The time is ripe to celebrate and pass on Assyrian cooking with "The Oldest Kitchen in the World," an essential addition to any kitchen.
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Ten Years After ISIS Invaded Mosul—Where Does That Leave Iraq's Indigenous Assyrians? | Opinion
This article first appeared on Newsweek.com.
My relatives fled Mosul to save their lives before ISIS invaded and seized power in the summer of 2014. The invasion of Iraq's second largest city not only uprooted my relatives, Indigenous Assyrians, but it also led to the genocide of Assyrians/Chaldeans/Syriacs (Christians), as well as Shiite Muslims, and Yazidis. Ten years have passed since radical Islamic militants invaded Mosul, known as biblical Nineveh, once a capital of the ancient Assyrian empire, destroying anything and killing anyone who did not submit to their deranged version of Islam. Have things improved for Iraq's Indigenous Assyrians following ISIS' defeat?
A member of the Khabour Guards (MNK) Assyrian Syrian militia, affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), walks in the ruins of the Assyrian Church of the Virgin Mary, which was previously destroyed by Islamic State (IS) group fighters, in the village of Tal Nasri south of the town of Tal Tamr in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Nov. 15, 2019. DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
In 2014, I was a graduate journalism student in Chicago, alarmed at the news occurring half a world away—where my relatives, whom I never met at the time, were facing religious persecution head-on.
I recall telling my classmates that the invasion of Mosul would lead to widespread destruction in the region and the genocide of those who did not submit to their radical ways. I was met with laughs and shrugs—they couldn't care less and did not believe ISIS would turn into what it infamously became—a nonstop killing machine, hungry to control more swaths of land at the expense of Indigenous Communities, whose art they destroyed and sold on the black market in their lucrative "antiquities division." The response from my colleagues shouldn't have surprised me then, as the plight of Indigenous Peoples is often overlooked, time and time again, the world over. As gruesome reports emerged, my classmates later conducted their own reporting on how Chicagoans were being impacted by events occurring in the Middle East.
Putting the destruction of millennia-old art aside, many suffered greatly at the hands of ISIS. And some families are still suffering. Women and girls remain missing. Taken as sexual slaves by ISIS militants, Yazidis and some Assyrians were forcibly abducted from their families and told to convert and submit. An estimated 2,700 girls are missing today. The world has overlooked their plight and the plight of those who survived the genocide at the hands of radical Islamic terrorists. With headlines refreshing every 24 hours, there is little to no attention offered to those that lived under ISIS' wrath—attention that was minimal while events were occurring in real time.
Assyrians, much like their fellow citizens in Iraq, were not compensated for the destruction of their homes and places of worship by terrorists, nor for having to essentially start their lives over from scratch—whether within Iraq, or outside the country. While baseless Iraqi laws exist to "ensure" compensation from hardships and honoring the rights of diverse groups within the country, corruption and disenfranchisement reign supreme and are tokens of Iraqi politics. What justice can be granted to survivors when justice does not exist in Iraq?
Much of the reconstruction of destroyed buildings lays on the shoulders of Assyrians in the diaspora, who raise funds to rebuild churches, support local businesses, and try to safeguard what dwindling numbers of the Indigenous Community remains despite the odds stacked up against them. Organizations like the Assyrian Aid Society, A Demand For Action, Shlama Foundation, Iraqi Christian Relief Council, Nineveh Rising, and Yazda work tirelessly and step in to provide aid and fund essential economic and rebuilding projects in Iraq, where the Iraqi government is virtually nonexistent.
Pre-2003, the Christians in Iraq numbered 1.5 million. That number is now estimated to be between 100,000-200,000. The dismal figure highlights the exodus of Iraq's Indigenous Peoples due to war and persecution throughout recent years, and a lack of support from both the international community at-large and Iraq's federal government in addressing persecution and discrimination in Iraqi society. While Pope Francis' 2021 trip to Iraq was met with much fanfare, ultimately very little changed for local Christians following the historic visit.
