

to be a unique prospect with the makings 

of becoming a mutually beneficial 

long-time arrangement. That was likely 

what the prime minister hoped for. 

Al Sudani expressed his admiration 

of the Chaldean community in 

Michigan and his desire to emulate the 

same framework in Iraq. He makes the 

claim that Iraq has the best investment 

law in the region and that they have reduced 

the amount of bureaucracy that 

has plagued government procedures 

PRIME MINISTER 

continued on page 30 



COVER STORY 

PRIME MINISTER 

continued from page 29 

for decades. He said that they had also 

refined the banking sector and were actively 

monitoring for corruption, making 

it safer and more reliable for investors 

and others to do business in Iraq. 

The prime minister had a warning 

as well, speaking about the untold billions 

that countries like Russia, China 

and Qatar are investing into the region. 

“We welcome partnership with US 

countries,” stated Al Sudani, “small 

and large and in all sectors.” 

After the prime minister was back 

home in Iraq, his press agents posted 

a video showing highlights of the 

Shenandoah event, incorrectly identifying 

The Chaldean Iraqi American 

Association of Michigan (Shenandoah) 

as the “Iraqi Chaldean Center in 

Detroit, Michigan, USA.” 

The event was sponsored and paid 

for by the Chaldean American Chamber 

of Commerce. 

Apr 19, 2024 

Statement from the 

Prime Minister’s Media Office 

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia 

Al-Sudani met at dawn on Friday 

(Baghdad time) with a number of 

members of the Iraqi community, 

who met at the Iraqi Chaldean 

Center in Detroit, Michigan, USA. 

His Excellency reiterated the 

government’s pride in all members 

of Iraqi communities everywhere, 

including their belonging 

to their homeland, Iraq in all their 

sects, and their initiatives in order 

to build the state, which pushes 

the government to communicate 

more with the community, especially 

as it carries a lot of competencies, 

capabilities and human 

potential, and in various scientific 

and humanitarian disciplines. 

Mr. Al-Sudani pointed out that 

the growth in Iraq continues to 

achieve the priorities identified by 

the Government in its program, 

many of which have been achieved 

during the year and a half of the 

Government’s life, in addition to adhering 

to the democratic system and 

the principles of freedoms and human 

rights that are protected by the 

Constitution in many of its articles. 


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FEATURE 


Beyond the Silk Road 

Event explores four stories of trade and entrepreneurship 


“ 

Geography informs your 

fate,” says Dr. Adhid Miri. 

What he means by that is 

our environment has an immense influence 

on our chosen trade or livelihood. 

The Silk Road—interwoven 

passages, caravan routes, and byways 

that stretched from China to the 

eastern Mediterranean—connected 

with other important trade routes in 

ancient Mesopotamia, giving rise to a 

culture adept at trade. 

For centuries, through the Akkadian 

(2nd millennia BC, sometimes 

regarded as the first empire in history) 

and Babylonian (18th-6th centuries 

BC) eras and even throughout the Middle 

Ages, the culture grew, and skills 

were honed. Around the 3rd century 

AD, the manufacture of silk garments 

began, and the price of intricately 

sewn garments and fantastic wares 

were haggled over in the local bazaar. 

The people of Iraq perfected trade and 

developed an entrepreneurial spirit. 

Cities in Iraq became centers of 

commerce. Towns like Mosul (modern 

day Nineveh) were important stops 

along the route, specializing in goods 

such as embroidery, using silk from 

China as raw materials. Production of 

embroidered goods and the art of embroidery 

spread to other villages, becoming 

a local industry that wouldn’t 

exist without the trade route. 

Besides Mosul, the cities of Ur, 

Akkad, Basra, and Baghdad were important 

centers for silk trade and production. 

The skill and expertise of the 

weavers residing in the region was as 

vital as their geographic locations as 

Silk Road hubs. 

An interactive timeline on the 

Iraqi Embassy website states, “In the 

mid-13th century, Baghdad became a 

great center of civilizations at the crux 

of economic and informational trade 

routes. Universities were established, 

science, math, philosophy, and medicine 

flourished, and literature reached 

its height.” 

Silk Road Roots 

Mike Denha was born in Tel Kaif, Iraq 

nearly 90 years ago; he remembers riding 

a donkey to deliver produce. His 

family were farmers and the extended 

Denha family was known throughout 

the region for their tahini production. 

Mike was taught responsibility and 

compassion at home. “My mother used 

to say, ‘If you see a load down from a 

mule, don’t close your eyes,’” remembers 

Mike. “’If you can help them, put 

the load back up on the mule.’” 

When you are delivering goods 

on the back of a mule, a “load down” 

spells disaster. 

Mike came to Michigan in 1956 with 

$50 in his pocket, the first of his immediate 

family to arrive. He stayed with 

cousins for the first few years, finally 

finding his bride Nedal, a life mate who 

has stood by his side through good times 

and bad. “None of my success would be 

possible without her,” says Mike. 

In his first store, Food Lanes, 

Mike employed newcomers from Iraq, 

knowing how hard they worked and 

trusting in their honesty and reliability. 

He credits their efforts, along with 

his wife’s support, for his success. Although 

they were the best workers he 

could ask for, being new, they often 

weren’t fluent in English. One day he 

entered the store, and it seemed empty. 

He wondered where everyone was 

and wandered around, finally finding 

a crowd in aisle two. It turns out, a new 

hire whose only English was “aisle 

two” was working that day. 

The power couple of Mike and 

Nedal eventually bought 8 Mile Foodland. 

All six kids worked in their store, 

doing office work, wrapping meat, and 

cleaning the bathrooms. They worked 

hard for each other and with the other 

Ancient trade routes, including the famed Silk Road, ran through Mesopotamia 

(modern-day Iraq), setting the conditions for a culture of trade. 

workers, and made the business a success, 

earning record profits. 

Mike mentored his new immigrant 

hires, helping them learn business 

skills as well as English. His wife and 

partner Nedal mentored their wives, 

helping them acclimate to their new 

home and hosting get togethers in 

the Denha home. Most of them went 

onto start their own businesses; many 

of them today could buy and sell the 

Denha family’s current business, 

Brass Aluminum Forging Enterprises 

(BAFE), many times over. Mike is 

proud of that fact. 

Mike, known within the community 

as “Uncle Mike,” was one of the panelists 

featured in an event called “Follow 

the Silk Road: From Mesopotamia to 

Michigan” held on February 29, 2024. 

Other speakers included Jacob Bacall, 

Karam Banham and Jeff Denha, Mike’s 

son and president/CEO of the family 

business. The discussion sought to represent 

the stories of different generations 

of merchants stretching from Tel 

Kaif to the Motor City. 

The evening opened with an introduction 

from Dr. Adhid Miri, who 

educated the crowd of over 100 about 

the history of the Silk Road in Mesopotamia. 

He traced the route from China 

through the Middle East, emphasizing 

cities in modern day Iraq. 

Jacob Bacall was born in Iraq and 

immigrated to Michigan in 1977, quickly 

establishing himself as a successful 

businessman. Upon observation of the 

community here in America, Jacob felt 

compelled to tell the story, not only 

for future generations but also for the 

community itself. 

His first book, Chaldeans in Detroit, 

weaves the narrative of a generation of 

immigrants who fled oppression and 

set their sights on a better life in Michigan. 

This group would never take for 

granted the ability to worship freely 

and the opportunity to build a dynasty 

as a legacy for their successors. 

Jacob asserts that business is in the 

Chaldean blood and that trade skills 

are innate to his people. The “$5 workday” 

that Henry Ford promised not only 

brought workers to Michigan but created 

a need for grocery stores and shopping 

centers in the area. Chaldeans and their 

entrepreneurial spirit not only took advantage 

of these niche needs but also 

created their own opportunities. 

Karam Banham, who cofounded 

the Eastern Catholic Re-Evangelization 

Center (ECRC), a lay organization made 

SILK ROAD continued on page 34 


SILK ROAD continued from page 33 

up of volunteers that are committed 

to answering the call of St. Pope John 

Paul II to re-evangelize the world, was 

another panelist. He came to Michigan 

from Iraq in 1994, ready to learn. 

With his brother-in-law and mentor 

Mike Koza, he cashed in on the video 

craze and invested in Mammoth Video. 

Riding that wave until the market 

cooled, he began looking for other opportunities. 

Casting his eye to the southern 

Unites States, he observed that gas 

stations in the region were larger and 

offered more choices and thought there 

might be something there. 

Again, partnering with Koza, Karam 

created USA to GO, a gas station/convenience 

store model that disrupted 

the industry and changed the way motorists 

plan road trips. This successful 

enterprise allowed him to pursue his 

dream of seeking spiritual sustenance 

and becoming a revivalist. Besides 

ECRC, Karam founded REVIV3, a ministry 

that offers one-on-one support for 

Christians in their walk, and is heavily 

involved in World Youth Day, an event 

that brings young people from all over 

the world together to worship Jesus 

Christ. “The Church is alive,” says Banham, 

“and it’s powerful.” 

Jeff Denha was the only panelist 

that was born in the United States. He 

shared the story of how the Denhas 

came to own and operate Brass Aluminum 

Forging (BAFE). Mike (Jeff’s dad) 

and his partner were in the business 

of buying distressed companies and 

figuring out how to make them profitable. 

They would resell the business 

once rescued or dissolve it if the business 

was unsalvageable. Brass Aluminum 

was one of those businesses. 

The partner had moved on and 

the Denha family was left holding the 

company. Jeff felt that with hard work, 

BAFE could turn around and show a 

profit. “Entrepreneur” is a word much 

overused today, but it is a word that 

perfectly describes the spirit of Chaldean 

businesspeople. Not many in 

the community engage in production, 

tending toward buying and selling, 

but the Denhas are outliers. 

Jeff, along with his siblings, was 

determined to “protect Mom and Dad’s 

money,” as he said during the program. 

BAFE produced samples which he sent 

out to vendors, but he didn’t sit around 

and wait after that. When he was contacted 

by a potential customer whose 

previous shop couldn’t meet their order, 

Jeff contacted the supplier and arranged 

to meet. The result was new business for 

BAFE and a mutually beneficial business 

arrangement with the other production 

company. That’s good business. 

Full Circle 

As the vibrant tapestry of Chaldean 

culture weaves its way across continents, 

from the ancient sands of 

Mesopotamia to the busy roadways of 

The Chaldean community continues to bridge the gap between past 

and present, enriching both their adopted homeland and the legacy 

of the Silk Road itself. 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 



Michigan, the journey along the modern 

Silk Road shows resilience, entrepreneurship, 

and a commitment to 

preserving cultural heritage. 

Through their thriving businesses 

and unwavering dedication, the Chaldean 

community continues to bridge the 

gap between past and present, enriching 

both their adopted homeland and 

the legacy of the Silk Road itself. As we 

traverse this cultural corridor, it becomes 

clear that the spirit of commerce and 

cultural exchange knows no bounds, 

reminding us that the ties that bind us 

are as enduring as the threads of silk that 

once connected distant lands. 


chaldeans 

a portrait of the 

community 

EXPLORE 

THE CULTURE 

THROUGH 

MUSIC, 

TRADITIONAL 

DANCE, 

STORYTELLING, 

FOOD, 

AND MORE! 

THURSDAY, 

MAY 9, 2024 

6:00 PM 

CHALDEAN 

COMMUNITY 

FOUNDATION 

3601 15 MILE ROAD 

STERLING HEIGHTS MI 48310 

There is no cost to 

attend, please register at 

chaldeannews.com/celebration 

FREE 

EVENT! 

This free event is made possible with generous support from 



ECONOMICS & ENTERPRISE 

Growing Pains 

Michigan marijuana business remains 

a perilous pot of gold 

BY PAUL NATINSKY 

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a 

series called Great Michigan Stories. It 

examines the legal marijuana industry 

in Michigan and the large part that 

Chaldean entrepreneurs have had in 

creating it. They invested early in the 

fledgling industry, seeing the opportunity 

to make considerable profit by getting 

in on the ground floor. Savvy business 

people like Justin Elias of Puff Cannabis 

Company, his partner Nick Hannawa, 

and Mark Savaya of Future Grow 

Solutions have made a fortune off the 

product. Mike Bahoura is one of many 

Chaldean attorneys who specialize in 

licensing and cannabis issues. 

History 

Even before the 2020 election that 

featured a national explosion of approval 

for ballot proposals legalizing 

marijuana production, processing and 

sales, the industry had taken off, with 

Michigan among the most lucrative 

states for cannabis crop sales. 

However, the lure of marijuana 

money comes with expensive federal 

tax headaches, restrictions on trade 

across state lines, and a depressed 

market overcrowded with licensees. 

In November 2018, a ballot proposal 

made recreational marijuana sales 

legal in Michigan. Prior to that, medical 

marijuana sales were legal through 

a “caregiver” program that evolved 

into legalized medical marijuana dispensaries. 

But the true boom came 

with the 2018 ballot proposal. The first 

recreational businesses opened after a 

year of regulatory ramp-up. 

A New Industry 

We interviewed several sources for this 

story in early 2022. In the short time 

since then, the marijuana industry saw 

a boom in licensees and a market oversaturated 

with product and plagued 

by freefalling prices. The price drop 

put a number of growers at risk of failing 

and sent ripples throughout the 

Mark Savaya of Future Grow Solutions. 

Michigan marijuana industry. 

On the bright side, the cost of licenses 

and land decreased and the 

rush of licensees—including many 

poorly qualified and capitalized entrants—slowed. 

Through a name change and byzantine 

series of rules, regulations and 

legislation, the Marijuana Regulatory 

Agency emerged as the administrator 

of all things marijuana in Michigan. 

The MRA created a board of five members 

that considered medical marijuana 

applications. Since we last wrote 

about the industry, the agency’s name 

has changed to the Cannabis Regulatory 

Agency (CRA) to cover the wide 

array of cannabis products, including 

oils and edibles. 

Licensing 

Mike Bahoura is an attorney who specializes 

in cannabis licensing issues. He 

closed a marijuana dispensary in the 

city of Lapeer and opened two stores 

in New Baltimore and Monroe since we 

last talked to him in 2022, when he said, 

“It wasn’t an easy process. They were 

throwing out denials left and right, 

so it wasn’t easy to get approved.” 

The board considered a broad range 

of criteria from applicants, including 

litigation history, criminal history, 

bankruptcy history and moral character. 

“The most memorable denial that 

was issued was Calvin Johnson of the 

Detroit Lions getting denied because of 

some unpaid parking tickets in Georgia 

like a decade prior,” said Bahoura. 

The MRA dissolved the board at 

the end of 2019, holding its last meeting 

in December of that year. With the 

approval of recreational sales, the 

process has evolved from being very 

restrictive to being more like applying 

for a liquor license. “They started 

granting approvals unless you had 

something on your record,” said Bahoura. 

“They were looking for ways to 

approve you rather than ways to deny 

you.” 

Bahoura says the CRA has made 

strides toward effective regulation on 

the licensing end, but is still inconsistent 

and capricious when it comes to 

doling out discipline. Fines and penalties 

are case-by-case and very arbitrary, 

he says. 

Operating Challenges 

With the loosening of the state licensing 

process came the rush for real 

estate. The state grants licenses, but 

city governments establish the zoning 

rules governing where marijuana 

growers, processors and retail dispensaries 

can operate, and under which 

conditions and caveats. 

Outrageous real estate prices have 

since plummeted, with relaxed government 

attitudes toward the marijuana 

industry. Still, local regulations 

vary wildly. As of 2022, Harrison Township 

does not allow retail sales, but 

permits growing and processing facilities. 

Ferndale allows retail sales, but 

not growing and processing. 

There are also conditions attached 

to where marijuana operations can do 

business. Restrictions on how close 

the facilities can be located to schools 

and neighborhoods are not uncommon. 

And grow and processing operations 

are often restricted to areas of cities 

zoned for industrial activity. 

As convoluted as all of this sounds, 

it is better than the contentious process 

that preceded it, in which applicants 

were scored on a point scale and 

the top scorers were awarded licenses. 

A spate of lawsuits against municipalities 

brought the current system—and 

the subsequent rush of applicants. 

Growing Green 

It also brought city treasuries and 

state coffers a lot of money. License 

fees are limited for cities to $5,000 per 

year. State licenses correspond to a fee 

schedule and depend on the size of the 

operation and in which part of the process—cultivation, 

processing, retail— 

the licensee works. Bahoura says state 

license fees range in cost from $7,000 

to $24,000, and that money flowing to 

the CRA far exceeds that of any other 

state agency of its kind. 

Despite the economic boon marijuana 

brings to the state, Bahoura said 

larger, national banks still won’t accept 

marijuana industry deposits. Marijuana 

is still an illegal controlled substance 

under federal law, so federally regulated 

banks and credit card companies cannot 

work with those growing, processing or 

selling marijuana. It takes bank loans 

off the table and makes marijuana a 

cash-only business, forcing businesses 

to transport large amounts of cash and 

face the attendant security risks. 


Bahoura said building costs of 

$1 million with build-out costs of another 

$1 million are not unusual for 

grow operations. That is not inclusive 

of added costs for water, light, and 

equipment or operating expenses. If 

a crop becomes infested, fails to pass 

inspection, or other difficulties occur, 

an entrepreneur can sink very 

quickly. On the retail side, a busy store 

requires upward of $1 million in inventory 

to remain competitive. Retailers 

are also hampered by IRS Code 280E, 

which classifies marijuana retailers as 

controlled substance sellers and takes 

away the standard expense deductions 

available to other businesses. 

Despite the increasingly mainstream 

culture forming around the 

marijuana industry, vestiges of its outlaw 

roots seem buried everywhere. Future 

Grow Solutions owner Mark Savaya 

says his company cannot transport 

or test its own product. By law, those 

services must be outsourced. 

For those who met the buy-in threshold, 

navigated the regulatory minefield, 

and shined the tarnish off a once illegal 

industry, gold did indeed appear at the 

end of the rainbow. Nagging legacy regulations 

and major tax hassles have not 

stopped the industry from maturing and 

growing. Some companies have formed 

a rather large footprint. 

Justin Elias is president of Puff Cannabis, 

a business that operates 10 locations 

of cultivation, processing, and 

retail operations in Michigan. Puff has 

expanded substantially since forming 

in 2009, from its original nine employees 

to its present roster of 500. Elias says 

Puff had revenues of $7 million in its first 

year, charted $150 million last year, and 

expects to see $250 million next year. 

When we talked to Elias and Coowner 

Nick Hannawa, Puff was doubling 

its staff and planning to move 

into a new 20,000-square-foot headquarters 

in Troy. 

Future Grow Solutions owner Mark 

Savaya made the move from the convenience 

store industry to marijuana 

a few years ago, when “caregiver” operations 

were permitted to grow a limited 

number of plants. Before dispensaries. 

Before recreational sales. 

Savaya saw the potential in the industry 

and moved to North Carolina to 

learn about hydroponic towers that feature 

vertical towers to maximize space, 

water recycling and no soil. The grow 

The Risks of Cannabis 

April is National Cannabis Awareness 

Month, so we wanted to take 

the opportunity to give you an update 

on the industry and on the status of the 

opposition to legalized marijuana. The 

legal industry is still young; we know 

that many Chaldeans have gotten in on 

the ground floor, capitalizing on their 

shrewd business skills. But others are 

not happy with the new legal status. 

Scientists are still learning about 

the benefits as well as the risks of cannabis. 

The CDC reports that nearly 31% 

of 12th graders in one study reported using marijuana in 

2022, and almost 6 ½ % reported using marijuana daily. Using 

alcohol and marijuana at the same time will likely cause 

greater impairment and risk of physical harm than using 

either one alone. 

The CDC study shows that teens who use marijuana may 

be less likely to graduate high school or attend college. Even 

more alarming, research shows that using marijuana during 

your teen years can cause damage to the brain, which is 

actively developing until around age 25. Usage may impair 

thinking, memory, and learning itself. Marijuana use has 

been linked to depression and social anxiety in adults. 

While there have been studies on the effects of smoking 

marijuana in its natural state, we have limited data on the 

operations locate in repurposed industrial 

spaces, much like standard indoor 

agricultural set-ups, but the towers allow 

for about eight times the number of 

plants in a standard configuration, taking 

advantage of the building’s cubic 

(three-dimensional) space rather than 

just is square footage, or floor space. 

His business has grown, from a single 

location as of 2022 to three as of November 

2023, with another five readying 

for business early this year. He says 

he also owns seven growing locations. 

Savaya now employs 300 people, 

each earning $20 to $50 per hour; he 

said he planned to add benefits to the 

mix early this year. He often hires employees 

convicted of non-violent marijuana 

crimes. He says this gives them a 

second chance and provides him with 

a workforce familiar with the product. 

Despite the prohibitive costs and 

regulation endemic to his industry, Savaya 

has found creative ways to meet 

his business goals. In 2022, his tower 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

Edible cannabis products are often 

designed to appeal to minors, despite 

the minimum age requirements. 

growing arrangement allowed him to 

grow 12,000 plants in a physical space 

that historically accommodated 1,500 

plants, with the attendant savings on 

water—90 percent of which he said 

constantly recycles—and electricity. 

Savaya also found creative ways 

to administer payroll and deal with 

the cash-only nature of the marijuana 

business. While many in the industry 

have turned to credit unions—which 

are not federally regulated—to do their 

banking, Savaya formed an employee 

leasing company and “leases” employees 

to his multiple dispensaries 

and grow operations. He manages the 

huge amount of cash his businesses 

generate by paying contractors who 

build out his facilities in cash. 

Risky Business 

As the industry adapts and matures, it 

continues to face issues preventing it 

from operating under the same rules 

as other industries. 280E, the tax code 



use of edibles. Marijuana packaging is 

often deceiving and appeals to young 

people with its graphic art and bright 

colors. Compounds in marijuana can 

be extracted to make oils and concentrates 

that can be vaped or inhaled. 

Smoking oils, wax concentrates, and 

extracts from the marijuana plant, 

known as “dabbing,” is on the rise. 

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a compound 

found in marijuana that shows signs 

of helping with seizure disorder and is 

also used as a topical cream for pain 

relief. Scientists are still learning about how CBD affects 

the body, however, although we know it does not cause 

impairment and doesn’t get you “high.” 

