MARCH 2004

iraq TODAY
target from telkaif
Attempted assassination of the mayor
BY OMAR BINNO
Just a few weeks ago,
Chaldeans in Iraq almost
lost a leader.
On January 24, 2004, Wadhah
Dallo, the Mayor of Telkaif was
nearly assassinated after leaving a
government officials meeting in
Nineveh, the Iraqi state to which
Telkaif belongs. Dallo, 34 had
just left the building where the
meeting was held, when a barrage
of gunfire opened from all sides.
Dallo and his bodyguards were
able to escape by car, while their
would-be assailants pursued them
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to the outskirts of Telkaif.
Dallo forbade the members of his
bodyguard to retaliate with gunfire,
because of the innocent bystanders
on the streets and in their cars.
“He loves his people, and Telkaif,” Awrahen
said. “He always wanted to see Chaldeans
united with the other communities of Iraq.”
“Wadhah did not want anybody to
get hurt,” said Dallo’s cousin, Mahir
Awrahen. “He was more concerned
with the other people’s safety than
to fight back at these attackers.”
According to sources close to
Dallo, the assailants did not
appear to be Iraqi civilians.
“We’re not sure who they were,”
Awrahen said. “Witnesses are sure
though that the attackers did not
look Iraqi at all. My cousin wasn’t
even concerned with who was
behind it. All he was worried
about was that no innocent civilians
got caught in the gunfire.”
Dallo was born on March 5,
1970. He has three brothers and
five sisters. He graduated from
Mosul University with a Bachelors
of Science in mathematics. He consistently
engaged in social and
political functions as an active
voice for the Chaldean population
in Iraq, especially those of his
native village of Telkaif. “He loves
his people, and Telkaif,” Awrahen
said. “He always wanted to see
Chaldeans united with the other
communities of Iraq.”
Dallo was elected Mayor of
Telkaif in August of 2003. In a
period of recovery and rebuilding
for Iraq, Dallo’s election was timely.
While turmoil, strife, and war
had ravaged the country for years,
its people were left sundered, one
community from another, under
the rule of a brutal dictator who
knew no justice or mercy.
As Iraq continues to recover
from years of economic deprivation,
it is the ideal time for people
like Dallo to be the voice for
Chaldeans from the smaller villages
in order for them to be heard
throughout the country. “After
years, even centuries of not getting
recognized, Wadhah wants
Chaldeans to stand out among the
Iraqi people,” said Awrahen. “He
was always active in his community
in Telkaif, and I’m sure he’s
going to keep standing up for his
village and his people.”
As the Iraqi people walk on the
road to a better life, government
continues to provoke us and keep
us wondering what the future
holds. As Chaldeans in United
States and abroad seek to stand
out as an identifiable group in the
world, Dallo strives to maintain
the Chaldean identity in Iraq
where they can have a distinct
place in the pages of their own
country’s history books.
16 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2004