FEBRUARY 2004

from the EDITOR
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Well, here it is —
the first issue of
The Chaldean
News. It has been years in
the making and a project I
am personally passionate
about, not just as one of the
founding partners, but also
as a writer. I cannot begin to
tell you how elated I am to
write this column.
What some of you might not know
is that nearly 40 years ago, a group of
Chaldeans from the Chaldean
American Youth Club produced the
first Chaldean newspaper in
Michigan. The original group included
Jamal Shallal, Andy Acho, Freddie
Najor, Mike Khami and Bill George.
This was at a time long before computers
came into play, which I now
use to write this column. As today’s
younger generation, we follow behind
the footsteps of those who came
before us, and we strive to bring you
a newsmagazine that has evolved
along with our community.
We couldn’t have planned a
debut issue more appropriate or
timely. We never expected so much
to be going on around the world
relating to the Chaldeans.
Saddam Hussein is no longer in
power. Chaldeans have shared so
many stories of the terror spread by
this regime. Here, we share a couple
of those stories with you. Both Roufi
Ayar and Katrin Michael know, first
hand, what it was like to suffer under
the Ba’ath Party.
The long-awaited news of a patriarch
was finally announced before
the end of 2003. Contributing writer
Mervit Bashi paints the biography of
the man who now leads our church.
Within these pages, we will strive
to keep you abreast of what is going
on in the community. We have been
telling you, since our prototype was
published, that The Chaldean News
is a newsmagazine about the community,
for the community, and for
anyone wanting to build a relationship
with the Chaldeans.
We also encourage you to provide
us with feedback. Please feel free to
write letters to the editor. If you want
to announce an engagement, marriage,
death or birth, please read our
announcements section, which
includes submittal instructions.
As I have stated, this publication is
the result of years of planning, and it is
VANESSA
DENHA
EDITOR
being published by a team of
community members who
are all proud to be Chaldean.
Many of you who have
read the prototype have
expressed your excitement
about the magazine and have
stated that we are filling a
void. That is our goal. We are
here to give all of us a voice.
The Chaldean News is your voice. It is
your publication — a medium that
gives all of us an opportunity to present
the Chaldean people in a positive way.
We couldn’t have done this without
the support and encouragement
of our friends, family and colleagues.
We would like to thank our two bishops
and clergy for their support. We
pride ourselves on our religious
beliefs and the church is our foundation
— we are guided by its lead.
Thanks to all of our community
organizations for lending support.
Thanks to the Chaldean American
Ladies of Charity, to members of
CARE, to the Chaldean Chamber of
Commerce, to the Chaldean Iraqi
American Association of Michigan
and to the Chaldean Federation. We
will keep the community informed of
your events.
In addition, we could not have
done this without the support of
many people outside the Chaldean
community. We thank Arthur
Horwitz from The Jewish News
(Jewish Renaissance Media) and
his team for their advice and constant
dialogue as we developed this
project. We also thank Specialty
Communications for assisting us in
getting the prototype published.
Last, but not least, we thank you —
the reader. Your support is most important.
We hope you continue to read
every publication and interact with us
by writing letters to the editor, sending
us your announcements and telling us
of events happening in the community.
Alaha Imid Koullen
(God Be With Us All)
Vanessa Denha
vdenha@chaldeannews.com
Letters to the editor can be sent via
email to vdenha@chaldeannews.com
or to: The Chaldean News, Letters to
the Editor, 30095 Northwestern Hwy.,
Ste 102, Farmington Hills, MI 48334
4 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2004