CBD is not risk-free. The FDA has limited data on its 

safety. There are some known side effects of its use, including 

liver damage, drowsiness, and changes in mood 

and appetite. In addition, the risks of mixing with other 

medications are unknown. 

The Catholic Church is a powerful critic of the marijuana 

trade. On the Chaldean Diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle 

website, a statement is made about marijuana which 

reads in part: “The Chaldean Diocese of Saint Thomas the 

Apostle joins the Church at large in condemning the use of 

ALL drugs outside of ‘strict, therapeutic grounds.’ ” 

law, has become the front-and-center 

issue for licensees. As the businesses 

scale, they are forced to remain cashonly 

entities, not eligible to deduct 

their considerable business costs 

from their tax bill and not permitted 

to engage in interstate commerce—an 

increasingly important issue as many 

licensees have multi-state expansion 

plans waiting on the runway. 

Bahoura said the number of people 

exiting the business has accelerated 

as new owners discover they underestimated 

start-up costs. Some of them 

are selling their businesses at reduced 

rates, simply to get out. Underscoring 

his points about prohibitive entry costs 

and high risks, Bahoura said he has 

helped about 100 applicants prequalify 

for licenses, but only about a dozen 

have gotten to the point where they 

open an operating facility. He said the 

big question he always asks his clients 

is, “Do you have enough money to get 

over the finish line?” 

Despite the patchwork of sometimes 

conflicting local laws, cultural 

acceptance seems to have arrived. Bahoura 

pointed out that dispensaries 

were considered essential businesses 

during the most restrictive part of the 

COVID-19 lockdown. They remained 

open during the pandemic, even offering 

curbside service. 


FEATURE 

George Matti on the job 

as Boatswains Mate. 

Thank You for Your Service 

A Salute to Chaldean American Veterans 


In the rich tapestry of American diversity, 

the Chaldean community 

stands out as a vibrant example 

of immigrants who have not only embraced 

the American dream but have 

also contributed significantly to the 

country’s defense. With a deep sense of 

patriotism and a commitment to safeguarding 

the freedoms they’ve come 

to know, Chaldean Americans in every 

generation have a proud tradition of 

serving in the United States military. 

Hundreds of men and women have 

joined the effort to protect and serve. 

In 2002, the Chaldean American 

Ladies of Charity (CALC) arranged a 

tribute booklet and ceremony for Chaldean 

Americans that have served or 

are serving in the US military. When 

many Chaldeans immigrated to the 

United States seeking refuge and opportunity, 

they brought with them 

a strong work ethic and a profound 

sense of gratitude for their new homeland. 

Many served in the Army, and a 

great many were decorated war heroes 

in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. 

Chaldeans Americans have served 

their adopted country in conflicts from 

WWII to the Iraq War of 2014-2017. 

They helped liberate concentration 

camps in Germany and Austria and 

paid witness to the Cuban Missile Crisis 

from ships offshore. They served 

as interpreters and cultural advisors 

in the Middle East. Their stories 

are unique and incredible and have 

helped shaped the history of the United 

States of America. 

John Hakim was drafted to serve 

in World War II. Not an American citizen 

at the time, he earned his citizenship 

while overseas. John Cassa was 

14 when he joined; he misrepresented 

his age to serve and was injured during 

maneuvers, ultimately sharing a 

hospital room with future Vice President 

(and self-titled “inventor of the 

internet”) Al Gore. Michael Denja 

provided security for former President 

George H.W. Bush. At least two 

Chaldean American soldiers served 

alongside the legendary Elvis, one 

shipping out with him and one served 

in training with the historic “King of 

Rock and Roll.” 

Military from this community tend to 

be highly decorated as well. Jose P. Denja 

was recommended for the Congressional 

Medal of Honor and received the 

Purple Heart, Silver Star, and Bronze Legion 

of Merit for his service in Korea. Joseph 

Essa had served his time in World 

War II, was wounded several times, and 

won a Purple Heart. He was eligible for 

honorable discharge but elected to reenlist 

and was killed in action in 1945. 

Peter Essa, who fought on the beaches 

of Normandy, was awarded the Bronze 

Star and the Combat Infantry Badge as 

well as the European-African-Middle- 

Eastern Campaign Medal. An article 

featuring his story was published in the 

Chaldean News in November of 2020, 

when Peter was 95 years old. 

The Chaldean community in southeastern 

Michigan was nourished in the 

20th century by two fundamental factors: 

the sacrificial love of family and 

friends and the generous support of the 

local Church. Both would factor heavily 

during wartime. Chaldean people also 

have a history of enduring adversity and 

persevering through turbulent times, 

and they understand the concept of sacrifice. 

The Yelda Family had 6 brothers 

who all served in World War II. A women 

named Rosemary Yelda, family connection 

unconfirmed, served in Korea. 

This reporter had the distinct honor 

of sitting down and talking with a few 

Chaldean American veterans. Tom 

George, who was drafted into the Army 

when he was 19, remains grateful for 

the training. Although he remained 

stateside and never saw combat, the 

discipline of boot camp stayed with him 

his whole life. Many of his friends were 

sent to Vietnam, and Tom remembers 

them with affection, especially each 

year on Veteran’s Day which “keeps the 

experience of service close to mind.” 

One thing most veterans will agree 

on is that they appreciate their family 

so much more when they return from 

service. For Tom, who lost 32 pounds 


US Army Oath: 

I solemnly swear that I will support 

and defend the Constitution 

of the United States against all 

enemies, foreign and domestic; 

that I will bear true faith and allegiance 

to the same; and that I will 

obey the orders of the President 

of the United States and the orders 

of the officers appointed over 

me, according to regulations and 

the Uniform Code of Military Justice. 

So help me God. (Title 10, US 

Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing 

the wording first adopted in 1789, 

with amendment effective 5 October 

1962). 

Warrior Ethos: 

Fred Najor in the Michigan National Guard; Peter Essa served in World War II. 

I will always place the mission 

first. I will never accept defeat. I 

will never quit. I will never leave a 

fallen comrade. 

on Army chow, homemade meals were 

one of the things he missed the most. 

Army rations are “definitely not like 

Chaldean food,” he asserts. 

“The saddest and most confusing 

part of serving in the Vietnam era,” says 

Tom, “was our homeland [America] calling 

it a ‘worthless war’” when he personally 

knew so many who had sacrificed 

their lives. Present-day calls for “defunding 

the police and villainizing the military,” 

Tom says, “are hard to witness.” 

Tom supports Hire Heroes USA, a 

nonprofit organization that moves veterans 

into the corporate world. His transition 

to civilian life was a little easier than 

most, as he returned the family business, 

which, according to Tom, “took 

care of that without any thought.” 

How can civilians show their support 

for veterans? For Tom, a simple, 

“Thank you for your service” suffices. 

It fills him with great pride and honor 

that he served his time. 

George Matti joined the US Navy 

in 1966. Previously, his brother had 

joined the Marines. “It was either join 

for 4 years and pick the branch or get 

drafted and spend two years in the 

Army,” George explained to those who 

asked. (And many did.) 

“I’m glad I went when I did,” says 

George, “but I wouldn’t go back.” 

He was stationed on an LST ship, 

delivering supplies to combat soldiers 

in Vietnam. One of his worst wartime 

memories was running aground on a 

small boat with his captain on a river 

in Danang. Always a target for enemy 

fire, it was a harrowing wait before a 

tugboat rescued them from the sandbar 

they were stuck on. 

Another clear memory of George’s 

is laying looking up at the stars in a 

Vietnamese sky and asking himself, 

“What am I doing?” It was a mind-expanding 

experience. 

“When you go, you’re like a kid,” 

remembers George. “You grow up real 

fast.” 

What was he doing? “A Chaldean 

kid from Baghdad,” George says, “A 

thousand miles from home.” A kid in 

combat. 

Nevertheless, he persevered. He 

met a Lebanese guy from Toledo who 

spoke Arabic. George spoke Sureth, 

but they managed to communicate 

and became fast friends. Any familiarity 

goes a long way while overseas. 

What don’t people understand 

about veterans? “They don’t get it 

unless they have a family member or 

know someone in the service,” says 

George. “They think we’re all Rambo.” 

George believes that every young 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

person should do one year of compulsory 

military service. It would greatly 

benefit most of them, he thinks, especially 

with developing self-discipline. 

“The military has a lot of rules,” he 

says. “Obey them.” 

Fred Najor’s was a poor family raising 

nine kids supported by the family 

store when Vietnam escalated. The socalled 

“Living Room War” was the first 

time that images from a still-active war 

were brought into the family purview 

by the magic of television. 

Classified as A-1, Fred was next in 

line to be drafted when he joined the 

Michigan National Guard. “I’ve got 

no beef with anyone,” he said, so he 

opted for a 6-year stint stateside rather 

than get shipped to a far-off Asian 

country to kill strangers. At that time, 

Walter Cronkite’s newscast showed 

rows of body bags every evening. 

“It’s always somebody else’s war,” 

Fred says. “Old people start wars, and 

young people have to fight them.” 

For a Chaldean American, Fred 

got a great gig; he was placed in food 

service. The National Guard trained 



him how to cook in quantity. He was 

at Camp Grayling when they received a 

call that “half of Detroit was burning.” 

His group hustled back to the 8 Mile 

Armory and prepared to service the 

folks fighting to keep peace in the city. 

On a run to drop off deliveries at Central 

High School, Fred’s convoy came 

under fire. Another truck in the line 

had a machine gun which retaliated by 

taking the top off the building that the 

hostile was shooting from. The hostility 

lasted for days, and several people 

were killed. Fred’s family store was firebombed 

while he was at Camp Grayling, 

but they were able to stay open, unlike 

most of the stores in Detroit. 

Talking with his fellow veterans, 

Fred says, “When we look back on it, we 

were fortunate America opened its doors 

for us.” He attributes the welcome to the 

fact that they were Christian. Ironically, 

that fact is what put them under attack 

in Iraq. “If we had stayed there,” Fred 

says, “we would be dead.” 

The U.S. military is a fine institution, 

says Fred, but the powers that 

be take advantage of their troops and 

do not put them first. A better system 

is required, and the point should be 

peace rather than winning. He’s frustrated 

by the fact that we as a species 

are still fighting over land. “We’re so 

smart,” he says, and should put our 

power toward peace, not war. 

“We helped America stay strong,” 

says Fred. “I love America. Why 

wouldn’t I?” 


COVER STORY 

Dreaming Bigger Dreams 

A profile of Thomas Denha 


In the early and mid-20th century, 

countless numbers of young Iraqi 

men were moving from villages to 

fill up major Iraqi cities like Baghdad, 

Mosul, and Basra. But a few visionaries, 

courageous young men, were 

more adventurous and turned their 

faces another way, journeying west to 

the United States of America. The late 

Thomas Denha was one of them. 

Early Life 

Denha, a Chaldean Christian, was 

born in the village of Telkeppe in 

Iraq in 1927. He spent most of his 

early life in Telkeppe with his parents 

Mansouri Denha and Jamila (Nafsu) 

Denha. Thomas is the second eldest 

of 6 siblings (Yousif, Sabri, Hanneh 

Semaan, Julie Hanna, Najeeba Yaldo, 

and Samira Kassab). He attended 

school in Mosul. 

Thomas’ father Mansouri and his 

brother Elias owned a tahini mill along 

with their extended family. They all 

worked in the fields and operated their 

own manufacturing business making 

tahini, a paste made from sesame 

seeds. The extended Denha family 

were (and still are) widely known as 

the original manufacturers of tahini 

in the region; they made a good living 

selling their brand name and premier 

product to other villages in the 

Nineveh Province and Duhok. 

Coming to America 

Dreaming bigger dreams, Thomas decided 

to venture to America when he 

was 18 years old. He arrived in New 

York Harbor shortly after the end of 

World War II. Upon his arrival in Michigan, 

he stayed one night with relatives 

in Detroit, in a small, noisy, and 

overcrowded house. 

Appreciative of the help but knowing 

he needed to strike out on his own, 

Thomas packed his suitcase and left, 

despite not knowing where to go or 

what to do. William Shakespeare once 

said, “The best things in life happen 

by chance,” and by chance, as Thomas 

was strolling the old streets of Detroit, 

Thomas Denha through the years. 

he spotted a party store with a familiar 

Chaldean face within. 

Thomas went in and greeted the 

man in Sureth, which put a smile on 

the face of the person who turned out 

to be the owner; he also was a Chaldean 

from the village of Telkeppe. 

Thomas told him, “I am new here. I 

just arrived from Iraq. I have no money, 

no place to live, and I need a job.” 

The man immediately embraced 

him and offered him accommodations 

and a job at his store. That wonderful 

welcoming man was Aziz Hesano. After 

a few months, Thomas moved to a 

rooming house with other Chaldean 

men like him who would become his 

lifelong friends —Najeeb Garmo, Louie 

Denha, and Buddy Atchoo, among 

others. They remained close friends 

throughout their lives. 

Building a Family 

The young bachelor Thomas was not 

used to the harsh, frigid winters of 

Michigan. In 1954, he decided to travel 

back to the warm weather of Iraq. It 

was that year that he married his wife, 

Virgine Nadhir, and they both made 

their way back to Michigan. At the time, 

there were about 150 Chaldeans in the 

metro Detroit area. The small Chaldean 

community was close knit and saw 

each other at church each Sunday, and 

of course, during community events, 

communions, and weddings. 

Thomas and Virgine started their 

life together in Highland Park but 

moved to Beverly Hills in response to 

the riots in Detroit. Theirs was a special 

marriage, anchored in faith, love 

and respect. Together, they raised five 

children: Roger, Cindy, Connie, Mark, 

and Kevin. Virgine still lives in the 

family home nearly 60 years later. She 

now has 3 daughters-in-law (Karen, 

Nesreen and Contessa Denha), a sonin-law 

(Jay Yasso), 12 grandchildren, 

and 8 great grandchildren. 

Even though Thomas himself did 

not complete high school, he understood 

the importance of education and 

acquiring new skills. He was adamant 

that his children receive a quality education 

and even encouraged his sons 

to go away to school—during a time 

when very few Chaldean children left 

home for school. As a result, all his 

children have degrees, careers, and 

successful businesses. 

The World of Business 

Like many other Iraqi immigrants during 

that time, Thomas started working 

for other Chaldeans at grocery stores in 

Detroit. Also, like many others, he eventually 

went on to own his own business. 

Stores Thomas owned include Food 

Time Market and Superland Market; he 

partnered in a Howard Johnsons restaurant 

with his good friend Gabe Esshaki. 

In 1975, he made the daring move to a 

growing suburb, Sterling Heights, to 

open Grape Vine Wine Shop. 

Denha saw the potential of the 

area and made note of the growing 

residential base. A few years later, 

he opened a second Grape Vine store 

two miles away; he later built a large 

shopping center at that same location. 

That location would later become 

the first home of the Chaldean 

Community Foundation. 

Thomas also took the bold risk of 

investing in land in California during 

a time when only a few other Chaldeans 

were doing so. In the late 1980s, 

Thomas, his son Mark, and his cousin 

Mike Denha purchased a large parcel 

of land in Temecula and worked 

tirelessly on meeting zoning requirements. 

That endeavor took close to 

a decade to complete, but that didn’t 

dampen Thomas’ spirits. He loved real 

estate and business and passed on this 

passion to his children. 

Despite his limited education, 

Thomas learned English and was an 

avid reader of business news, specifically 

the Wall Street Journal. He took 

educated risks in business and was 

fearless in doing so. He earned respect 

from all entities he interacted with. 

He was also very close to Chaldean 

investors, networking with many 

bankers, including Jewish lenders. He 

learned about real estate, and then became 

a commercial broker and started 

his own firm, Thomas Realty. In that 

capacity, he helped many newcomers 

to America find stores and become 

business owners themselves. 

Thomas was not only business 

smart, but more significantly, he was 

people smart. He had great intuition 

and the ability to “get it done,” no 

matter the task, with grit and determination. 

Helping others 

“My journey was not easy,” said Thomas 

in a previous interview. “America is 

the place to come to change your life…. 

to start a new life.” He recalled, “I was 

the first one in my family to come to 

the United States. It took me three 

months to come to America.” 

In 1962, John F. Kennedy signed 

the Migration and Refugee Assis- 


Clockwise from top left: The Denha Family; Thomas and Virgine Denha Wedding, 1954; Thomas Denha with other Chaldean pioneers; Serving in Korea. 

tance Act, created to help foreigners 

who had fled from persecution in 

their home countries. This enabled 

Thomas to bring his two brothers 

and four sisters to America, as well 

as Virgine’s siblings. 

Thomas took the opportunity to 

help his brothers and sisters get established 

in the United States. He 

found stores for them to buy, secured 

loans, and provided guidance. He 

was overjoyed to be able to help his 

siblings and spent a lot of time with 

his brothers Sabri and Yousif. 

Thomas’s passion to help others 

didn’t stop with immediate family 

but extended to the entire Chaldean 

community. He was deeply involved 

with the Chaldean Iraqi American 

Association of Michigan (CIAAM) 

and was a constant presence when 

they were establishing Southfield 

Manor. 

Virgine Denha fondly recalled 

Thomas, his good friend Oraha 

Shouneyia, and others going from 

store to store asking Chaldean store 

owners to give donations to build the 

new cultural gathering spot. 

Denha also helped countless others 

he encountered in his daily life, 

many of whom weren’t related or 

even Chaldean. One former Detroit 

police officer who read Denha’s obituary 

in the newspaper in 2011 drove 

across town to tell Thomas’s family 

of how their husband and father 

helped him over 30 years earlier. He 

said, “I will never forget what Tom 

did for me.” 

Lasting legacy 

Thomas Denha’s story is not entirely 

unique in this country or within our 

great Chaldean community, but it is an 

evocative tale of a generation that has 

come and gone. A self-educated man 

with both street smarts and business 

smarts, Thomas was a risk taker without 

fear. Failure was never an option. He 

was a pure capitalist who loved America 

and all the opportunities it presented if 

one was willing to put in hard work and 

exhibit will and fortitude. 

Thomas Denha knew that Chaldeans 

would contribute in a huge fashion 

to the United States of America, as 

they have, and correctly believed that 

they would continue to make their new 

country richer, stronger, and better. 

Those who visit the Chaldean Community 

Foundation in Sterling Heights 

may recognize the name on a plaque 

in the middle of the center. Thomas 

A. Denha Main Street celebrates the 

legacy of a man who knew the value of 

family and community. 

This article was drafted to fill a lasting 

desire on the part of the community 

for what we call “Pioneer History.” 

To the families represented here, 

the value is inestimable. For the 

children and grandchildren, it is our 

hope that the character, courage, 

resolute endurance, and firmness 

of mind become an example for all. 

Contributions for this story were made 

by Virgine Denha, Kevin Denha, Connie 

Yasso, Malik Mary, Amira Samouna 

Mary, and Farouq Samouna. 


FEATURE 

Sharing the Chaldean Story 

Nick and Randy Najjar contribute to the traveling StoryCorps series 

BY CAL ABBO 

The Chaldean News sponsored 

a trip to Kalamazoo last month 

for a father-son duo, Nick and 

Randy Najjar, to share their story with 

a program called StoryCorps, which 

aims to “illuminate the humanity and 

possibility in us all – one story at a 

time.” 

The criteria are slim and anything 

but exclusive. One only needs to have 

a story to tell and a partner to do it 

with to qualify. StoryCorps travels the 

nation in search of stories like the ones 

this Chaldean pair had to share. Story- 

Corps has a unique format which involves 

the two participants interviewing 

one another, which leads to deep 

and meaningful conversations. 

Since 2003, the program has recorded 

more than 640,000 conversations. 

Each of these is collected in the 

Library of Congress and preserved for 

future generations. Select stories are 

broadcast on National Public Radio 

(NPR), made into animated shorts, or 

published as a book collection. This 

opportunity gave the Najjars a chance 

to shed light on Chaldeans and our 

culture, if their story is selected for 

further promotion. 

Nick has a great story to tell on his 

own, but it was improved by the conversation 

with his son, Randy, who 

gave an important perspective. Nick is 

deeply involved with his community 

and conducts most of his business in 

real estate. He has, however, been involved 

in other things in the geopolitical 

sphere. 

Nick and Randy had a heart-toheart 

conversation. They discussed 

how Nick grew up in Iraq, where their 

family name comes from, and Nick’s 

journey to the United States. He lived 

in Greece for three years, a large part of 

it separated from his family, who still 

lived in Iraq. He sent money to them 

there. 

Once he got to the United States, 

Nick went to work in a liquor store — 

17 hours a day, 7 days a week for an entire 

year. His request for a day off was 

From left: Nick and Randy Najjar, with StoryCorps moderator, Francesca. 

met with discontent. “If you take a day 

off, don’t come back to work here,” his 

boss replied. 

Nick eventually bought his own 

store, which he sold in 1994 to venture 

into real estate. He continued working 

long hours to earn money for his wife 

and kids. Randy explained that, as a 

kid, this made him feel sad. He would 

see other friends’ parents who were 

well-established in this country spend 

more time with their kids. 

For his first six months in real estate, 

Nick didn’t sell one house and 

almost quit the real estate business. 

“I almost quit a day before Easter, but 

I didn’t. After Easter, things opened 

up, maybe because I prayed about it,” 

Nick said. “God told me this was my 

destiny.” 

“As I got older, I realized it was a 

different kind of love,” Randy said. 

“Time is one way to show your love. 

But you show it by supporting and 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

providing for the family, creating a life 

where we moved out of a small house 

into a decent area. One of your goals 

was for me to go to college, too, and 

you helped me pay for it.” 

Randy has a similar work ethic 

to his father. About 10 years ago, he 

founded Sapphire Homes, which 

builds luxury houses and landscaping. 

The company provides everything 

from architecture and interior design 

to realty. Nick recognized his son’s 

work ethic, but also noted his head 

start over his father. 

“Now I have a two-year-old son,” 

Randy said. “I told my wife, when 

summer comes, I don’t like to work on 

the weekends because I want to spend 

time with my family. Thankfully this 

summer finally I’ve been able to take 

some time off.” 

