JULY 2015

VOL. 12 ISSUE VI 

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THE MEDIUM IS 

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and Chaldean Community Foundation 

30850 Telegraph Road, Suite 200 

Bingham Farms, MI 48025 

248-996-8340 

www.chaldeanchamber.com 

Chaldean Community Foundation 

– Sterling Heights Office 

4171 15 Mile Road 

Sterling Heights, MI 48310 

586-722-7253 

www.chaldeanfoundation.org 

Waad 

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AdvocAcy 

Fund

CONTENTS JULY 2015 

THE CHALDEAN NEWS VOLUME 12 ISSUE VI 

departments 

6 FROM THE EDITOR 

BY VANESSA DENHA GARMO 

Socially communicating 

8 IN MY VIEW 

BY MICHAEL SARAFA 

Cuba: What might have been still could be 

10 GUEST COLUMNS 

BY WILLIAM R. WILD 

State and regional issues impacting Metro 

Detroit mayors 

BY HALIM MICHAEL SHEENA 

ISIS: Remaining and Expanding 

BY SHERIFF MICHAEL J. BOUCHARD 

Have a happy – and safe – boating season 

14 NOTEWORTHY 

16 CHAI TIME 

18 OBITUARIES 

34 TEEN CORNER 

BY RENNA SARAFA 

Try something new this summer 

36 CLASSIFIED ADS 

38 EVENTS 

Min Sharetha 

ON THE COVER, FROM TOP LEFT: 

CHALDEANS WITH A FOLLOWING: 

DAVID BOJI, BISHOP BASILIO 

YALDO, GLORIA HAIO, JOEY 

NAMOU, KRISTIE NAIMI AND 

NASTASIA YAKOUB-WONG. 

DESIGN BY ALEX LUMELSKY 

20 

on the cover 

20 GETTING SOCIAL 

IN CYBERSPACE 

BY CRYSTAL KASSAB JABIRO 

The medium is the message for these Chaldeans 

21 SOCIALLY BRANDING 

YOUR BUSINESS 


21 SOCIAL MEDIA: 

A FORCE FOR GOOD OR EVIL? 

BY JOYCE WISWELL 

features 

22 TARIQ AZIZ BURIED IN JORDAN 

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Chaldean was controversial Saddam associate 

24 LIVING UNDER ISIS 

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: ZEINA KARAM, 

VIVIAN SALAMA, BRAM JANSSEN AND LEE KEATH 

Creating a nation of fear 

26 A NEW HOME 

BY WEAM NAMOU 

Sacred Heart relocates from Detroit 

28 OUT OF AFRICA 


Store owner brings joy to Tanzanian villages 

30 MUTE NO MORE 


Writer Weam Namou is prolific – and committed 

31 HAVE MERCI 


Doctor group creates fundraising campaign for Iraq 

32 SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER 


‘Sounds of Babylon’ returning 

JULY 2015 CHALDEAN NEWS 5

from the EDITOR 

PUBLISHED BY 

The Chaldean News, LLC 

EDITORIAL 

EDITOR IN CHIEF 

Vanessa Denha-Garmo 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Joyce Wiswell 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

Michael Bouchard 

Weam Namou 

Michael Sarafa 

Renna Sarafa 

Halim Michael Sheena 

William R. Wild 

PROOFREADER 

Lisa Kalou 

ART & PRODUCTION 

CREATIVE DIRECTOR 

Alex Lumelsky with SKY Creative 

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS 

Zina Lumelsky with SKY Creative 

Joseph Sesi 

PHOTOGRAPHERS 

Razik Tomina 

OPERATIONS 

Interlink Media 

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS 

Martin Manna 

CIRCULATION 

Stacey Sheena 

CLASSIFIEDS 

Joyce Wiswell 

SALES 


SALES REPRESENTATIVES 


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Stacey Sheena 

MANAGERS 


Martin Manna 

Michael Sarafa 

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Socially communicating 

Long before it was massmarketed 

or even accessible 

to the general 

public, and long before it 

became the entertainment 

juggernaut it is today, social 

media started as a dialup 

Bulletin Board System 

(BBS) created in the late 

1970s – as reported – primarily 

for corporate America. 

Today, some celebrities 

credit their stardom to Internet 

sites such as YouTube 

sensation Justin Bieber and 16-yearold 

Nash Grier from North Carolina 

who took to Vine to create his national 

celebrity status. 

Now, some Chaldeans have Instagram 

and Twitter followers and Facebook 

friends in the thousands and 

have quickly become known in mass 

circles for their talents and interests. 

We feature those social media 

sensations in this issue’s cover story 

accompanied by two sidebars about 

the platforms. 

As a news junkie with no interest 

in a recovery program, I check 

out social media sites every morning 

even before I brush my teeth. This has 

been added to my long-time morning 

routine of reading the paper before 

the sun is up to stay abreast of current 

events – a necessary habit for a 

reporter and communications expert. 

I also channel flip on television 

and radio to see what news channels 

are covering. 

Today, I follow social media sites 

of news outlets across the globe as 

well as reporters and often click on 

stories they post. 

Social media is a tool we use at 

Denha Media Group as we provide 

communication and writing services 

to our clients. 

For most clients, it is part of our 

proposal as we create strategic communication 

plans. I had the opportunity 

to talk with fellow expert Alex 

Jona about how she uses social media 

for her clients. Both of us provide 

our readers with some important dos 

and don’ts about a communication 

medium that could catapult a career 

and business. 

There are many benefits to social 

media. 

Social media can be a useful tool 

when creating awareness and raising 

funds for a cause as well. Many of the 

VANESSA 

DENHA-GARMO 

EDITOR IN CHIEF 

CO-PUBLISHER 

newly created committees 

to help displaced Christians 

in Iraq following the ISIS 

invasion have effectively 

used Facebook, Twitter and 

Instagram among others to 

promote fundraisers and 

campaigns. 

Several social media 

posts have led to news 

stories right here in these 

Chaldean News pages. 

Those who know me well 

know I read and listen with 

potential stories in mind. 

This month, we also share with 

you the latest campaign launched by 

the MERCI group through HelpIraq. 

org to raise money for the 10 medical 

clinics operating in Northern Iraq. 

Also, the Second International 

Symposium hosted by the St. Thomas 

the Apostle Chaldean Catholic 

Church is being highly promoted 

on social media sites and shared by 

several groups including the Chaldean 

American Student Association 

(CASA) thanks to Halim Sheena, 

president of Oakland University’s 

CASA, who agreed to share the flyer 

on their sites and email blasts. 

Halim also penned a very compelling 

and timely piece about ISIS 

for this issue. 

As part of my media strategy for the 

Symposium, I created several FB and 

Twitter posts in advance and 

shared them with the committee 

so others can post on 

a regular basis promoting the 

event. 

You can also have a lot of 

fun with social media as long as 

you are careful and responsible. I 

never post vacation photos while I am 

on vacation nor do I post any personal 

events ahead of time; I do not want to 

bring attention to the fact that I will 

not be home during a period of time. 

I have become friends with people 

I might not have established a 

relationship with if it weren’t for 

Facebook, for instance. Twitter has 

allowed me to stay abreast of news 

events throughout the day. LinkedIn 

is a great professional business tool to 

network and connect with potential 

employers or for my clients. 

There are some negatives, especially 

as it relates to the younger 

generation growing up with technology. 

Some research has shown that 

social media as well as texting has 

limited their abilities to interact and 

has negatively impacted their interpersonal 

skills. 

However, that is a story for another 

issue. 

Right now, you can learn about 

how others are socially communicating 

their messages — building a 

brand for their businesses and a platform 

for their careers. 

Alaha Imid Koullen 

(God Be With Us All) 


vanessa@denhamedia.com 

Follow her on Twitter @vanessadenha 

Follow Chaldean News on 

Twitter @chaldeannews 

6 CHALDEAN NEWS JULY 2015


in my VIEW 

Cuba: What might have been still could be 

BY MICHAEL SARAFA 

The people were beautiful, but 

melancholy, even disinterested, 

I would say. The country majestic, 

but in total disrepair. Signs of the 

Revolution abundant, but its disastrous 

effects overwhelming. The police state 

non-existent but its legacy visible. 

Magnificent but enigmatic. Inward 

yet rich with culture. Poor yet highly educated. 

Despairing but quietly hopeful. 

These are the words that come 

to mind to describe our adventure in 

Cuba. It may be the greatest example of polarity 

I’ve ever witnessed. 

This past Memorial Day weekend, I was on 

one of four Miami-based flights headed for various 

parts of Cuba as part of a group traveling on a 

religious visa facilitated by a Jewish Cuban-American 

man who was childhood friends with a man 

who is now the Bishop of Santa Clara, a very poor 

parish in the countryside. 

“What I saw you can’t make up,” to quote one 

of my colleagues on the trip. The experience was 

remarkable. Not because of beautiful beaches or 

five-star resorts, which we did not see or stay in, 

but because it was literally a visit to another era. 

Sometime in the 1950s, someone there threw a 

switch and stopped the march of time. 

Yes, there were American-made 1950s vintage 

Chevys, Buicks and Cadillacs, just like in movies, 

mostly used as cabs. Pre-revolution hotels that must 

have been stunning in their time — like the one 

built by Myron Lansky, the inspiration for Hyman 

Roth’s character in Godfather II. At the entrance 

was a magnificent fountain that appeared to have 

been dry for decades. While the swimming pool 

was open, the two-story cabanas facing the ocean 

were closed and grungy. The oceanfront view was 

as splendid as any Caribbean nation, except for 

the catered concrete along the entire frontage in 

Havana. The beautiful beaches, we were told, were 

out in the country, undeveloped and pristine. 

The housing stock, commercial infrastructure, 

roads and sewers represent 60 years of deferred 

maintenance and would require a public works effort 

the size of the Marshall Plan for Europe after 

World War II to even begin to make a difference. 

Commerce was only visible in certain areas other 

than restaurants and art galleries. What people did 

for work outside of the hospitality business was not 

readily apparent. We did see a couple of factories 

along the road from the airport but with government-sponsored 

rent, healthcare and education, 

the incentive to work is not much. 

What you might have thought they did well, 

they did not. The tropical fruits were stale and 

tasteless, possibly because they were not fresh. To 

give one example of how broken the commerce is, 

we took Cuban coffee from Miami back to Cuba 

to send to the Santa Clara Catholic parish (along 

with food, medicine, clothing, medical equipment 

1 

and money). 

We didn’t get to see the parish, which was three 

hours away, but in Havana, religion was dead. The 

two synagogues we saw were listless and vacant 

looking; churches were unnamed and unsigned. 

An effort to find mass times was difficult at best 

3 

5 

1. Michael Sarafa poses in front of a photo 

of Fidel Castro and Ernest Hemingway at a 

cafe in the fishing town where Hemingway 

wrote “The Old Man and the Sea.” 

2. Just like in the movies, 

classic cars are everywhere. 

3. Tom “Mojo in the Morning” Carballo rediscovered 

his roots in a Havana cigar shop. 

4. This fisherman had a good day. 

5. Mass attendance was sparse at the 

Havana Cathedral. 

Opposite page: 6. A group of Cuban 

boys on a break from soccer in the Havana 

Square. 7. A Hugo Chavez banner adorns 

the Venezuelan embassy. 

because no one attends mass. It turned out the Cardinal 

from San Salvador, El Salvador was in town 

to hold a mass in honor of Bishop Romero, who 

was assassinated on the altar decades ago. In Rome, 

they were to begin the process of beatification for 

Romero. Not even one hundred people were in at- 

2 

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7 

tendance — there were four Bishops 

on the altar. 

The needs of the Santa Clara parish 

were so desperate because they 

receive no support from inside the 

country — almost all of their financial 

support comes from Europe and Miami. 

At the mass we attended, there 

was no collection during Offertory. 

There are no charities or charitable 

giving or tithing in Cuba. The government 

does everything for you — 

but not very well. They have wrecked 

three generations of potential progress 

and opportunities for a better quality 

of life for the Cuban people. 

But these issues cannot be solved 

from the outside. The opening to 

Cuba from America will not be 

enough. The Cuban people have to 

decide what it is they want. When 

that happens, I have no doubt that 

Cuba will thrive again — not as 

a capitalist outpost of the United 

States that reintroduces casinos and 

organized crime. But as an island nation 

that allows some market forces 

to work regardless of the governing 

system; a leadership that realizes the 

benefits of their natural resources for 

tourism and trade; a country that 

rejoins the international world and 

can produce and export its goods; a 

people that recognize their own potential 

and put into play the necessary 

relationships and programs to 

accomplish it. 

Then, one day, way down the 

road, what Cuba could have been 

still might be. 

Michael Sarafa is president of the Bank 

of Michigan and a co-publisher of the 

Chaldean News. 

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GUEST column 

State and regional issues impacting 

Metro Detroit mayors 

There are many successes 

happening on 

the city levels from 

the revitalization in Detroit 

and everything Mayor 

Mike Duggan has been doing 

to Warren Mayor Jim 

Fouts touting the $1 billion 

investment from General 

Motors that will surely spur 

economic development. 

Many mayors beyond 

Detroit and Warren are 

celebrating successes. They run deep 

and wide; just look at Romulus, 

Southgate, Flat Rock, Taylor, Woodhaven, 

Livonia, Dearborn, Rochester 

Hills and so many other cities that are 

moving forward with creative leaders 

at the helm. 

