Posts in Culture
“Mommy’s Salad”

“Mommy’s Salad,” as it was named by her children, is not just a salad—it’s a meal. On most dinner menus, salads tend to play a supporting role, served in small portions at the start of a meal. However, West Bloomfield resident Aida Yousif has taken the concept of a salad to a new level by elevating it to a full meal. Among family and friends, “Mommy’s Salad” is a favorite and has been at the top of the request list for many years.

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In the Beginning: Mesopotamian Beer

Martin Luther is credited with saying, “Whoever drinks beer, he is quick to sleep; whoever sleeps long, does not sin; whoever does not sin, enters Heaven. Thus, let us drink beer!” Beer is one of the oldest drinks known to man. Before Adolphus Busch, Arthur Amstel, and Samuel Adams – before Budweiser, Miller Lite, Coors, Michelob, the English Newcastle Brown Ale, the Irish Guinness, the Dutch Heineken, the Mexican Corona, the Belgian Stella Artois, and the Australian Fosters, there was Mesopotamian beer from Sumer.

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Fighting for the Underserved

Diya Butros Sliwa, a Chaldean political activist, lives in Erbil, Iraq, but he gives talks around the world on human rights. He visited North America recently where he gave talks and interviews in Michigan, in Canada, and he also plans to travel to Washington, DC. His goal is to bring awareness to the status of the rights of religious and national minorities in Iraq and Kurdistan.

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The Great Schools Initiative

In 2020, Nathan Pawl’s son, an honor-roll student, felt attacked because he wouldn’t wear a mask in school. This was in Walled Lake School District, and when Pawl, the father, tried to resolve the situation, he felt frustrated that he wasn’t being heard. Pawl then decided to act. He teamed up with Monica Yatooma, a former Oakland County Commissioner candidate, and Matthew Nelson, a Walled Lake parent, and they founded the Great Schools Initiative (GSI), a non-profit organization based in Michigan and dedicated to advocating for premium public education.

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Raad Hakeem: Music Man

Born in Alqosh, Iraq, Raad Hakeem, 32, has been playing the tamboura since the age of eleven. Known in Turkish as saz, the tamboura is a musical stringed instrument with a long neck and round body. It belongs to the lute family and is known for its rich, resonant sound. It is commonly used in Indian classical music, although it has found its way into various genres of world music and fusion styles due to its unique tone and versatile nature.

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Chaldean Kitchen: Biryani, Persian Style

Sally was born in Kirkuk, Iraq but spent most of her childhood in Baghdad before immigrating to the United States about 50 years ago. Going back a few generations, her family roots lie further east. Sally’s maternal grandmother, Rosa, grew up in an area that now falls within the borders of Iran, in a vibrant Chaldean community that remains to this day. It was from this region where Biryani, a long-time favorite Chaldean dish, first emerged.

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The Great American Family

The First-Time Filmmaker Sessions Online Film Festival is proud to present The Great American Family, a documentary that sheds light on the injustices of the American criminal justice system. Directed, written, and produced by Weam Namou, this film tells the story of Dawn Hanna, who was sentenced to six years in federal prison for having conspired to send telecom equipment to Iraq during the sanctions.

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Lenten Hike

On Saturday, March 18, Fr. Marcus Shammami and Fr. John Jaddou led a group of hikers to Saugatuck, Michigan for their annual Lenten hike. The day started off with Mass being celebrated at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Douglas, Michigan, before heading to Saugatuck Dunes State Park for a 4-hour, 6.2-mile hike along Lake Michigan. While the trails were cold and snowy, it did not stop the hikers from enjoying the peacefulness of the nature around them and soaking in Jesus every step of the way.

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CCF President Martin Manna meets King Abdullah of Jordan

CCF President Martin Manna had the great privilege of meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC earlier this month. The King relayed that Iraq is a priority for him and invited Martin to meet with him in Amman to discuss long-term sustainability for Christians in Iraq.

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Fame, Fortune, and Flour

When Genevieve Kashat was 3 years old, she watched with awe as her mother made a rich, delicious, and familiar banana bread for her family to enjoy. Years later, this moment would blossom into something much greater: a budding baking career and a shot at Food Network stardom. The road from mom’s banana bread to the Kids Baking Championship requires just the right mixture of talent, hard work, creativity, and inspiration.

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The Lost Tribe

In October 2022, Dr. Paulo Botta visited San Salvador de Jujuy and El Carmen, two towns of the Jujuy province in the north of Argentina. There he met with descendants of Chaldean Iranians who immigrated to Argentina between 1900 and 1930. Botta, a professor of Social Sciences affiliated with the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, explained, “Nobody even knows about that group of Chaldean families who arrived here almost a century ago.”

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