April is (Unofficially) Chaldean Heritage Month

Sarah Kittle, Editor in Chief

We have claimed April as Chaldean Heritage Month since Governor Gretchen Whitmer decreed that status for the month last year. In that spirit, we have an issue full of culture for you for April.

You may have heard that Iraq’s president recently enacted a law prohibiting the production and sale of liquor in the country. That may not seem as critical to us as it does to those living in Iraq who depend on the industry as a way of life. Some see the move as another volley in the culture war that makes it extremely difficult for Christians and other minorities to survive in Muslim-dominated Iraq. We will continue to follow the story and bring you updates as they unfold.

We have introduced a couple of new departments this month, including a priestly profile — Fr. Selwan for April — and a recipe from Amira Daboul’s cookbook, Awafi! in the new Chaldean Kitchen segment. Because faith and food are so intertwined in Chaldean culture, it just makes sense to highlight some favorites for all.

The Chaldean Community Foundation is working on a project to commemorate some Catholic martyrs on a display wall. We introduce you to those martyrs and share a little of their stories in advance of the project’s completion.

Contributing writer Chris Salem shares an article about Lebanon’s Chaldean community titled, “The Forgotten Ones.” This community has held fast to their culture while making a place for themselves in a new country.

Weam Namou shares a couple of stories about culture, including Heather Raffo’s 9 Parts, a film adaptation of a play that tells the story of clashing cultures, love and loss. She also shares information about Akitu, the Babylonian New Year, and a book that covers the subject named “Weavers, Scribes and Kings” by Amanda H. Podany.

Family Time shares ideas for creating new family traditions around the Easter holiday, and our travel section shows you so many beautiful places to visit in our home state of Michigan. For new Americans, our Life Skills section addresses the difficulties of finding gainful employment and ways for recent immigrants to protect their interests while acculturating to a new life.

We celebrate two outstanding individuals in this issue, including Habib Hannona, one of the original founders of the Chaldean community in Michigan, and Ron Boji, one of the people driving the Michigan Chaldean community forward.

Mike Sarafa returns in a guest column to share his personal experience as a parent of a Michigan State University student following the tragic shooting on that campus. Some things we will never understand but we still need to deal with them and discuss the events with our children. We are grateful to have the Church to help in these difficult discussions.

Last but not least, we wanted to talk about hospice - a service that has a bad reputation but is actually one of the most loving and caring ways to give terminally ill patients palliative care and keep them from feeling pain. Visiting writer Nada Kinaya walks us through the process.

It may look muddy and messy outside right now, but Easter reminds us that we have new life in Christ. Easter blessings to all!

Sarah Kittle

Editor in Chief