Because cities are where people 

live, work and play, our state leaders 

need to engage the mayors in the 

conversation on issues that affect the 

state’s population. 

WILLIAM R. 

WILD 

SPECIAL TO THE 

CHALDEAN NEWS 

For instance, there was 

a sense of urgency amongst 

the 1,700 attendees at the 

recent Mackinac Policy 

Conference and the urgency 

is to fix Michigan’s 

roads. It was among the 

top issues coming out of 

this year’s conference that 

should be of concern to 

Metro Detroit’s mayors. 

I had the honor of sitting 

on the roads panel on 

the last day of the conference. Doug 

Rothwell, the president and CEO of 

Business Leaders of Michigan, not only 

presented research he conducted about 

why Proposal 1 failed but properly noted, 

“we’ve been talking about this issue 

far too long.” 

It’s my belief that Michigan residents 

realize they have to pay more for 

better roads but they also want assurances 

that the new money will trickle 

back to their local streets and be built 

to last. As a new roads plan is created, 

I believe it is imperative that the state 

includes Michigan’s mayors in the road 

funding and spending talks so we can 

communicate to our residents which 

streets and highways will get fixed if 

new taxes or user fees are imposed and 

how we pay for it — and not just put 

on the backs of the working poor. 

The ballot proposal soundly defeated 

by voters in early May also would 

have raised taxes for schools and local 

governments while increasing a tax 

break for lower-wage residents as part 

of a legislative compromise. These 

add-ons were needed to build bipartisan 

support but led to confused voters. 

Whatever we agree to do, mayors 

should have a seat at the table because 

as the elected leaders closest to the residents 

we bring a perspective that you 

don’t get from polling or focus groups. 

We have to solve this roads problem 

and now is a great opportunity 

for lawmakers to show some leadership 

and get this thing done. We 

cannot attract businesses to our cities 

when our roads are in shambles. 

The Chaldean community would 

agree that the municipalities play an 

integral role in where they live and 

where they set up business. State issues 

trickle down to city levels and the 

first people residents talk to are mayors. 

We live among those who vote 

for us. We see them at the grocery 

stores, restaurants and retail outlets. 

We are grappling with the big 

picture challenges. In a U.S. Conference 

of Mayors/Zogby poll, nearly 

half of the American public believes 

their city is on the right track, compared 

to only 29 percent who think 

the nation is. While the American 

trust in elected leaders has declined, 

mayors rank higher among the public 

than the President, their governor, 

Congress and their state legislature. 

Citizens are looking to their mayors 

for help and are trusting we will 

solve daily problems. 

William R. Wild is the mayor of 

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Subject to credit approval 


GUEST column 

ISIS: Remaining and expanding 

It has been over a year 

since the fateful day of 

June 10, 2014, when 

what was then known as 

the “Islamic State of Iraq 

and Syria” (ISIS) forced 

itself onto the world stage 

with its lightning-fast takeover 

of Mosul, the secondlargest 

city in Iraq. In the 

year that has followed, the 

Chaldean/Assyrian/Syriac 

people have faced one of, 

if not the largest, crisis in 

their history. The once-peaceful city 

of Mosul has been robbed of its diversity, 

and as a result our people have 

been robbed of their native home. 

Since the tragedy began, the diaspora 

Chaldean community immediately 

started turning out an impressive 

and coordinated response with 

new charity funds, political pressure 

campaigns, and many other initiatives. 

Even though our community 

continues to push out this amazing 

response, many still don’t know 

much about ISIS and what 

makes it different from other 

terrorist groups of the past. 

It all began in 2006, when 

what was then Al-Qaeda of 

Iraq merged with many other 

Iraqi-insurgent groups to form 

a new group called the “Islamic 

State of Iraq” (ISI). It quickly 

became one of the most powerful 

groups in Iraq until the 

troop surge in 2007 followed 

by a large-scale Sunni uprising 

against the group in 2008. 

After that, ISI was a shell of 

its former self, and for the next 

few years struggled to maintain 

a permanent foothold in Iraq. 

This all began to change, 

however, during the Syrian uprising 

in 2011, when popular 

protests turned into a full-scale 

militant conflict, plunging Syria into 

a deadly civil war and giving ISI a 

new opportunity to grow. 

ISI, against the wishes of Al-Qaeda, 

sent tons of militants into neighboring 

Syria and quickly established 

a large foothold in the country, taking 

over city by city. The group then 

cut off ties with Al-Qaeda and renamed 

itself “Islamic State of Iraq 

and Syria.” In the war-ravaged cities-turned-battlefields 

of Syria, ISIS 

HALIM 

MICHAEL 

SHEENA 


CHALDEAN NEWS 

gained valuable experience 

in urban warfare and 

governance that helped 

turn it into the deadly organization 

it is today. It 

also helped ISIS strategically 

move onto the next 

chapter in its grand plan. 

In June 2014, ISIS in 

Syria launched a series 

of surprise attacks on the 

border region of Iraq. They 

soon breached the border 

and shocked the world by 

not only taking over Mosul, but also 

advancing on to secure a huge chunk 

of Iraq. ISIS was back in its original 

home and more powerful than ever. 

In every city they took, militants 

quickly executed all opponents and 

instituted their own strict interpretation 

of Sharia Law. Two weeks later, 

Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, the leader of 

ISIS, decided to take things a step 

further. He announced that all territory 

controlled by ISIS was now part 

of a newly formed “Caliphate” 

or Islamic State, 

and declared himself the 

“Caliph,” or the leader of 

all Muslims worldwide. 

“Syria is no longer just for Syrians, 

and Iraq is no longer just for 

Iraqis,” he said, and ordered all Muslims 

worldwide to migrate to his new 

“state” and help it grow. The international 

Muslim community quickly 

denounced ISIS and criticized these 

Read more about 

ISIS on page 24. 

claims, declaring that ISIS is not 

Islamic and that its claim to a “Caliphate” 

is null and void. Supporters 

of ISIS, however, took this claim extremely 

seriously and tens of thousands 

of extremists worldwide followed 

their leader’s orders to make 

“hijra” (pilgrimage) to their new 

“state” to be used as cannon fodder 

on its front lines. 

Fast forward one year and ISIS 

now controls half of Syria, a third of 

Iraq, and large patches of 

Nigeria and Libya. But 

how? What makes ISIS 

different from other terrorist 

groups of the past? 

The secret to ISIS’ huge success 

is its obsession with state-building. 

What most people don’t know is that 

ISIS operates a vast governmentlike 

bureaucracy designed to quickly 

control all aspects of society and life 

in its territory. ISIS police issue traffic 

tickets and enforce anti-littering 

laws. The ISIS education department 

supervises the school curriculum 

and sets the final exam schedule. 

The ISIS health department runs 

hospitals and medical schools, and 

makes sure that when a baby is born, 

the proper ISIS birth certificate is 

filled out. It is hard not to confuse 

ISIS with an actual state. 

Ironically enough, cities under 

brutal ISIS control have become the 

safest cities in the region. Fear keeps 

society in line. “Hisba” (moral police) 

not only make sure that women are 

completely covered but also that shops 

ISIS excels not only in terror, 

but paperwork and public 

works projects too. 

keep their prices fair. Anyone caught 

stealing gets a hand cut off. Anyone 

deemed guilty of murder is publicly 

executed. ISIS has a full court system. 

ISIS collects taxes. ISIS operates all 

phone and electricity services. ISIS repairs, 

maintains and builds roads. ISIS 

even issues official ID cards to all the 

“citizens” of their territory, complete 

with microchips and holographiccounterfeit 

protection. 

The list of ways that ISIS controls 

life goes on and on. And that’s 

the deadly secret as to why they are 

so strong. They exploit the fact that 

people in a war zone yearn for stability, 

order and safety, even if this 

is brought about in the most brutal 

way possible. Unfortunately, until an 

alternative arises, ISIS may continue 

to live up to their official motto, 

“B’qiyah wa-Tatamaddad” – “Remaining 

and Expanding.” 

Halim Michael Sheena, 21, is a 

student at Oakland University and 

president of the school’s Chaldean 

American Student Association. 


GUEST column 

Have a happy – and safe – boating season 

Like most boat owners, 

our Oakland 

County Sheriff’s 

Office Marine Unit has 

been busy preparing for 

the 2015 boating season. 

Regardless of what type of 

vessel you are preparing to 

launch, your summer startup 

preparations will play a 

large part in how safe and 

enjoyable your boating 

season will be. 

We have all heard the 

stories of one miscalculation or one 

item that was overlooked on our 

pre-launch checklist. Most stories 

end with the frustration of an engine 

that will not run properly or needing 

a tow off the water or worse, an 

expensive repair. However, some 

stories end with tragic results involving 

injury and even death. The common 

factor that ties these situations 

together is that nearly all of them 

could have been prevented with a 

pre-launch safety check and a boating 

safety course. Contrary to popular 

belief, almost half of all boating 

accidents occur on our inland lakes. 

Keys to a Safe Season 

• Take a boating safety class and understand 

the basic rules of the waterway. 

• Make sure everyone on your boat 

wears a PFD (personal flotation device) 

or life vest and remains seated 

while underway. 

• Avoid alcohol consumption on 

the water. 

• Always use due care and caution 

SHERIFF 

MICHAEL J. 

BOUCHARD 


CHALDEAN NEWS 

and do not over-drive your 

vessel. 

• Avoid excessive speed 

and weaving through 

heavy boat traffic. 

• Maintain a safe (and 

legal) distance from other 

boats, people and fixed 

objects. 

• Keep an eye on the 

weather and stay off the 

water during inclement 

weather or when lake 

conditions are poor. 

If operating a boat or PWC (personal 

watercraft) and towing persons, 

a personal “spotter” is required 

to be on board and observe anyone 

being towed. The spotter’s job is to 

stay focused, observe and communicate 

with hand signals to those being 

towed. The spotter’s job is to advise 

the boat operator any actions that 

need to be taken. It is the boat operator’s 

task to safely operate the boat, 

not to be constantly watching those 

being towed. 

Over 80 percent of all accidents 

and deaths on the water are attributed 

to reckless operation, alcohol and/ 

or failing to wear a life vest. Drowning 

is the second leading cause of 

injury-related death among children 

under the age of 15. 

Although boats and PWCs are 

much more reliable than in years 

past, they still require the operator to 

have a basic understanding of the mechanical 

system and how it operates. 

One major misconception is that “if 

I can drive a car I can operate a boat 

or PWC.” We are seeing more accidents 

where owners are allowing untrained 

operators to drive their boats 

or PWCs. These vessels will travel 

up to 70 miles per hour and require 

a certain level of skill and training 

to safely operate them. Unlike a car 

they do not have brakes, safety belts 

or airbags. Instinct will tell you to let 

off the gas when suddenly approaching 

a hazard (like a car); when you 

do this with a jet boat or PWC you 

will lose all steering capability. This 

misconception can turn a summer 

day of fun on the water into a tragic 

accident changing lives forever. 

Boating is equipment intensive, 

so make sure you are performing routine 

equipment maintenance. If you 

are not qualified to perform repairs, 

or are considering purchasing a used 

vessel, seek out a qualified mechanic 

to perform a marine inspection as 

many problems are hard to see with 

an untrained eye. Most explosions 

that occur on the water are caused by 

operators who do not ventilate (add 

fresh air) the engine compartments 

properly. Unlike a car, many engine 

compartments are sealed. Conduct a 

thorough check of the engine compartment 

for any signs of oil, fuel or 

water leaks. Pay particular attention 

to fuel odors. 

Pre-launch Safety Check List 

• Personal flotation device for 

everyone on-board (children 6 years 

and younger must wear a Type I or 

Type II floatation device) 

• Sounds-producing devices: horn, 

bell and whistle 

• Fire extinguisher 

• Check capacity plate (Are you 

over weighted? Too many passengers?) 

• Navigation and running lights 

• Check engine compartment for 

fuel, oil or water leaks (sniff test) 

• Bilge pump working properly 

• Blower motor/ventilation 

• Steering system 

• Throwable flotation devise 

• Float plan 

• Emergency equipment (cell 

phone, first aid kit, water) 

• Trailers are in good working order 

(tires, safety chains, lights) 

• Observer available if towing 

• Certificate of registration on board 

Who Needs A Boater 

Safety Class? 

• Everyone born after Dec. 31, 1978 

must have attended a boater safety 

class to operate a PWC 

• 12- to 16 year-olds if operating a 

boat with over 6 horsepower motor 

• Everyone will benefit from a boating 

class 

The Marine Unit provides free 

boating classes. Visit our website 

at OaklandSheriff.com for class locations 

and dates (search “safety 

classes”). 

With more than 3,000 miles of 

shoreline and more than 450 lakes, 

Oakland County leads the state with 

the most registered boats. Enjoy 

yourself on the water, be respectful 

of your fellow boaters, and above all 

have a safe boating season. 

Michael J. Bouchard is the sheriff of 

Oakland County. 

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noteworthy 

Packed Schedule for Church Conference 

“Christianity in the Middle East: Ancient, Yet Ever New” is the theme of the 

Second International Symposium presented by Michigan’s St. Thomas Chaldean 

Diocese on July 17-19. 

The event is presented by CAMECT (Christian Arab and Middle Eastern 

Churches Together), Noursat (a Christian satellite TV station from Lebanon) 

and IDC (In Defense of Christians). All parishioners of Catholic churches in 

Metro Detroit will be invited to attend, said Shoki Konja, one of the organizers. 