Now, Randy and Nick spend a 

lot more time together, and they can 

spend it discussing business. “One of 



the reasons I wanted to do this recording 

is because I’m trying to learn from 

your mistakes and your successes in 

the past,” Randy said. 

Nick lived through The Great Recession 

as a realtor, which was not easy 

for anyone in the housing industry. In 

2008, Nick got the opportunity to join 

the U.S. military in Iraq as a media analyst 

and translator for about one year, 

followed by another year in the States. 

This was Nick’s first trip back to Iraq 

since he left in 1980. 

“I was 48 years old, and I left everything 

behind me,” Nick said about 

going to Iraq with the military. “The 

main reason was financial. The second 

reason was to pay back what the U.S. 

gave me in opportunity. If I had to do 

it again today, I would. I’m proud I had 

that experience.” 

This left Randy and the family in 

a lurch. As a young adult, he “picked 

up the pieces” of his father’s business 

and managed it while he was gone. He 

was thrown in the deep end but clearly 

was a quick learner, judging by his 

business success today. 

Nick actively encourages his family 

to enlist in the army because he considers 

it honorable and understands 

that Americans respect their veterans. 

For Nick, his service propelled a candidacy 

for the Michigan House of Representatives 

in 2012, which he lost in the 

Democratic primary. 

Nick expressed his joy and pride 

for his son Randy. “Thank God you’re 

successful in your business, and I’m 

very, very proud of you,” Nick said. 

“For every dad, this is his proudest 

moment. To have his kids succeed and 

become better than him.” 

Nick imparted wisdom he received 

from his own father. “Whenever you’re 

dealing with the public, treat the people 

the same way you want to be treated. 

Respect people the way you want 

to be respected. Don’t let fame or money 

allow you to drift away from this,” 

he said. That’s great advice given with 

love. 


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FEATURE 

Numbers Paint a Picture 

Walsh College survey reveals 

striking demographic data about 

Metro Detroit’s Chaldeans 

BY CAL ABBO 

Walsh College, in partnership 

with the Chaldean American 

Chamber of Commerce, 

recently published results of its extensive 

survey on the demographics 

of Chaldeans in metro Detroit. This 

follows the last survey which was 

published in 2018 by the CACC and 

University of Michigan Dearborn and 

an earlier survey from 2008 that was 

conducted by Walsh College. 

The 2018 survey sent a directmail 

piece to 1,772 random Chaldean 

households and received responses 

from 13% of them. It collected demographic 

data like education, household 

income, business ownership, and 

investments. One key finding showed 

that Chaldeans in metro Detroit had an 

annual economic impact of $10.7 billion, 

up from $3.7 billion in 2008. The 

2018 report estimated 160,000 Chaldeans 

in Detroit compared to 113,000 

from 2008. 

The 2023 survey was distributed 

online through the Chamber’s network 

and social media accounts, and 

was sent to thousands of Chaldeans 

via email. In total, the new survey received 

more than 1,200 responses and 

estimated that 183,500 Chaldeans live 

in metro Detroit and the community’s 

economic impact is $17.6 billion. 

In general, many surveys tend to 

undercount minorities for several reasons. 

A language barrier, for example, 

could prohibit many Chaldeans from 

participating. For that reason, in addition 

to the online survey, which was 

only available in English, the CACC 

distributed some paper versions in 

Arabic. 

Chaldean Americans may also be 

more cautious than other Americans 

about providing personal information 

in a survey, and they might not trust 

the survey’s anonymity, especially 

if they are undocumented. This can 

$3.7 

BILLLION 

113,000 

POPULATION 

62% 

GROWTH 

SINCE 

2008 

also introduce a bias into the surveys. 

Chaldeans who are older along with 

more recent immigrants tend to speak 

less English and are not as plugged 

into the Chamber’s network. These 

demographics may have responded to 

the survey at a lower rate than others. 

One quarter of the survey’s responses 

came from someone 18 years 

or younger, which is an astounding 

result that suggests the Chaldean community 

is extremely young and full of 

children who are mature enough to 

take the survey or took it in place of 

their non-English speaking parents. 

For comparison, only 22% of the United 

States is under 18, and few are old 

enough to answer a complex survey 

like the one created by Walsh. It also 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

$10.7 

BILLLION 

160,000 

ECONOMIC 

IMPACT 

475% 

GROWTH 

SINCE 

2008 

$17.6 

BILLLION 

(ESTIMATE) 

ECONOMIC 

IMPACT IN 

MICHIGAN 

183,500 

(ESTIMATE) 

METRO DETROIT 

CHALDEAN POPULATION 

2008 2018 2023 

hints at the future of the Chaldean 

community and shows that it’s still 

growing at a significant rate in metro 

Detroit. 

Walsh College used a direct linear 

formula to calculate the Chaldean 

population in metro Detroit based on 

the two previous surveys. Since these 

figures come from a simple estimate, 

it’s possible they underrepresent the 

Chaldean community, and the real 

population surpasses 200,000. 

In the United States, according 

to the Census Bureau, the average 

household consists of 3.13 people. In 

the Chaldean community, according 

to the newest survey, that number is 

4.08, almost an entire person more 

than the rest of the U.S., showing 



how the community’s living situations 

are still family oriented. 

The 2023 survey also asked for data 

regarding businesses owned, type of 

work, income, business worth, and 

real estate worth. More than 31% of the 

responders own a business and 32% 

have a career in a profession. These 

are not mutually exclusive, as many 

Chaldean professionals own and run 

their own business. 

Over the last 17 years, since the 

first survey was conducted, the economic 

activity of Chaldeans has 

continued to shift from small-time 

entrepreneurs to larger and more 

diverse businesses as well as educated 

professions like doctors, lawyers, 

engineers, realtor, and more. 

More than 40% of Chaldeans’ 

real estate values total less than 

$500,000, and the percentage slowly 

tapers off as the value gets higher. 

In contrast, more than 20% of Chaldeans 

have real estate holdings 

worth more than $5 million. 

The most common zip code that 

the survey collected was 48322, a 

section of West Bloomfield. The 

second most common zip code 

was 48323, which represents parts 

of West Bloomfield, Orchard Lake, 

and Commerce Township. The next 

most common zip codes were 48310 in 

Sterling Heights and 48331 in Farmington 

Hills. 

By analyzing the individual responses 

and correlating them to the 

zip codes, we can approximate a 

picture of income inequality in the 

Chaldean community. Among Chaldeans 

who live in 48323, nearly 20% 

of households bring in over $500,000 

per year in income and only about 13% 

bring in less than $100,000 per year. 

On the other hand, in the Sterling 

Heights zip code 48310, more than 40% 

of Chaldean households make less than 

$100,000 and only 1 person responded 

that their household makes $500,000 or 

more. This data is important when considering 

where to place different kinds 

of social services for the community. 

In total, the survey is a selling point 

for the Chaldean community and a 

celebration of our success in the diaspora. 

Business organizations like the 


can use this data to make the 

case to corporations that Chaldeans 

are worth paying attention to. 



CULTURE & HISTORY 

In the Beginning: 

Mesopotamian Beer 


Martin Luther is credited with 

saying, “Whoever drinks 

beer, he is quick to sleep; 

whoever sleeps long, does not sin; 

whoever does not sin, enters Heaven. 

Thus, let us drink beer!” 

Beer is one of the oldest drinks 

known to man. 

Before Adolphus Busch, Arthur 

Amstel, and Samuel Adams – before 

Budweiser, Miller Lite, Coors, Michelob, 

the English Newcastle Brown 

Ale, the Irish Guinness, the Dutch 

Heineken, the Mexican Corona, the 

Belgian Stella Artois, and the Australian 

Fosters, there was Mesopotamian 

beer from Sumer. 

In the writings of the ancient Sumerians, 

beer was considered a magical 

brew from the gods endowing the 

drinker with health, peace of mind, 

and happiness. They even had a goddess 

of beer named Ninkasi. 

In Babylon, beer was considered a 

divine drink, a true gift from the Gods. 

It was also a sign of wealth. The Code 

of Hammurabi, the ancient Babylonian 

set of laws, decreed a daily beer 

ration to citizens. Every citizen had 

his daily dose of beer, depending on 

his wealth. The drink was so respected 

that people were sometimes paid for 

work in beer, instead of money. 

History 

Beer was invented in Mesopotamia by 

hunter-gatherers who learned to ferment 

wild grains. They soon settled in 

villages to cultivate and brew. 

The ruins of Mesopotamian civilizations 

are full of hundreds of clay 

tablets and artifacts that record the 

methods and means of making and 

drinking beer; they even depict drink 

councils. Cups and vessels for drinking 

and manufacturing wine were also 

found. Archeologists discovered and 

deciphered an ode to Ninkasi, the patron 

goddess of brewing. This poem 

contained the oldest known recipe for 

making beer, using barley from bread. 

The most ancient depiction of beer 

drinking is found on a 6,000-year-old 

clay tablet showing people sipping the 

beverage through straws from a large 

communal bowl. There was no way of 

filtering beer back then, so their beer 

was thick, like porridge, and hard to 

drink; however, the ancients considered 

beer a safer alternative to water, 

as nearby rivers and canals often became 

contaminated by animal waste. 

Also, since alcohol is a chemical 

preservative, the process of fermentation 

boiled out harmful microorganisms 

while preserving nutrients 

absent from other drinks. Thus, it is 

unsurprising that, besides its use in 

religious ceremonies and rituals, beer 

was associated with the gods. 

Brewing Methods 

Every beer that you have been served 

at your local brewery, bar, or restaurant 

can be broken down into two basic 

types: ales and lagers. The main 

differences between an ale and a lager 

are the type of yeast used to ferment 

the beer and fermentation time. The 

four main ingredients in beer are water, 

malt, hops, and yeast. 

The ancient brewing process was 

quite labor-intensive and began with 

the malting of grains. The grains were 

soaked in water for several days, then 

dried in the sun or on hot stones. The 

malted grains were then ground into a 

coarse powder which was mixed with 

water to form a mash. 

The mash was boiled, then strained 

to remove the husks and other solids. 

The resulting liquid, known as wort, 

was then boiled again and flavored with 

herbs and spices. Finally, the wort was 

fermented with yeast, resulting in beer. 

For centuries, the basic way to 

make beer was to boil malted barley 

with water and let it ferment. Sometimes, 

natural yeast did the vital work, 

but generally, the brewers would add 

yeast to speed up the process. The 

resulting mix would then be flavored 

with a mixture of various herbs. Adding 

hops improved the chances that 

the beer would not spoil, but the large 

variety of recipes continued to make 

beer-making difficult. 

The ancient brewing process was 

quite different from modern brewing, 

as it was more of an art than a science. 

Ancient brewers had to rely on their 

senses to determine when the beer was 

ready to drink; they did not have access 

to the sophisticated technologies 

used in modern brewing. As a result, 

ancient beer was often sour or bitter 

and could be quite strong. 

The Industrial Revolution brought 

the mechanization of brewing. Better 

control over the process, with the use 

of the thermometer and saccharometer, 

was developed in Britain and transferred 

to the continent, where the development 

of ice-making and refrigeration equipment 

in the late 19th century enabled 

lager beers to be brewed in the summer. 

The origin of the word “beer” is 

somewhat unclear, but it likely comes 

from an ancient Germanic word meaning 

“barley.” This makes sense, as barley 

was one of the main ingredients 

used in early beer production. Another 

theory is that the word “beer” comes 

from the Latin word “bibere,” which 

means “to drink.” 

Iraqi Beer 

European style beer was introduced to 

Iraq shortly after World War II, when 

Iraq was ruled by the British-backed 

monarchy. Madhaf Khedairi, a wealthy 

Muslim businessman, bought a small 

brewery from a British naval vessel. He 

founded The Iraq Brewery Co. in 1950 

and began making stout. It was not 

profitable, so he invested more money 

and switched to making lager. 

In 1956, Khadhuri Khadhuri, a Christian, 

established the Eastern Brewery 

Company and made Farida, a nutty 

brew which became a symbol of Iraq. 

The plant was in the Zaafaraniya industrial 

area near Baghdad. The street leading 

to is still called “Bottle Road.” 

These two firms flourished. British 

colonial servants and, later, prosperous 

Iraqi businessmen gathered 

to quench their thirsts at the elegant 

teak bar of the Alwiya Club off Firdus 

Square in central Baghdad. The 


1958 revolution swept away the king 

and the British, but not the beer – although 

the deeply suspicious officers 

who took power considered the Alwiya 

Club a subversive organization. 

Beer not only survived the seizure 

of power by the secular pan-Arab socialistic 

Baath party in 1968, but breweries 

proliferated. The party nationalized 

the Khedairi firm in 1973-74 and 

in 1975-76, the government established 

two breweries; one in the city of Mosul 

and the other at Amara, an extremely 

strict Muslim city where workers had 

to be brought from China. 

Farida achieved peak production of 

thirty million bottles a year during the 

1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Their slogan? 

“Always in bottles, never in cans.” 

There was another major twist of 

events during the sanction years of the 

1990s, when Saddam Hussein’s oldest 

son Uday started harassing the private 

sector companies and successful brewery 

owners. Uday, a sadist with a taste 

for cruelty, sports cars, women, and 

alcohol, had a complex, dark character 

and carried a grudge against the elite. 

Once you came to Uday’s notice, he 

never left you alone. He also had an appetite 

for liquor and beer. 

Uday, also known as Al-Ustath, had 

his staff call 

Khadhuri’s 

son and managing 

partner of the 

Eastern Brewery Company 

for a meeting in his 

office. In that meeting, Uday 

claimed the company was best 

run by the state and offered to buy 

the company with Iraqi currency. The 

Iraqi dinar at that time was a worthless 

piece of paper printed by the government 

during the Iran-Iraq war. 

Khadhuri politely tried to decline 

the offer, stating that the brewery was 

the only family business, and many 

family members depend upon it for 

their living. Khadhuri’s request to decline 

the offer was denied; however, as 

a gesture of good will, Uday told the 

owner’s son that he would keep him 

on as a plant manager. 

Two years later, after the sanctions 

squeeze and a series of reversals, 

Uday summed Khadhuri again and 

asked him to buy the company back, 

this time with US dollars that the family 

must have stashed in the west. With 

his own survival instincts and some 

knowledge of Ustath Uday’s history of 

deceit, Khadhuri took his family and 

fled to Jordan the next day. 

Beer and Politics 

The ancient Iraqis made drinks from 

barley and wine extracted from palm 

dates. The wine from palm juice was 

made by cutting the top of the trunk 

of the palm tree, collecting the resulting 

juice, and fermenting it for two or 

three days. It became quite a strong 

intoxicant. The drink was intended for 

the people, distributed at a rate of more 

than a gallon per person; meanwhile, 

the Iraqi government of today prevents 

it, confiscates it, and forbids it. 

When sanctions were imposed by 

the UN in 1990 after Iraq invaded Kuwait, 

the government imposed a 50 per 

cent cut in production and banned money 

transfers abroad. Farida carried on by 

obtaining malt and hops from a supplier 

who did not mind flouting the decree. It 

is reported that a Farida spokesperson 

said, “How he paid was not our concern. 

He gave us one hundred tons of malt for 

30,000 cases of beer!” 

In 1998 Farida licensed a Jordanian 

company to make their beer in Amman, 

Jordan. Farida remained privately 

owned until 2001, when ousted President 

Saddam Hussein’s eldest son, 

Uday, and his friends took over the firm 

and made soft drinks as well as beer. 

In the weeks after the invasion of 

Iraq by the Bush administration, Farida 

was forced to compete with imports 

from Holland and Turkey. Popular 

name brands and imports such as Amstel, 

Heineken, Almaza, Corona, and 

Budweiser dominated the Iraqi market. 

Until Shia fundamentalists were 

installed in power in Iraq by the US 

occupation, brewing beer was a profitable 

business. In 2004, Shia fundamentalists 

halted beer production 

in all breweries. Smugglers hawking 

chilled beer appeared beneath the 

Jadriya Bridge alongside peddlers 

selling illegal drugs. The supplies 

of Farida vanished. Sadly, today the 

breweries and shops selling beer and 

other alcoholic drinks have shut down 

or been torched. Clubs, bars, and restaurants 

have closed. 

Carrying on the Tradition 

Beers that were brewed in Iraq have 

mostly female names. In addition to 

the most famous of all — Farida, meaning 

“unique”— there was Diana, “the 

golden lager;” Shahrazad; Loulou’a; 

Kahramana; and Sanabel. 

In the 1940s, King Farouk of Egypt 

married the Iranian princess Safinaz 

Zulfiqar, and then called her Princess 

Farida. Like most other nations, the 

Iraqi were obsessed with the ruling 

royal family, and so was the managing 

director of the Iraqi Eastern Beer Company, 

who bestowed upon their product 

the name “Farida.” 

Keeping up with the Mesopotamians, 

some Chaldean Americans 

dived into the micro-brew industry 

in the United States. The first Chaldean 

known to do so was the author 

of this article, Dr. Adhid Miri, who 

opened Copper Canyon Micro-Brewery 

in Southfield, Michigan in 1998. The 

Sarafa brothers, Anmar and Haithem, 

entered the industry and purchased 

Frankenmuth Brewery in Michigan in 

2009. They are still going strong today. 

Beer and friendship go back thousands 

of years. William Bostwick, the 

beer critic for the Wall Street Journal 

(plum job!) once said, “Humankind 

was built on beer. From the world’s 

first writing to its first laws, in rituals 

social, religious, and political, civilization 

is soaked in beer.” 

Some other favorite beer quotes include, 

“Friends bring happiness into 

your life; best friends bring beer,” and, 

“Life and beer are very similar, chill for 

best results.” 

Cheers! 

Sources: Wikipedia, Al-Gardinia. 

com, Andrea Fallibene, Brew Master, 

Yaqthan Chadirji, Naiem Abid Mhalhal 


FEATURE 

Spicing Up Michigan 

Chaldean cuisine becomes mainstream 

Spices are 

at the heart 

of Chaldean 

cuisine. 

BY CAL ABBO 

The culinary traditions of the Chaldean 

community are as rich and 

diverse as our ancient history. 

Originating from the cradle of civilization, 

Chaldean cuisine boasts a plethora 

of flavors that narrate our cultural 

heritage. As the Chaldeans found a new 

home in Detroit, Michigan, we brought 

along our cherished recipes, crafting 

a unique food narrative that melds ancient 

traditions with the modern-day 

food landscape of the Motor City. 

Food Culture 

The culture and format of serving 

meals is just as important as the ingredients 

and taste. In the villages, many 

Chaldeans were farmers and raised 

animals. Religious Chaldeans saw the 

creation and consumption of food as 

a spiritual act. The food you received 

was passed down from God unto you, 

so as to nourish your body and continue 

the cycle of life. Food was a sacred 

community item, too, and was offered 

as a gesture of good faith to visitors 

and at festivals and celebrations. 

Cooking food was most often considered 

a woman’s right and privilege. 

Her knowledge and skills in the 

arts of Chaldean cuisine were tested 

against other families in fierce-butfriendly 

competition. In essence, 

each house had its own kitchen, and 

individual traditions were passed 

down through the generations. Small 

changes in each individual’s recipe 

and methods evolved our food over 

thousands of years. 

Chaldean women have a sense of 

pride when it comes to cooking their 

own food and feeding their families. 

Like anyone, they want to cook great 

food and impress their family and 

guests. While they might share recipes 

with close friends and family, especially 

daughters, many Chaldeans 

gatekeep their exact secrets like professional 

chefs. 

As the community soon found 

out, life in the United States is much 

different than living in a village. 

Within a few generations, assimilation 

and the geographical reality of 

living apart changed the food culture 

invariably. Individual households 

maintained their own food traditions 

and collaborated less and less over 

time. Americans were introduced to 

Chaldean food with invitation-only 

family dinners. 

Commercial Chaldean restaurants 

and pre-made food at grocery stores 

slowly popped up and commodified 

the rich food tradition into dishes for 

sale. While this greatly expanded the 

influence of Chaldean food across 

metro Detroit and pushed Michigan 

cuisine to new heights, over time, it 

also contaminated the relationship 

between families and food and allowed 

Chaldeans to purchase our traditional 

food rather than rely on their 

family’s cooking. Recipes and dishes 

were standardized and replicated to 

emphasize what was popular, what 

the masses enjoyed, and what made 

the most money. Some Chaldean food 

became so similar to food in other Middle 

Eastern restaurants that it is now 

indistinguishable. 

Traditional Chaldean Dishes 

Chaldean cuisine draws many similarities 

to other Middle Eastern food, 

but its unique flavors and preparation 

offer a unique Chaldean twist. Here are 

some dishes that Chaldeans helped 

popularize in the Detroit area. 

Kabobs and Grilled Meats: The 

preparation of kabobs begins with highquality 

meat, commonly beef, lamb, 

or chicken, which are cut into uniform 

pieces to ensure even cooking. The meat 

is marinated with a blend of traditional 

spices, garlic, and lemon. Skewering the 

meat requires a precise hand to ensure 

that the pieces are secure. On the grill, 

the chef must achieve the perfect level 

of char while retaining the meat’s juiciness. 

The result is tender and flavorful 

meat with a smoky aroma. 

Kubba: To make Kubba, the chef 

uses bulgur wheat to cultivate a 

smooth dough which is then filled 

with a seasoned mixture of ground 

meat, usually beef or lamb. Each piece 

is carefully shaped into a disc or oval 

and cooked until golden and crispy. 


PIXABAY 

Tikka and kabob platters are a popular choice at Detroit’s Middle Eastern restaurants. 

The result is a savory, textured dish 

enjoyed by many as a staple in Chaldean 

cuisine, and is often paired with 

a tomato and vegetable broth. 

Pacha: Preparing Pacha is a timehonored 

tradition and involves the 

careful cleaning and preparation of 

sheep’s head, trotters, and stomach. 

The ingredients are simmered with a 

blend of aromatic spices until tender. 

This dish requires a skilled hand to ensure 

the flavors are balanced and the 

texture is perfect, delivering a unique 

taste experience hard to find in the 

Western world. 