A NGO will occasionally chip in with the remodeling of a destroyed church. Recently, UNESCO helped rebuild a church in Mosul, 10 years after it was destroyed. That begs the question: What is the point of rebuilding and remodeling churches if there are no congregants to pray in God's home? Much of Mosul today has nowhere near the Christians it once had, and it is difficult to project if they will ever return. My relatives have not returned to their home in Mosul and instead have sought refuge in a neighboring Iraqi city. Others who lived under ISIS have entirely left Iraq.
The reality of not fleeing from one's home for safety is not the basis for one to live freely and with respect. Sure, fighting due to ISIS has relatively ceased and is not disrupting the lives of Assyrians in Iraq. But combat in general has not stopped. Turkey's incremental encroachment in northern Iraq against Kurdish militants belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which the U.S. classified as terrorists, is ongoing. Assyrians and their ancestral lands, especially in the Nahla Valley, are once again in crossfire and such a reality seems difficult to change with virtually no support from outside the community. The existence of Assyrians and Yazidis on their Indigenous lands remains precarious at best.
Ramsen Shamon is a deputy opinion editor at Newsweek. His Twitter/X is @Ramsen_.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Genocide Recognition by Itself Is Not Enough | Opinion
This first appeared on www.newsweek.com.
Many welcomed President Joe Biden's recognition of the Armenian genocide on April 24, 2021. In a rare move, the president stood up to Turkish lobbyists and the Turkish government in recognizing what was a bloody period in human history. "We honor the victims so that the horrors of what happened are never lost to history," the president said. The Ottomans not only targeted ethnic Armenians during the genocide, but also ethnic Assyrians (like me) and Greeks, among others. But recognizing a genocide is simply not enough. It's a great first step, but more must be done to stop genocide from ever happening again.
Historic events must be taught to students today, regardless of who is the oppressor or the victim. Growing up, I never learned about the Ottoman massacres in the U.S. public education system. As a student, I took initiative to learn about the horrors perpetrated by Ottoman Turks, Persians, and Kurds in the early 1900s. There is power in knowing what happened in the past. It is often said that history repeats itself. By learning about the Armenian-Assyrian-Greek genocide, we can all hope that such history is never repeated again, anywhere.
Reverend John Eshoo, an Assyrian survivor, recalled what he witnessed during the genocide in Khoi, modern day Iran, in 1918: "Assyrians were assembled into one caravansary, and all shot to death by guns and revolvers. Blood literally flowed in little streams, and the entire open space within the caravansary became a pool of crimson liquid. They were brought in groups, and each new group compelled to stand up over the heap of the still bleeding bodies and was shot to death in the same manner."Eyewitness accounts, like the reverend's, provide necessary details. Why were these specific populations targeted by the government? What was the main objective of the Ottoman Empire? Christians and Indigenous peoples were targeted in an attempt to Turkify all those who lived in modern day Turkey to strip them of their identities.
Support for the bipartisan Armenian Genocide Education Act (H.R.7555) is a necessary, yet overdue, start to "encourage education and public understanding of the facts of the Armenian Genocide, including the United States' role in the humanitarian relief effort, and the relevance of the Armenian Genocide to modern-day crimes against humanity." Such legislation would greenlight the teaching of the genocide in classrooms across the country, allowing students to openly learn about a period of time that is so heavily censured in Turkey.
Those who deny the genocide today are quick to come up with excuses to legitimize crimes against humanity. By teaching this genocide in schools across the country, students will have a better understanding about the events that led to it, and why the Turkish government—successor to the Ottomans—today spends millions of dollars to deny what the Ottomans did. From publishing false books vilifying Armenians and others, to jailing and killing advocates for speaking the truth, the Turkish government knows it has a lot to lose when it comes to recognizing its bloody past. The modern Turkish state was built upon the blood of its Indigenous Assyrian, Armenian, and Greek populations.