The weekend begins at 6 p.m. Friday with evening prayer at St. Rafka Maronite 

Church in Livonia followed by a dinner at 8 at the Farmington Hills 

Manor to benefit Noursat and HelpIraq.org. Lebanese vocalist Doris Farhat 

supplies the entertainment and Bassam Rizik, M.D., is emcee. Tickets are $75 

and can be purchased from the Diocese office. 

Saturday’s events take place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southfield and include 

mass, speeches and sessions on the current situation of Christians in the 

Middle East (including a video appearance by Mar Louis Sako in English) and 

remarks from Nina Shea of the Center for Religious Freedom. The afternoon 

is devoted to answering “How Can We Help?” with addresses by scholars and a 

panel discussion. At 6:30 p.m., a vespers prayer service will be held at St. Mary 

Antiochian Orthodox Basilica in Livonia. 

After final remarks at 10 a.m. on Sunday, a noon mass takes place at Mother 

of God Chaldean Catholic Church in Southfield officiated by Bishop Francis. 

Besides the benefit dinner on July 17, admission to all events is free. Learn more, 

including sponsorship opportunities, by contacting the Diocese at (248) 351-0440. 

Visit our website, ChaldeanNews.com, for a complete schedule of events. 

Victor Saroki 

Building an Empire 

Victor Saroki was awarded a Gold 

Medal from the American Institute 

of Architects’ Michigan Chapter. 

He was feted at an awards dinner on 

June 5 in Detroit. Saroki was honored 

for his entire body of work and 

his commitment and support of the 

profession of architecture. “I guess 

buying him Tinker Toys when he was 

a little boy really paid off,” quipped 

his sister, Mary Romaya. 

Sulaka Killers 

Found Guilty 

Three men were convicted on June 

17 of all charges for the killing of 

Basim “Basil” Sulaka in his Clinton 

Township store in March 2014. 

The jury deliberated about nine 

hours over two days before finding 

each of the three guilty of felony murder 

and three other charges for the 

shooting death of Sulaka in Moon 

Lite Party Store on Harper Avenue 

near 14 Mile Road. The well-liked 

man was the father of two daughters. 

Convicted were Clinton Township 

residents Jomar Robinson 

and Kenneth Hill and the shooter, 

Darius Diaz-Gaskin of Detroit, following 

a week-long trial in front of 

Judge Mary Chrzanowski in Macomb 

County Circuit Court. 

Clinton Grayson of Warren was 

convicted of the killing in April and sentenced 

to life in prison without parole. 

Two Chaldeans on 

Snyder’s Panel 

Gov. Rick Snyder has made appointments 

to the new Middle 

Eastern American Affairs Commission. 

Among the 15 members are 

two Chaldeans: Michael Romaya, a 

partner at Varnum, LLP and a board 

member of the Chaldean American 

Chamber of Commerce; and Wendy 

CABA Has 

New Board 

The Chaldean American 

Bar Association 

(CABA) has a new 

Executive Board for 2015-2016. Pictured 

clockwise from left are President 

Saif Kasmikha, Vice President Candace 

Yono, Treasurer Brandon Kalasho, 

Secretary Shaun Mansour, Director 

Tad Roumayah, Director Salam 

Elia and Director Raed Abboo. 

Acho, who has just joined the chamber 

as director of strategic initiatives. 

Both will serve three-year terms. 

The commission will act in an 

advisory capacity to the governor 

and the director of the Department 

of Civil Rights. The commission will 

help ensure Michiganders from diverse 

backgrounds have the best opportunities 

to actively work together. 

Michigan’s Senators 

Back Refugee Funds 

U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and 

Gary Peters have introduced the Domestic 

Refugee Resettlement Reform 

and Modernization Act (S.1615) to 

ensure Michigan gets critical funding 

needed to support refugee families 

who settle in the state. Under current 

law, if refugees move from one 

state to another, the resettlement assistance 

often does not follow them 

to their new location. This results in 

funding shortages in states with high 

numbers of refugees like Michigan. 

The bill revises the state funding 

formula used by the Office of 

Refugee Resettlement so that it accounts 

for future refugee arrivals and 

more accurately distributes funds to 

state resettlement offices. Under this 

bill, Michigan would receive more 

resources to serve the refugees and 

their families who settle in the state. 

The bill also requires the Office of 

Refugee Resettlement to expand its 

data collection to better address the 

challenges refugees face. It also helps 

refugees become independent by increasing 

access to job retraining. The 

bill is now pending before the Senate 

Judiciary Committee. 

Arab and Chaldean 

Festival Returns 

The Arab and Chaldean Festival will 

take place at Hart Plaza in downtown 

Detroit on August 1-2. 

It is the largest Arab Chaldean 

American cultural event in North 

America and this year celebrates its 

44th anniversary. 

The festival features a variety 

of Arab and Chaldean food, ethnic 

cultural gallery exhibits and Middle 

Eastern performers including Hussam 

Al-Rassam, Rafid Sawa, Laith Aliraqi, 

Omar Jarbo, and Kamal Kareem 

on saxophone. There will also be folklore 

dance troupes, a fashion show on 

Sunday at 8 p.m, and a Children’s Fair 

on Saturday from 3-7 p.m. Visit ArabAndChaldeanFestival.com. 

Walk for Refugees 

The Third Annual Project Bismutha 

Walk-a-thon is set for August 2 at 

Camp Chaldean. 

The event will raise funds for 

medications for displaced refugees inside 

Iraq. Participants should arrive by 

9:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 10. 

Mass is at noon followed by a family 

picnic with hamburgers and hotdogs 

provided. There will be a bounce 

house, slides and prizes for the kids. 

The cost is $25 for ages 15 and 

up and $15 for those 14 and younger. 

Learn more or sign up by emailing 

info@caahp-usa.org. 

People 

Venar Ayar has been 

named a Super Lawyers 

Rising Star and 

a Top Lawyer in the 

field of Tax Law by 

DBusiness magazine. 

Venar Ayar A member of American 

Mensa, he is 

the founder and CEO of Ayar Law 

Group in Southfield. 

BEAMing with Pride 

Talk show host Khodr Farat from 

CINA radio 102.3 visited with the 

Chaldean Community Foundation’s 

B.E.A.M. Project on June 12. Born 

blind, Farat wanted to share his story 

and meet the 11 legally blind students 

in the program. Also dropping by were 

Terrence Beurer, deputy director of 

Field Operations Administration, and 

Al Horn, director of Refugee Services, 

both from Michigan’s Department of 

Human Services. 


CHAI time 

CHALDEANS CONNECTING 

COMMUNITY EVENTS IN AND AROUND METRO DETROIT JULY 2015 

[Friday, July 3] 

Fair: The Oakland County Fair opens 

at Springfield Oaks County Park in Davisburg 

with carnival rides, demolition 

derbies, monster trucks, an antique 

firetruck show and the ever-popular 

husband calling contest. Runs through 

July 12. OakFair.org. 

[Saturday, July 11] 

The King: The Michigan ElvisFest in 

Ypsilanti celebrates all things about 

Elvis Presley including a concert with 

professional tribute artists. Runs 

through June 12. MiElvisFest.org. 

[Friday, July 10] 

Festival: The American Polish Festival 

& Craft Show takes place at the 

American-Polish Century Club, 33204 

Maple Lane in Sterling Heights with 

polka, dancing, beer tent, food and a 

pierogi eating contest. (Can you beat 

last year’s winner of 67 in 10 minutes?) 

Runs through Sunday, July 12. AmericanPolishFestival.com. 

[Friday, July 10 – Sunday, July 12] 

Festival: MEA TV & Radio’s Sixth Annual 

Festival is three days of Middle 

Eastern music, culture, dancing and 

food. Hours are 6-11 p.m. Friday, 7-11 

p.m. Saturday and 6-10 p.m. Sunday. 

City Square, Warren. Free parking and 

admission. meatv-radio.com. 


Cars: All American Cruise takes place 

in Westland on Wayne Road from Joy 

Road to Glenwood Road. AllAmerican- 

Cruise.com. 

[Thursday, July 16] 

Networking: Speed Networking begins 

at 8 a.m. at Sam’s Club, 32625 

Northwestern Highway in Farmington 

Hills. Space is limited to the first 40 

participants. Presented by the Chaldean 

American Chamber of Commerce. 

RSVP to (248) 996-8340 or 

info@ChaldeanChamber.com. 


Cooking: Project Healthy Snacks 

teaches kids how to create fun, go-to 

snacks along with breakfast and lunch 

ideas to keep you energized. $25. 10:30 

a.m.-noon. Henry Ford West Bloomfield 

Hospital, 6777 W. Maple Road. (248) 

325-3890 or dk@hfhs.org. 

[Monday, July 27] 

Golf: Lance M. Atisha Memorial Fund and 

CALC Golf Outing tees off at Shenandoah 

Country Club. $150 per golfer includes 

lunch and dinner. CalcOnline.org. 

[Monday, July 27] 

Camp: High Performance Training runs 

a three-day baseball clinic (through July 

29) from 9 a.m.-noon at West Bloomfield 

High School. Open to players 

ages 8-12. $100, with 75 percent of 

proceeds benefitting the Greater West 

Bloomfield Community Coalition. BaseballSoftballMi.com 

or (248) 396-7690. 

Send items for Chai Time to 

info@chaldeannews.com. 


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Call us to find out how to enroll your 

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Prepare. Aspire. Succeed. 


obituaries 

Majid Hanna Dado 

Majid Hanna Dado was born 

on December 29, 1960 in 

Kuwait City, Kuwait to the 

late Hanna Hermiz Dado 

and Amal Francis Bodi. From 

birth, he was a boy filled with 

life. Majid loved swimming 

and serving at Maryam Al- 

Aathr’a church in Baghdad. 

Shortly after graduation, he 

arrived in Michigan in 1980 

with his family and established a new life. 

In 1987, he married Haifa Konja. Majid and 

Haifa were a loving couple and best friends. They 

had three children, one girl and two boys. His first 

priority was to assure his family was cared for and 

accomplished this by working rigorously. His family 

and friends adored being in his presence because 

of his loving personality and hilarious jokes. 

Majid was humble, selfless and lived to the 

fullest with no regrets. During his last few years, 

he mentored his sons at the family business and 

encouraged his daughter during her studies. His 

children constantly made him proud and he motivated 

them to achieve their dreams. He admired 

spending time at home with family, cooking with 

his wife, gardening, and gathering with friends at 

Shenandoah Country Club. 

Majid passed away on May 21, 2015 at the 

young age of 54. He is survived by his wife, Haifa 

Dado, and his children, Cynthia, Johnathon and 

Austin. He also leaves behind his mother, Amal 

Dado; brothers, Karim (Azhar) and Wasfi (Fadya) 

Dado; sister, Suzan (David) Bally; as well as four 

nephews and six nieces. 

Dad, your seemingly premature departure feels 

unreal, but we know your spirit continues to radiate 

amongst us. We will always recollect your 

contagious smile and cherish our joyful memories 

together. Now, you are eternally living in Heaven 

with Jidu, forever leaving a mark on our hearts. We 

love and miss you more than you can imagine. Until 

next time… 

Ibtisam Salmo Setto 

Ibtisam Salmo Setto was welcomed 

into the glorious gates 

of Heaven on June 5, 2015 at 

the age of 53. Our beloved 

Ibtisam was born in Telkaif, 

Iraq, to Zia and Najiba Salmo 

on March 29, 1962. 

She was blessed with a 

large and loving family. Ibtisam 

was a devoted wife of 29 

years to Loay Setto, a wonderful 

mother to Brandon Setto, an affectionate 

daughter, a loving daughter-in-law, a caring sister, 

a thoughtful sister-in-law, and a compassionate 

aunt to all of her and Loay’s nieces, nephews, 

their spouses and children. She created a beautiful 

family by the grace of God with Jesus at the center 

of her life. Although she has departed us here on 

earth, she has left a legacy of love, tenderhearted 

compassion and generosity in all of our hearts. 

Ibtisam was an amazingly optimistic person with 

a beautiful smile. Always having a kind word, her 

compassionate demeanor and expression of love to 

each person in her life made us all feel cherished. 

Ibtisam truly appreciated and enjoyed her life with 

her family. She had the most remarkable garden, 

a stunning Christmas display, and she could cook 

better than any gourmet chef. Ibtisam’s love radiated 

throughout the family; she always made sure 

that all of her family felt admired and loved. 

Ibtisam’s elderly parents, Zia and Najiba Salmo, 

and her in-laws, Manuel and Salima Setto, could 

always count on her to provide support and be attentive 

to their needs. Ibtisam was an intricate part 

of our lives and will forever be missed. 

Our family will always miss Ibtisam as she was a 

true inspiration to live your life to the fullest, and 

not only for yourself, but for the people you love. 

Her charming smile will forever be imprinted on 

our hearts. Ibtisam was a beautiful rose that blossomed 

into our angel in Heaven. 

Faraj (Frank) Roumayah 

Faraj (Frank) Roumayah was 

born on January 12, 1924, 

and died on May 19, 2015. 

Frank lived a long and full 

life, married 65 years to his wife 

Amira. They raised seven children 

together: Al (Debbie), the 

late Rick (Pam), Gary (Nancy), 

Steve (Paula), Karen, Michele 

(Randy), and Ken (Kim). Frank 

had 17 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. 

A butcher by trade, Frank owned multiple businesses. 

Frank enjoyed his work and loved his family. 

Frank’s family was everything to him. He treated 

his daughters/sons-in-law as if they were his own. 