Guss: The making of Guss involves 

marinating choice cuts of meat in a 

blend of spices, garlic, and lemon, 

similar to kabobs. The meat is then 

roasted to achieve a perfect char, enhancing 

its flavors, in a stack of meat 

that is seen in Shawarma restaurants. 

The result is a succulent dish with a 

rich, smoky aroma, often enjoyed with 

flatbread and pickled vegetables. 

Dolma: Dolma involves stuffing 

grape leaves with a mixture of rice, 

meat, and various herbs. Each leaf is 

carefully wrapped around the filling 

and cooked until tender. The resulting 

dish is a medley of textures and flavors. 

Preparing this dish is tedious and 

time-consuming, making it one of the 

most extravagant; it is often reserved 

for special occasions. In addition to 

grape leaves, you can use onions or 

cabbage as a wrap. 

Biryani: Biryani preparation begins 

with the marination of meat in a 

blend of spices, followed by layering 

with partially cooked rice. The dish 

is then slow-cooked to allow the flavors 

to meld together. Achieving the 

right balance of spices and a perfect 

layering technique is crucial for this 

beloved aromatic dish that is famous 

across many parts of Asia. 

Falafel: The preparation of Falafel 

involves soaking chickpeas, then 

grinding them into a coarse mixture 

with herbs and spices. The mixture is 

shaped into small patties or balls and 

deep-fried until crispy. The result is a 

flavorful, crunchy exterior with a soft 

interior, often enjoyed in sandwiches 

or with tahini sauce. 

Bamia: Preparing Bamia begins 

with simmering okra with a mixture of 

tomatoes, garlic, and traditional spices. 

The process requires a gentle simmer 

to ensure the okra becomes tender 

without losing its shape. The result is 

a comforting stew, often enjoyed with 

rice and bread. 

Harisa: The preparation of Harisa 

involves slow-cooking wheat with 

meat, often chicken or lamb, until it 

reaches a porridge-like consistency. 

The dish is stirred continuously to prevent 

lumps and achieve a smooth texture. 

Harissa is a hearty and nutritious 

dish, often associated with religious observances 

and community gatherings. 

Masgouf: Masgouf is a traditional 

Iraqi fish dish that begins with the selection 

of a fresh, high-quality carp. 

The fish is seasoned with a blend of olive 

oil, tamarind, and a mix of spices, 

then skewered and slow-grilled over 

an open flame. The grilling process is 

crucial to achieving a crispy exterior 

while maintaining a tender, flaky interior. 

The result is a smoky, tangy dish 

enjoyed with traditional accompaniments 

like flatbreads and veggies. 

Tekratha: To make Tekratha, first 

craft your dough from high-quality 

flour, which is then rolled out into thin 

discs. A seasoned mixture of ground 

meat, typically beef or lamb, is spread 

over the dough before being baked until 

golden and crispy. The careful balancing 

of spices in the meat and the 

precise baking process results in a flavorful, 

textured dish that is a beloved 

part of Chaldean cuisine. It’s easy to 

stuff these delicious snacks with anything 

from cheese to sweets. 

Shawarma: The preparation of 

Shawarma involves marinating slices 

of meat, commonly beef or chicken, in 

a blend of aromatic spices, garlic, and 

yogurt. The meat is then stacked on 

a vertical rotisserie, where it is slowcooked 

as it turns on the spit. Slicing 

the meat thinly off the spit requires a 

skilled hand, ensuring tender, flavor- 

SPICING UP continued on page 50 


FEATURE 

SPICING UP continued from page 49 

ful slices ready to be wrapped in flatbreads 

and enjoyed with a variety of 

accompaniments like tahini or garlic 

sauce and pickled vegetables. 

Mana’eesh (Za’atar Bread): The 

preparation of Za’atar Bread begins 

with crafting a soft dough from highquality 

flour, which is then rolled out 

into small discs. A mixture of za’atar 

spice blend and olive oil is generously 

spread over the dough before being 

baked until golden and slightly crispy. 

The herbaceous za’atar blend paired 

with the richness of olive oil creates 

a flavorful and aromatic bread, often 

enjoyed as a breakfast item or a snack 

within the Chaldean community. Other 

types of Mana’eesh have different 

toppings, such as cheese. 

Kleicha: Kleicha preparation starts 

with creating a soft, pliable dough 

which is then filled with a sweet mixture 

of dates and nuts. Each piece is 

carefully shaped and adorned with a 

sprinkle of sesame seeds before being 

baked until golden brown. The result 

is a sweet, tender pastry with a filling 

that’s both chewy and flavorful, 

embodying a traditional taste. This is 

great for a post-meal sweet snack. 

Torshi: The making of Torshi involves 

pickling a variety of vegetables 

like cucumbers, carrots, cabbage, and 

cauliflower in a vinegar and spice mixture. 

The process requires a careful 

balance of vinegar, salt, and traditional 

spices to achieve the desired tanginess 

and flavor. Over time, the vegetables 

absorb the flavors of the brine, 

resulting in a crunchy, tangy accompaniment 

to many Chaldean dishes. 

Geymar with Date Syrup: The 

preparation of Geymar involves gently 

simmering heavy cream to achieve a 

thick, clotted consistency. Once prepared, 

Geymar is traditionally served 

with a generous drizzling of date syrup. 

The sweetness of the date syrup 

complements the rich, creamy texture 

of Geymar, creating a simple yet indulgent 

dish often enjoyed as a part of a 

traditional Chaldean breakfast. 

Tabouleh: Tabouleh consists of 

finely chopped fresh parsley, mint, and 

tomatoes, which are then mixed with 

soaked bulgur wheat. A dressing of olive 

oil, lemon juice, and a dash of salt is 

added to bring all the flavors together. 

The result is a refreshing, herbaceous 

salad with a citrusy zing, enjoyed as a 

Sahara Restaurant is among the influential Metro Detroit restaurants 

popularizing Middle Eastern and Chaldean cuisine. Under the guidance 

of Zeana (pictured) and Saad Attisha, Sahara has opened additional 

locations, with the latest in The District Detroit. 

light and nutritious accompaniment to 

many Chaldean meals. 

These recipes and many others can 

be found in greater detail and direction 

in cookbooks like Ma Baseema, 

Babylonian Cuisine, or Awafi. 

Chaldean Restaurants in Michigan 

The voyage of Chaldean cuisine to 

Michigan has resulted not only in the 

spreading of Chaldean dishes into the 

home kitchens of Michigan residents, 

but also the commercialization of the 

food. One of the community’s oldest 

and most famous restaurants, Sullaf, 

is located on 7 Mile Road in Detroit, in 

historic Chaldean Town. It serves basic 

Arabic and Chaldean dishes, including 

different meats and fish. Since it 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

opened, many other Chaldean restaurants 

have served excellent food and 

become quite popular. 

Smaller Shawarma outfits operated 

by Chaldeans are commonplace 

throughout the suburbs of Detroit in 

cities like West Bloomfield, Sterling 

Heights, Southfield, and Farmington. 

Dozens of Chaldean bakeries, some 

that began informally out of someone’s 

home, can be found in these towns as 

well. Larger restaurants like Sahara, 

which just opened its newest location 

in The District Detroit, serve a wide variety 

of options for diners and also cater 

large parties for Chaldeans. Chaldean 

grocery stores are common in places 

where a lot of us live, which provide 

fresh ready-to-eat food as well as the 



ingredients for making it yourself. 

The Chaldean News has a special 

series called “Chaldean Kitchen” which 

aims to preserve our culinary history. 

The series posts articles about the history 

of someone’s dish as well as the 

full recipe so you can make it at home. 

Even better, the article is accompanied 

by a short video showing exactly how 

it’s made, which can be found on You- 

Tube or the website chaldeannews. 

com. Even further, the new Chaldean 

Community Foundation center located 

in West Bloomfield, when completed, 

will include a demonstration kitchen 

so we can better share our delicious 

recipes with the world. 

The Chaldean community has successfully 

preserved and shared its culinary 

heritage by enriching Michigan’s 

food scene with a blend of ancient flavors 

and modern adaptations. The story 

of Chaldean cuisine in Michigan is a 

flavorful journey of tradition, adaptation, 

and entrepreneurial spirit, contributing 

to the culinary and cultural 

diversity that provides the foundation 

of the Great Lakes State. 


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First Tango with Mango: 

Iraqi Amba 


In the world of culinary delights, 

few things can match the mouthwatering 

tang and flavor offered 

by a good old-fashioned Iraqi mango 

pickle (amba). 

To tell the story of amba, or as it 

is popularly known in India, Aam ka 

Achar, we must begin with the story 

of Indian Ocean trade and the longstanding 

historical network of merchants 

who traversed this massive 

body of water for millennia bringing 

spices, people, and ideas to Basra-Iraq 

from all directions. 

Iraqis traditionally do not use curry 

and hot peppers in their cooking. Amba 

sauce was transferred from the Indian 

peninsula to Basra-Iraq by Iraqi Jewish 

merchants in Bombay. The product 

found its way to the Souq Hanoon and 

Shorja markets in Baghdad at the beginning 

of the twentieth century where 

it was modified and popularized to fit 

the mild taste of Iraqi cuisine. 

In this article, we delve into the 

rich history of amba in Iraq, exploring 

its journey from a humble homemade 

delight to a beloved condiment that 

can be enjoyed with many traditional 

Iraqi dishes, adding a burst of freshness 

and a tangy twist to many meals. 

Pickling 

Pickling was one of the very limited 

number of ways to preserve food before 

the invention of canning (about 

200 years ago) and modern refrigeration. 

This process has been an 

integral part of civilizations and an 

ancient practice to preserve food for 

long journeys. Almost anything can 

be preserved through pickling—fruits, 

vegetables, berries, leaves, roots, and 

even some meats. 

Vegetables and fruits get spoiled 

due to the presence of moisture in 

them. One of the ways to preserve 

some of these items for a longer period 

is the pickling process. Mangoes 

get spoiled in a few days, but a mango 

pickle lasts for several months. 

The true history of pickles remains 

somewhat a mystery. They were introduced 

so far back in the mists of history 

that no one knows exactly when, 

although some believe they date back 

to India some 4,030 years ago. Pickles 

are mentioned in the Bible, in the Old 

Testament books Numbers and Isaiah. 

Cleopatra attributed some of her 

beauty to pickles, Aristotle claimed 

that pickled cucumbers had healing 

properties, Napolean valued the pickle’s 

health benefits for his army, and 

reportedly, George Washington had 

a collection of 476 different kinds of 

pickles. (I wonder if he ate them all.) 

What is Amba? 

Amba is a liquid sauce with a hot spicy 

taste that is widely used in Iraqi food. 

It is typically made of pickled green 

mangoes, vinegar, salt, turmeric, chili, 

and fenugreek. The Iraqi amba may 

have been derived from a type of pickle 

spread in India and the Arabian Gulf 

called green mango chutney. 

Amba is available in the market 

either in the form of a prepared liquid 

in a glass bottle with a wide mouth to 

allow the flow of liquid and the mango 

fruit pickled in it, or in the form 

of a powder from which the dough 

is prepared by adding water and vinegar 

to it. 

To Iraqis, opening a bottle of amba 

is a universally enjoyable experience. 

The aroma of spices takes us back to 

our childhood, and the fiery peppers 

and colorful fruits in the mixture are a 

sight to behold. 

Amba is eaten alone or added to 

falafel, shawarma sandwiches, boiled 

eggs, eggplant, or fried potatoes and 

is considered one of the best ingredients 

in Iraqi food. Amba is best when 

paired with Hyderabadi biryani, one of 

the most popular rice dishes. It is also 

the basic material for preparing certain 

types of Iraqi Turshi. 

One of the amba’s primary purposes 

is related to its ability to mask whatever 

else you’re eating. Tangy, spicy, 

and tropical, amba is a storm of flavors 

that adds brightness and complexity 

to the simplest of meals. The Baghdadis 

developed this taste further and 

Amba was associated with the famous 

wood-grilled Masghouf (Tigris trout) 

on Abou Al-Nawas Street. 

The quintessential street food has 

evolved to be served in Mediterraneanstyle 

restaurants around the world. 

With its deep fermented flavors and 

spice, amba adds an exciting element 

that you’ll be tempted to spread on everything 

and anything. 

The First Tango with Mango 

The Jews of Iraq claim that they were 

the first to import amba to Basra from 

Bombay, India, and then spread it to 

Baghdad and the rest of the country. It 

is said that the Sasson family invented 

the amba sauce, as we know it in Iraq. 

Beginning in the 17th century, 

groups of Iraqi Jewish merchants from 

Baghdad moved to the Persian Gulf 

port of Basra and from there onward 

to Mughal India, where they set up settlements 

in towns like Bombay, Pune, 

and Calcutta. Over time, other Jewish 

Arabs from Aleppo and Yemen also often 

joined these communities. 

In Bombay, the Iraqi Jewish merchants 

imported dates and Arabian 

horses from Iraq and exported Indian 

spices to Basra. They had learned to 

eat pickled foods with curry and exported 

several barrels of pickled mangoes 

seasoned with salt, pepper, and 

concentrated curry, to the famed Jewish 

community market (Souq Hanoun) 

Hanoun market in central Baghdad. 

Along with spices, textiles, and luxury 

goods, recipes also made their way 

back to Iraq from India. One of these 

was amba, a delicious and tangy mango 

pickle that is at both spicy, sweet, and 

sour, and which became a phenomenal 

hit across Iraq (and in southwestern Iranian 

cities like Ahwaz as well). 

By the mid-20th century, amba 

was everywhere; Iraqi Jewish novelist 

Somekh Sassoon, for example, 

describes growing up with it on the 

AMBA continued on page 54 


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AMBA continued from page 52 

streets of Baghdad in his autobiography, 

Baghdad Yesterday. 

Baghdadi Jewish cuisine reflects 

the long impact of the Indian Ocean 

trade. Amba shares space with dishes 

like biryani, chicken curry, and 

parathas as Baghdadi Jewish favorites. 

They were not alone in adopting the 

foods of the lands they settled. 

The influence of amba on Iraqi cuisine 

is undeniable. Ingredients in their 

purest forms were handed over to people 

to work with, resulting in a unique 

identity and culinary delight. Iraqi amba 

pickles are truly different and have become 

significant part of our palate. 

Over time, regional variations of 

the Iraqi mango amba 

emerged, each infused 

with its unique blend of 

spices and flavors, reflecting 

the culinary diversity 

of the product. 

erated for weeks, months, and in some 

cases, years. The quantities and types 

of the ingredients used determine the 

final texture and taste. 

In India, mango is the main ingredient; 

however, Iraqis add other 

ingredients such as boiled turnips or 

cooked baby carrots, boiled potatoes, 

peaches, yellow zucchini, okra, and 

red and orange peppers to add taste 

and thickness. 

One of the benefits of making amba 

at home is the ability to personalize it 

with different seasonings. Traditional Indian 

versions of the sauce use fenugreek, 

Samoon was not known in the 

early part of the last century. Iraqis 

first knew Al-Samoon after the fall of 

the Ottoman Empire and during the 

British occupation of Iraq in the 1920s. 

The type of bread moved to Iraq from 

Georgia when Armenians immigrated 

to Iraq at the end of World War I and 

an Armenian by the name of Simon 

opened his shop in the western district 

of Bab Al-Agha in Baghdad. 

Iraqis were used to the traditional 

homemade khubuz and started wondering 

about this new product and its 

maker. Unable to pronounce “Simon,” 

barrel full of the yellow sauce and a 

basket of samoon. He slit the bread and 

spooned amba inside the bread pocket. 

The price was 10 fils (10 US cents). 

This quintessential street food has 

evolved to be served in Mediterraneanstyle 

restaurants around the world. 

Amba is eaten alone in the form of sandwiches, 

which the people call amba 

and samoon; sometimes it is added to 

falafel sandwiches or shawarma. 

Last tango with mango 

Ship brand is the most popular 

amba among the Iraqis. The preference 

Here, There, and Everywhere 

In recent years, with the 

rise of globalization and 

increased cultural exchange, 

Iraqi amba has 

transcended geographical 

boundaries and captivated 

taste buds worldwide. 

With its rich history 

and diverse flavors, amba 

has stood the test of time. 

From its humble origins as a homemade 

condiment to its present-day accessibility 

through platforms and shops worldwide, 

it delights generations of food enthusiasts 

all over the Middle East. 

Just as the Iraqi Jews took amba 

to Israel, we, the expatriate sons of 

Iraq took amba to Michigan, California, 

London, Paris, and around the 

world. It has become commonplace to 

see the mango amba in oriental food 

shops in Europe and the United States. 

Making Amba 

The beauty of pickle making lies in the 

forgiving nature of the time-tested process, 

making it accessible even to beginners. 

The ingredients of Iraqi amba 

are mango slices, salt, vinegar, lemon 

salt, turmeric, hot peppers, ground 

fenugreek, dried coriander, curry, and 

ground spice. 

Almost all these items can be 

stored in airtight containers and refrig- 

turmeric, chili, and mustard seeds. Some 

cooks prefer to elevate the flavors by incorporating 

tanginess, usually through 

the addition of vinegar and sour sumac. 

Garlic and cumin are sometimes used 

when savory flavors are preferred. Alternative 

textures can also be achieved — 

ranging from a smooth mango puree to a 

chunky, tender mango salsa-like consistency, 

depending on your taste. 

Samoon 

Samoon is an Iraqi name for a type of 

bread. Its name in other Arab countries 

is aish, khubuz or loaf. It is one 

of the favorite foods in Iraq, especially 

at breakfast. It is baked in traditional 

stone ovens, like pizza, and 

is one of the most widespread breads 

in Iraq. The process of making it is 

like that of making pita bread. 

they diluted the word and modified it 

to “Samoon;” that coined the word in 

the Iraqi vocabulary. 

Simon, an Armenian Christian, 

concealed his religious beliefs in the 

new Moslem setting and expressed his 

Christian faith by shaping his product 

like a fish, an historical Christian symbol. 

Ottomans, Lebanese, Syrians, and 

others made the bread round. Simon’s 

“samoon” takes the shape of diamond, 

boat, or fish. 

Amba and samoon was one of the 

popular and inexpensive food pairings 

that were common in the good days in 

Baghdad among children and young 

adults. Kids would go out the school 

gates and straight to the street cart 

vendors selling this combination of 

delicious and filling delight. 

The seller cart contained a wooden 

for Ship indicates how late nineteenthcentury 

Basra-Bombay trade routes 

continue to define the post-colonial 

Iraqi citizen—whether in Iraq, the United 

States, or across the diaspora. 

Iraqi amba is a great example of 

how important history, culture, and 

taste are to the food we eat. It is something 

special that travels with Iraqis 

all over the world. The next time you 

want to enjoy mango pickles, whether 

at your favorite Iraqi market, restaurant, 

or in your own kitchen, let your 

imagination run wild and create your 

own unique pickling masterpiece. I am 

certain that tasting amba will not be 

your last tango with mango. 

Sources: Khaled al-Qashtini, Ali Kash, 

Raed Jaffar, Mutta Haaretz, Marefa. 

org, and Alex Shems. 


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CHALDEAN KITCHEN 

Leeanne Kizy and 

her mother, Amira, 

cooking together. 

Discovering New Cultures 

To feed her large family, Jamila cooked many of the traditional 

Chaldean dishes she grew up eating in Telkaif. 

As the years passed, she began to learn about the local 

cuisine as well, adding traditional Mexican meals, 

with their freshest of ingredients, to her family’s diet. 

From their mom, Amira and her sisters would learn 

the recipes for making meals from both traditions. 

During those mid-century decades, a growing 

number of Chaldeans were also making their way to 

Detroit, Michigan. One such individual was Ramzy 

Kizy. Ramzy left his hometown of Telkaif and traveled 

to the United States alone, arriving in the Detroit area 

in 1954. Like many others, Ramzy also shared the goal 

of working to establish a life so he can start a family. 

By the late 1950s, there had already been two or three 

waves of Chaldeans who had immigrated to Detroit. 

The Next Generation 

As word of this migration spread to Mexico, Elias 

Curioca began to visit Detroit, reconnecting with his 

newly-arrived friends. Amira recalls taking such trip 

with her father at the age of 21, when she was asked 

to be the maid of honor for her girlfriend’s wedding. 

They stayed with family friends, Joseph and Mary 

Shouneyia. As one of the few Chaldean families in 

Detroit, Mary would invite some of the single men to 

The Mexican Connection 

A mother and daughter prepare Pozole 

and reminisce of family memories 

BY Z. Z. DAWOD 

Back in 1937, a group of Chaldean Iraqi Christians 

traveled from Telkaif to Mosul, then to 

Adana to board a cargo ship bound for America. 

However, the United States was not their final 

destination. Upon reaching Ellis Island, New York 

City’s famous point of entry, they would board another 

ship, this one bound for Veracruz, which was 

then the main port of entry into Mexico. From Veracruz, 

the pioneers traveled by train toward Paso del 

Toro, stopping in various towns along the way before 

arriving in Ixtepec, where they would disembark. The 

journey would take three months. 

In Search of a New Life 

As was the case with many early immigrants to North 

America, it was mostly single men who tended to undertake 

such a voyage. They ventured to leave their 

hometown of Telkaif and travel to Mexico for what 

they believed would be a better life. With a climate 

that resembled Telkaif’s, this group decided to make 

the city of Ixtepec in the state of Oaxaca their new 

home. 

After some time of settling in, some of the men 

decided to travel back to Telkaif, with the goal of 

marrying. Their mission was to start a family to 

bring back to Ixtepec. 

One of the men who undertook this journey was 

Elias Curioca. Upon his return to Telkaif, he was 

matched with and soon married a young woman 

named Jamila Karana. 

Starting a Family 

Elias and Jamila Curioca had their first three children 

in Telkaif but after saving enough money for the trip 

back to Oaxaca, Elias departed once again, this time 

with a wife and three young children, arriving at their 

new home in Ixtepec three months later. 

Over the years, the family continued to grow. 

Their fourth child, Amira, was the first in this Chaldean 

family to be born in Mexico. Three more babies 

followed, blessing the Curioca family with a total of 

seven children. 

