The Future of the Chaldean Community
WINNING ESSAy: Age 19-24 (co-winner)
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 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 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 head-on, with unity and determination, to ensure the Chaldean culture remains vibrant for generations to come.
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