He was a selfless man who was always watching 

out for others. 

Frank was quite the handyman. There wasn’t 

anything he wouldn’t fix or put together himself 

and he instilled this skill into his sons. 

He was a character indeed. Recently before passing, 

while speaking with his third eldest he jokingly 

said, “I wonder what kind of job I’ll have in Heaven.” 

Rest in peace, husband, father, grandpa, brother-in-law, 

uncle, friend. 

RECENTLY DECEASED COMMUNITY MEMBERS 

Markret Attisha 

July 1, 1935 – 

June 18, 2015 

Matthew Hannawa 

March 20, 2003 - 


Sabah Abed Jaboro 

January 17, 1947 - 


Jalal Mikha Khaddor 

April 2, 1939 – 


Margaret Petrus Kas Paulis 

September 17, 1929 - 


Shamia Kattula Jarbo 

August 18, 1932 - 


Nehran Kuza Hermes 

October 30, 1959 – 


Mansour Younan Shamoun 

July 1, 1944 - 


Nafia Mansoor Yousif Helo 

July 1, 1934 - 


Faraj Yousif Denha 

January 1, 1936 - 


Shukri Abbo 

Matti- QasYounan 

July 1, 1919 - 


Latif Orow 

June 5, 1926 – 

May 27, 2015 

Izzat Choulagh 

July 1, 1926 – 


Mary Bahura Thomas 

April 15, 1945 - 


Tarik Salman Daoud 

January 9, 1937 - 


Ramsin Benjamin 

October 9, 1992 – 


Loka Yousif Kakos 

July 1, 1939 – 


Hermiz Al-Kas-Shamoun 

August 20, 1924 – 


Issam Dawood Kouza 

May 20, 1942 - 


Khilood Dickow Abro 

July 7, 1957 - 


Victoria Khoshiko Bakka 

July 1, 1940 - 



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getting social in cyberspace 

The medium is the message for these Chaldeans 

BY CRYSTAL KASSAB JABIRO 

What does the Bishop of 

Baghdad have in common 

with a makeup artist, a 

nightclub DJ, a traveling wanderlust, 

a radio personality, and a happy-golucky 

20-year-old girl? They all use 

social media to get their positive 

messages out to the world. 

The Lady Is a Dame 

Nastasia Yakoub-Wong 

Genre: Travel/Photography 

Facebook: Dame Traveler, 2K followers 

Instagram: @DameTraveler, 56K 

Twitter: @DameTraveler, 2.5K 

Pinterest: Dame Traveler 

Tumblr: Dame Traveler 

#DameTraveler 

Website: DameTraveler.com 

If you want to 

know what a 

dame is, just follow 

27-year-old 

Nastasia Yakoub-Wong’s 

Instagram 

for a true 

definition. Her 

@dametraveler 

is a 56K-follower 

community geared towards inspiring 

women to be courageous risk-takers 

through traveling. 

Yakoub-Wong’s first adventure 

was leaving her family to study at 

Loyola University in Chicago, but a 

2010 trip to Ireland truly ignited her 

passion for travel. She was amazed by 

what a different world it was. 

Bored on bedrest for a back injury, 

Yakoub-Wong started the Dame 

Traveler blog last year. It quickly 

gained a massive following so she created 

a website and snatched up other 

social media handles. Dame Traveler 

easily earned her a job in digital marketing 

for Orbitz, an online travel 

company based in Chicago where 

she lives. Social media has helped 

her monetize her passion; advertisers 

pay her and she even gets free trips. 

And it cost close to nothing. 

The site is also fused with Yakoub-Wong’s 

love of photography. 

She considers any brave traveler 

a “dame” so hashtag your pics to 

#dametraveler for permission to 

curate and share your picture with 

70,000 other photos. You might get 

a personal shout-out. 

It’s not just about taking a vacation 

but about gaining an experience. 

Yakoub-Wong’s favorite adventure 

was a solo trip to an African 

orphanage where she worked with 

Australian and British volunteers as 

the only American. She plans to go 

to South America with her husband 

this year. 

It could also be a random weekend 

road trip to a nearby city. “Dames” 

don’t stay at the Four Seasons or go 

glamping; they learn about themselves 

in their unique surroundings. 

“You have only this one life to 

live,” she said. “So live it!” 

Good Morning Baghdad 

Bishop Basilio Yaldo 

Genre: Religious 

Facebook: Bishop Basilio Yaldo, 5K 

Instagram: @BasilioYaldo, 1.8K 

You might not 

hear daily church 

bells ringing in 

your neighborhood 

but you 

can depend on 

newly ordinated 

Bishop Basel 

Yaldo’s posts to 

make you proud 

of your faith. He believes social media 

brings people together, and he likes to 

announce the word of God through it 

so that it remains a constant on people’s 

minds. 

Bishop Basel wanted to be a 

priest since middle school and was 

ordinated in Rome in 2002. After 

he became a priest, he served as personal 

secretary to the late Patriarch 

Emmanuel III Delly. Bishop Basel is 

highly educated, having received a 

Ph.D. in Theology from Urbaniana 

University in Rome two years ago. 

In America, he served at St. 

George in Shelby Township and 

Mother of God in Southfield until 

this past February, when he was appointed 

as Auxiliary Bishop of the 

Chaldean Patriarchate in Baghdad. 

He has published 12 books and numerous 

articles, and he speaks Chaldean, 

Arabic, Italian and English. 

Bishop Basel is not only busy with 

his own parish in war-torn Iraq, but 

he is also making brave visits to the 

faithful in Turkey and building bridges 

with clerics of other cultures and religions. 

He posts these experiences to 

show the hope that comes from faith. 

Though it was hard for the 

45-year-old bishop to leave his family, 

friends and parishioners in Michigan, 

he remains connected with 

them through his Instagram and his 

Facebook. 

“I love them with all my heart,” he 

said, “but I have to do the will of God.” 

More Than Skin Deep 

Kristie Naimi 

Genre: Inspirational 

Instagram: @KristieHolly, 26K 

Twitter: @KristieHolly, 7K 

YouTube: KristieHolly, 8K 

Before she graduated 

from West 

Bloomfield High 

School in 2013, 

Kristie Naimi 

was a shy and 

quiet girl who 

pretty much 

kept to herself. 

She used social 

media to come out of her shell in an 

effort to inspire people to believe in 

themselves. Naimi was motivated by 

her own struggle to remain confident 

in a world where people often stare 

at her. 

Naimi has a rare skin condition 

called Rothmun-Thompson Syndrome. 

Social media helped her be 

more comfortable with herself, especially 

since her favorite YouTuber 

Andrea Russett gave her a shout-out 

on Instagram and catapulted her 

into a social media star. Naimi immediately 

gained a huge following 

after that. Consequently, the band 

Emblem 3 posted about her too. She 

earned scads more followers and got 

to meet Russett and the band. 

Naimi hopes to give people the 

encouragement they need to #Stay- 

Positive, her popular hashtag. The 

20-year-old claims that her inspirational 

and entertaining posts have 

really helped her be more confident. 

She is motivated not only by 

her faithful family and friends, but 

also by the followers who thank her, 

compliment her or retweet and repost 

her. 

“I’m really happy with myself,” 

she said. “I stay positive.” 

Tuned In 

Joey Namou 

Genre: Radio Personality 

Facebook: JoeyRadio955, 3.7K 

Instagram: @JoeyRadio, 6.5K 

Twitter: @JoeyRadio, 5.6K 

If you’re a faithful 

Detroit 955 

listener, you’ve 

definitely heard 

Joey Namou on 

the radio or attended 

many of 

the local parties 

he has hosted 

around town. He 

used to listen to Mojo every morning 

on his way to school, and when he 

graduated from Brother Rice High 

School in 2011, he worked as his 

intern. He barely got any sleep, juggling 

a 3-5 a.m. radio gig and attending 

college. 

Social media is a big part of Namou’s 

career. A majority of his followers 

are Chaldean, “which is awesome 

because I get so much support 

within the community,” he said. He 

tries to spread positive messages because 

many young people look up 

to him as a personality on the big- 

SOCIAL MEDIA continued on page 29 


Socially Branding Your Business 

Social Media: 

A Force for 

Good or Evil? 



I 

created my first email address in the mid 1990s 

when I was a reporter at WJR AM 760. It was 

the sign that technology would forever change 

how we create and disseminate messages. 

Since the advent of social media, the world of 

marketing has evolved into a fast-paced, real-time 

communication. 

Today, as founder of Denha Media Group — a 

full-service strategic communications company — 

social media is as much a part of our scope of services 

as traditional media and content writing. Most 

clients need and should incorporate a social media 

strategy and other experts agree. 

“Social media is the window into the personality 

of the business,” said Alexandra Jona, founder 

of BrandBarr. “Ten years ago that 

opportunity took more time and 

more money. Businesses have a 

creative chance that’s unlimited 

with no rules. It’s also a way to 

engage your best asset – your employees. 

Tap into your team’s habits 

and hobbies – if one or more 

are social media savvy that’s your 

in-house coordination.” 

Communication consultants 

and branding experts can help 

businesses avoid pitfalls. “The biggest 

mistakes businesses make with social media is 

the failure to strategize,” said Jona. “Simply putting 

some thought into trends and styling creates a professional 

edge that many small businesses lack or fail 

to leverage.” 

She continues to note that social media is free, 

meaning all it takes to use is your time, thought and 

willingness to learn how it all works. 

“Another issue we see often is the challenge of 

photography. While everyone can take photos with 

their phones, it’s challenging to use professional 

techniques such as lighting that can add so much 

more to your imagery, especially in retail,” explained 

Jona, who services clients such as The Bird and the 

Bread in Birmingham, a restaurant that heavily uses 

Instagram. 

Research indicates that more posts are viewed 

and links are clicked when videos and photos are 

included. Imagery is key in getting someone’s attention. 

Think about always using some form of art 

in your posts – pictures, graphs or videos. 

Also, “hashtags can tell you everything – who’s 

looking and how much of an audience that particular 

industry hashtag attracts. Use the free analytics to 

learn about your customer base and your competitors.” 

You should also know your target audience. Recent 

research shows that any business wanting to 

target the millenniums, for instance, should be using 

Instagram and Twitter more than any other social 

media tool. 

If you are trying to reach Generation X, you 

should know that between 2009 and 2010, Gen 

Xers were one of the fastest-growing target audiences 

to use social media networks. As most of the 

early adopters of social media, Gen X still have an 

active online lifestyle but their usage is directly connected 

to their social group of friends. Pew’s Generations 

report that 86 percent of Gen X are online 

on almost a daily basis. Last year reports showed 

that nearly two-thirds of Gen X (65.6 percent) used 

Facebook in a one-month period. 

I once posted a message that I was on my way to 

the WJR annual St. Patrick’s Day broadcast to see 

a client who was performing on the air and being 

interviewed by Paul W. Smith. His audience is very 

much business-oriented. An executive at a health 

insurance company saw my post and sought me out 

that morning to talk about a project. 

That post led to a conversation 

that led to an 18-month contract. 

Although that post was not part of 

any particular strategy, having a plan 

is key. “Take advantage of trend,” said 

Jona. “If you’re a restaurant play on 

Twitter’s top ‘foodie’ hashtags. If you’re 

a retail business snap your customers 

(with their permission) and repurpose 

their experience to your audience. Especially 

if it’s a passionate one.” 

Part of the strategic plan can 

be social media paid advertising, which ranges from 

nominal to exorbitant. “Find your comfort zone and 

promote to targeted audiences. It’s worth it,” Jona said. 

Although the media world has drastically 

evolved in that last two decades, it is very much 

part of the business branding world. Social media 

is the ultimate tool that enables people, businesses 

and organizations to brand themselves and market 

their services and products. It is a platform for 

thought leaders, speakers, authors, entertainers and 

of course businesses. 

There is a fine line between expressing yourself 

and getting too personal. You want to show people 

that you are real and have hobbies or interests without 

offending anyone on issues. 

Many of our clients avoid commenting on religious 

beliefs or political issues. If you are using 

social media as a branding tool then stick to your 

platform and your defined identity. You might want 

to consider making a list of Dos and Don’ts as part 

of your company policy on social media. 

For some of our clients, we create social media 

posts on a weekly basis and schedule them to post 

throughout the week. For one client — a government 

municipality — we schedule three posts a day 

in advance and then we post other events and issues 

in real time. 

If you have not embraced social media yet, you 

might want to seriously consider the advantages. 

There is no need to feel overwhelmed. Start with 

one tool first and once you have mastered that particular 

tool, add a new social media platform. 

Does social media help us lead better lives, or 

does it incite jealousy and discontent? The 

jury is still out as a number of studies point to 

different conclusions. 

Some studies show that getting a lot of 

“likes” for a Facebook post results in a release 

of dopamine, a brain chemical associated 

with pleasure. Another suggests that emotions 

on Facebook can be contagious; when 

the site removed positive posts from the news 

feed of more than 680,000 users, they made 

fewer positive posts and more negative ones. 

When the negative posts were removed, the 

opposite occurred. 

A University of Queensland study found 

that active participation on social media sites 

gave users a greater set of connectedness. In 

this research project, participants who were 

told to simply read Facebook but not post 

their own comments said the experience had 

a negative effect on their personal well-being. 

Another study in which participants received 

no feedback on their posts made them 

feel less self-esteem and well-being. 