As Amira recalls, her home in Ixtepec was a villa 

of sorts, at least compared with other nearby homes. 

She remembers having a comfortable life, never 

wanting for anything. 

Ramzy and Amira on their wedding day in 1961. 

her house on Sundays for Chaldean dinners. Ramzy 

Kizy was one of the guests on the Sunday that Amira 

was there, and she caught his eye. 

The following morning, Amira’s father was excited 

to tell her about a gentleman who was interested 

in marrying her. At the time, Amira did not take the 

comment seriously. Rushing out the door to visit a 

friend, Amira recalls saying, “Baba, I have to go now, 

do whatever you need to do.” So, he did. 

The very next day, there was a shower gathering 

for Juliet Casab at Jack Najor’s house. It was a big celebration 

with lots of food and dancing when, all of a 

sudden, one halhole after another began to sound. 

Then came the announcement: Mary Shouneyia 

spoke up and informed the guests that Amira Curioca 

was now engaged to Ramzy Kizy. And that’s how 

Amira learned that she was to be married. 


RECIPE 

Pozole 

Stunned and caught off-guard, Amira had no idea 

that her father had actually consented to Ramzy’s 

proposal, on her behalf. But Ramzy was serious 

about marrying her, and Amira did not object. The 

following day, Ramzy arrived with a ring to make the 

engagement official. They were married two weeks 

later, and Amira moved to the Detroit area to start a 

family with her new husband. 

Growing Together Through Food 

Despite the obvious lack of knowledge about one 

another, the newlywed couple did have one thing in 

common: A mutual love of good food. 

By the time she was married, Amira was already 

an excellent cook, preparing traditional Chaldean 

dishes for her new husband. She was quite skilled 

at this and, in fact, many years later, Amira’s gurgur 

would land her a feature in the definitive Chaldean 

cookbook, Ma Baseema! 

In addition to the Chaldean dishes, Amira also began 

to introduce Ramzy to Mexican cuisine, and he loved it. 

Their five children would grow up enjoying foods from 

both cultures and speaking both Sureth and Spanish. 

1+1>2: Joining Cultures 

Ramzy’s and Amira’s eldest daughter, Leeanne, 

grew up speaking Spanish with her mother until 

Recipe shared by Amira 

and Leeanne Kizy 

Ingredients 

2 cans (28 oz.) of white hominy 

2 lbs. pork ribs, cut to pieces 

2 lbs. chicken drumsticks or thighs 

1 

/ 3 cup dried oregano 

Salt to taste 

2 large white onions, diced 

1 

/ 2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded 

2 jalapeños slices 

2 lemons cut into wedges 

Instructions 

Separately boil the ribs and chicken in 6 quarts 

of water until cooked. The ribs take about an 

hour and a half; the chicken, about a half hour. 

Once the ribs are cooked, drain and set aside. 

Transfer the chicken and its broth to a larger 

pot and bring to a boil, adding the ribs. 

After the broth comes to a boil, add the white 

hominy, salt and oregano. Bring to a boil once 

again, then simmer for 15 minutes. 

Serve in a bowl and garnish with shredded 

lettuce, onions, jalapeños, and a lemon wedge. 

Sprinkle some oregano on top, if desired. 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 



From left: Amira and Ramzy Kizy with their five children; Elias and Jamila; Amira Kizy and her siblings. 

she started school, at which point she began to 

practice English while continuing to speak Spanish 

and Sureth at home. Leeanne Kizy also kept up her 

Spanish speaking skills by spending every summer 

in Ixtepec with her grandparents. She would take 

this trip alone each summer, from the age of eight 

until she was sixteen. 

During these summer visits, Leeanne formed 

many fond memories of being in the kitchen and 

cooking alongside her la nana (grandmother). Leeanne 

loved to help out and put the meals together. 

During one such visit to Mexico, at the age of 

15, Leeanne celebrated her Quinceañera, an elegant 

traditional party highlighting God, family, friends, 

music, food and dance. Such celebrations would 

continue late into the night, often culminating with 

a walk to the Plaza Garibaldi, where family and 

friends enjoyed the Mariachi bands that played until 

the wee-wee hours while eating Pozole, a favorite 

dish served to the partygoers at the plaza. 

Chicken Broth Soup with a Twist 

Over the years, Pozole began to stand out as a family 

favorite. On the day I visited Leeanne’s home, her 

mom, Amira, was there and, together, they proceeded 

to share family stories from days gone by while 

preparing the soup. 

Pozole is a super-simple and delicious soup. With 

fewer than ten ingredients, it is not in the least bit laborintensive 

to prepare. If you can boil water to cook the 

ribs and chicken, shred some lettuce, dice onions and 

slice a jalapeño pepper, you can make this soup. Add 

salt and oregano to taste, top it off with the squeeze of 

a lemon and you’ve got yourself the tastiest of soups. 

Passing Down the Traditions 

Rooted in two distinct cultures, Leeanne grew up eating 

(and preparing) both traditional Chaldean and Mexican 

dishes. When it was her turn to start a family, it was only 

second nature for her to cook both, alternating between 

Chaldean and Mexican cuisines for her husband, three 

children, and now six grandchildren. 

Amira is blessed with eleven grandchildren and 

nine great-grandchildren, which is in itself a cause 

for a celebration. To keep the family close, a tradition 

they call “Mexican Day” regularly brings all four generations 

together for a Sunday family dinner. 

As the family continues to grow, new generations 

now call metro Detroit their home. With each consecutive 

generation, the family continues to celebrate 

their Mexican heritage, blending it with the native 

Chaldean traditions from back home in Telkaif. 


ECONOMICS & ENTERPRISE 

That’s Amore 

Tania’s looks to expand its ‘stuffed pizza’ footprint 

BY PAUL NATINSKY 

Above: Tania’s famous stuffed pizza. 

Right: Amos Sheena with parents Muntaha and Ihsan. 

Tania’s Pizza has long been an 

iconic Royal Oak institution. 

Nestled in an unassuming little 

strip mall behind a Sunoco station at 

the corner of 13 Mile Road and Crooks, 

Tania’s has been dishing out its signature 

stuffed pizza since 1987. 

The then-beer and wine shop began 

feeding hungry Kimball High 

School (now Royal Oak High School) 

students during their lunchbreak and 

after school, then the high schoolers’ 

families on weekends and eventually 

the broader community. 

Today, the store has expanded into 

an adjacent space, has added liquor 

to its offerings and is moving forward 

with plans to move its made-fromscratch 

pies onto grocery shelves. 

Despite its growth and ambitious 

plans, Tania’s remains a family business. 

Owner/operator Amos Sheena 

runs Tania’s along with parents Ihsan 

and Muntaha. Amos’ sister, Tania, 

handles the accounting, invoicing and 

other administrative duties. One other 

brother is a minority partner, and another 

is not presently involved in 

the business. 

Ihsan says all four children 

worked for the business until 

they were married. Ihsan chose to 

name the store for Tania, his only 

daughter and eldest child. 

Amos returned to Tania’s after 

graduating from college and starting 

a career in financial planning. He 

intends to expand the business and 

provide members of the community 

with career opportunities. He hopes his 

legacy will be sharing the business opportunity 

and a positive work culture 

with a larger family—the community. 

However, Tania’s and its stuffed 

pizza almost never happened. Ihsan 

worked selling real estate and operated 

grocery, beer-and-wine, and liquor 

stores in Detroit beginning in 1969. He 

ultimately sold his liquor store and 

began delivering pizzas for Domino’s 

Pizza with an eye toward becoming a 

franchisee. 

Then fate intervened. The Domino’s 

opportunity never materialized. At 

the same time, the business that was 

housed in the space Tania’s now occupies 

was going broke and selling. It was 

a beer-and-wine store that sold pizza. 

Ihsan and Muntaha took the money 

from the liquor store sale slated for a 

Domino’s franchise and put it toward 

buying the failing Roberto’s store. 

Ihsan had a longstanding fascination 

with pizza. He was now free to 

develop his unique blend of dough, 

sauce, cheese, and spices. He read 

trade magazines, talking to suppliers 

and other vendors. He worked with 

Muntaha to develop the stuffed pizza 

that only Tania’s serves. 

The pizza from Tania’s is difficult 

to describe. It is stuffed, but not super 

thick like Chicago-style pizza. It has 

a buttery, light, but sturdy crust and 

a construction that stays together in 

one’s hand. Tania’s pizza is delicious 

and addictive. Connoisseurs of Detroitarea 

pizza will not find anything like 

it. Not even close. 

Ihsan says many pizzerias over the 

years have tried unsuccessfully to imitate 

Tania’s pies. Amos, who says the 

recipe can be taught and the ingredients 

acquired, isn’t worried about anyone 

succeeding in eclipsing Tania’s. 

The business is about more than the 

pizza, he says. 

Tania’s works with Royal Oak High 

School administration to help students 

learn about business and sponsors 

sports teams and other community 

ventures. 

Involvement in the community is 

a direct outgrowth of traditional Chaldean 

culture for Ihsan, Muntaha, and 

family, who still get together every 

Sunday. 

As Tania’s professional family 

grows, it will take the road less traveled. 

Instead of expanding into multiple 

carry-out locations or sit-down 

restaurants, Tania’s has begun to 

move into the grocery and grocerydelivery 

space. 

Amos says Tania’s has received 

the USDA approval needed to sell 

meat products in grocery operations. 

This allows Tania’s to sell 

cook-at-home pizzas through grocery 

outlets. The pizzas are sold 

fresh, not frozen, in a vacuum 

seal-looking package that Amos 

says gives the pies a long shelf life, 

verified by lab-testing. They cook 

fast, in 6-12 minutes, and retain the 

quality and flavor of the cooked-toorder 

version (I home-tested one). 

Tania’s has arrangements with two 

Door Dash-owned stores that supply 

grocery items to the delivery service. 

Amos is working to get Tania’s into 

traditional grocery stores and expects 

this to happen “soon.” 

Even in grocery expansion, Amos 

says Tania’s considers family values. 

Rather than ordering a pizza to go or 

going out to a pizza restaurant, Tania’s 

business plans encourage families to 

cook pizzas at home and spend time 

together, he says. 

The story continues for the pizza 

place that almost wasn’t. And it continues 

its own way, keeping family and 

community values at its core. 



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3601 15 Mile Rd., Sterling Heights, MI 48310 


FEATURE 

7 Mile’s Kabob King 

A Tribute to Bahi Jarbo 

BY CRYSTAL KASSAB JABIRO 

A 

simple man with an extraordinary 

life story, Ablahad “Bahi” 

Jarbo left a legacy for his family 

and his community. 

Bahi was born to farmers Zingel 

and Gorgia Jarbo on December 10, 

1947, in the village of Telkeppe, Iraq. 

As a young boy, he shepherded animals 

and cared for his hunting dog. 

His mother died when he was 11. His 

older sisters helped raise him, as did 

his mom’s brother, the late Ramzi 

Yono, who taught him how to cut hair. 

When he was 18, Bahi was drafted 

into the Iraqi Army where in between 

training and combat he would trim 

soldiers’ hair for extra money. He 

served six years in very difficult conditions 

because of ongoing conflict in 

the region. After he was discharged, 

Bahi went to Kuwait and worked for a 

sheik as his personal barber. Several 

years later he traveled to Lebanon with 

a friend to await their American visas. 

On March 18, 1976, Bahi arrived in 

Detroit, Michigan and was reunited with 

his brother Edris, his only sibling in 

America. He lived with him on Havana 

Street in a section later known as Chaldean 

Town because of its large Iraqi- 

Chaldean immigrant population. With 

only $50 to his name, he started working 

at the Big Boy factory in Warren making 

ketchup. After a couple of years, he became 

a fish salesman for a small, Chaldean-owned 

company and later became 

a butcher in a supermarket. 

Bahi’s older sister Mare, who was 

now in Detroit with her family, encouraged 

the then 33-year-old to settle 

down and start a family. He was not 

interested, but she insisted on him 

meeting Sabri Shayota’s daughter, a 

young and pretty brunette who lived 

in the house across the street on Robinwood. 

To appease her, he agreed to 

meet the girl… but he had to see what 

she looked like first. So he offered to 

cut Sabri’s hair at home! 

When he saw 25-year-old Sue, he 

thought she was beautiful. Bahi recognized 

her as the girl who cashed 

out his invoices for fish delivery at the 

market. She was aloof and more interested 

in her brother Wisam recording 

the haircut on his new video camera. 

Innovative for 1980, he had attached a 

cord to the TV in the other room for the 

family to watch the haircut live, so Sue 

and the rest of the kids were laughing 

and having fun with it. 

Bahi wanted to see her again and 

hopefully get her attention. He intentionally 

left his clippers there so he 

could go back. 

The next day, another suitor for 

Sue popped up at the Shayotas. Bahi 

returned later that same day without 

knowing that. Sabri invited him to 

come in for some Arak. Sue looked at 

Bahi and said to herself, “This man 

will be my husband.” When he left, 

she discussed the proposals with her 

dad. He insisted on Bahi because he 

knew him from the market but ultimately 

left the choice up to Sue. She 

wanted to marry Bahi, so her mom 

Miriam called Mare to accept the marriage 

proposal. They had a tanatha 

(promise ceremony) the next day, New 

Year’s Day, 1981. 

Four months later, Bahi and Sue 

got married at Sacred Heart Chaldean 

Catholic Church in Detroit, officiated 

From left: Bahi in the Iraqi Army, 

circa 1965; Bahi Jarbo, 1947-2023 

by the late Father Jacob Yasso. They 

had a big party at Chateau Hall with 

over 700 people in attendance. 

The next year, their daughter Georgina 

was born and Bahi opened a 

nameless chaikhana (coffee shop) on 

Seven Mile and Havana, at the end of his 

street. Bahi started selling kabobs there, 

and they were so tasty that everyone in 

the neighborhood called them “Bahi’s 

kabobs.” He was honored that people 

craved his kabobs, but he was bombarded 

with orders. So in 1989, he opened 

Bahi’s Kabob Restaurant at Seven and 

Blake next to Greenfield Union Elementary 

School. It was the hot spot for over 

a decade. Bahi’s kabobs connected people 

in a way that was previously unseen 

in Chaldean Town. Even celebrities like 

Shaquille O’Neil and Kadim Al-Sahir 

Above: The Jarbo Family 

at Georgina’s wedding. 

Left: Sue and Bahi 

cooking kabobs. 

loved Bahi’s food! 

Throughout the success of his restaurant, 

Bahi and Sue had three more 

kids: Jarvis, Genelle, and Julian. Bahi 

worked seven days a week all day long 

to provide for his family. They would 

wait up till midnight just to see him 

when he came home. Sometimes the 

kids would hide from him, and he 

would act scared when they jumped 

out. At holiday get-togethers, he would 

pretend he was talking to Santa or the 

Easter Bunny to get their permission to 

give away sweet treats and ice cream. 

That was his playful way. He was also 

fun-loving on the dance floor at family 

celebrations, dancing with a cup on 

his head, flailing his hands and even 

shimmying to the ground. 

Safety eventually became a concern 

in Chaldean Town. Bahi was carjacked 

once and endured two more attempts, 

and even a hold-up at the restaurant. 

The once-vibrant mainstay closed 

down in 2000. Bahi and Sue ran “Bahi’s 

Kabobs’’ inside three local markets in 

Sterling Heights for nearly two decades 

before they decided to retire in 2018. 

That is when Bahi got to experience 

what he missed out on all those 

years he labored in the kitchen. He 

spent time with his grandkids, tended 

to his garden, and barbecued for family 

and friends, rain or shine. He lost 100 

pounds by watching his diet and walking 

three to five miles a day, even in the 

winter. Every single morning, he made 

coffee for himself and for Sue, and every 

single night, they would play konkan. 

Bahi was diagnosed with dementia 

in 2021. An emergency CAT scan 

several weeks ago at the ER revealed 

the last stages of pancreatic cancer. 

He was sent home to rest with his 

family where he passed away peacefully 

on July 18, 2023. He leaves behind 

a legacy rooted in family, fellowship, 

and food. 


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life possible — our licensed, professional therapists 

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resolve painful feelings, improve your relationships, 

and share your feelings and experiences. Individuals 

often seek therapy for help with issues that may be 

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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. 

In therapy your therapist will help you to establish 

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with your therapist is confidential and our common 

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Looking for a great opportunity to make a difference? 

NOW HIRING Behavioral Health Professional Therapists. 

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3601 15 Mile Rd., Sterling Heights, MI 48310 


FEATURE 

CCC Board members gave a special tour before the museum opened to the public. Pictured left to right: Judy Jonna, Francis Boji, Hani Mio, Bishop Ibrahim, Raad 

Kathawa, Bishop Francis, Mary Romaya, Hanna Shina, and Victor Saroki. 

Honoring History 

Birth of the Chaldean Cultural Center 

BY CAL ABBO 

When Chaldeans first came 

to Detroit, they struggled to 

integrate into American society 

and learn the language. They had 

their own unique culture, one that was 

different from that of other Americans 

and most immigrants. 

At first, this was a point of pride for 

Chaldeans. Their faith, family values, 

tight-knit community, and work ethic 

ultimately led to success in a foreign 

land. Chaldeans raised their families 

in the same traditions that they came 

from and passed down their culture 

successfully. 

At the same time, the children of 

the original immigrants were forced to 

acculturate to some extent. There were 

no Chaldean schools in Detroit at the 

time. Chaldean children often attended 

Roman Catholic or public schools. 

They learned English as their native 

language and began to Americanize in 

order to live, work, and play in a modern 

and diverse world. 

As time passed, fewer Chaldeans 

came from the homeland. Yet more 

were born in the United States, some 

even representing the second generation 

of American-born Chaldeans, 

many of whom don’t speak Sureth. 

This new perspective and way of life 

led to a concern that Chaldeans would 

lose their culture. Thus was born the 

urge for Detroit’s Chaldean population 

to preserve their culture and the idea 

for Chaldean Cultural Center (CCC). 

Mary Romaya is one of the CCC’s 

founders, and she served as its executive 

director for six years until her 

retirement in 2017. Ever since, she’s 

kept the organization on track when 

it needs her and assisted in the CCC’s 

move to the new Chaldean Community 

Foundation’s West Campus that is currently 

under construction. 

According to Romaya, the idea for 

the CCC was conceived around 2003 

in the famed and nostalgic rooms of 

Southfield Manor. “When I started 

with the CCC, I was the secretary and 

a founding board member,” she said. 

In March of 2003, the concept was 

there, a full two years before Shenandoah 

Country Club was purchased and 

opened. 

Shenandoah Country Club was 

purchased by the Chaldean Iraqi 

American Association of Michigan 

(CIAAM), a social organization that 

also ran Southfield Manor. As it was 

being renovated, CIAAM designed 

the club so that the CCC would have 

around 2,000 sq. feet of space for cultural 

programming and, eventually, a 

museum. 

“We were just a fledgling group,” 

Romaya said about the CCC. “We had 

no money. So we were not in a position 

to buy a building or rent a space. We 

knew we needed to preserve our heritage. 

By 2003, the Chaldeans had been 

here for more than a century.” 

According to stories Romaya heard 

from her own father, Chaldeans were 

discussing how to maintain and preserve 

their identity as early as the 

1920s. “They certainly didn’t want to 

lose the faith or the language,” she 

said about discussions her father had 

with other Chaldean pioneers. 

Her parents’ generation feared 

that their children who were born in 

America or brought here at a young 

age would become assimilated and 

integrated into American society and 

lose their unique Chaldean identity. As 

the generations became more Ameri- 


canized, they would speak more English 

and eventually forget Sureth. For 

that reason, Romaya’s parents spoke 

Sureth to her. “I understand the language, 

but I would answer in English,” 

she said. 

There were no Chaldean schools 

back then. Most children went to Roman 

Catholic schools in the archdiocese 

of Detroit. Chaldeans are known 

for making up large portions of metro 

Detroit’s Catholic schools as well as 

funding them generously. Just last 

year, John, Jeff, and Chris Denha gave 

a generous donation of $500,000 to 

Brother Rice, a high school the brothers 

attended in the 1980s. They gave in 

honor of their parents, Nedal and Mike 

Denha. Today, nearly 30% of Marian 

High School’s students are Chaldean. 

These are only two recent examples of 

the impact Chaldeans have on Catholic 

schools in the metro Detroit area. 

The Chaldean pioneers were happy 

to live and raise their families in 

America, away from the hardship and 

persecution that plagued them in the 

Middle East. They didn’t, however, 

want to lose the tight-knit community 

that went along with the ethnic group. 

Romaya identifies as Chaldean- 

American. She desperately wanted her 

community to stay intact because she 

valued the rich, meaningful life it gave 

her. To that end, she and others created 

youth groups, which she attended 

throughout her 20s and early 30s, designed 

to intentionally stay together 

and maintain the community they 

were blessed with. “They encouraged 

us to marry within the community 

and socialize with other Chaldeans,” 

Romaya said about the generation of 

Chaldean pioneers. “If we didn’t, they 

hoped we would still marry a Catholic.” 

Until the birth of the CCC, most of 

the work Chaldeans did to preserve 

their culture, aside from attending 

and expanding the Church, revolved 

around creating social groups and 

gathering places. There were few, if 

any, organized efforts to archive cultural 

items and revive what had been 

lost for families who arrived in Michigan 

decades ago. 

As the CCC grew comfortable in its 

new space at Shenandoah, the board 

began planning programs to accomplish 

its goal. “The CCC celebrates and 

explores the extraordinary history, 

arts, traditions, and contributions of 

the Chaldean people from ancient 

times to the present, serving as a repository 

for our collected history and 

stories…” the mission statement reads. 

The CCC had a board of directors 

chaired by the late Rosemary Anton. 

The first executive director was Josephine 

Sarafa, a bilingual teacher 

in Birmingham Public Schools for 27 

years. Her pilot program was one of 

community outreach and cultural sensitivity 

training. 

Sarafa first contacted different police 

departments and their leaders to 

teach them about the Chaldean community. 

