DECEMBER 2023

WINNING ESSAY
CATEGORY: AGE 19-24 (CO-WINNER)
The Future of the Chaldean Community
BY HAYLEY GAPPY
The future of the Chaldean community
is something that I tend to contemplate
quite often. I wonder how our
cultural norms and language will evolve. I
fear that while our faith persists, our culture
and language are fading.
When Chaldeans first immigrated to
America, they arrived full of hope for a better
life for themselves and their families.
The journey to the United States is a story of
strength, community, and cultural preservation.
Michigan specifically has become a center
for Chaldean immigrants, providing them
with a sense of community and opportunity.
Detroit had a flourishing automotive industry,
which offered employment opportunities for immigrants.
These individuals also found ways to support
their families by opening their own businesses. The
most common of these ventures were grocery stores
and gas stations. Through these entrepreneurial endeavors
and the establishment of our churches, immigrants
have made a home for their families while
creating an exciting, tight-knit community.
Michigan has one of the largest and most well-established
Iraqi-Christian communities in the United States,
with over 187,000 Chaldeans as of September 2023.
Over the years, as Chaldeans settled from Iraq,
they faced the inevitable, acclimating to American
customs while losing sight of their own. This acclimation
has led to following generations of Chaldean
Americans growing up without strong connections to
their roots. Being American-born has led me, along
with other individuals in my age group, to be naive
to the customs that our families grew up with. We
live completely different lives than we would have in
Iraq. Being accustomed to these American customs
has muted the richness of our own culture.
The Chaldean journey to America was driven by
40 CHALDEAN NEWS DECEMBER 2023
HAYLEY
GAPPY
AGE 22
hope and a dream for a better life, but little
did they know that coming here would result
in the culture slowly fading.
Young individuals often lose their language
connections as English becomes
their primary means of communication. A
majority of Chaldeans chose to learn and
speak English at home after relocating to
America, as it helped them communicate
with others and adapt to their new lives.
Teachers have also been known to advise
parents that exposing their children solely
to Arabic or Chaldean, commonly known
as Aramaic or Sureth, could potentially
hinder their academic prospects.
My mom and her siblings experienced this firsthand
when they began elementary school. My aunt was held
back in kindergarten because she had only been exposed
to Sureth at home and knew little to no English.
This led my grandparents to be informed by school staff
that if they didn’t speak to her in English, it could hinder
her progress. To this day, my grandfather refrains
from speaking Sureth to my mom and her siblings.
As a result of this, my parents never spoke Chaldean
or Arabic in our home because we were raised
speaking English. It saddens me that I can’t speak or
understand our native languages. As I’ve grown up,
my desire to learn the language has increased because
I want to be able to authentically communicate
with family members and connect with my heritage.
If I were to predict what our culture would look
like in 2050, just 27 years away, the Chaldean American
community faces a crossroads. If we think back
to 27 years ago, the Chaldeans were more traditional
than we are today. If patterns continue, I feel as
though the culture and language will slowly fade until
all that is known is something of the past.
Today’s choices will dictate whether the vibrant
HONORABLE MENTIONS
“As much as I love my
life, I want to live in the
stories that my grandparents
tell me.”
– Annemary Boless
“I never realized how
many sacrifices my parents
had to make for me.”
– Tania Tobia
“When you see the
world in black and
white, you are willingly
neglecting its color.”
– Meriam Youkhana
“Because our community
is such a small one, it is
important that when we
achieve something, it is
celebrated.”
– Giselle Sesi
“God has gone from being
a central motivating
factor in our lives to an
afterthought…We have
given up our crucifixes in
exchange for chains with
crosses on them.”
– David Meza
Chaldean culture endures or diminishes. Preserving
language, traditions, and identity becomes a collective
responsibility, especially for those who grew up
in the United States, to pass on this legacy to the next
generations.
Technology offers a potential solution to preserving
our Chaldean culture. In an increasingly digital world,
we can use the different facets of the internet for documenting
and sharing our Chaldean language, traditions,
and stories with future generations. It is a way to
ensure that our unique and beautiful culture survives.
We can preserve and share our customs and language
via digital platforms to ensure that these valuable
parts of our identity remain intact for future
generations. The use of social media, websites, and
digital archives can aid in safeguarding and sharing
documents, images, and stories from our history that
can be readily available for future generations to use
to learn about our past.
In addition to connecting us Chaldeans worldwide,
this digital heritage serves as an anchor for
coming generations to bring to light our cultural history.
It will allow them to appreciate the beauty of our
unique customs. Technology bridges the gaps in our
culture as the world is constantly evolving.
When I began working at the Chaldean Community
Foundation, I thought I had a complete understanding
of everything about our culture. This assumption
couldn’t have been farther from the truth. I
was surprisingly ignorant about our cultural history.
It’s a reminder that we can’t know everything, and
that’s what makes life beautiful. Every day, I continue
to learn and grow.
As a Chaldean American, my mission is to impart
our culture and language to my children and future
generations to secure the enduring relevance of the
Chaldean identity. I want them to grasp the distinctiveness
of our traditions, such as our food, language,
strong family bonds, and the significance of our faith
in our lives. Preserving our language and principles
is vital to prevent this cultural loss.
It is a challenge the community must face headon,
with unity and determination, to ensure the
Chaldean culture remains vibrant for generations to
come.
“Many families’ American
Dream was to heal and allow
their children to grow
in the land of the free and
the brave without the fear.”
– Yousif Salim