College students who do “surveillance” 

on Facebook by comparing their lives to 

their friends can experience symptoms of depression 

if they are feeling envy over things 

such as new cars, expensive vacations and 

happy relationships, a University of Missouri 

study found. 

Adrienne Erin, a social media marketing 

writer, said people should remember 

that Facebook users rarely post failures and 

setbacks, creating a skewed picture of friends 

and acquaintances who are always happy and 

successful. 

“Ultimately, we are connected to fake personas 

that we promote to our friends and followers. 

I say ‘fake’ because we only promote 

the best side of our lives on social networking 

sites,” she wrote on SocialNomics.net. “Doing 

this creates the urge to constantly check 

social media sites like Facebook and Twitter 

to see the latest updates in people’s lives. Ultimately, 

it creates the question as to whether 

we will ever settle for what we have, or cling 

to the fear that we may be missing out on 

something better all the time … Instead of 

[having] a private celebration of happiness, 

this effectively turns social media into a ‘mylife-is-better-than-yours’ 

competition.” 

Take heart, though: Some sites exist 

purely to bring joy. Happier.com is filled with 

advice for “tiny fixes when it’s one of those 

days,” including “10 quotes to inspire you at 

work” and “8 ways how comparing yourself 

to others only slows you down.” And no situation 

can’t be bettered by wasting a few minutes 

on the animal antics at animalplanet. 

com/tv-shows/too-cute. 


AP PHOTO/KHALED AL ODAT 

Supporters of Aziz hold the Iraqi flag and portraits of him outside the Arab Medical Center, where his body was brought from Iraq, in Jordan on June 13. 

tariq aziz buried in jordan 

Chaldean was controversial Saddam associate 

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Tariq Aziz was laid to rest on 

June 13 after a ceremony in 

his honor at a church in the 

Jordanian capital, Amman, eight 

days after the debonair Iraqi diplomat 

died in prison of a heart attack. 

Hundreds of Iraqis and Jordanians 

attended the church services of 

Aziz, the only Christian in Saddam 

Hussein’s inner circle, at St. Mary of 

Nazareth church in Amman. 

“You had frightened your enemies 

when you were free, and you had 

frightened them even after your soul 

left your body which had suffered 

from the prison’s darkness,’’ said 

Aziz’s daughter, Zeinab, at the ceremony. 

“Your message has reached 

everybody in the whole world.” 

Supporters of Aziz chanted pro- 

Tariq Aziz and a trademark cigar. 

Baath party and anti-Iran slogans 

outside the church, and carried pictures 

of former Iraqi president Saddam 

Hussein. 

Aziz died June 5 at age 79. He 

had been in prison since the U.S.- 

led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and 

suffered a series of strokes. He faced 

execution for his role in a government 

that killed hundreds of thousands 

of Iraqis. 

After the ceremony in Amman, 

Aziz was buried in the historical 

Christian town of Madaba, ending 

an eight-day sojourn from southern 

Iraq to the Baghdad airport, where 

his body briefly disappeared, before 

being flown to Jordan for burial. 

The only Chaldean among Saddam’s 

inner circle, Aziz’s religion rescued 

him from the hangman’s noose 

that was the fate of other members of 

the top regime leadership. 

After he was sentenced to death, 

the Vatican asked for mercy for him 

as a Christian. Iraq’s president at the 

time, Jalal Talabani, then refused to 

give the death sentence his required 

signature, citing Aziz’s age and religion. 

Even before he was sentenced, 

the ailing Aziz appeared to know 

that he would die in custody. He had 

had several strokes while in custody 

undergoing trial multiple times for 

various regime crimes. 

“I have no future. I have no future,” 

Aziz told the AP, looking frail 

and speaking with difficulty because 

of a recent stroke, in a jailhouse interview 

in September 2010. At that 

stage, he had been sentenced to more 

than two decades in prison. “I’m sick 

and tired but I wish Iraq and Iraqis 

well.” 

Elegant and eloquent, Aziz spoke 

fluent English, smoked Cuban cigars 

and was loyal to Saddam to the last, 


AP PHOTO/KARIM KADIM 

An Iraqi man reads a newspaper with front page headlines reporting the death of Aziz. 

even naming one of his sons after the 

dictator. His posts included that of 

foreign minister and deputy prime 

minister, and he sat on the Revolutionary 

Command Council, the 

highest body in Saddam’s regime. 

His main role was as the regime’s 

go-to man to communicate with the 

West. To the world, he was one of 

the most recognizable faces from Iraq 

during Saddam’s rule: silver haired, 

with a mustache and trademark darkrimmed 

glasses. A skilled operator in 

the halls of the United Nations, he 

was the regime’s front-man in dealing 

with U.N. inspectors trying to track 

and assure the dismantling of Saddam’s 

weapons of mass destruction. 

His interlocutors variously described 

him as courtly, articulate, arrogant 

and unhesitant to make even 

the most preposterous denials of evidence 

put before him by inspectors 

about weapons programs. 

As bombs rained down on Baghdad 

during the U.S.-led 2003 invasion, 

Aziz said of American forces, 

“We will receive them with the best 

music they have ever heard and the 

best flowers that have ever grown in 

Iraq ... We don’t have candy; we can 

only offer them bullets.” 

His freedom ended shortly afterward. 

The U.S. military knocked on 

his door in Baghdad on April 24, 

2003, and he surrendered without 

resistance. 

Still, his prominence as an international 

spokesman — and his outsider 

status as a Christian in a Sunni 

Muslim-dominated regime — gave 

supporters fuel to argue that he was 

not a real decision-maker in Saddam’s 

regime and was less to blame in 

the torture and bloody crackdowns it 

inflicted on Iraqis. 

Aziz was born to a Chaldean 

family in Telkaif in 1936. He studied 

English literature at Baghdad 

College of Fine Arts and became a 

teacher and journalist. He joined the 

Baath Party in 1957, working closely 

with Saddam to overthrow Britishimposed 

monarchy. 

Aziz is survived by his wife, sons 

Ziad and Saddam, and daughters, Zeinab 

and Mayssa. Most of the family 

live in Jordan and have long lobbied 

that Aziz be allowed to receive medical 

treatment outside Iraq. 

Writer John Lee Anderson offered 

some interesting insight in the 

New Yorker: 

“Aziz’s death is a worthy occasion 

to recall that, for all its horrors— 

and they were many — the regime 

he served was secular, and for most 

of its rule quashed religious fervor as 

adamantly as it did opposing political 

views. Arab Sunnis, Shiites, and 

Christians, as well as other groups, 

such as Turkmen, Yazidis, and even 

the Kurds, between their bouts of 

resistance, made peace deals with 

the regime and took care to suppress 

religious militancy in their communities,” 

he wrote in part. “On the 

several trips I made to Saddam’s Iraq, 

I rarely met an Iraqi who identified 

himself by sect. It was only after Saddam’s 

overthrow that Iraqis began 

to divide themselves along sectarian 

lines, leading to the communal hatred 

and mayhem in Iraq now. It is a 

country, for all intents and purposes, 

in name only.” 

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life under ISIS 

Creating a nation of fear 

BY ZEINA KARAM, VIVIAN SALAMA, 

BRAM JANSSEN AND LEE KEATH 

ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Inside the Islamic State’s realm, 

the paper testifying that you have 

“repented” from your heretical 

past must be carried at all times. 

Many people laminate it just to be 

safe. It can mean the difference between 

life and death. 

Bilal Abdullah learned that not 

long after the extremists took over 

his Iraqi village, Eski Mosul, a year 

ago. As he walked down the street, 

an Islamic State fighter in a pickup 

truck asked directions to a local 

mosque. When Abdullah didn’t recognize 

the mosque’s name, the fighter 

became suspicious. 

“He told me my faith is weak and 

asked, ‘Do you pray?’” Abdullah recalled. 

Then the fighter asked to see 

his “repentance card.” Abdullah had 

been a policeman until the ISIS takeover, 

and policemen and soldiers are 

required to have one. So are many 

other former government loyalists 

or employees — even former English 

teachers, since they once taught a 

“forbidden” language, and tailors of 

women’s clothes because they once 

designed styles deemed un-Islamic. 

Abdullah had left his card at 

home. Terrified, he sent his son running 

to get it. 

“They are brutal people,” he told 

the Associated Press. “They can consider 

you an infidel for the simplest 

thing.” 

The Islamic State’s “caliphate,” 

declared a year ago, stretches across 

northern Syria through much of 

northern and western Iraq. Untold 

numbers have been killed because 

they were deemed dangerous to ISIS, 

or insufficiently pious; 5-8 million endure 

a regime that has swiftly turned 

their world upside down, extending 

its control into every corner of life 

to enforce its own radical interpretation 

of Islamic law, or Shariah. 

The Islamic State’s domain is a 

place where men douse themselves 

with cologne to hide the odor of forbidden 

cigarettes; where taxi drivers 

or motorists usually play the ISIS radio 

station since music can get a driver 

10 lashes; where women must be 

entirely covered in black and in flatsoled 

shoes; where people are thrown 

to their deaths off buildings on suspicion 

of homosexuality; where shops 

must close during Muslim prayers, and 

everyone found outdoors must attend. 

There is no safe way out. People 

vanish — their disappearance explained 

by a video of their beheading, 

an uninformative death certificate, 

or nothing at all. 

“People hate them, but they’ve 

despaired, and they don’t see anyone 

supporting them if they rise up,” said 

a 28-year-old Syrian who asked to be 

identified only by the nickname he 

uses in political activism, Adnan, in 

order to protect his family. “People 

feel that nobody is with them.” 

The AP interviewed more than 

20 Iraqis and Syrians who survived 

life under the group’s rule. One AP 

team travelled to several towns in 

northern Iraq, including Eski Mosul, 

north of Mosul, where residents 

are just emerging from nearly seven 

months under ISIS rule. Another AP 

team travelled to Turkish cities along 

the border, where Syrians who have 

fled ISIS territory have taken refuge. 

What follows is based on their 

accounts. The picture they paint 

suggests the Islamic State’s territory, 

now an area roughly the size of 

Switzerland, has evolved into an entrenched 

pseudo-state, one based on 

a bureaucracy of terror. 

The Takeover 

In January 2014, when the Islamic 

State group took over the Syrian 

city of Raqqa, Adnan fled, fearing 

his work as a political activist would 

make him a target. But after a few 

months of missing his family, he returned 

to see whether he could endure 

life under the extremists. 

Adnan found Raqqa transformed 

from a once-colorful cosmopolitan 

city into the Islamic State’s de facto 

capital. Women covered head to toe 

in black scurried quickly to markets 

before rushing home, young men 

avoided the cafes they once frequented. 

ISIS fighters turned the city 

soccer stadium into a prison and interrogation 

center, known as “Point 

11.” One of the city’s central plazas 

was now referred to by residents as 

“Jaheem” Square — Hell Square. 

He soon learned why. He heard 

celebratory gunshots one day and 

saw the bodies of three men dangling 

from poles in Hell Square. The 

corpses were left there for three days. 

The reign of terror he had fled 

had gotten only worse, he said. 

Each time the Islamic State group 

overruns a community, the pattern 

has been roughly similar — as methodical 

as it is bloody. 

First comes an initial wave of killings 

of police and troops. Then the 

fighters often seek to garner support by 

quickly repairing electricity and water 

lines. They call on bureaucrats to return 

to work. Government employees 

and any former troops or policemen 

sign their “repentance” papers and 

must hand over their weapons or pay 

fines, sometimes amounting to several 

thousand dollars. 

In loudspeaker announcements, 

mosque sermons and leaflets, new 

regulations are laid out: No smoking, 

no alcohol, and no women working 

except as nurses or in women’s clothing 

shops, where even mannequins 

in store windows are covered. Residents 

said they were required to build 

walls outside their homes so women 

would never be seen. 

In each district, an “emir” — often 

a local militant — is appointed to 

govern. Schools close, then reopen 

with ISIS-written curricula. Taxes 

are imposed on businesses. Pharmacies 

are given Shariah courses and 

banned from selling contraceptives. 

In most locations, tribes or families 

declare loyalty to the group and gain 

positions or perks. 

Adnan stayed in Raqqa for almost 

a year, watching the extremists pervade 

nearly every aspect of life. ISIS 

authorities came to his family’s car 

parts store and demanded taxes — 

the equivalent of $5,000. The group 

was clearly flush with money from 

taxing businesses, confiscating lands 

from those who fled and sales from 

oil fields captured further east in Syria, 

Adnan said. 

Then Adnan’s one-time activism 

in support of Syrian rebels caught up 

with him. In January, a patrol raided 

his family home, confiscated his laptop 

and arrested him for publishing 

online articles they said encouraged 

secularism. “Such a pretty house,” a 

patrol member said before smashing 

two glass water pipes. This pollutes 

the environment,’’ he told Adnan. 

For the next 55 days, Adnan was 

held in Point 11, the soccer stadium. 

He was interrogated three times 

in the initial days, beaten with a 

green plastic pipe. Then he was 

moved out of isolation into wards 

with other prisoners. 


Soon after came another gruesome 

moment. One of the top Islamic 

State judges in the area, a local man 

known by the pseudonym Abu Ali 

al-Sharei, dropped by in early February 

to teach another lesson in Islamic 

law to the prisoners. He made small 

talk with a roomful of them. Then he 

grinned and said, “Listen, I haven’t 

told you yet, but today we made al- 

Kaseasbeh crispy.” 