If Germany can reconcile with its horrific past, why can't Turkey? What makes Turkey so special that it can sidestep its cruel past? And why has the international community allowed Turkey to continue its outright denial for so long? The French Senate recently adopted a resolution recognizing the Assyrian genocide of 1915-1918. "Türkiye does not need to take history lessons from anyone. The French Senate should look to its own history, rather than lecturing others," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic said in a statement. Denial is the last stage of genocide.
As Turkish ally Azerbaijan continues its blockade of the Lachin corridor, begun Dec. 12, depriving 100,000 ethnic Armenians in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh of food and medicine, it's now more important than ever to make sure events such as the Armenian-Assyrian-Greek genocide are taught in schools across the country. Although the U.S. recognized the Ottoman-era genocide over 100 years after the fact, Turkey still adamantly denies reality, and Assyrians, Armenians, and Greeks continue to be subjugated under oppressive, rich regimes, with no international support or acknowledgement. They stand largely on their own.
As a Holocaust teacher I interviewed once said, "'Never again' happens all of the time." It's up to all of us to stand up for what is right.
Ramsen Shamon is a deputy opinion editor at Newsweek. His Twitter is @Ramsen_.
Biden Needs to Call Genocide By Its Bloody Name | Opinion
This first appeared on newsweek.com.
I am a descendant of genocide survivors. Turkey drove out my ancestors—indigenous Assyrians who practiced Christianity and spoke modern Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ—from their ancestral lands via genocide. I was born in Chicago where I grew up immersed in our culture, hearing family stories about where my ancestors came from, what they endured and why I should cherish my heritage.
It's a heritage that many throughout history attempted to erase—efforts that persist to this day. Today's denial of the Armenian genocide, which also claimed the lives of Assyrians and Greeks under the Ottoman Empire, is a continuation of this erasure. And it's gone on long enough.
It's time for President Joe Biden to stand up to those who would erase the history of Indigenous communities for their own advantage.
It's time for the U.S. to recognize the Armenian genocide.
The horrific events of the 1915 genocide were a continuation of persecution that Christians and other minorities faced at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of the modern Turkish state. Historians estimate that 3 million Christians in total were killed, the apex of an extended period of mistreatment that started in the late 1800s.
And yet, our community has struggled to have this cataclysm recognized. Turkey has expended immense pressure to ensure the genocide goes unrecognized; it openly and strategically teaches genocide denial. When Pope Francis called the 1915 events genocide, Turkey called back its ambassador to the Vatican. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump sidestepped the issue; Obama said he would recognize the genocide when he ran for president, and then failed to, while Trump put relations with Turkey ahead of the souls of millions that are still not at rest.
In this photograph taken on February 23, 2020, a member of the Assyrian Christian community stands with her children as they attend a Sunday mass at the Mor Behnam Kirklar Church in Mardin, southeastern Turkey. BULENT KILIC/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
As we approach the April 24 memorial of the genocide, it remains to be seen if President Biden will follow in his predecessors' footsteps. Will he sidestep the issue, or will he be willing to anger Turkey by declaring the obvious—that millions perished at the hands of hatred?
"If we do not fully acknowledge, commemorate, and teach our children about genocide, the words 'never again' lose their meaning," Biden wrote last year, calling the 1915 events genocide.
Will he honor the memory of our ancestors by doing so officially as president of the United States?
This isn't a mere semantic question. In 1943, a Polish Jewish lawyer named Raphael Lemkin invented the term genocide to describe the events of the Holocaust alongside the massacres of Armenians and Assyrians. It's important to call out genocide, to remember victims, preserve their stories, form resolutions and initiate reparations. If not recognized, deniers of genocide and entire nations will commit genocide with no repercussions.
