NOVEMBER 2014

takin’ it to the streets
Sterling Heights seeks community’s cooperation with protests
BY WEAM NAMOU
Among those meeting about improving communication between Sterling Heights and its Chaldean community were Sahir Al Malih,
Nabil Nona, Nick Najjar, City Attorney Jeff Bahorski, Community Relations Director Steven Guitar, Police Chief Michael Reese, Captain
Thomas Fett and Assistant Fire Chief Robert Duke.
When Iraq won the Asian
Cup in 2007, the Chaldean
American community
in Sterling Heights celebrated
on Ryan Road. The City of Sterling
Heights was caught off guard, and
the issue of public safety surfaced.
Now, as the persecution of Iraqi
Christians sparks outrage, Chaldean
again have taken to the street – specifically,
Ryan Road. So city officials
decided to do something about it by
meeting with influential members
of the community on October 19 to
discuss alternative options to protest,
demonstrate and celebrate.
“On such occasions, it’s difficult
to control disruption and the last
thing we want is conflicts to arise,”
said City Manager Mark Vanderpool.
“We also have to be respectful towards
the rest of the community in
the area,” added Steven Guitar, community
relations director.
Admitted Nabil Nona, who participated
in the rally and he also organized
a protest last July at Warren
City Hall, “Ryan is the magical road
for Chaldeans.”
“The next event might be just
around the corner,” said Guitar.
“Our mission is to protect the
health, welfare and safety of all
130,000 residents, and the businesses,
in Sterling Heights. By building
events together we can do that.”
City officials stressed that there
were a lot of ways for the two parties
to work together to have a meaningful
event rather than an impromptu
gathering on one of the city’s main
thoroughfares.
“Going out to the streets like that
puts a strain on our resources because
we have to bring in additional
people,” said Vanderpool. “It causes
our police and fire department to be
very reactionary. We want to avoid
all this, and to do this the right way.
Otherwise, though we don’t want
to, we will have to shut down Ryan
Road to ensure public safety. We prefer
to come to a mutual agreement
on an area, such as Nelson Park or
Delia Park. Chaldeans in the city of
Bloomfield Hills have done that.”
Added Chief of Police Mike Reese,
“If we have time to plan something
with the community, the situation
will be much more organized.”
Planning any public event with
the city would enable officials to
supply proper security, and it would
also give the Chaldean community
a chance to be informed so they can
participate. City officials said that
is how other communities, like the
Polish and the Italians, have done it
over the years.
When the Detroit Tigers won a
championship (obviously not this
year), a beautifully organized parade
followed. When the Chrysler Plant
closed, thousands of people were affected
and the city worked with that
group to organize rallies.
“The problem is that our people
are impatient,” said Nick Najjar, a
member of the Zoning Board. “They
want to do things now, not tomorrow.
Newcomers are not as organized
with protests as Chaldeans
who have been here a long time
because back home, the way people
celebrated things was going into the
streets, honking their horns, hanging
out of cars.”
Najjar also noted that when
emotions are high from hearing
about what is happening in the old
country, it is hard for Chaldeans to
hold back their feelings. Going into
the streets is a way to express their
love for their people back home and
their frustrations and anger over the
brutal situation there.
“We understand that the Chaldean
community has a lot of challenges,”
said Guitar. “Some of them
don’t want to be here but they have
to be here. Many are having a hard
time acclimating. And that’s why
we feel that communication is first
and foremost.”
Nona said Chaldeans will appreciate
the city’s efforts. “The fact that
the city is reaching out to us, our
community will feel they are a part
of the city and that you are a part of
them, and they will feel connected.”
How, wondered City Attorney
Jeff Bahorski, does the community
react to police officers in general?
“Our people respect the police,
and they don’t like to create
riots,” responded Najjar. “Middle
Easterners in general respect the
police and part of that has to do
with their fears of them from back
home, mostly having grown up under
a dictatorship.”
To help build a partnership with
the community, several ways of
spreading the word and opening a
line of communication were agreed
upon, including establishing a corps
of 20 or 30 Chaldean-American
ambassadors as a point of pride who
could communication regularly with
the city, perhaps on a monthly basis.
Other suggestions included reaching
out to schools and churches,
and having city officials interviewed
on Chaldean radio shows to spread
their message.
“We want to help,” said Vanderpool.
“The City of Sterling Heights
tries to be as welcoming as possible
towards everyone, because here we’re
really a melting pot. We believe that
diversity is important for a community
to grow and prosper.”
26 CHALDEAN NEWS NOVEMBER 2014