He took a flash drive out of his 

pocket, Adnan said, and, to the prisoners’ 

horror, played them footage of 

captured Jordanian Air Force pilot 

Muath al-Kaseasbeh being burned 

alive in a cage by his ISIS captors. 

Adnan’s account is just one example 

of how ISIS uses the execution 

videos that it broadcasts to the 

world online to also intimidate people 

under its rule. 

Adnan said he believes many victims 

in the execution videos appear 

so calm because they’ve already endured 

repeat mock executions. 

“They repeat the thing with them 

like 20 times. So when the real one 

comes, the prisoner will think it’s just 

another mock execution,” he said. 

Surviving – Or Not 

In Eski Mosul, a village on a bend 

in Iraq’s Tigris River, Sheikh Abdullah 

Ibrahim lives in one of the larger 

houses, behind high walls with a 

garden. He looked exhausted as he 

showed AP journalists one ISIS 

vestige he’s keeping: the death certificate 

for his wife, the group’s black 

logo on top. 

It’s all he has left of her. 

ISIS swept into the village of 

some 3,000 families in June 2014, 

established its reign over a grim 

seven-month period, then fled in 

January when Kurdish fighters ran 

them out. IS forces remain dug in 

only a few miles away, so close that 

smoke can be seen from fighting on 

the front lines. 

Ibrahim’s wife, Buthaina, had 

been an outspoken human rights 

advocate and had run for the provincial 

council in Mosul. So when 

ISIS took over, fighters demanded 

she apply for a repentance card. 

“She said she’d never stoop so low,” 

her husband said. 

He knew the danger. He had seen 

the bodies of a dozen policemen in 

the street, shot in the head. He’d 

seen others thrown off buildings. 

He had heard talk of the dreaded 

“Khasfa,” a deep natural sinkhole in 

the desert south of Mosul where the 

AP PHOTO/BRAM JANSSEN 

A man shows his “repentance card.” 

extremists boast of throwing bodies 

— or sometimes living victims. 

Ibrahim sent his wife away to 

safety for a few days, but she soon returned, 

missing their three daughters 

and two sons, he said. Her youngest 

was 2. A few nights later, in early 

October, the militants came for her. 

They demanded to see Buthaina. 

Ibrahim tried to protect her, but she 

came out and confronted the extremists, 

demanding an explanation. An 

argument ensued, and one militant 

handcuffed the sheikh and knocked 

him across the head with a pistol. 

The men pushed Buthaina into their 

car, and took Ibrahim’s as well. 

A member of the powerful al- 

Jabour tribe, Ibrahim hoped his connections 

— and money — could win 

Buthaina’s freedom. He and fellow 

tribesmen went to the nearby town 

of Tal Afar, an ISIS stronghold. He 

begged for his wife’s release, pointing 

out that she was still breastfeeding 

their youngest son. 

Another Eski Mosul resident, 

31-year-old Fadi Mohammed, wishes 

that all he had gotten from ISIS was 

his brother’s death certificate. 

He and his brother, Mohammed 

Mohammed, were both former 

policemen who had given up their 

weapons and signed repentance papers. 

But his brother was arrested 

after informants claimed he was part 

of an elite intelligence unit. Mohammed 

Mohammed was sent to Mosul. 

In January, 13 days before the Kurds 

took back Eski Mosul, Mohammed 

said ISIS militants “brought us discs 

that showed his beheading.” 

Now, he said, “I want to blow 

myself up among Daesh. Even that 

won’t satisfy me. If I chop them 

up, drink their blood and eat their 

hearts, it won’t take away my pain.” 

Laying low was often key to survival 

in the “caliphate,” several of those 

interviewed said. Best to stay home 

as much as possible, avoiding checkpoints 

of ISIS fighters and the “Hisba” 

committees, the dreaded enforcers of 

ISIS’ innumerable regulations. 

Armed members of the Hisba 

patrol the streets, cruising in SUVs 

with blackened windows and wearing 

Afghan-style baggy pants, long 

shirts and face masks, looking for behavior 

deemed unacceptable. 

Punishments for smoking, for 

wearing Western clothes or for playing 

the wrong radio station can vary 

from a fine to imprisonment for a 

few hours or days — often depending 

on the Hisba’s mood. For more 

serious or repeat offenses, the fighters 

might bind the perpetrator to 

a pole in a town square for several 

days with his crime written on a sign 

around his neck. 

Women try not to go out at all. 

If they do go to market, they sometimes 

avoid taking their husbands, 

sons or brothers with them: If they’re 

harassed by the Hisba, their male relative 

might defend them and bring 

the Hisba’s wrath. 

It’s not an unreasonable fear. Abu 

Zein, a 31-year-old who recently fled 

the eastern Syrian town of Muhassan, 

recounted how a Hisba member 

one day berated a woman for being 

improperly covered as she swept her 

porch. Her brother came out and argued, 

the fight escalated, the militant 

shot the brother, and the brother’s 

relatives promptly killed the militant. 

Soon after, a larger contingent 

of Islamic State fighters descended 

on the house and killed eight members 

of the family, Abu Zein said. 

Abu Zein said he was detained 

multiple times for various minor 

offenses, including visiting his uncle’s 

grave. During Islamic holidays 

late last year, he said, militants announced 

in mosques that it was forbidden 

to visit the graves of relatives, 

a holiday tradition that ISIS sees as 

encouraging polytheism. 

Sheikh Abdullah Ibrahim’s wife, 

Buthaina, never reappeared after being 

taken by the militants. 

Shortly after her husband appealed 

for her release, he received 

the death certificate. A simple sheet 

of paper from an “Islamic court” with 

a judge’s signature, it said only that 

Buthaina’s death was verified, nothing 

more. 


1 2 

a new home 

Sacred Heart relocates from Detroit 

BY WEAM NAMOU 

When Bishop Francis attended 

mass at Sacred 

Heart Chaldean Church 

in Detroit last year, he asked the parishioners, 

“How many of you live 

here?” 

No one raised a hand. Only two 

to three Chaldean families continued 

to live in the Seven Mile and 

John R area, and even they were not 

present. The church was nonetheless 

packed with people who had come 

from as far as Shelby Township or 

different cities on the Westside. 

Five years ago, Sacred Heart 

Church was nearly empty. It had so 

few attendees that the late Fr. Yasso 

had stopped doing mass. Bishop Ibrahim 

Ibrahim asked Fr. Sameem Belius 

to take over the church. At first, 

10 people showed up on Sundays. 

One of the first things Fr. Sameem 

did was have two buses drive 

the elderly to the church from senior 

citizen homes. 

“I did not do this to fill up the 

church,” he said. “I did this because 

I was a Redemptorist and then I became 

a priest.” 

The Redemptorists are a religious 

congregation of men founded 

in 1732 by Saint Alphonsus Liguori. 

Their mission is to spread the Gospel 

to the poor and most abandoned. 

They began this work among the 

poor and forgotten shepherds living 

in the hill country surrounding Naples 

in southern Italy. 

“When I took over Sacred Heart 

in Detroit, I wanted to continue 

this principle because I saw many 

old people were abandoned and neglected,” 

said Fr. Sameem. “I brought 

them to the church to live up to my 

vocation as a priest.” 

Fr. Sameem, who has baptized 

55 Muslims and people from other 

religions, created a spiritually uplifting 

atmosphere that not only offered 

the word of God and meditation, but 

also beverages and food at the end of 

mass. 

“I did not let people leave without 

giving them something,” he said. 

Little by little, the church became 

regularly packed. They had a 

total of 20 deacons and 11 deaconesses, 

25 choir members and 40 parish 

councils that included volunteers. 

Fr. Sameem credits this following to 

the manner in which he tells people 

about the word of God. 

“I make it simple, yet deep,” he 

said. “I want the elderly and the father 

who is tired from working many 

hours, the mother who worries over 

her daughters, and the child that 

feels lost, to know that Jesus loves 

and believes in them. Then they feel 

comfort, even if a little. I don’t want 

the Bible to be distant from them, 

but very, very close, to be a part of 

their daily lives.” 

Because the Seven Mile and John 

R area was dangerous, Fr. Sameem 

had young men guard the parking 

lot. Police refused to help, as did the 

organizations around that area, he 

said. 

“It felt like we were in exile,” he 

laughed. “We had to depend on ourselves. 

I tried to keep a happy and 

spiritual environment by holding 

celebrations every Saturday. Bible 

Study and meetings, however, were 

held on the Eastside.” 

With people having to come 

from far away to attend Sacred Heart 

Church, and the security situation in 

Detroit worsening, about a year ago 

discussion began to move the church 

to the Eastside. A Baptist church in 

Warren off of Dequindre and south 

of 13 Mile was bought by the Chaldean 

Diocese and on May 24, Bishop 

Francis blessed the church with its 

first mass. That day 63 children also 

took communion. 

The new church, which holds 

550 people, had 1,200 attendees at 

that first mass. People stood in hallways 

and in adjacent rooms, wherever 

there was space. 

“I felt bad to leave the church 

on Seven Mile,” Fr. Sameem said. 

“I thank the Bishop for having appointed 

me there. The experience 

strengthened my vocation as a priest. 

By the time I came to the Eastside, 

I was even more equipped with the 

word of God, with the wisdom needed 

to deal with various people and to 

run a church.” 

Starting this month, Bible Study 

will be held at the new church. Fr. 

Sameem has many dreams and goals 

for spreading the word of God, including 

having group meetings for 

the handicapped with whom he grew 

up. He is currently the editor-in-chief 

of a new free magazine called Echo of 

the Soul. The first one was published 

in May and will be released every 

three months. Contributors include 

religious men from around the world. 

“I try to reach people through 

radio, television, lectures and programs,” 

he said. “I even use social 

media – but without posting pictures, 

only Bible verses.” 


3 

4 

Going Green? 

5 

Read Chaldean News online at 


1-3. Scenes from the opening mass. 

4. Fr. Sameem and Bishop Francis at the opening mass. 

5. Children prepare to enter for their First Holy Communion. 


out of africa 

Store owner brings joy to Tanzanian villages 


He’s not sure why, but Mike Setto has always 

had a fascination with Africa. 

“I’ve always wanted to go, but I didn’t 

know where,” said the 61-year-old Rochester Hills 

resident. 

That changed a few years ago when he met a 

customer at his store, Orion Keg and Wine, whose 

husband had just returned from a trip to Tanzania. 

Setto talked to the man, who shortly afterwards 

visited the store along with a special guest: Fr. Dietrich, 

a Tanzanian priest who pastors four villages 

and runs Catholic schools. 

“I asked the priest what he needed and he said 

‘water’ about five times in 30 seconds,” Setto recalled. 

Suddenly, his mission was clear: getting water 

to those four remote villages. 

Fr. Dietrich said Plan A was to divert water 

from the nearest river, 2.5 miles away, but Setto 

replied, “Do I look like Moses to you, Father?” and 

quickly came up with Plan B: digging four wells per 

village for a total of 16. 

Setto is a force to be reckoned with. In 2007, 

he started a well-publicized boycott against Miller 

Beer over its logo appearing on offensive advertising 

for a gay festival in California. 

For the Africa project, he set a fundraising goal 

of $47,000 but after more than a year was only halfway 

there. 

“I raised $27,000 and decided I would give the 

rest of the money myself. I started getting all the 

shots I needed to visit Africa,” Setto said. “Then 

all of a sudden, the money starting pouring in from 

customers, schools, even the Chaldean Diocese. I 

raised over $50,000.” 

He arrived in Tanzania in March — where, 

much to his relief, Fr. Dietrich was indeed waiting 

at the airport. The men took a 12-hour drive to 

a small city where the first order of business was 

transferring the funds from the U.S. Facing a delay, 

the men made off for Fr. Dietrich’s village, reachable 

only by a 4.5-hour drive over washed-out, 

deeply rutted roads. 

Setto began feeling unwell on the journey, 

probably from food poisoning, and ended up violently 

ill with fever, diarrhea and the early stages of 

malaria. But to check on the status of the funds, he 

had to drag himself out of bed and endure another 

miserable, bone-shaking roundtrip to the bank a 

few days later. 

With the funds finally secured, he hired a Swiss 

firm to build the wells and then spent the next 

month overseeing the work in four villages spaced 

several hours apart: Lupanga, Masimbwe, Lihagule 

and Maramba. 

Despite their deep poverty (“if you eat twice a 

PHOTOS COURTESY MIKE SETTO 

Clockwise from top right: Mike Setto poses with villagers by a new well. “You got your water 

and I got my dream,” he told them. Kids happily show off their rosaries. Children eat 

a simple meal cooked in a giant cauldron. After Setto told the students that their sloppy 

shoes drove him a little crazy, they surprised him with a neat display. 

day you’re lucky”) Setto was struck by the villagers’ 

abiding faith. Tanzania is 30 percent Christian and 

a meager Catholic church was the dominant force 

in each of the villages Setto helped. He likes to 

show video of joyous clapping and beautiful singing 

during mass. 

“My highest point was seeing their passion for 

the church and how they pray,” he said. 

Setto also brought along some soccer balls and 

800 rosaries, something the people had previously 

lacked. Fr. Dietrich translated his lessons on praying 

the rosary (pronounced ro-sar-EE by the locals) and 

Setto’s talks on one of his favorite subjects, the saints. 

As each hand-pumped well became operational, 

villagers gathered excitedly around, clapping 

and singing at the sight of the crystal-clear 

water. No longer must they tote water more than 

two miles from the river or scoop it from a shallow, 

murky bog. 

