FEBRUARY 2007

NOTEworthy
Students Remember King
Three Chaldean teens were among a group of 40 high school students from the
Tri-County area who met with Governor Jenifer Granholm in Detroit to celebrate
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on January 15.
“Chaldeans need to branch out from their own community and conflicts in
order to integrate and relinquish themselves of stereotypes,” said An d r e w Za i t u n a
of Bloomfield Hills.
Granholm challenged the youths to make a goal of leading and helping to unite
the community. She pointed out that Michigan is the most segregated nation in
the country based on studies of where people live and go to school.
“We need to educate the people in our community about other cultures in the
area for more understanding tomorrow,” said Ga b r i e l l e Ge o r g e of West Bloomfield.
Li n d a Is h o of Sterling Heights agreed, “We need to follow Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.’s, footsteps and fight with words, not violence.”
Ga b r i e l l e Ge o r g e ( l e f t ) , Li n d a Is h o a n d An d r e w Za i t u n a p o s e
w i t h Go v e r n o r Gr a n h o l m a t t h e Ma r t i n Lu t h e r Ki n g , Jr . e v e n t
Ishtar Offers
a Slice of Iraq
The Savaya family — brothers Ma n h a l ,
Iz a t , Na h e l and Ma j e d and sisters
Ma j d a and Na h l a Ye l d a — opened
Ishtar Food & Bakery in West
Bloomfield in December. The 4,000-
plus-square-foot shop features
Chaldean pantry favorites like candy,
seeds, spices (in larger quantities) and
the usual staples such as tea, cheese,
olives, olive oil, rice, seeds, figs, dates,
baklava, halva, rice and chickpeas.
Ishtar also has a full-line produce
area, bakery and a catering department
that provides appetizers, sandwiches,
daily made meat pies, bread and even
quizi (leg of lamb) upon request.
Dearborn painter Salam Al-Qalawi
created the eye-catching art on the
produce walls and the checkout area’s
backdrop, which resembles the
famous Gates of Ishtar.
“We wanted it to represent where
Chaldeans are from and the same time
be upper-class, different and colorful,”
Majda Savaya said.
Ishtar has been a dream of the siblings’
mother, Sa h e r a , who also works
at the store. Her husband had a similar
shop in Northern Iraq.
Sahera says Ishtar carries the
necessities of any ethnic household. It is
attracting not only Chaldeans and
Arabs, but other nationalities as well.
“We’ve had a lot of Japanese and
Indians come in here lately,” said Majda.
Ishtar is located at 7480 Haggerty
(near 14 Mile). Call (248) 661-8000.
West Bloomfield
Offers Free ESL
West Bloomfield School District Adult
Education is offering free English as a
Second Language classes in the
evenings. The district also has tuitionbased
daytime Career Certification
classes in Medical Terminology,
Medical Billing, Pharmacy Tech,
QuickBooks and Entry Level
Computer Skills.
Learn more by calling (248) 539-2390.
n n y r y n
c h o o
r l y t o
e p h e n o r e n c e
t o
l i s o n c h o o d i n n a i s t e n s a n o d i n n a
d h a l l a i m a n i r
n n a
i s t e n s a n o
h n
s a s a n o
g i e n o i z a b e t h j o r o n s o n l d o o i z a b e t h j o r
r r y n i j o r
a n d o n o u k r i
m h u o u k r
o n s o n l d o o
a n d s a i n l d o o
g i e n o
n i n a
n o
l i s o n c h o o
of Ke and Ma An
At , a sophomore at
Michigan State University;
Ca At of West
Bloomfield, the daughter
of St and Fl
At , a freshman at the
University of Michigan;
Al At Fa Ha Kr He Fa Ha of Sterling
Heights, the daughter of
Ni Su and Am
Ha , a freshman at
Michigan State University;
Kr He of Livonia,
the daughter of Jo and
Li He , a freshman
at St. Mary’s College;
An Yo El Na Br Ya El Na of
AFPD Awards
Bloomfield Hills, the
daughter of Je and To Na , a
sophomore at Miami University of Ohio;
Scholarships
Br Sh of West Bloomfield,
The Associated Food and Petroleum son of Sa and Ma Sh i, a
Dealers has granted 30 scholarships freshman at Wayne State University;
from its AFD Foundation/Pepsi Br Ya of West Bloomfield,
Scholarship Challenge Drive for 2006.
Each student received a $1,500 scholarship
the son of Mr . Mr . Br Ya ,
a freshman at Wayne State University;
for the 2006/2007 school year. and An Yo of Farmington Hills,
Among the Chaldean students
awarded are:
Al At of Troy, the daughter
the daughter of Ha and Sa
Yo , a freshman at the University
of Detroit Mercy.
PERSONALIZED BOOKS ARE A HIT
As any parent knows, getting children to read is often easier
said than done. But Va n e s s a Ba h o u r a believes she has
hit upon a solution with her company, That’s Me!
Personalized Books.
The company offers more than 30 titles of hardcover
books that are personalized to include the child’s name,
hometown, age, up to four friends, relatives or pets, and a
message from the giver. The child is the “star” of the
story, which can include licensed characters such
as Batman and Scooby-Doo. “Parents are
always looking for ways to motivate their kids
to read and my books could definitely be one
of them, Bahoura said.
Bahoura started the company in
August 2005 and has had customers
as far away from Alaska. The books
range in price from $12.95 to
$15.95 and are recommended by
children up to age 8. Learn more
at www.ThatsMeGifts.com.
New Faces
at Bank of
Michigan
Neil Desai and Ra n d y
De n h a have joined
the Bank of Michigan Ra n d y De n h a
Board of Directors.
Desai is an CPA and
Denha is a estate
planning attorney.
In other Bank of
Michigan news, Ja c k
Ab b o has joined the
organization to head Ja c k Ab b o
up the Residential
Mortgage Department. He brings 12
years of progressively responsible mortgage
experience to the position.
In 2006, Bank of Michigan accomplished
its threshold goal of $50 million
in assets.
People
Ch r i s t i n e S. Sh i n a ,
M.D., who specializes
in internal medicine
with additional
expertise in geriatrics,
has joined the
Ch r i s t i n e S. Sh i n a
medical staff at Henry Ford West
Bloomfield Hospital. She is a graduate
of Wayne State University School of
Medicine. After her residency in
internal medicine at the Detroit
Medical Center, she completed a
geriatrics fellowship at the
University of Michigan. She
speaks fluent Chaldean and is the
daughter of Al f r e d and Zu h i r a
Su e Sh i n a of Rochester Hills.
Sa n i y a Za f a r , Sa j e d
Sa r w a r , Th a m a r Sa r w a r
and Ze y d Sa r w a r are
among 90 students at
West Bloomfield High
School who have earned
the designation of AP
Scholar by the College
Board. All had exception
achievement on the collegelevel
Advanced Placement
Program exams.
10 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2007