The world today is proof of that. Though we say "Never Again," it keeps happening. Whether it's the genocide ISIS committed against Assyrians/Christians, Yazidis and Shiite Muslims in 2014, the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar or the genocides in Ethiopia's Tigray region and China's Xinjiang province, humans continue to persecute with the objective of eradicating minority cultures.
Governments must call genocide by its ugly name. Recognition is the first step in healing communities affected by genocide.
The U.S. government does realize this—sometimes. It labeled the killing of Yazidis and Christians in Iraq by ISIS genocide—events that personally affected my relatives who lived in Mosul, Iraq. My extended family members were abandoned, without the "protection" of Kurdish Peshmerga forces, or the Iraqi army as ISIS terrorists advanced upon Iraq's second largest city. Once again, Assyrians had to flee for their lives with no means of defending themselves, leaving behind their homes, belongings and livelihoods.
Politics, money and power have for too long stalled the recognition of events that happened 106 years ago.
Is Turkey a country the U.S. wants diplomatic relations with—a country that does not recognize its bloody past and has no regard for basic human rights today?
Turkey was called "the world's largest prison for journalists." The country recently sentenced a Syriac Orthodox Christian monk to 25 months in jail for giving food to visitors at his monastery. Turkey also recently pulled out of a European convention that aims to protect the rights of women.
It's time for President Joe Biden to recognize the Armenian genocide, which also claimed the lives of Assyrians and Greeks. The souls of genocide victims and their descendants both seek justice to end a painful past and present.
Ramsen Shamon is a deputy opinion editor at Newsweek. His Twitter is @Ramsen_.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Biden pledges to recognize 1915 Armenian genocide
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Friday he would pledge to recognize the Armenian genocide if elected president.
President Donald Trump and past U.S. presidents have chosen to sidestep the issue.
"If elected, I pledge to support a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide and will make universal human rights a top priority," Biden said on Twitter.
Trump, in a statement issued on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, did not call the 1915 slaughter genocide, instead referring to it as “one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century.”
In December, the Senate passed a House resolution labeling the 1915 events as genocide. The Trump administration was quick to separate itself from congressional action on the issue by not formally recognizing the event. Such a decision could potentially harm relations with Turkey, a NATO ally and partner in a volatile region.
When former President Barack Obama was an Illinois senator running for office, he said he would recognize the Armenian genocide if elected.
“The Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence,” Obama said at the time. “The facts are undeniable.”
Ultimately the genocide was not classified as such under his administration.
Samantha Power, Obama's ambassador to the U.N., expressed remorse for the administration’s decision to not recognize the genocide in 2018.
"I'm sorry," Power said. "I'm sorry that we disappointed so many Armenian Americans."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been adamant in not referring to the 1915 events as a genocide.
Any such recognition would “endanger the future of [U.S.-Turkish] bilateral relations,” Erdogan spokesperson Fahrettin Altun said in 2019. Erdogan in 2014 referred to the 1915 events as “inhumane.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Friday tweeted her support for the genocide resolution, despite voting present for the House’s resolution in October.
The word "genocide" was coined in 1943 by Polish Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin who studied the massacres of Assyrians and Armenians and whose family was affected by the Holocaust.
Historians estimate 3 million Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks were killed by the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century. One hundred and five years later, Turkey continues to deny a genocide took place.
Breaking news articles — POLITICO
A collection of breaking news articles I wrote for POLITICO in September 2018.
Some of these articles were featured in the POLITICO newspaper.
Graham on Kavanaugh confirmation snag: ‘Somebody has got to explain this to Trump’
Avenatti on Kavanaugh’s accusers: ‘They’re not all lying. It’s impossible’
Conway hopes Kavanaugh 'shows some righteous indignation' at hearing
Trump: Dems would ‘100 percent’ vote against George Washington if nominated to Supreme Court
Trump on firing Rosenstein: ‘I would certainly prefer not doing that’
Trump dismisses second Kavanaugh accuser as 'all messed up,' says Dems playing ‘con game’
Trump officials tout sovereignty as Trump’s talking point at U.N.
