President Aladin Khamis
I would like to begin by wishing everyone a Happy 6758th New Year! I truly hope everyone had a joyous celebration in honor of this year’s Kha’b Nissan and that the New Year is prosperous for you all.First, I would like to thank all the attendees from all around the world that gathered in 74th Annual Convention in sunny San Diego, California. I hope to see everyone in our next 75th Convention which will take place in Hartford, Connecticut.
Prior to partaking in the Kha’b Nissan festivities this year, I spent some time in Iraq. Together with a taskforce of other members of the Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council of America, I visited the Nineveh Plain towns of Alqush, Tell Skof, Karimalis, Bartillah, and Bakhdede, as well as Irbil, Ankawa, and the Dohuk.
The objective of the taskforce was to observe the current state of the minorities in these towns to assess their needs, both in terms of basic survival as well as economic, political and cultural necessities. My visit was definitely an eye-opening one. As many of you know, our people back home who are in dire need of assistance, have been allocated $10,000,000 by the United States government. I would like to assure you that we are all working hard to assist our brothers and sisters to the best of our ability and remind them that they have not been forgotten.
However, I would like to acknowledge that there are major setbacks for the people living in Nineveh Plain. The fact that KDP control the council in Mosul (32 of the 41 positions) undermines any progress in Nineveh Plain area.
Let the KDP and PUK not forget the shared alliance the Assyrians and Kurds once had together in our united struggle against the prosecution perpetrated by the previous totalitarian regime in Iraq. It is unfortunate that our one-time allies have now replaced and adopted the Ba’ath party policies of discrimination and persecution against our people. We have remained victims now under two different regimes, while the KDP and PUK have become the new aggressors toward our people.
Aladin Khamis
