FEBRUARY 2009

your LEttErS
it’s obvious:
Buy american
I am an Engineering
Senior Manager
at Chrysler LLC
and have been proudly
employed there for more
than 17 years. I and many of
our recent Chaldean generation
engineering professionals are
employed by the Domestic Big
Three or suppliers and depend on them
for our livelihood. In my case alone, I
have fi ve family members tied to the
U.S. auto industry.
It saddens me to read the “Car
Trouble — Industry Blues Spread
Throughout Community” article [January
2009] and the secondary economic
impact it’s having on our community
outside the auto business (liquor
stores, doctor’s offi ces, banks, hotels,
restaurants, etc.).
Our community’s wealth and prosperity
was built by the U.S. auto industry
and all that it has provided to us
when our grandparents fi rst stepped
foot on this great country in the early
1900s. No one can deny that the U.S.
auto industry built the foundation for the
pillars that our Chaldean community
stands for today.
We all need to step back and ask
ourselves, “what would happen to my or
my parents’ or brothers’ or sisters’ business
or job if the Big Three no longer
existed?” The answer is not pretty nor
do we want to imagine the potential devastation
it will have to the Detroit Metro
area, let alone the U.S. economy.
When you put the “credit crunch”
issue that is plaguing the industry as a
whole to the side, the rest is up to us as
consumers. The fact is our community
has as much blame as the rest of the
car consumers in this country with purchase
of foreign-built cars over those
made in the U.S. If you want to confi rm
my statement just observe the ratio of
foreign versus U.S. cars next time you
attend a Chaldean function or when
you go to one of our churches for Sunday
mass.
There are also those in our community
who own foreign cars and will
take the hypocrite approach and criticize
the U.S. automakers and quality of
their products. We quickly forget how
dependent our liquor stores or gas
stations are on the customer base
that is employed by the Big Three and
extended enterprise. I have personally
witnessed these conversations and
quite honestly it upsets me knowing it’s
not true. The U.S. auto worker, its salaried
leadership and suppliers are some
of the hardest-working and dedicated
people you will ever know. Those
reading this letter who are engineering
professionals employed by the Big
Three or suppliers appreciate the passion
and emotion in my voice, because
outside of family we devote our life to
our job and career.
The perception that today’s foreignengineered
and -built cars are better
than U.S. for quality and safety is simply
not true. U.S.-built cars have come
a long way the past fi ve to seven years
and are just as reliable and safe as foreign.
How can our community help the
U.S. auto industry and the economy
that it relies so heavily on for its livelihood?
The answer is simple and
obvious. For those in our community
who have always supported the Big
Three, we sincerely thank you for your
continued support. And for those who
have purchased foreign cars in the
past, please buy cars that are proudly
engineered and manufactured by the
Big Three when making your next purchase.
I ask our community to rally behind
the Big Three and make a 2009 new
year’s resolution: If you are in the market
for a new car, purchase one from
the Big Three!
– Hadeer Konja
Farmington Hills
Biting the hand that feeds
I loved your cover story of “Car Trouble.”
Kind of funny how many Chaldeans
in the Detroit area drive tons
of foreign cars, and when a Chaldean
worker at Ford, like myself, and my father
(a Ford retiree) who have told them
for at least 10 years to drive American,
we get strange looks or other responses
that indicate our people still prefer
foreign cars.
Well, all I have to say is if you bite the
hand that feeds you then you do not get
fed, as is the case nowadays. Thank you
for this article. A bumper sticker quote is
beginning to surface in this area and it
says, “Lost your job? Then sleep in your
foreign car.” Same is also true for your
business or store, etc.
– Christian Yousif
West Bloomfi eld
‘horrific consequences’
I’m a Chaldean American and I’m ecstatic
to see our people living the socalled
American Dream. However, I
believe we have compromised our principles
as well as tradition and culture
to live this dream, thus disallowing us
to foresee the horrifi c consequences of
adopting this westernized mindset to
obtain this dream.
When we view our Eastern heritage
that our ancestors govern their lives
from, our principles were intact, our
tradition practiced, and we lived within
our culture that assured us we would
develop from that culture men, women
and children who would be fi lled with
wisdom, morality and obedience to
God, that we could strive for a destiny
that held “greatness.”
Our children and grandchildren
must not have their future destroyed
by remaining asleep to this western
culture that has people living in it acting
other than themselves. No matter
where we are on God’s earth, we must
be the people that God intended for us
to be, righteous!
Remember last year when Governor
Jennifer Granholm gave acknowledgment
to the Chaldean people for
providing employment for the citizens
of Michigan? Why then are we struggling
to survive, losing our homes, behind
on our bills and putting material
things before family? Money – the root
of all evils!
Let’s end the war in Iraq by telling
our people the truth, and getting the
American forces and their allies out of
Iraq as soon as possible.
May God bless our country and
our people to unite as One Family, with
One Common Objective, and give our
Submission to The One God.
I pray that I haven’t offended any
readers, but if I have please forgive me
for it wasn’t my intent.
Remember, “Don’t nothing come to
a sleeper but a dream.” Peace!
– Jeremiah Suleiman
Kincheloe
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10 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2009