Trump in 2015 sided with Justice Thomas on harassment allegations
Should the U.S. government negotiate with terrorists?
The safety of Americans abroad is a top priority for the U.S. government. Whether working in a U.S. embassy or on an aid mission, all American lives are valued. When these lives are taken hostage by terrorists, their rescue becomes extremely complex.
Kurdish president visits Washington
President Masoud Barzani of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region is in Washington this week. The president is asking the U.S. government to do more to help combat Islamic militants in northern Iraq.
Members of Congress disappointed with Obama’s reluctance to call 1915 events “genocide”
Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader, spoke at an event hosted by the Congressional Armenian Caucus on Wednesday night. (Photo by Ramsen Shamon)
Lawmakers on Wednesday evening honored lives lost during the Armenian genocide 100 years ago — and pressed the global community to recognize what happened, urging President Barack Obama to lead on the issue.
“We must speak the truth and not dishonor those who died,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. “We will continue to insist on the truth until it is widely accepted and apologized for.”
Experts urge global community to not remain idle on Syrian crisis
Denis Sullivan, a professor of political science and international affairs at Northeastern University, spoke Tuesday at an event hosted by the Middle East Policy Council. (Photo by Ramsen Shamon)
Syria needs both political action and humanitarian help by the international community to alleviate its ongoing predicament, experts said on Tuesday.
“It’s a global crisis with global impact,” said Denis Sullivan, professor of political science and international affairs at Northeastern University. “Yes it begins inside Syria. Yes it bleeds across the border into the neighboring states and it continues throughout the region and into the Mediterranean and into Europe, and we only hear a little bit of it here, so it’s not our problem, we think.”
Iraqi PM says U.S. and Iraq will “stand together”
Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stressed the importance of maintaining a continual relationship between Iraq and the U.S. (Photo by Ramsen Shamon)
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi stressed the importance of maintaining a relationship between the United States and Iraqi governments at a pro-business reception on Thursday.
“If we are partners, we should keep that partnership. It’s important. It’s vital. Partners must trust each other,” Al-Haider said.
Critics: Pakistan’s blasphemy law harms Christians, other religions
Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, spoke Tuesday about Pakistan’s religious minorities. (Photo by Ramsen Shamon)
Pakistan’s government is not doing enough to ensure the safety of its religious minorities, and its blasphemy law “has caused a lot of injustice amongst the whole society,” critics said on Tuesday.
Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian, was arrested in June 2009, for allegedly insulting Islam. The blasphemy law has put 24 Christians to death, according to Bibi’s attorney, Naeem Shakir.
Iraq’s al-Abadi “better” than al-Maliki for stability, experts say
The American Enterprise Institute held a panel discussion Monday on Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's governing practices. (Photo by Ramsen Shamon)
Haider al-Abadi, Iraq’s recently appointed Prime Minister, is not yet a full-fledged success, but he is doing all he can to bring stability to his volatile country, a panel of experts said on Monday.
“I think relative to where Iraq was in the past, there’s been some markers of progress against beating back ISIS militarily. [Al-Abadi’s] been slightly better in terms of dealing with the optics and the general mood of sectarian issues, but there’s a heck-of-a-lot of work that needs to be done,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a progressive institution.
Cherry Blossoms to bloom this weekend
Cherry Blossoms are expected to be in full bloom this weekend. (Photo by Ramsen Shamon)
The cherry blossoms that signal the start of Spring are expected to bloom this weekend, allowing visitors and local residents the chance to enjoy the beauty of the trees with some weekend events.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival will hold a parade on Saturday from 10 a.m. along 7th to 17th Streets NW. Also on Saturday, the 55th annual Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival will take place. The event is said to be the U.S.’s largest one-day celebration of all things Japanese. The festival will open at 10:30 a.m., and will be held between 9th and 14th Streets along Pennsylvania Avenue.