Posts in Feature
Building for the Future

As the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce celebrates its 20th year, the philanthropic arm of the Chamber, the Chaldean Community Foundation, reaches across Woodward to establish a presence on the ‘west side.’ The Corners, a property at Walnut Lake and Inkster Roads next to Market Square, will become the new Chaldean Community Center, housing administrative offices for the Foundation, Chamber offices, a gymnasium, a television and radio studio, classrooms, an amphitheater, and much more.

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From Stage to Film: Heather Raffo’s 'Nine Parts'

Sunday, March 19 marked the 20th year anniversary of the 2003 US-Invasion of Iraq. That day Detroit Public Theatre held a watch party for the film adaptation of Heather Raffo’s 9 Pars of Desire, an award-winning one-woman show which premiered almost 20 years ago in London and Off-Broadway, later becoming a global theatrical phenomenon. The date also marked three years since Raffo’s father, Georges, passed away.

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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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Hopeless to Heroic: The Johnny Shamou story

It is hard to hide a secret when one is randomly babbling, chaotically removing everything from the freezer, or suddenly talking to an imaginary cat on the top of the fridge. These were Johnny Shamou’s odd behaviors in front of his family while he was addicted to heroin. His addiction began with illegally prescribed drugs as a teenager, and before that he had smoked cigarettes and dabbled in marijuana and alcohol once in a while if it was around. This was because of his need to “fit in” with the crowd.

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Suicide Prevention

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), suicide is currently the 12th leading cause of death in the United States. There is an average of 130 deaths by suicide every day. In 2020, 45,979 Americans died by suicide and there were an estimated 1.2 million suicide attempts. The suicide rate in 2020 was 13.48 per 100,000 individuals.

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