The villagers threw him a surprise party before 

he left and, upon his return, Setto met with Bishop 

Francis to tell about the trip. Setto expressed guilt 

over not helping his fellow Chaldeans who need 

water in Iraq, but pointed out that he began his 

project well before anyone had heard of ISIS. 

“The Bishop said, ‘There is something for everyone. 

You were made for Africa, stick with that,’” 

Setto said. 

He plans to do just that and is now in the process 

of raising $35,000 to build more wells and supply 

fuel for cooking, confessional books and additional 

rosaries. And this time Setto is determined 

to bring some fellow Chaldeans to Africa with him. 

Hesitant to eat after his illness upon arrival, 

Setto ended up losing 18 pounds during his trip. “I 

lived on cucumber, watermelon and orange juice, 

which were all in season, and thank God I brought 

beef jerky with me,” he said. “But I was never 

scared. The Holy Spirit was with me.” 

Learn more or make a contribution at Water for 

Humanity on Facebook. 


SOCIAL MEDIA continued from page 20 

gest radio station in Detroit. Namou 

also likes to post about his family and 

faith, which helps him get through 

the rough times. 

“Faith is really important to me 

because God is the reason I have 

succeeded so much in my career,” he 

said. 

The recent Oakland University 

graduate is still star-struck by his 

good friend Thomas Carballo, aka 

Mojo, who has played a huge role in 

his accomplishments and who has always 

been a friend to the Chaldean 

community. Namou cautions that if 

you want to make it in the business, 

you have to be a really hard worker. 

Tune in daily to hear him from 7 

p.m.-midnight. 

Makeup Master 

Gloria Haio 

Genre: Beauty/Fashion 

Facebook: Gloria Haio, 290 

Instagram: @MakeupByGloria, 6.3K 

Snapchat: GloHaio403 

Gloria Haio 

loved playing 

with makeup in 

middle school 

— partly because 

she wasn’t 

allowed to wear 

it. The 34-yearold 

esthetician 

at the Beauty 

Lounge in West Bloomfield started 

posting her work on Instagram just 

for fun, and noticed she got a lot of 

followers from all different places. 

Hashtagging and word-of-mouth 

helped boost her career and she is 

now one of the most sought-after 

makeup artists in Metro Detroit. 

Not only has social media 

helped her gain more clientele, it 

has also been a learning tool. Haio 

follows a lot of artists on Instagram 

and YouTube for the latest trends. 

She once tagged beauty blogger 

Huda Kattan in a picture of her 

favorite cosmetics. Kattan “liked” 

her picture and suddenly Haio got 

1,400 more likes. 

Haio also took a class in New 

York with Mario Dedivanovic, a 

celebrity makeup artist, and with 

Samer Khouzami, a Lebanese makeup 

artist when he was in Michigan, 

both whom she knew about from IG. 

Haio puts a lot of heart into her 

job. She uses top-of-the-line products 

and even offers her brides a free 

makeup application for their bachelorette 

parties as a thank you. 

She is grateful for social media 

because it has motivated her to do 

more than she thought she could. 

She just trademarked the phrase 

“Glow by Glo” for a future cosmetics 

line and is considering having a 

YouTube channel. 

“I want to set myself apart from 

everybody,” she said. “I’m just myself 

and I don’t give up.” 

Listen, Mr. DJ 

David Boji 

Genre: On-Air Mixer and DJ 

Facebook: Boji, 110K 

Instagram: @Boji, 12.7K 

Twitter: @Boji, 36.3 K 

Soundcloud: Boji 

Websites: ParagonDetroit.com 

Channel955.com/Boji 

When David Boji 

was 15, he got his 

first gig DJing a 

dance at his old elementary 

school, 

Our Lady Queen 

of Martyrs in 

Beverly Hills. His 

dad had to drive 

him there and his 

pay didn’t even cover the rental fees 

of the equipment. Nonetheless, he 

loved the experience and resolved to 

do more, especially after he graduated 

from Northwood University. 

Music is truly Boji’s passion. He 

became an on-air mixer on Channel 

955 after he quit his job in corporate 

sales. He handles a lot of the 

radio station’s business and nightclub 

events, celebrity appearances and 

major concerts. He is also the resident 

DJ at Sabrage, 3Fifty Terrace, 

O2 and Azure. 

To stay relevant, Boji uses social 

media on a daily basis. His Soundcloud 

allows fans to listen to his 

mixes when he’s not live. He also 

uses social media to keep up with 

his favorite DJs — Diplo, Tiesto and 

Calvin Harris. 

Boji’s success came from a lot of 

hard work. 

“Stay hungry, take chances, and 

keep trying to grow,” he advised. 

Want to be on Boji’s VIP list? 

Text 31996. 

Crystal Kassab Jabiro is herself active 

on the net. Find her on Facebook 

(Crystal Kassab Jabiro), Instagram 

(@CKJabiro) and Twitter 

(@CrystalJabiro). 

Let’s 

Elevate the 

Movement 

Together… 

Martin Allos 

PHONE: 866-413-2733 DIRECT: 586-353-0133 

EMAIL: mallos@toyotawarren.com 

27100 Van Dyke, Warren MI 48093 

www.prestigewarrentoyota.com 


mute no more 

Writer Weam Namou is prolific – and committed 


Weam Namou and family: husband 

Sudaid Yatooma, daughter Shems 

and son Saleem. 

Growing up in Baghdad, Weam Namou 

wasn’t much aware of the difference between 

her and her schoolmates. 

“We went to church during Easter and Christmas 

but it wasn’t a regular part of our lives, as is the 

case with the majority of the people who lived in 

the Christian villages. I really did not know the difference 

between Muslim and Chaldean except that 

I was excused from Muslim prayer class on Fridays,” 

she said. “My best friend was Muslim.” 

In a secretive manner that Namou, then 10, 

did not fully understand, the family moved to the 

United States to escape Saddam’s totalitarianism. 

They settled in Sterling Heights, which at the time 

was considered a world away by her also-transplanted 

relatives, who lived in Detroit. 

“My brother and I were the only ones at Switzer 

Elementary who spoke Arabic,” she said. “My 

father wanted us to acclimate as soon as possible. 

When my mother worried I might become too 

Americanized, my dad said, ‘Do you think Weam 

will ever return to live in Iraq? We’re in America 

now. We need to become American.’” 

Being a naturalized American is a theme in 

much of Namou’s work. The prolific author (and 

Chaldean News contributor) has just launched 

her latest project, a full-color book series called 

“Iraqi Americans” with the ambitious 

schedule of one new book per 

month through 2015. 

The first volume, “The War 

Generation,” is a collection of 36 

articles that give a snapshot of 

Iraqi Americans’ political and social 

struggles. The second book 

will focus on how ISIS has affected 

Iraqi-Americans, while others will 

address the community’s traditions, 

celebrations, artists and writers, 

and cuisine. 

“The idea came to me years ago 

when I saw that the majority of the 

books written about Iraq – nearly 

30,000 of them – were written by 

Westerners. Less than a dozen were 

written by Iraqi Americans and 

although the numbers of Iraqi Americans writers 

is increasing, it is nowhere near enough for their 

voices to be heard,” Namou said. 

A more personal work, a collection of 76 poems 

called “I Am a Mute Iraqi with a Voice,” was released 

in May. The impact of Namou’s three-week 

visit to her homeland in 2000 resounds throughout 

as she shares her heartbreak and anger over what 

has happened to Iraq since the U.S. toppled Saddam 

Hussein, and her guilt at having 

escaped the subsequent strife 

and persecution. 

“During the 2003 invasion I had 

a hard time writing. I felt like, what 

was the use? Writing is a waste of 

time and not helping anyone,” she 

said. 

But that same year, she showed 

her work to famed English author 

Anne Perry at a conference. Perry 

encouraged her, saying, “You have 

a responsibility to write these stories. 

It’s so important for these stories 

to get out.” 

It’s a responsibility Namou takes seriously. “I 

like to show Iraqis in a different light. Even if the 

topic is war, the way I present stories is interesting 

rather than depressing. Most people right now 

define Iraqis by their misfortune. My vision is to 

highlight their uniqueness and achievements. I do 

this even in the cover designs, which are full of life, 

energy and color.” 

There is much more to Middle Eastern women 

than abused, oppressed figures, and Namou is determined 

to get that point across. 

“Growing up there were no inspiring women in 

books and media,” she said. “They are not highlighted 

anywhere – it was all just about abused and 

veiled women and honor killings.” 

Namou has also published several novels, including 

“The Flavor of Cultures,” which she wrote 

15 years ago but just released in March. She’s currently 

finishing up a memoir called “The Great 

American Family” that she has been working on 

for four and half years. 

The book opens with Namou’s trip to Iraq and 

interweaves her journey with the true story of 

Dawn Hanna, a Michigan Chaldean convicted in 

2009 of conspiring to broker telecommunications 

equipment to Iraq during the sanctions. Despite 

the fact that her co-conspirator turned out to be 

a CIA operative, Hanna is currently serving a sixyear 

sentence. 

Namou initially resisted getting involved when 

a friend of Hanna asked Namou to tell her story. 

“The last thing I wanted to do at that time 

was write a political story,” she said. After three 

months of requests, she agreed to meet with the 

Hanna family and was surprised by the connection 

she felt to Dawn’s story. 

“We came here for America’s freedoms,” Namou 

said. “As an immigrant, I saw through the 

Dawn Hanna case how we are losing the very 

things we came here for. I wrote the memoir with 

the intention to enlighten people politically so 

that our children would not have to endure in the 

United States the same political climate my parents 

endured in Iraq. I am trying to show the illegality 

of the case.” 

Rather than tell Hanna’s story as an advocate, 

Namou decided to blend her plight with her own 

experiences revisiting the beloved Iraq she always 

pined for (despite her mother’s warning that, “The 

Iraq in your head is not the Iraq in real life.”) As 

she learned more about Hanna, Namou realized 

that the man who chaperoned her Iraq trip was 

Dawn’s uncle. 

The negative effects of U.S. sanctions on the 

Iraqis make a big impression on Namou as she traveled 

the country. 

“The things I saw, as an Iraqi-American, were 

important to the story. So in order to include 

those parts, I had to be in the story,” Namou said. 

“Dawn’s case involved a bigger story than herself. 

She’s the victim, but my message is bigger, and in 

order to make the book bigger, I had to show what 

I saw outside of Dawn’s imprisonment.” 

Namou is also making “The Great American 

Family” into a documentary, which she hopes to 

complete by the end of this year. 

So how does Namou find the time for all this 

work in addition to her life as businessman’s wife, 

mother of two young children and president of the 

Iraqi Artists Association? 

“Sometimes I get up before the kids to write, but 

normally it’s as soon as they are out the door to school,” 

she said. “I take breaks to cook and clean.” 


have MERCI 

Doctor group creates fundraising campaign for Iraq 


In an effort to medically treat thousands 

of displaced Iraqis inside 

the country, Michigan doctors 

through Help Iraq have launched a 

new fundraising campaign. 

Since its inception last year, the 

Medical Emergency Relief for Christian 

Iraqis (MERCI) has raised thousands 

of dollars to help fund 10 medical 

clinics in Northern Iraq. 

“We are primarily buying medicine,” 

said Dr. Musib Gappy, president 

of the MERCI committee. “We 

do fall short and are in need of a 

more consistent revenue stream to 

keep the clinics operating.” 

To close the financial gap, they 

launched the $20 for MERCI fund 

where they are asking people to donate 

$20 a month for one year. 

“The amount may not seem significant 

for one person and that is 

the intention,” Gappy said. “We are 

hoping with the accumulation of 

businesses or individual people donating 

$20 a month, we will have 

enough money to do the work we 

need to do to service those in need.” 

They do not turn anyone away. 

The clinics treat anywhere from 50 

to 350 people a day — Christians, 

Muslims, Yazidis — anyone displaced 

who needs medical care. The clinics 

are overseen by local priests as well 

as one or two doctors in the area 

who form a committee and assess the 

needs. 

Clinics were primarily run by 

T:9” 

volunteers but now doctors are being 

employed by the Kurdish government 

to help establish and operate 

the clinics. 

“It is now becoming a very elaborate 

process,” said Gappy. “A clinic 

in Dohuk, for instance, started with 

one doctor and now they have 11 because 

it is very busy.” 

The MERCI program is administered 

through a transparent process. 

Funds sent to Northern Iraq are carefully 

tracked. They are sent to MER- 

CI’s affiliate medical committee, 

consisting of members of the medical 

field, priests and nuns from local and 

displaced churches, and lay people. 

Once received, a balance sheet is 

provided from the committee, documenting 

confirmation of money and 

goods received and monthly expense 

reports from the clinics. Receipts are 

provided for supplies or medications 

purchased. The balance sheets and 

expense reports are monitored diligently. 

The MERCI committee was created 

by the Chaldean American 

Association of Health Professionals 

(CAAHP) with the blessing of the 

Catholic Church and Bishop Francis. 

MERCI is one of several committees 

created through the St. Thomas 

the Apostle Chaldean Catholic Diocese 

following the invasion of ISIS 

more than a year ago. Tens of thousands 

of Iraqis were displaced inside 

and outside of Iraq because of the 

terrorist attacks. 

In addition to the new campaign, 

MERCI is also having a fundraiser on 

July 11 at Farmington Manor. Tickets 

are $100 per person. 

Learn more by writing to info@ 

caahp-usa.org. To donate, visit Merci. 

