I would like to congratulate all of the Assyrian organizations and self-appointed leaders for dragging the Assyrian nation into this mass confusion in this crucial time of Iraq rebuilding its government. It seems that every group in Iraq knows what they want and the steps to take, but the Assyrians are oblivious of their sacred duties. Assyrians did not get anything out of the vote and all the more discouraging, the Assyrian name was not mentioned once in the news of what they want. One can only think that there are only two reasons for this idiotic lack of movement, either we don’t have adequate political people or that the elements are against us, either way we should not be in this predicament. Is it that we have no place in this jigsaw puzzle and are just fooling ourselves.

It is not that I am not happy about what is going on in Iraq, I commend the people that want to bring democracy there. The thing I don’t comprehend is if 95% of Iraq is Muslim and more specifically 60% is Shiite Muslim, how is there going to be any democracy for the Assyrians? They would not let us vote, if they only had the power they might try to massacre us again in an attempt to finally eradicate our people. As for the polling places and our right to vote, Assyrians had the right to vote wherever they live. Assyrians didn’t leave everything behind because they wanted to; they were forced out and proper accommodations should have been made so that displaced Assyrians could have their voices heard. We left everything behind because we feared for our lives and should be entitled to reparations by the new Iraqi government for displacing the majority of our peoples.

I am an Assyrian Christian, not and Iraqi Muslim. I don’t want to be known as Iraqi Assyrian, only as Assyrian... nothing more and nothing less. I may seem a bit pessimistic, but I just don’t see how I fit in this picture of Iraqi democracy. To live in Iraq under these conditions would make us abide by Islamic law and allow us to always be treated as second-class citizens, just as we are in all other Islamic countries. We are always going to be analogous to the American Indian in Iraq and very soon we will all speak Arabic and practice Islam.

To save the Assyrian nation and ourselves we should be asking for Assyrian independence or some kind of autonomous state in the region of our ancestors land. I don’t think we will offend anyone with our just case, if not we should leave the region in protest, and hope God have mercy on the Assyrian’s souls.

Simone M. Nouri
Maryland