When a Chaldean person was 

pulled over, for example, there was often 

a language barrier between the officer 

and the driver. Other times, when 

someone got in trouble, they would 

send their father or a community leader 

to speak with the police. 

In addition, Sarafa approached 

school principals, superintendents, 

and teachers to visit the CCC and learn 

about the Chaldean culture so they 

can better accommodate their students. 

Previously, few efforts had been 

made to explain who the Chaldeans 

are to the rest of the world. 

Soon after these initial programs, 

the CCC created classes to restore lost 

traditions and encourage cultural continuity. 

Live cooking classes featured 

rich recipes and foods like Dolma, 

Baklawa, Kibbeh, and more. The CCC 

began to teach Sureth classes so Chaldean-Americans 

who grew up speaking 

English could learn their ethnic 

language as adults. 

As these plans unfolded and gave 

the organization confidence in their 

early successes, the CCC continued to 

expand its mission. Whereas the earliest 

programs focused on explaining 

Chaldean culture to the wider metro 

Detroit community, the CCC understood 

its duty to preserve the stories, 

traditions, and documents that show 

Francis Boji taking measurements in the Today Gallery for an exhibit placement. 

who Chaldeans are. 

This series is perhaps the CCC’s 

greatest treasure, according to Romaya. 

It began interviewing Chaldean 

pioneers, some of whom immigrated 

to the United States before the 1920s. 

“They started interviewing people, 

the pioneers, before they all passed 

away,” Romaya said. “We recorded 

their voices, and we have physical cassette 

tapes. Some spoke in English and 

some in Sureth.” 

What was it like, coming to America? 

Where did you sleep on that very 

first night? These are the kinds of 

questions posed by the interviewers to 

Chaldean pioneers. 

“Basically, it was a bus ride from 

New York to Detroit,” Romaya answered, 

based on her understanding 

of the interviews. “One Chaldean 

woman ran a boarding house where 

you could sleep and eat for five dollars 

per week. The women would do your 

laundry and feed you until you got a 

job and could find your own place to 

live.” 

As a result of this digging, the CCC 

began collecting dozens of historic 

documents from their subjects that 

they could keep and preserve. Passports, 

immigration papers, or deeds 

to some of the first Chaldean stores 

were very common. Romaya said she 

doesn’t remember who came up with 

the idea, but eventually, the group realized 

they needed a museum to house 

and show off their collection. 

Nowadays, visitors see the museum 

as the main feature of the CCC because 

of its beauty and glamor. It didn’t open 

until 2017, however, and the CCC was 

plenty busy before that. “The CCC is 

more than just a museum,” Romaya 

said. “We consider ourselves the archivists 

for the Chaldean community.” 

The CCC wanted a real museum 

to honor and preserve the Chaldean 

culture. As far as Romaya knew, they 

were the first in the community to ever 

build a museum. The group ventured 

locally to the Detroit Institute of Arts, 

the Arab-American Museum, and the 

Holocaust Memorial Center. They travelled 

as far as Washington, DC to see 

the Smithsonian Museums and the 

National Museum of the American Indian. 

They went to Virginia to see how 

professionals warehouse artifacts and 

how to preserve them properly. It was 

diligent study and hard work like this 

that led to the grand accomplishment 

that is the museum embedded in the 

CCC. 

As they completed their initial discovery, 

the next step for the CCC was to 

find a firm to build the museum. In the 

process, they hired a creator, Sanan 

Media, who produces high-tech exhibits 

and engaging video. 

The CCC was close to finalizing the 

museum when the Great Recession 

wrecked the global economy. According 

to Romaya, “Funding dried up. 

People who were willing to give us 

money were now struggling to hang on 

to their own businesses,” she said. “I 

heard many stories of people who were 

barely surviving. Banks were calling in 

CCC continued on page 64 


FEATURE 

CCC continued from page 63 

their loans. So, we totally stopped.” 

Around the same time, the CCC ran 

into an even larger problem. Shenandoah 

Country Club as a whole could 

not meet its financial obligations as a 

result of the downturn. According to 

the terms of its loan, the club had to 

maintain a certain number of members, 

otherwise the bank could call 

it in and look for a new buyer to purchase 

the club. 

As the recession drew on, several 

interested buyers presented themselves, 

but the CCC’s presence helped 

save the club and keep it in the Chaldean 

community. When Shenandoah 

was initially purchased, CIAAM added 

the CCC to the deed of the property. 

This meant that any future owners 

would need to keep the CCC inside, 

since this organization did not have 

any obligation to the bank. According 

to Romaya, this deterred multiple potential 

buyers from closing a deal. 

After it was clear nobody would 

buy Shenandoah while the CCC remained, 

its loan was greatly reduced. 

“Shenandoah survived, therefore, we 

survived,” Romaya said. They began 

actively constructing the museum 

around 2013. 

The CCC’s current museum consists 

of five exhibits: Ancient Mesopotamia, 

Faith and Church, Village Life, 

Journey to America, and Chaldeans 

Today. Each displays a significant portion 

of Chaldean history and uses interesting 

and unique forms to tell the 

story of the Chaldeans. 

The Ancient Mesopotamia exhibit 

displays authentic replicas as well as 

original artifacts retrieved from ancient 

cities. The main feature is a replica 

of the Stele of Hammurabi as well 

as a digital interactive that translates 

a few of the laws encoded on the stele. 

The Faith and Church gallery traces 

the origins and development of the 

Church of the East and, eventually, 

the Chaldean Church. It shows how 

important Chaldeans were for the development 

of the Church and, in turn, 

how deeply those traditions inform 

our cultural identity today. 

The section on Village Life gives 

geographic and detailed information 

about living in a village and where 

Chaldeans come from. It also draws in 

the audience with realistic displays and 

A hologram in the Village Gallery in which Hanna Shina, a founding board member, 

is portraying a grandfather showing his grandson how to use a slingshot. 

a holographic video showing Chaldean 

village traditions like bread-making. 

The Journey to America exhibit 

shows documents from some of the earliest 

Chaldean immigrants from Iraq. It 

also has an audio exhibit where you can 

hear stories from Chaldean pioneers. 

Take a few steps forward to enter an 

old-style grocery store that Chaldeans 

were famous for in the early 1900s. 

In the Chaldeans Today gallery, the 

museum explains the local and recent 

history of Chaldeans as well as the rest 

of the diaspora around the world. It 

showcases some of the modern Chaldean 

success stories and community 

builders in a documentary-style video 

at the end of the tour. 

After opening the museum to the 

public, Romaya felt her work was done 

and wanted to find a suitable replacement 

as the CCC’s leader. “We had a 

museum now,” she said. “What we 

needed was someone who was there 

on a regular basis. My background is 

a historian and educator. We needed 

someone who was into programming 

and social media, someone who could 

really promote the CCC.” 

It wasn’t until 2019 when the CCC 

found Romaya’s long-term replacement. 

In the spring of that year, Weam 

Namou, who is the current Executive 

Director of the CCC, received a call 

from Judy Jonna, who served as the 

CCC board’s chairperson. 

Namou is a published author and 

filmmaker, among many other things, 

and had experience in the nonprofit 

sector working with artist organizations. 

Her mother had passed away recently, 

she said, which meant she was 

not looking for a job at that time, and 

didn’t think she would be interested 

in this particular role anyway. That is, 

however, until she stepped inside the 

museum. 

“I felt so deeply our culture and 

heritage and history through my whole 

body, reaching out to grab my attention,” 

she said. “I wasn’t expecting 

that. I went home that day thinking 

about it. Like so many others, I spent 

a lot of time complaining that we don’t 

value our heritage, we don’t try to preserve 

it, and we don’t spend enough 

time doing that.” 

That’s why Namou accepted the 

position. She worked with the CCC to 

premiere one of her films at the now 

closed Maple Theater, and soon after, 

began working as the executive director. 

“We had a gorgeous, beautiful 

museum, but we didn’t have any programming,” 

she said. To Namou, the 

museum was a true gem with lots to 

offer the community, but it hid behind 

the walls of Shenandoah. 

Shortly after she joined the CCC’s 

team, an administrator left the organization, 

which meant a lot more work 

for Namou. The first thing she did was 

apply for a certain grant that she expected 

to get with relative ease. To her 

surprise, her application was rejected, 

with a long list of reasons why the CCC 

was unqualified. 

“I literally took every single item 

they listed and addressed it,” she said. 

“A lot of it had to do with the website 

and our social media. There was a serious 

lack of activity. We needed to start 

posting and having activities.” 

As she revamped these programs, 

Namou also tried her best to involve 

other Chaldean communities besides 

those in West Bloomfield to interact 

with the CCC. Since Namou herself was 

from Sterling Heights, she knew for 

certain that the communities living far 

from the CCC needed to be made aware 

of it and could help expand its reach. 

“In the beginning, I didn’t see how 

far we would come,” she said. “When 

things got really hard, I had doubts 

in the back of my head. But I had this 

sense, deep down, that this place was 

very special. The meaning and significance 

just piled on.” 

Namou is proud of the work she 

did from the very beginning of her 

tenure as the executive director. Her 

goal was to teach as many people 

about Chaldeans and their culture as 

she could. To that end, she contacted 

every school within driving distance 

and offered to give a presentation. 

To her surprise, nearly everyone accepted, 

and within a few months she 

gave these presentations to dozens of 

schools and thousands of students. 

“I was so proud whenever I did 

these presentations to Chaldean students. 

They looked at me with wide 

eyes, trying to tell me they themselves 

were Chaldean,” she said. “These 

were the things that fed my spirit, seeing 

their reactions to the lesson about 

their heritage.” 

The other program she restarted 

was the digital storytelling, which 

resembles the original program that 

began almost 20 years ago. “We went 

out to senior homes and had elderly 

Chaldeans tell us their stories and do 


chants that you can no longer hear unless 

you’re from back home because 

that’s how old they are,” Namou said. 

“We interviewed people in Australia, 

India, Iraq, and even Argentina. I believe 

this storytelling has a healing 

component. We had so many people 

shed tears because we gave them an 

opportunity to share things that have 

been stuck in their hearts.” 

One of the CCC’s goals, aside from 

its aim to preserve and document 

our culture, is to forge relationships 

with other cultural and educational 

institutions and to promote a greater 

understanding of the Chaldean culture 

among other communities. To 

accomplish this, Namou started the 

virtual discussion series, with which 

she connects and interviews people 

from all cultures. 

Bridging this gap and listening to 

others, which comes from her journalistic 

instincts, is crucial for fostering 

respect from other communities. “By 

reaching out to other communities, 

they get to learn about your heritage 

and you get to learn about theirs,” Namou 

said. “This program helps us step 

outside of ourselves. We can’t stay in 

our own bubble like we’re in Iraq.” 

The beautiful museum remains the 

CCC’s crown jewel. Although it is not 

even ten years old, the organization 

plans to move its space and expand on 

the galleries at the new Chaldean Community 

Foundation’s West Campus. 

“It was hidden,” Namou said about 

the current CCC museum. “Because of 

that, there’s not enough traffic for regular 

operating hours. When we move, 

the goal is to have a regular, 9-5 schedule 

and allow people to walk through 

the museum at any point.” 

Right when it was presented to her, 

Weam said, the move seemed like a 

perfect fit. Even members of Shenandoah 

who frequent the country club 

aren’t familiar with the CCC or the 

fact that there’s a museum located inside. 

She most looks forward to being 

neighbors with other organizations 

that have similar goals and being able 

to share resources. 

The CCF’s new campus will feature 

a Radio and Television studio for the 

Chaldean News virtually next door to 

the CCC’s museum. The CCF also plans 

to create the Bishop Ibrahim Library, 

which will contain delicate manuscripts 

written hundreds of years ago 

as well as modern-day books. Finally, 

the building has office and meeting areas 

as well as a large event space available 

to the CCC. 

The biggest addition to the museum 

will be the new Genocide Gallery. 

Namou thinks it’s a necessary addition, 

even though it’s an unpleasant 

topic. “It’s a responsibility now,” she 

said, adding that for a while, she didn’t 

want to look at the issue because it’s 

too painful. “I feel like I’m honoring a 

part of our history in a way that I never 

really saw before.” 

There are plenty of genocides in 

Chaldean history that need to be addressed, 

taught, discussed, and remembered. 

Throughout most of Muslim 

rule in the Middle East, Christians 

were persecuted at varying degrees of 

intensity depending on the age and 

the leader. The Mongol invasions left 

many Chaldean villages ravaged and 

destroyed. The stories are centuriesold, 

but these tragic deeds still ripple 

through time and affect the Chaldean 

community today. 

Other events are much more recent, 

including those that living Chaldeans 

remember vividly through their 

family stories. Throughout the 1800s, 

warlords in modern-day Iraq, Turkey, 

and Syria would frequently raid Chaldean 

villages. This kind of behavior 

culminated around the time of WWI 

in an event often called the Sayfo, or 

“Sword” in Sureth, or in academia, 

the Assyrian Genocide. Unfortunately 

for its victims, this genocide is often 

overlooked and grouped in with the 

Armenian Genocide, although its targeted 

community is entirely separate 

and suffered on its own. 

Namou began reading a book 

called “Shall This Nation Die?” written 

by Rev. Joseph Naayem. He recounts 

the events of the Sayfo, as witnessed 

by the subjects of his books, and 

pleads with his audience to make this 

event known so that it doesn’t fall into 

obscurity or happen again. “We owe 

him that,” Namou said. “Their stories 

will be told in the Genocide Gallery.” 

Of course, much more recent events 

One of the CCC’s goals, aside from its aim 

to preserve and document our culture, is to 

forge relationships with other cultural and 

educational institutions and to promote a 

greater understanding of the Chaldean culture 

among other communities. 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

like the ISIS invasion completely destroyed 

or gutted plenty of Chaldean 

villages and towns. Tel Keppe, the 

village from which most of Detroit’s 

Chaldeans originate, was emptied of 

its residents by ISIS in the summer of 

2014, only ten years ago. Many Chaldeans 

have family or remember these 

events themselves. 

Certain areas of the Tel Keppe 

were vandalized, like the churches, 

which ISIS used as shooting ranges. 

Other places were totally destroyed, 

like the cemetery, which featured 

toppled headstones and disrespected 

deceased ancestors. Only a few Chaldeans 

returned to the village, which 

currently holds around 50 Christian 

families, compared to thousands that 

lived there prior. 

These events are fresh in the Chaldean 

cultural memory and need to be 

preserved for future generations, Namou 

argued. The new space will allow them 



to expand on the rest of the museum and 

include items relevant to the community 

and its history that happened since the 

CCC opened, like the ISIS invasion and 

the U.S. invasion of Iraq. 

For Chaldeans who know about it 

and have toured the museum, the CCC 

is a treasure. It has come a long way 

since its humble beginnings in 2003, 

establishing a cultural agenda that 

will influence the Chaldean community 

for years to come. 

Mary Romaya’s favorite memory of 

the CCC came when they filmed a promotional 

video of the museum. Sanan 

Media, which helped the organization 

before, asked Romaya to bring everyone 

she could for the shoot. She called 

all her friends and family until the museum 

was virtually at capacity. 

“It was February 2017, and the museum 

was basically built,” she said. 

“The grand opening was not until 

September. Sanan videotaped people 

walking through the museum, touching 

interactives, and learning about 

Chaldean culture.” The video, which 

was filmed seven years ago, is still featured 

on the CCC’s website. 

“When it was all over, my son 

hugged me and told me, ‘I am so proud 

to be a Chaldean.’ My heart just melted,” 

Romaya said, proving how important 

the museum and her own heritage 

are. “That is a moment in my life I will 

always treasure.” 

Namou appeals to her Chaldean 

community, imploring them to spend 

more time understanding their heritage 

and reading about their history, 

how special it is, and what we’ve contributed 

throughout history. 

“We have an amazing, powerful, 

and rich community,” she said. “Rich 

in history and wealth. I want us to use 

some of that, whether it’s time and 

energy or funds, to give a bit more attention 

to the CCC and preserving our 

culture in general.” 

Understanding our culture, according 

to Namou, will give us a better understanding 

of who we are today in the 

diaspora. “I used to travel to Europe. 

People who live in Rome don’t care 

about the Colosseum because they 

pass it every day,” she said. “I didn’t 

understand it, but now, I think sometimes 

we too ignore what we have. I 

hope we don’t neglect it because this 

history is a very powerful and important 

part of who we are.” 


FEATURE 

Dr. Sabah Yacoub, Saad Murad, Dr. Adhid Miri, Weam Namou, and Roy Gessford. 

Beth al-Nahrain 

2nd Annual Writers of Mesopotamia Conference 

BY ADHID YOUSIF MIRI, PHD 

The Chaldean Community Foundation, 

in partnership with the 

Chaldean Heritage Center in 

West Bloomfield (Shenandoah Country 

Club), took the initiative to host the 

second annual Mesopotamian Writers 

Conference (Beth al-Nahrain) on Saturday, 

November 11 in the Wireless Vision 

Gymnasium located in the Chaldean 

Community Foundation building 

in Sterling Heights. 

This gathering was attended by several 

participating writers and guests 

interested in literature, poetry, culture, 

and heritage. The symposium covered 

different topics, and participating writers 

made brief presentations. Roy Gessford, 

who has been studying the Aramaic 

language for years, talked about 

developing new writers in the Aramaic-speaking 

community. Saad Murad 

spoke about writing about the Yazidi 

genocide and survival. Weam Namou, 

executive director of the Chaldean 

Cultural Center, addressed the legendary 

women of Mesopotamia. Dr. Sabah 

Yaqoub spoke about certain aspects of 

Arabic poetry, and Dr. Adhid Youssef 

Miri shared the experience of writing, 

the importance of education, and the 

Chaldean identity. 

Roy Gessford 

Roy Gessford is the author of Preserving 

Chaldean Aramaic, an English 

teacher, publisher, Aramaic educator, 

public speaker, and founder of Let 

the Light Shine Through Publishing, 

which he founded for the purpose of 

sharing knowledge with others and 

encouraging aspiring authors to submit 

and print completed language 

manuscripts. 

In his presentation, Roy discussed 

in detail the practical steps and studies 

that he took to educate himself and 

enhance his strong desire to preserve 

the precious Aramaic language, which 

he considers the mother of all languages. 

He believes the history of humanity 

has been intertwined with this 

language since ancient times. 

Gessford highlighted his passion 

and love for languages and explained 

the reasons that started his personal 

journey to learn the Aramaic language 

(which according to Roy is an 

endangered language worth saving) 

through an experimental project to 

teach the Aramaic language in cooperation 

with Chaldean Father Michael 

Bazzi in San Diego, California. 

In 2013, he began publishing Bazzi’s 

books that deal with heritage 

and linguistic topics such as modern 

and classical Aramaic, Chaldean, the 

village of Tel Kaif, and the speakers 

of variations of Aramaic languages 

such as Chaldean, Syriac, Assyrian, 

Hebrew, Arabic, Nabataean, and other 

Semitic languages. 

Gessford concluded by summarizing 

his findings and made recommendations 

for future researchers and 

academics to encourage students and 

those interested in learning the Aramaic 

language to contact him directly. 

Saad Murad 

A journalist and human rights activist, 

Saad Murad has the passion and 

ambition to highlight the plight of 

the Yazidis in Iraq and hopes to bring 

change and develop awareness about 

the genocide of the 21st century. He 

currently serves as a board member of 

Yazda (the International Yazidi Organization) 

and the Yazidi Cultural Center 

in Lincoln, Nebraska. Previously, he 

held pivotal roles as Director of Media 

and Communications at Yazda and as 

Media and Administrative Director for 

Yazidi activist and 2018 Nobel Peace 

Prize laureate, Nadia Murad. 

Saad provided a detailed perspective 

not only about his work, his 

personal journey—a testament to his 

resilience, having survived the 2014 

genocide in Sinjar during ISIS attacks 

on Yazidis. He presented a comprehensive 

and clear historical picture of 

the extent of the Yazidi tragedy that 

resulted from ISIS campaigns and the 

ongoing decrees in Sinjar and Tal Afar, 

as well as tragedies that resulted from 

the massive killings in Yazidi villages 

and people as well as victims of captivity 

and what they were subjected to at 


the hands of ISIS members after they 

took control of the area in August 2014. 

Murad was an eyewitness and victim 

of that tragedy and listed evidence 

and pictures which included a set of 

compelling documents of the genocide, 

the mass graves of women, children, 

and the elderly. 

He stated that although government 

forces expelled the organization 

from the judiciary in November 2015, 

the conditions still lack security and 

stability because of rivalry between 

the armed groups in the Nineveh Plain 

region. This reflects negatively on the 

services and the faltering reconstruction 

campaigns, which leads to the 

reluctance of the displaced citizens to 

return to their homes. 

“The federal government in Baghdad 

is ineffective,” said Murad. “We have repeatedly 

asked our government to support 

survivors and their families without 

success. The displacement camps are 

hours away from Sinjar, and these camps 

represent an extension of the genocide 

that is tearing apart the entire fabric of 

Yazidi society. An entire generation of 

Yazidis remains without access to appropriate 

education, job opportunities, or 

basic rights such as personal privacy and 

freedom of belief. They need government 

aid and compensation.” 

There are about 3,000 Yazidis 

based in the state of Nebraska and a 

small group living in the city of Lansing, 

Michigan. 

Weam Namou 

Weam is the Executive Director of the 

Chaldean Cultural Center, an author 

of 16 books, and an award-winning 

film director of two feature films. The 

first is a documentary called The Great 

American Family, and the second is a 

feature film called Pomegranate. She 

is also the winner of the Eric Hoover 

Award and an ambassador for the Authors 

Guild of American Books, which 

is the largest and oldest book organization 

in the United States. Namou’s 

articles and poetry have been published 

in national and international 

journals, and as a keynote speaker, 

she has given readings, lectures, and 

workshops in libraries, schools, and 

universities. 

In her lecture, Namou reviewed 

the history, achievements, and innovations 

of a group of Mesopotamian 

women. She explored their role in 

multiple fields of knowledge such as 

writing, philosophy, literature, poetry, 

arts, perfumes, and beer-making, 

along with other innovations that 

changed the course of life and society 

in Mesopotamia. 