HelpIraq.org.concert 

There are more than 2,500 doses of Vitamin Z, and they come 

in different shapes and sizes. Try them all this summer only at 

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94766_DZ_DZ5-172.indd 1 

DZ5-172 9" x 5.875" Chaldean News 

JULY 2015 CHALDEAN NEWS 31 

6/5/15 1:08 PM

PHOTO BY DAVID REED 

A scene from last year’s concert. 

see you in 

september 

‘Sounds of Babylon’ returning 


Plans are well underway for the 

Second Annual Sounds of Babylon 

concert, to be held Friday, 

September 18 at Detroit’s Max M. 

Fisher Music Center. 

Members of the Detroit Symphony 

Orchestra will once again perform 

at the event, which this year will 

focus exclusively on Chaldean and 

Iraqi music, said Shoki Konja of the 

Chaldean Voice, who is coordinating 

the event along with a committee 

co-chaired by Eman Jajonie-Daman, 

Leila Kello and Peter Karadjoff. 

Last year’s inaugural concert was 

well-received but some questioned 

why non-Chaldean music was included. 

“This year it is all Chaldean and 

we don’t want a quiet start — we 

want to get our people going,” Konja 

said. “Last year was very nice but we 

learn and move on and do a better 

job.” 

Chaldean musicians will perform 

with DSO members to present a variety 

of music. Traditional church 

hymns will include the Lord’s Prayer 

in Soureth and the historic Amerle 

Etah, whose lyrics address the building 

of a church. 

Several traditional songs from 

Iraq will be performed with new lyrics 

written by Konja, who said he’s 

been writing poetry for some 30 

years. One addresses the plight of 

Christians in today’s Iraq while others 

are love songs. 

Chaldean vocalists will include 

Assofi Bayar, Silvana Koja, Edward 

Issa and Khairy Boudagh, who is also 

composing a new song, with lyrics by 

Konja, which will debut that night. 

Attendees can purchase a prerecorded 

CD of the program at the 

“This year it is all 

Chaldean and we 

don’t want a quiet 

start — we want 

to get our people 

going.” 

– SHOKI KONJA 

event, Konja said. “When they leave 

they can take it with them, all professionally 

recorded,” he said. 

The concert is presented by the 

Chaldean Community Foundation, the 

Chaldean Chamber’s charitable arm, 

and proceeds benefit its programs and 

the Chaldean Voice. For ticket and/or 

sponsor information, call Lisa Kalou 

at (248) 996-8340 or Lisa.Kalou@ 

ChaldeanFoundation.org. 


CHALDEAN 

AMERICAN 

CHAMBER OF 

COMMERCE 

JULY 

More than 900 members, representing 3,500 businesses and individuals 

The Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce is one of the fastest growing and largest ethnic chambers in the 

country. The countless number of networking opportunities and programs provided by the Chamber has helped 

members develop the necessary relationships needed to create new business. All for as little as $100 per year. 

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The Chamber’s not-for-profit arm, the Chaldean Community Foundation, 

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Have you heard about the other great programs the Chaldean American 

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Contact Sana Navarrette at snavarrette@chaldeanchamber.com 

or 248-996-8340 to become a member. 

Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and Chaldean Community Foundation 

30850 Telegraph Rd., Suite 200, Bingham Farms, MI 48025 

248.996.8340 • FAX: 248.996.8342 

www.chaldeanchamber.com • www.chaldeanfoundation.org 

Affiliates and partners: 

CHALDEAN COMMUNITY 

FOUNDATION

TEEN corner 

Try something new this summer 

BY RENNA SARAFA 

For many teenagers, summer is a getaway 

from school and a break from 

the nine months of pure learning. 

Sometimes teens pick a spot to hang 

out for the whole summer. Whether it be 

relaxing at the pool or eating at a casual 

restaurant, kids tend to stick to their “normal 

spot.” 

Although it is satisfactory to have a 

usual hangout, there are so many different 

things to do around town. Here are some 

of the cool summer hotspots: 

Visit On the Dunes Sand Bar to play 

sand volleyball on weeknights to get away 

from that summer job. 

Go spend a day in Detroit, watching 

a Tiger’s day game at Comerica Park 

with your close friends. Then head over to 

Punch Bowl Social to bowl a game or two 

enjoying delicious appetizers. 

Take a walk in nature at Drake Park 

in West Bloomfield. Play a game of whiffle 

ball or even take a bike ride around the 

park to enjoy the fresh air. 

Go participate in Karaoke Night on 

Thursdays at the Inn Place Bar and Grill 

in Royal Oak to sing some of your favorite 

songs while enjoying delectable food – but 

you’ll have to bring a parent along since 

only ages 21 and older can come after 9 

p.m., when karaoke starts. 

Eat an amazing dinner on the rooftop 

of Social Kitchen and Bar in Birmingham 

to take advantage of the warm weather 

and to walk around town with your loved 

ones. 

Whatever you do, remember that safety 

comes first. Always check in with your parents 

and keep them posted on your whereabouts. 

Enjoy every minute. The upcoming 

school year is right around the corner. 

Renna Sarafa will enter her junior year this 

fall at Marian High School. 

A Tigers game is always a good time. 

She has a gambling problem. 

HER FATHER. 

When you or someone you love has 

a gambling problem, the whole family 

suffers. For free, confidential help, call 

1-800-270-7117. 


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in various locations. Full-time pay is 

$20/hour, plus benefits. Part-time pay 

is $15/hour. Call Sam, 248-255-8119. 

HOUSE FOR SALE 

WEST BLOOMFIELD - MAJESTIC 4BR, 

2.3B. Desirable W.B. Lake Estates. 

Walk to Shenandoah CC and WB 

Park. $329,000. Char, agent, 

248-505-2225, cnardone@kw.com. 

STORES FOR SALE 

UPDATED FENTON 

PARTY STORE FOR SALE 

Liquor, beer, wine, lottery, 15-door 

walk-in cooler, new roof & siding, 

pre-approved for Marathon Oil gas 

pumps, attached 2,000-sq.-ft. pole 

barn. Buyer can purchase inventory 

at 20% off. $495,000. Joe Consiglio, 

Century 21, 734-564-6457. 

REDFORD LIQUOR STORE 

3,000 sq. ft. building, built 

from ground up 15 years ago. 

Freestanding on two major roads. 

Weekly sales averages over 

$19,000 and over $45,000 in lottery. 

Business hours are Mon-Sat 10-11 

and Sun 10-10. Designated subshop 

area un-operated at this time 

but has great potential. $375,000 

biz only + inventory. (5 year land 

contract, 5 years rent.) Option to 

buy building after lease. Looking 

to sell ASAP, serious buyers only 

please. Tommy, (313) 303-9531. 

BUSINESS FOR SALE 

BUSINESS FOR SALE 

NO FRANCHISE FEES 

Ready-made stores & cheap rent. 

Cellular Repair Center Inc. has been 

in business close to 20 years and has 

a huge and loyal clientele. Our stores 

average 5K to 10K profit each month 

after paying all utilities and rent. For 

more info call David J Dabish 248- 

345-7288 or email DavidDabish@ 

CellularRepairCenter.com. 

Ronald G. Acho 

Patrick R. Sturdy 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW 

Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are a few of the most valuable 

assets of a business, but evaluating and protecting those assets 

can be extremely complex. Attorneys at Cummings, McClorey, 

Davis & Acho, P.L.C. have extensive experience with all aspects of 

Intellectual Property Law, including: 

• Registering Trademarks and Copyrights 

• Preparing Licenses, Assignments, and Security Interests 

for Inventions, Designs, Trademarks and Copyrights 

• Litigating and Prosecuting all Intellectual Property Rights 

• Performing Trademark and Copyright Audits 

A TTORNEYS & C O UNSELORS AT LAW 

(734) 261-2400 • www.cmda-law.com • racho@cmda-law.com 

DYNAMIC OAK PARK RETAIL 

24695 COOLIDGE 

NEW A/C, NEWER FURNACE, 40’ X 80’ 

$1,996/month triple net 

For more information: 248-474-3375 or 248-548-6404 

Visit chaldeannews.com 


PROFESSIONALS PROFESSIONALS PROFESSIONALS PROFESSIONALS 

Accredited Buyer Representative 

Certified Luxury Home Marketing 

Specialist 

Certified Residential Specialist 

Internet Professional 

Graduate REALTORS Institute 

Quality Service Certified 

Seniors Real Estate Specialist 

Brian S. Yaldoo 

Classic - Associate Broker 

29630 Orchard Lake Road 

Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334 

Office: 1-248-737-6800 

Fax: 1-248-539-0904 

E-Mail: brianyaldoo@remax.net 

Websites: www.brianyaldoo.com 

brianyaldoo.realtor.com 

BuyingOrSellingRealEstate.com 

Individually Owned and Operated 

PHOENIX REFRIGERATION, INC. 

Commercial Refrigeration•Heating & Cooling 

Mechanical Contractor 

STEVE ROUMAYAH 

29333 LORIE LANE 

WIXOM, MI 48393 

steve@phoenixrefrig.com 

PHONE: 248.344.2980 

FAX: 248.344.2966 

TOLL FREE: 877.856.5800 

Detroit • Grand Rapids • Lansing • Flint 

www.phoenix-refrigeration.com 

Palladium 

Financial GrouP, llc 

MOrTGaGE brOKEr NMLS 128686 

GabE GabriEl 

NMLS 128715 

30095 Northwestern Hwy, ste. 103 

Farmington Hills , Michigan 48334 

Office (248) 737-9500 

Direct (248) 939-1985 

Fax (248) 737-1868 

Email MortgageGabe@aol.com 

www.palladiumfinancialgroup.com 

BMW of Rochester Hills 

Sammi A. Naoum 

Client Advisor 

Street Address 

45550 Dequindre Road 

Shelby Township, MI 48317 

Telephone: (248) 237-3832 

Mobile: ( 248) 219-5525 

Fax: (248) 997-7766 

Email: sammi.naoum@bmwofrochesterhills.com 

Website: www.bmwofrochesterhills.com 

Parking Lot Lighting 

Tamou’s 

Electrical Contractors 

Commercial & Industrial 

Installation & Service 

Generators for Large Facilities 

Tom Tamou 

Cell: (810) 560-9665 

tamouselectric@sbcglobal.net 

Office/Fax (586) 803-9700 

MAM FINANCIAL SERVICES 

HEALTH INSURANCE & MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT 

OBAMA CARE 

INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES & GROUPS 

MIKE MERHI 

248-592-0080 

248-361-0767 cell 

mikemerhi1@gmail.com 

www.mamhealth.com 


Stacey Sheena 

Account Executive 

29850 Northwestern Hwy. Ste. 250 

Southfield, MI 48034 

(248) 996-8360 phone 

(248) 996-8342 fax 

stacey@chaldeannews.com 

ADVERTISE 

FOR AS LITTLE AS $ 85 

IN OUR NEW BUSINESS DIRECTORY SECTION! 

To place your ad, contact us today! 

PHONE: (248) 996-8360 FAX: (248) 996-8342 

29850 30850 NORTHWESTERN Telegraph Road, HIGHWAY, Suite SUITE 220 250 Bingham • SOUTHFIELD, Farms, MI 48025 48034 


ww.chaldeannews.com 

Tell them you saw it in the Chaldean News! 


events 

2 

3 

1 

5 6 

7 

4 

8 

9 

10 

1. Paul and Mia Teifer 

2. Tamara Shayoka, Linda 

Jajonie and Hillary Sesi 

3. Klint Kesto, Fr. Frank 

Pavone and Martin Howrylak 

4. Fr. Frank Pavone 

5. Brian Cusack 

6. Fr. Pierre Konja 

7. Ale Maria, Rita Zetouna 

and Pia Zetouna 

8. Suzy Gorial, Silvana 

Gorial, Roxanne Arabo 

and Janelle Metti 

9. St. Joseph Wings 

(Women in God’s Service) 

10. Kathleen Crombie 

min sharetha 

PHOTOS BY RAZIK TOMINA 

A good crowd gathered on June 13, for the first-ever Min Sharetha 

(“In the Beginning”), held at St. Joseph in Troy to benefit Right to Life 

Michigan. Fr. Pierre was master of ceremonies and guest speaker was 

prominent prolife leader Fr. Frank Pavone. 


KEEP SUMMER 

COOL 

If you’re interested in learning more about this great new 

summer additions to our premium product line up, call one 

of our area representatives at 800-748-0480 

www.deanscountryfresh.com

40 YEARS OF 

SERVICE 

FOUR GREAT 

BRANDS 

SERVICE IS OUR 

#1 PRIORITY 

PORSCHE OF THE MOTOR CITY 

24717 Gratiot Ave. 

Eastpointe, MI 48021 

Sales: Ray Crawford 

866-981-3878 

www.porscheofthemotorcity.com 

MOTOR CITY MINI 

29929 Telegraph Road 

Southfield, MI 48034 

Sales: John Nazzal 

877-207-7281 

www.motorcitymini.com 

AUDI OF ROCHESTER HILLS 

45441 Dequindre Rd 

Rochester Hills, MI 48307 

Sales: Elie Daher 

888-524-8551 

www.audiofrochesterhills.com 

BMW OF ROCHESTER HILLS 

45550 Dequindre Rd 

Shelby Township/Rochester, MI 48317 

Sales: Sammi Naoum 

248-237-3832 

www.bmwofrochesterhills.com 

ONE STANDARD 

OF EXCELLENCE

JULY 2015

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