On the societal side, Namou indicated 

that opportunities were available 

for Sumerian women to learn and 

play musical instruments in temples, 

enter monasteries, and to dedicate 

themselves to worship. 

The Sumerians invented writing 

on the clay tablet. Mesopotamia in 

Iraq brought us the first letter, the first 

teacher, and the first to take special 

care with youth education, believing 

that “learning in childhood is like 

engraving in stone”. Teaching writing 

in Sumerian society meant moving 

towards education and taking 

advantage of opportunities. This also 

gave women a prominent position in 

Sumerian society, which gained the 

attention of men and later led to the 

prosperity of the Sumerian civilization 

by preserving inherited societal 

traditions in which women played an 

important role and strengthened their 

status in society. 

Namou explained that “the culture 

of any society is characterized by the 

solid or soft ground on which women 

stand,” meaning that culture has a 

direct role in the process of educating 

women and society. 

Dr. Sabah Yacoub 

A graduate of the College of Medicine 

in Baghdad with a postgraduate degree 

from the United Kingdom, Dr. 

Sabah Yacoub has a keen interest in 

poetry and literature. Over the years, 

he held editorial positions in medical 

journals, authored four poetry collections, 

and wrote articles on various 

aspects of life. He continues to write 

in social media, newspapers, and 

magazines. In 2014, he established the 

Chaldean Cultural Forum in Windsor, 

Canada. 

Dr. Sabah’s presentation covered 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

the history of Arabic poetry and linguistic 

development from the era of 

pre-Islamic times through the Umayyad, 

Abbasid, and modern eras. He 

spoke about the types of poems produced 

during these stages, such as 

classic, modern, and freestyle verse. 

Dr. Sabah believes “poetry is an 

idea, an inspiration, and a beautiful 

musical rhythm.” He read examples of 

verses from great poets such as Imru’ 

al-Qais, al-Mutanabbi, Elijah Abu Madhi, 

Badir Shakir al-Sayyab, Ma’arouf 

al-Rusafi, al-Jawahiri, Mohammad 

Saleh Bahr Al-Olum, and Mudhaffar 

al-Nawab. He also covered Christian 

poets throughout the ages (before and 

after Islam) such as the contemporary 

Chaldean Jesuit monk, pioneering 

writer, historian, and theologian Louis 

Sheikho (1859 – 1927 AD). 

This gathering was 

attended by several 

participating writers 

and guests interested 

in literature, poetry, 

culture, and heritage. 

Dr. Sabah displayed his published 

work in Arabic and English, including 

Poetry Quatrains, Flashes of the 

Present Pain, Bobble Braids, and Chaldeans 

When Do We Rouse. 

Dr. Adhid Miri 

As a contributing writer to the Chaldean 

News, my writings focus on the 

importance of preserving heritage, 

education, culture, Chaldean identity, 

community, and the history of Mesopotamia 

and Iraq. 

A former university professor, I 

was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1948. 

Since arriving in the United States in 

1981, I have been an active member 

of the Iraqi American community and 



served as President of the Chaldean- 

Iraqi American Society of Michigan 

(Southfield Manor-Shanandoah Club) 

from 2003 to 2005. Currently, I am a 

Project Director at the Chaldean Community 

Foundation, which is the nonprofit 

arm of the Chaldean American 

Chamber of Commerce in Michigan. 

In my presentation, I had the opportunity 

to speak about: the past, 

present, and future of the community; 

the importance of continuity and 

building on current successes; developing 

a brand and community identity 

in the diaspora; and the role of institutions 

and duty of leaders, which requires 

the participation of everyone in 

the Iraqi diaspora community. 

I emphasized that this unified societal 

brand and identity, which is 

rooted in education and prevalent in 

society, is not owned by anyone in the 

community, but rather is the trust and 

responsibility of everyone. The importance 

of elevating the identity of 

our society into one that is strong and 

built on the pillars of science, knowledge, 

and the granite foundations of 

our culture and historical identity, just 

as we were in the homeland, cannot be 

understated. 

The community must develop a 

strategy and integrate its efforts to 

benefit from the strengths of our numbers, 

raise our profile position among 

influential people, benefit from corporate 

support and philanthropists, and 

increase local and federal community 

recognition. 

During the symposium, guests 

were able to conduct personal interviews 

with the lecturers, purchase 

some books and publications, ask 

questions, and review their books. 

Other highlights included lawyer 

Murshid (Marshall) Karmo, who 

spoke about his published books and 

writings; Nabil Rumaya, who spoke 

about his book An Iraqi Journey in 

the American Diaspora; and Deacon 

Salem Jiddo, who added his own commentary. 

The conference was attended by 

a large group of people interested in 

knowledge and culture, as well as fellow 

writers and media personnel, including 

Mr. Namiq Nadhum, President 

of the Chaldean Writers and Writers 

Union, Mrs. Dr. Maha Al-Rayes/Yacoub, 

and Janan Youssef from the Resurrection 

Channel in San Diego. 



Chaldean Immigrant Media Pioneers 

In Michigan and the United States 


To commemorate the 20th anniversary 

of publishing the Chaldean 

News, we take this opportunity 

to look back and honor the 

first Chaldean newspapers published 

in the US. We remember a host of 

Chaldean Iraqi immigrants who were 

journalists, writers, poets, and media 

entrepreneurs, and we celebrate their 

accomplishments here in America. 

Between 1910 and 1947, few Chaldeans 

(mainly from Iraq) immigrated 

to the United States. They were part 

of the era of mass migration which 

brought millions from across the 

world to an America desperately in 

need of workers for its growing economy. 

Detroit was a popular destination 

for immigrants from Iraq because 

of the growing automobile industry 

and an established Middle Eastern 

community consisting primarily of 

Christian immigrants from Lebanon 

and Syria. 

In 1943, community sources listed 

908 Chaldeans in the Detroit area. 

Three years later, 80 Chaldean families 

were recorded as living within 

the city limits of Detroit; by 1963, this 

number had tripled, to about 3,000 

individuals. 

Many Iraqi citizens immigrated 

to the United States during the mid- 

1960s due to changes in US immigration 

laws, and the growth of Detroit’s 

Chaldean American community became 

even more dramatic. By 1967, 

the number of Chaldeans in metro 

Detroit had risen to about 3,400; by 

1986, the number had climbed to 

45,000. In 1992, the number reported 

was 75,000. Surveys sponsored by the 


placed the number at 160,000 

in 2016 and more than 187,000 in 

2023. 

One of the cultural necessities the 

early generation immigrants yearned 

for was communication in the form of 

journalism—newspapers, magazines, 

books, radio, television, and later, 

social media. With the increase in the 

number of Iraqi immigrants, the need 

for the diaspora’s intellectuals to 

share their knowledge and opinions 

emerged. 

The early community press in the 

US was part of the Arab press; its 

birth came with the issuance of Al- 

Mashriq/The Orient in 1949 by Hanna 

Yatooma in Michigan. Some historians 

cite the famous Al-Islah/the Reform, 

published in 1954 in New York 

by Father Jameel Alfons Shourez. 

These early publications were followed 

in 1962 by Al A’lam Al Jadid/ 

New World, published by a lawyer 

named Yousif Antoun. 

In 1968, Faisal Arabo published 

his first paper, Voice of the Immigrant/ 

Sout Al-Muhajir. The freely distributed 

newspaper was self-described as “The 

newspaper of record for the American 

Arab community.” It was a short-lived 

endeavor, publishing only 4 issues 

(June, July, August, and October 1968). 

Al Hadaf by Fouad Manna was 

published in 1970, followed by the issuance 

of several newspapers in other 

US cities. This was in addition to magazines 

issued by churches, organizations, 

and institutions. 

The Iraqi-immigrant press went 

through stages, initially addressing 

the first generation who spoke and 

thought only in Arabic, to a second 

generation who spoke additional languages, 

leading up to a generation 

born in the US that mastered only the 

English language. We must understand 

that the content of Iraqi press 

in the diaspora was a living part of the 

homeland’s press, even if it was written 

in languages other than Arabic. 

Occasions of note that took place 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

during this period include the reign of 

Saddam Hussein, the Gulf Wars, and 

the US invasion of Iraq. Metropolitan 

Detroit witnessed the birth of several 

new publications, magazines, newspapers, 

radio, and TV programs between 

the years 1980 and 2003; many 

were funded by Saddam Hussein and 

became mouthpieces for the Ba’ath 

regime. 

The content was always affected 

by what was happening inside Iraq, 

but the media outlets also shared community 

news for those living in the US. 

Topics of importance included immigrant 

issues, news of the homeland, 

and various cultural events. 

After the first Gulf War outbreak, 

a division emerged between the progovernment 

and the opposition press. 

The most prominent of the latter was 

the Chaldean News Detroit Times 

(CDT). Editor Amir Denha published 

the first issue on April 1, 1990. For over 

25 years, the CDT was the Chaldean 

and Arab-American community’s 

leading publication; it ceased publishing 

in 2015. 

Other popular publications were 

Al-Muntada, Al-Mahjar, Al-Qithara, 

Hammurabi Magazine, and Al-Sunbula 

Magazine. 

Chaldean journalists dedicated 

time and energy to the principles of 

faith, family, and history of their life 

in Iraq. The years that followed 2003 

and the US invasion produced a different 

form of journalistic work and led to 

the decline of a unique group of journalists 

who did not keep pace with the 

new changes. Dr. Faiq Butti chronicled 

the diaspora press in his book, The 

Iraqi Press in Exile, published in 2006. 



Factored in the decline were the 

structural restraints, cost of printing, 

distribution costs, low number of paying 

subscriptions, and writers’ salaries—which 

meant most media organizations 

ran at a loss and were forced to 

depend on parties or prominent figures 

for financial support. The spread 

of the internet, digitization, social media, 

and financing were the most significant 

reasons for the decline, which 

led to limiting the publications to just 

a few. 

On the bright side, the emergence 

of young journalists within the community 

and the diversity of journalistic 

work through satellite channels, 

podcasts, electronic newspapers, 

radio, and websites accommodated 

many opportunity seekers who did not 

find their place in the previous eras, 

perhaps stealing the spotlight from 

traditional names who could not keep 

up with the changes. 

The creative people behind the 

Chaldean News are an example of a 

new and inspiring trend. They have 

learned a great deal from the passion 

and purpose of the pioneers and understand 

the mechanisms of serious 

journalistic work in the field of news 

editing, analysis, and writing. They 

are ambassadors of a culture that represents 

freedom in journalistic work, 

freedom from regression, fear, and retreat. 

We are actively seeking new voices. 

Our upcoming journalists deserve recognition, 

appreciation, and support, 

especially since the community is in 

a state of constant evolution, forging 

forward in the fields of academic 

achievements, education, creativity, 

and independent thinking—far from 

partisanship and polarization—which 

will ultimately promote our identity 

and preserve our culture. 

Sources: Dr. Faiq Butti “The Iraqi Press 

in Exile,” published in 2006; Fouad 

Manna; Kamal Yaldo; Omar Abdul; 

and Ghafoor Al-Qattan. 



FROM THE ARCHIVE 

Chaldean Media Pioneer 

Faisal Arabo was a Detroit-area pioneer in publishing 

and broadcasting who dedicated his 

time to the education and entertainment of 

thousands of Iraqi Americans who longed to stay connected 

to their ethnic and cultural roots. 

In these archival photos, generously provided by 

the Chaldean Cultural Center and Museum, Faisal is 

seen broadcasting his radio show, circa 1967, when it 

was first aired, and in a television control room later 

in his career. 

After decades of contributing content in print, on 

television and radio, Faisal passed away in August of 

2023 and is survived by his wife Virjean. 

You can help to preserve Chaldean heritage by 

submitting your family photos to the Chaldean News 

and contributing to the Chaldean Cultural Center and 

Museum’s archives. 

The Chaldean Cultural Center and Museum owns a collection of captivating images from our vibrant community that 

we are delighted to share with the Chaldean News. If you have photographs that you would like us to incorporate into 

our archive, kindly reach out to us at info@chaldeanculturalcenter.org or call 248-681-5050. 


FOLLOW THE SILK ROAD 

From Mesopotamia 

to Michigan 

OUR DISTINGUISHED PANELISTS 

JACOB BACALL 

KARAM BAHNAM 

MIKE DENHA 

JEFF DENHA 

PLUS, A SURPRISE GUEST! 

OPENING COMMENTS 

ADHID MIRI, PhD 

Cultural & History Writer, Chaldean News 

MODERATED BY 

SARAH KITTLE 

Editor-in-Chief, Chaldean News 

THURSDAY, 

FEBRUARY 29, 2024 

6:30 PM 

SHENANDOAH 

COUNTRY CLUB 

5600 WALNUT LAKE ROAD 

WEST BLOOMFIELD MI 48323 

FREE 

EVENT! 

Emerging from an ancient culture and 

developing over centuries — at the 

crossroads of the “silk road” and other 

trade routes between East Asia, the 

Middle East and Europe — Chaldeans 

brought traditions of trade to Michigan, 

when they first began to settle in the 

Detroit area a century ago. 

Part of a year-long initiative to share 

the Chaldean Story, this forum will 

explore the roots of the Chaldean 

entrepreneurial spirit. The event 

will feature a distinguished panel of 

entrepreneurs who will share personal 

stories about the generational influence 

on their own success. Adhid Miri, PhD 

will provide a historical context and 

Chaldean News Editor in Chief, 

Sarah Kittle will moderate the event. 

There is no cost to attend, please register at 

chaldeannews.com/silkroad 

Everyone who registers in advance will 

be entered into a drawing to win a limited 

edition “Made in Nineveh” gift box. 

This free event is made possible with generous support from 

Michigan Stories, a Michigan Humanities Grants initiative.


CCF staff and volunteers dressed in traditional village folk dress. 

Weaving a Narrative 

The Rich Complexity of Middle Eastern Folklore 

BY DR. ADHID MIRI & SARAH KITTLE 

“ 

Forget death and seek life!” 

With these encouraging 

words, Gilgamesh, the star 

of the 4,000-year-old epic poem, 

coins the world’s first heroic catchphrase. 

Dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, 

the Epic of Gilgamesh stands 

as one of the oldest known works of 

literature in human history. This epic 

poem, written on clay tablets in cuneiform 

script, tells the story of Gilgamesh, 

the legendary half-god king 

of Uruk, and his quest for immortality. 

Through its portrayal of heroic 

deeds, friendship, and the inevitability 

of mortality, the Epic of Gilgamesh 

reflects the concerns and values of 

society in ancient Mesopotamia. 

At the heart of the epic lies the 

friendship between Gilgamesh and 

Enkidu, a wild man created by the 

god Aruru to challenge Gilgamesh’s 

tyranny, which was reported by his 

own subjects. The bond between Gilgamesh 

and Enkidu transcends the 

boundaries of social status and power, 

offering a reflective exploration of 

companionship and human experience. 

As Gilgamesh embarks on his journey 

to seek eternal life, he encounters 

obstacles that force him to confront 

the limits of his own mortality. Ultimately, 

he learns that true immortality 

lies not in physical longevity, but 

in the legacy one leaves behind. 

The ancient cuneiform tablet 

known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet 

is one of the world’s oldest surviving 

works of literature and one of the 

oldest religious texts. It was found in 

1853 as part of a 12-tablet collection in 

the rubble of the library of Assyrian 

King Assur Banipal. 

The Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was 

looted from an Iraqi museum during 

the Gulf War in 1991. The tablet 

reappeared in the UK in 2001. An 

American art dealer bought it from 

a London-based Jordanian family in 

2003 before sending the piece to the 

US without declaring its true nature 

to customs. 

It was then sold to antique dealers 

in 2007 for $50,000, under a false certificate 

of origin. The tablet was sold 

once again in 2014 for $1.67 million to 

the owners of Hobby Lobby, the Green 

family, conservative Christians who 

wanted to display it at their Museum 

of the Bible in Washington. 

On September 23, 2021, the rare 

Sumerian poem on cuneiform tablet 

was returned to its rightful owners 

and country of origin, Iraq. 

Storytelling throughout history 

Middle Eastern folklore is a treasure 

trove of tales that have been 

passed down through generations, 

often orally, weaving together history, 

culture, and imagination. However, 

within this vast expanse of stories, 

Iraqi folklore holds a unique position, 

offering insights into the country’s 

rich and diverse heritage and the 

enduring spirit of its people. 

Moving forward in time, we encounter 

another cornerstone of Middle 

Eastern folklore: One Thousand 

and One Nights, also known as Arabian 

Nights. This collection of tales, 

framed within the narrative of Scheherazade, 

a clever storyteller who 

captivates King Shahryar with her stories 

to save her own life, offers a kaleidoscopic 

view of the cultural mosaic 

of the Islamic Golden Age. From the 

adventures of Aladdin and Sinbad to 

the moral fables of animals and jinn, 

One Thousand and One Nights showcases 

the creativity and ingenuity of 

Middle Eastern storytelling. 

Iraqi tales occupy a distinctive 

place, reflecting the country’s rich 

history and diverse cultural heritage. 

The folklore encompasses a wide array 

of stories, legends, and myths that 

have been passed down orally from 

generation to generation. These tales 


often blend elements of ancient Mesopotamian 

mythology with influences 

from Islamic, Persian, and Kurdish 

traditions, resulting in a tapestry of 

narratives that is uniquely Iraqi. 

Western audiences have grown 

used to the marauding heroes of Arabic 

folklore. Characters like Sinbad 

the Sailor and Ali Baba instantly conjure 

images of hidden treasure and 

desperate sword fights. But in the 

Middle East itself, many people prefer 

a more down-to-earth figure: Juha, a 

wise old fool, and his long-suffering 

donkey. Whether outwitting his adversaries 

or offering sage advice in 

the guise of folly, Juha represents the 

wisdom of the common people and 

the resilience of the human spirit in 

the face of adversity. 

Another prominent figure in Iraqi 

folklore is the legendary Abu Zayd 

al-Hilali, whose adventures have 

been immortalized in poetry and folk 

songs. Known for his courage, wit, 

and chivalry, Abu Zayd embodies 

the ideals of honor and bravery that 

resonate deeply within Iraqi culture. 

His exploits, which often involve encounters 

with supernatural beings 

and epic battles, serve as a source of 

inspiration and pride for Iraqis across 

generations. 

Iraqi folklore also encompasses 

a rich tradition of mystical tales and 

legends, such as the story of the Seven 

Sleepers of Ephesus, which has roots 

in Christian, Islamic, and Jewish mythology. 

This tale, which tells of seven 

Christian youths who miraculously 

slept for centuries in a cave, reflects 

the varied nature of Iraqi culture and 

its ability to assimilate diverse religious 

influences. 

Modern day storytellers 

Honoring the enduring legacy of the 

past while embracing the diversity 

and creativity of the present, modern 

day Iraqi American story tellers 

use new formats to reach their audience. 

Jacquelyn Santo, author of 

the children’s book, “Sweet Dreams, 

Habibi,” said, “It has been wonderful 

to be able to use social media to connect 

with other moms and see photos 

of children enjoying the book.” She 

added, “Being able to share snippets 

of the book has been a great way to 

allow parents to get a little preview 

before buying.” 

Christina Salem in traditional dress. 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

Assyrian Chaldean author Christina 

Salem shared a story about her trip 

to Iraq and encounter with a sculpture 

of the popular mythical creature, 

the Lamassu. She explained how the 

creature was a symbol of the Assyrian 

kings’ power and was meant to protect 

it. “I captured a photo in a landmark 

home in Erbil and accompanied 

it with this as the caption [the definition 

from Britannica].” Salem goes on 

to say, “Many westerners were visiting 

at the time, and I feel this inspired 

and set the tone for many to capture 

the same moment I saw echoed on social 

media during my stay there.” 

Weam Namou, author and executive 

director of the Chaldean Cultural 

Center, says, “I integrate words, 

foods, traditions, real-life characters, 

and even songs to tell modern Chaldean 

stories.” She explains further, 

“Using contemporary language that is 

concise and relatable allows readers 

from diverse backgrounds to connect 

with and immerse themselves in the 

narratives.” 

Namou, an award-winning author 

of ten books, says she was influenced 

by her homeland’s folklore including 

the Epic of Gilgamesh, which has 

a flood story like that of Noah in the 

Bible, and the story of Sargon the 

Great, whose account mirrors that of 

the biblical Moses. 

She shows how she uses tradition 

to create new stories, such as 

that of Pomegranate, her novel that 

was made into a feature film. “The 

main character, Niran, is a poet who 

channels Enheduanna, King Sargon’s 

daughter and the first credited 

writer in history.” She explains, “By 

immersing herself in Enheduanna’s 

poetry, Niran breathes life into her 

spirit, making her an active participant 

in the film. 

“My storytelling predominantly 



A carving of Gilgamesh 

conquering the lion. 

revolves around nonfiction and memoir 

genres. It incorporates a rich tapestry 

of history, culture and heritage. 

Even within my novels, I often interweave 

true stories that provide readers 

with a profound understanding of 

the Chaldean people, their contemporary 

challenges, and their way of life.” 

Christina Salem, an activist who 

self-published a book called “#TGIM- 

ITB - the girl I met in the bathroom,” 

says, “When storytelling I try to incorporate 

as many layers that attribute 

to the story as I can in whatever 

portrayal I’m using.” She explains, “I 

enjoy putting together as many pieces 

of art in various forms into every masterpiece 

I create.” 

Santo says, “Throughout the book 

[“Sweet Dreams, Habibi”], I include 

many traditional elements. For example, 

on the first page, I have Assyrian 

inspired art in the background and 

Middle Eastern food represented on 

another page. 

“I also wanted to celebrate the diversity 

of Iraq.” She goes on. “On one 

of my favorite pages, all the adults are 

sitting around a table playing cards 

and drinking chai. One of the women 

has a hajib on.” 

Honoring the diversity and creativeness 

of their people, Chaldean 

storytelling not only preserves the 

past but also serves as a guiding light 

for future generations, imparting invaluable 

lessons of resilience, wisdom, 

and interconnectedness. 

As the world continues to evolve, 

the tales of the Chaldean people remain 

a source of inspiration, reminding 

us of the profound impact that 

stories have in shaping our understanding 

of ourselves and the world 

around us. 


ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT 

Music Man 

Omar Jarbo 

BY WEAM NAMOU 

At the young age of four, Omar 

Jarbo began playing the zurna, 

following in his father’s footsteps. 

It’s a woodwind instrument with a double 

reed, just like an oboe. Different versions 

of it are widely played in the Middle East, 

Central Asia, and the Balkans. 

When Jarbo was only eleven years old, 

he entertained audiences in Tel Keppe 

during events, even at weddings that went 

on for two to three days. “We would travel 

from store to store, home to home, playing 

music,” he explained with emotion. “Life 

there was absolutely beautiful.” 

The zurna and tubel (davul) are often 

played in unison, with the tubel acting as 

a prominent bass drum. The traditional 

ensemble of zurna and tubel is commonly 

seen in celebrations, festivals, and folk 

performances in these regions. The zurna 

player brings lively melodies and ornamentations, 

while the tubel player provides 

rhythmic accompaniment with the drum. 

Jarbo’s family made the decision to 

leave Iraq due to the political and religious 

environment, but he couldn’t accompany 

them initially. His enrollment 

in the army made any attempt to leave 

raise suspicion of fleeing to America. By a 

stroke of luck, he narrowly avoided being 

part of the Iraq-Iraq war due to his birth 

year, 1955. It took years, but he finally 

made it to America on December 24, 1981. 

“Since the day I set foot in America 

with three zurnas from Iraq,” he said, “I 

have never taken a break from playing the 

zurna, not even for a single day.” 

Jabro loved playing the zurna despite 

his mother’s disapproval. Concerned 

about his health, she believed that playing 

the zurna could be detrimental to his 

lungs, particularly when she observed him holding 

his breath for extended periods. 

“I can play for two hours,” he said. “It’s my passion.” 

It is a passion that Jarbo turned into a career. He 

has received invitations to perform at various celebrations 

worldwide. He wanted to learn how to read 

music in college, but he never had the chance. Hussam 

Al Rassam, the renowned Iraqi singer, expressed 

admiration for his talent and commented, “You could 

have achieved greater success if you had learned to 

read notes.” 

“I didn’t read notes or get lessons or anything 

Celebrating Chaldean Culture 

with a Free Community Event 

The Chaldean News has been awarded a grant to tell “Great Michigan Stories” 

through the Michigan Humanities Grants Initiative. As part of that grant, we 

are telling the story of the Chaldean community here in Michigan, through 

informative articles, personal interviews, and events highlighting culture. 

On Thursday, May 9, one such event will take place at the Chaldean Community 

Foundation in Sterling Heights. DJ Joe Sesi will spin traditional music 

and the event will also feature a Zeffa by Omar Jarbo, music by singer Danny 

Butrus and keyboardist Tony Barkho, traditional dance, food, storytelling 

and more. Register for this free event at chaldeannews.com/celebrate. 

like that,” said Jabro. “I just picked up the zurna and 

played. I’m self-taught.” 

He had simply picked up the instrument and 

played to his heart’s delight. Through practice, he 

became a master of the instrument. 

“In the U.S., singers depend more on written 

music, while in Iraq, musicians develop their skills 

through practice and an oral tradition,” he explained. 

The zurna has a long-standing connection with folk 

music, specifically during festive occasions like weddings, 

religious ceremonies, and community gatherings. 

Its loud and vibrant sound can easily be heard in 

outdoor settings, making it perfect for such occasions. 

Above and left: Omar playing the zurna. 

When they appear at the bride’s house, 

they play a crucial role in weddings, escorting 

her and her entourage. In previous 

times, in towns of northern Iraq, she would 

be ceremoniously paraded around, though 

this tradition is less common now. In the 

U.S., she heads towards the vehicle that 

will drive her to the church. In some cases, 

the groom wants to walk about to the beat 

of the zurna as well. Apart from that, they 

are primarily recognized for their grand entrances 

and the chobia dances. 

Even after getting married and having 

four boys, Jarbo kept playing the zurna. 

He’s saddened that he lost his wife seven 

years ago and finds it challenging to take 

care of their beautiful spacious home in 

Birmingham. But he keeps his spirits up 

through music, cooking elaborate Middle 

Eastern foods and spending time with 

family and friends. He is thrilled that his 

eldest son is a DJ. They have played together 

at parties and are now set to perform 

at a wedding in Cancun. Already, his 

baby grandson can play this instrument. 

“The ones made from apricot bark are 

considered the best zurnas,” Jarbo stated. 

Ancient Mesopotamia is believed to 

be the birthplace of zurnas, which eventually 

spread to surrounding areas. Depictions 

of the instrument can be found 

in Sumerian art, and it is also mentioned 

in ancient texts. Through the years, the 

zurna went through transformations and 

acquired various names in different cultures. In Turkey, 

for example, it is known as the zurna, while 

in Armenia it is called the duduk. In Azerbaijan, it 

is known as the balaban, and in the Balkans, it is 

called the zurla or zurlashka. Each location has its 

individual playing style and collection of songs. 

The zurna holds a significant place in Chaldean folk 

music, serving as an integral part of the musical traditions 

and cultural heritage. The zurna and tubel combination 

create a lively and vibrant musical tradition, 

and their collaboration adds a distinctive and energetic 

element to the folk music of Chaldean communities. 



“Since the day I set 

foot in America with 

three zurnas from 

Iraq, I have never 

taken a break from 

playing the zurna, not 

even for a single day.” 

– Omar Jarbo 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 




ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT 

Music Man 

Raad Hakeem 

BY WEAM NAMOU 

Born in Alqosh, Iraq, Raad Hakeem, 

32, has been playing the 

tamboura since the age of eleven. 

Known in Turkish as saz, the tamboura 

is a musical stringed instrument with a 

long neck and round body. It belongs to 

the lute family and is known for its rich, 

resonant sound. It is commonly used 

in Indian classical music, although it 

has found its way into various genres of 

world music and fusion styles due to its 

unique tone and versatile nature. 

Hakeem was taught how to play 

this instrument by his paternal uncle. 

“Whenever he left to serve in the army, I 

would use his instruments,” remembers 

Hakeem. “I practiced a lot during school 

breaks. The hardest thing was trying to 

find time to play and study too.” 

His father also dabbled with various 

musical instruments, so music 

was in the family genes. But only in 

Hakeem’s case did this aptitude turn 

from hobby into a full-time career. 

Early on, Hakeem’s talents gained 

recognition from the neighborhood. 

His family had a store in town where 

he’d sit and play the tamboura. People 

stopped to listen and enjoy his music. 

“Our house was on the way to the 

monastery,” he said, “so people who 

passed through would come over and 

insist that I play something.” Over 

time, they asked him, “Why don’t you 

get on TV and radio stations so the 

world can hear what you play?” 

At age sixteen, he began doing interviews 

for different channels. Locals 

invited him to play at gatherings. Little 

by little, he started performing with 

bands, and nowadays, he mostly does 

solo shows. 

Because of the dire situation there, 

Hakeem left Iraq in 2011. He lived in 

Lebanon where every day after work, he 

continued to play with the musical instruments 

he brought from Iraq. “During 

that time, I learned a lot of famous Arabic 

songs by the legendary Abdel Halim 

Hafez and Fairuz,” recalls Hakeem. 

These practices led him to create 

his own rhythms that combined Arabic, 

Iraqi, Turkish, Chaldean, Assyrian, 

Upcoming Shows 

Raad Hakeem will be one of the artists featured in the West Bloomfield “Meet 

Your Neighbors” event on Thursday, September 28. A multicultural experience, 

the event runs from 4-7 PM at the Connect Senior Center located at 33230 West 

14 Mile Road. All ages are welcome, and light refreshments will be provided. 

The Chaldean News will have a booth at the event, participating as part of the 

Great Michigan Stories Project. 

Raad will also be at the Chaldean Cultural Center’s Founders Gala on Friday, 

October 20 from 6-11 PM at Shenandoah Country Club. Tickets and sponsorship 

information are available on the Center’s website at chaldeanculturalcenter.org/ 

event/2023-founders-gala. 

Raad Hakeem will be a featured performer 

as part of CN’s Chaldean Story series at 

West Bloomfield’s “Meet Your Neighbors” 

on Thursday, September 28. 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 



Lebanese, and Egyptian music. “I took a 

chance with this kind of music and people 

liked it,” he said. “That inclusivity is 

what makes my style unique. It reaches 

various cultures and ethnicities who are 

at the same event. I haven’t seen anyone 

else do what I do in this way.” 

Hakeem arrived in the United States 

in August 2013. He was in his early twenties 

and realized that people here didn’t 

know the quality of his music. “It took a 

while for them to understand and have 

confidence in my work,” he said. “Since 

2021, I’ve been doing this full-time.” 

Hakeem visited Iraq in 2022 for six 

days, going to Duhok, Erbil, and Alqosh. 

“I can’t describe the feeling of going 

back to your hometown and seeing the 

people that you love,” he said. “It was 

great, and the people were great.” 

He performed at a couple of parties, 

for no charge. He did so out of 

love for the community and because 

many could not afford to pay. They 

lived under difficult circumstances, 

though they try not to show it. “These 

are my people and I wanted to make 

them happy,” he said. 

He noticed big changes since he 

left, such as social media. “Nowadays 

everyone has a phone and can watch 

online the entertainers and musicians 

that they like,” he said. 

Hakeem credits his musical success 

to his ambitious attitude, persistence, 

and the support of people. He listened 

to his audience and created tunes that 

resonated with them. They therefore 

appreciated his work and booked him 

regularly until he became so in demand, 

he saw that he could make playing 

the tamboura a full-time career. 

In the future, Hakeem would like 

to reach composers in the Arab World 

and work with them. This would 

broaden his audience and give him a 

global presence. 

He’s happy to help other artists 

grow in their fields, but only if they’re 

ambitious. “If they don’t have ambition, 

then they’re wasting my time,” 

said Hakeem. “You must have the will 

to pursue your dreams,” he went on. 

“When you love your work, you will 

always succeed. By loving it, you are 

giving it value, and in return people 

will give it value. You must hold on to 

the work and take it seriously.” 

Contact Raad Hakeem at (586) 277-9691 

or by email at raadhakeem@gmail.com. 


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FEATURE 

PHOTO BY DANY ASHAKA 

Detroit City Council member Coleman A. Young 

II gave the Chaldean Chamber a Spirit of Detroit 

Award at their Business Luncheon in October 2023. 

Industry Outlook panelists (from left) Saber Ammori, Rachel Stewart and Jordan Jonna share a laugh 

before the event on February 15, 2024. 

From the Outside 

Chaldean Americans are a uniquely 

close-knit community 


In the vast landscape of America’s cultural mosaic, 

the Chaldean community stands out not only for its 

rich heritage but also for its remarkable closeness. 

Nestled within the broader spectrum of Iraqi Americans, 

which include Assyrians and Syriacs, Chaldean 

Americans have cultivated a distinct identity characterized 

by a deep sense of unity and familial ties. 

When I first interviewed for a position with the 

Chaldean American Chamber, I was asked what I knew 

about Chaldeans. Being closely associated with an 

amateur historian, I knew Chaldeans were Catholic, 

came from Iraq, and spoke a form of Aramaic. That was 

enough, and more than most people outside the community 

knew. But there was so much more to learn. 

As a Roman Catholic, I was familiar with the liturgy 

and core beliefs. I saw the Board of Directors hold 

hands and say the Lord’s Prayer together before and 

at the conclusion of each meeting, and it struck me 

that this community was unique. 

Proud of its rich cultural heritage which spans 

back to Babylonian times, Chaldeans are a special 

group. They have fought for their faith and their right 

to exist almost from their inception. 

In the first week of my employment with the 

Chamber, I attended (well, basically ran) an orientation 

presentation that taught new members a little 

bit about the Chaldean community, its history, and 

values. For instance, Chaldeans claim ancestry from 

Abraham, the “father of many” in the Bible, who was 

from Ur, and King Nebuchadnezzar, who built the 

Hanging Gardens of Babylon in 600 BC. 

A faith-oriented community who mostly resides 

within 10 miles of their parish, a Catholic Church of 

the Eastern Rite, united with Rome under the Pope but 

with their own Patriarch, currently in Iraq, Chaldeans 

are a singular people. Church is what separates Chaldeans 

from Assyrians and Syriacs, who have their own 

churches, although they all share the same roots. 

There are an estimated 2 million Chaldeans/ 

Assyrians/Syriacs throughout the world, with approximately 

one half million residing in the United 

States—nearly 200,000 in Michigan alone. 

Bustling Businesspeople 

Known for their extraordinary skill in starting and 

running businesses, finding new niches before they 

become trends, and inventing new ways of doing 

things, Chaldeans have certainly affected the economy 

wherever they live. 

When they first came to Detroit, following their Lebanese 

predecessors, they did what they knew. As farmers 

and merchants, they recognized the need for markets 

in the city even as others were moving out. At the 

Chaldean Chamber’s 2023 Business Luncheon, Detroit 

PHOTO BY NICO SALGADO 

City Councilman Coleman A. Young II recognized the 

great part that Chaldean gas station and convenience 

store owners played in the survival of the city. They 

stayed when everyone else packed their bags and left. 

Since cornering the market on the corner market, 

Chaldean investors have branched out to other industries, 

fulfilling various needs that they identified. 

Some of the biggest success stories of the community 

came from necessity. 

For instance, Saad Abbo, who founded the company 

US Ice, did so under pressure from his father 

to be a good ice supplier, one who didn’t make his 

clients wait or ignore them in favor of other clients. 

He suggested an ice supply company for his son because 

he was struggling to keep ice in his store. Saad 

recently sold US Ice for tens of millions. That’s one 

person who is glad he listened to his dad! 

Another example of identifying and fulfilling a 

necessity is the late John Loussia. John left a legacy 

for his children in many ways but one which stands 

out is the ownership of Value Wholesale Distributors. 

John saw all these small grocers in Detroit who struggled 

to keep fresh food in their stores and thought 

there must be a way to help them. So, he created a 

local wholesale grocery distributor and supplied not 

only Chaldean stores but any store in the area with 

fresh products at reasonable prices. That’s why they 

are still around today, and bigger than ever. 

Faith, Food & Family 

I was told Chaldean philosophy is centered on three 

things: faith, food, and family. 

Faith is certainly the cornerstone of the community. 

One must only witness the high regard that not 

only the congregation, but the entire population has 

for the Church to see that its leaders are some of the 

most respected members of the Chaldean community 

here in America. 

The clergy serves as a spiritual guidepost for the 

community, offering counseling on all topics from 

marriage to vocations to recovering from child abuse. 

The Chaldean Catholic Diocese in the United States is 

a powerful organization, one which lives in today’s 

world and addresses today’s problems. Forums on 

gambling, internet addiction, and marijuana have 

been conducted by clergy, seeking to meet the congregation 

where they are. 


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Respect for elders is another trait 

that is highly visible within the community. 

“Rabbi” is a term of endearment 

for a teacher, one I’ve heard often 

in the offices of the Chaldean News 

and Chaldean American Chamber. The 

closeness of the generations is lovely 

to behold, and many children grow up 

with both sets of grandparents being a 

big part of their lives. 

As I worked closely with and grew 

closer to individual Chaldeans, I began 

to see food preparation as an act 

of love. The time and patience required 

to cook and serve meals is no joke! 

Chaldeans offer strangers food, too, 

as a sign of respect and welcome. I have 

eaten my way through Iraqi Salad, Biryani, 

Dolma, Kufta, Amba, and Kleicha, 

warming up to the solid nutrition and 

the care packaged in each bite. 

As an “honorary Chaldean,” I 

am sometimes overwhelmed by the 

love and support lavished on me as a 

Chamber staff member and editor of 

this fine magazine. One of the things 

I love most about the community is 

the ability to laugh, even sometimes at 

your own expense. 

Laughter, I believe, is one of God’s 

gifts to His children. Martin Luther 

King Jr. said, “It is cheerful to God 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

when you rejoice or laugh from the bottom 

of your heart,” and Khalil Gibran 

is credited as saying, “In the sweetness 

of friendship let there be laughter and 

sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of 

little things the heart finds its morning 

and is refreshed.” 

It is the simple things — faith, family, 

comradery, laughter, home-cooked 

meals — that make this community 

special. 



With their strong family ties and 

their entrepreneurial spirit, the Chaldean 

American community is a vibrant 

and dynamic force that continues 

to thrive and prosper in the United 

States. The Iraqi Prime Minister visited 

just this past April and was mightily 

impressed. He took back to Iraq a desire 

to replicate the community’s success 

in their homeland. 

From the busy streets of Detroit to 

the laid-back neighborhoods of San 

Diego, the connections binding Chaldean 

American families and individuals 

resemble the roots of a sprawling, 

ancient tree. Within this rooted network 

lies a narrative of shared history, 

cherished cultural customs, and steadfast 

solidarity, showcasing the unique 

and distinctive spirit of the Chaldean 

American community. 


EVENT 

1 

2 

3 

4 

West Bloomfield Group 

Tours the Chaldean 

Cultural Center 


A 

group from the Jewish community and West 

Bloomfield leadership visited the Chaldean 

Cultural Center inside Shenandoah Country 

Club on Saturday, August 5. This was the first of a series 

of events for the year-long Chaldean Story project, 

made possible with support from Michigan Humanities 

Grants. Guests enjoyed a guided tour of the museum 

with a history lesson by Executive Director, Weam 

Namou. The event, coordinated by Sharkey Haddad 

of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, included 

a luncheon and discussion. Sharkey is one of 

the project advisors for the Chaldean Story initiative. 

1. Event participants pose in front 

of the Chaldean Cultural Center. 

2. Judy Jonna leads a tour. 

3. Weam Namou explains some 

of the displays in the Center. 

4. Nick Najjar provides a 

first-hand account of current 

conditions in Northern Iraq. 

5. Sharkey Haddad gives an 

impassioned presentation. 

6. Dr. Adhid Miri leads a discussion 

during the post-tour luncheon. 

5 6 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 

This report is made possible with generous 

support from Michigan Stories, a Michigan 

Humanities Grants initiative. 



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EVENT 

A Night of Culture 

Celebration is a highlight of the 

year-long Chaldean Story series 

BY CAL ABBO 

The Chaldean News and Chaldean Community 

Foundation hosted a “Culture Night” to celebrate 

and showcase Chaldean culture. 

More than 200 people attended the event, many 

of whom were not Chaldean. The guests enjoyed traditional 

Chaldean foods like potato chop and geymar, 

among others. 

“What struck me most was observing the number 

of people present from outside the Chaldean community,” 

said Alex Lumelsky, the Creative Director of 

the Chaldean News and a key organizer of the event. 

“There was a good balance of people from within the 

community and people of other backgrounds who 

seemed genuinely curious about the culture.” 

The event marked the end of a months-long grant 

series called the Chaldean Story. Last year, the Chaldean 

News received a grant from Michigan Humanities’ 

Great Michigan Stories, which is meant to highlight 

untold stories in Michigan. 

A few minutes after the event began, Omar Jarbo 

stepped up with his zurna and his drummer, Wesame 

Matlub. The bright and playful music inspired a group 

of attendees to break into traditional Chaldean dance, 

usually seen at weddings, called the Zaffa. This was 

further enhanced when sisters Caitlyn Hakim and Carly 

Hakim Babi brought out their traditional Chaldean 

clothes and began teaching dance moves to the crowd. 

Another popular feature was Helen Kassab’s 

PHOTOS BY DANIEL MOEN 

Clockwise from top of page: Omar Binno leads the 

music; guests enjoying the atmosphere; an exchange 

of information; guests soaking up culture; and 

Caitlyn Hakim demonstrating a traditional dance. 

breadmaking table. She and her squad showed each 

step to making traditional Chaldean bread. Guests 

watched with wonder and were able to eat the bread 

after it was made. 

The Chaldean Community Foundation put together 

a table featuring trinkets from the culture. It 

showed various pieces of visual art, mini sculptures, 

maps, and other items related to the culture. 

The event also featured a photo booth by Nashwan 

Taila of Picture Perfect Mirror Booth, in which guests 

could dress up in traditional clothes and take fun photos 

with their friends. Afterward, they received the 

photo via text message and printout. 

Guests were treated to Turkish coffee brought 

right to them. Dheyaa Kabo walked the room, 

asking patrons to try a shot of his delectable creation, 

showing off his creative pouring method 

that the guests seemed to love. 

Zofia Walska Haney, who is not Chaldean, 

attended the event because she was curious 

about the Chaldean culture. She moved to the 

metro Detroit area only a few years ago from her 

home country of Poland and has already made 

a few Chaldean friends. Ever since she first 

learned what a Chaldean person is, she wanted 

to experience the culture herself. 

“I was so excited to experience the Chaldean 

culture that my friends were talking about,” she 

said. “I loved the vibe and it felt really authentic. 

The food and dancing were my favorite parts.” 

Several local dignitaries also attended the 

event, including State Rep. Mike McFall, State 

Rep. Tom Kuhn, Macomb County Commissioner 

Don VanSyckle, Judge Douglas Shepherd, and 

Sterling Heights Police Chief Dale Dwojakowski. 

DJ Joe Sesi provided live music before and after 

Jarbo’s performance. 

Weam Namou and Zina Lumelsky attended to 

represent the Chaldean Cultural Center at another 

table, offering their wisdom and showing off the vast 

resources and archives of the CCC. Next to them, 

guests could get their name written in Sureth by CCF 

Jumhoria Kaskorkis. 

Namou spoke at the event. “While most people 

know that writing was invented in ancient Mesopotamia,” 

she said, “they don’t know that the first recorded 

writer was a woman from that region. Enheduanna 

was a princess, priestess, and the first writer 

in history who signed her name.” 

For Chaldean News Editor Sarah Kittle, seeing her 

name in the language was one of the coolest things 

there. “I was impressed by the number of young children,” 

she added, “and how excited they were for the 

music and dancing.” 

The celebration continues as the 20th anniversary 

of the Chaldean News moves forward. 

CHALDEAN 

STORY 




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Chaldean News: A Commemorative Edition of 'Chaldean Story' Series

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