2009-01-31

Link Of Interest: Chaldean Americans

A link to an interesting community known as the Chaldean Americans.

Some excerpts (my comments in red):

"...While the vast majority of Iraqis, like residents of other Arabic nations, are Muslim, Chaldeans are Roman Catholic, and practice one of the 18 to 20 separate rites of the Catholic Church. They also differ from other Iraqis in that their ancestral language is not Arabic but a dialect of Aramaic, also referred to as Chaldean, Assyrian, or Syriac. As a result of their religious and linguistic differences from other Iraqi immigrants, Chaldeans tend not to identify themselves either with Iraq or the Arab world, but prefer being called Chaldean American."

"...The most dramatic event to affect Chaldean Americans in some time occurred in 1991 and 1992, when hostilities broke out between Iraq and the United States. As the only major concentration of Iraqi immigrants in the United States, Chaldean Americans received a great deal of attention from the press, the military, and the general public. Reporters from throughout the world sought to interview community leaders concerning their views. Military representatives worried about the degree to which local Chaldeans might be security threats. Moreover, rumors spread that Chaldean Americans would be incarcerated in a camp in Louisiana as was done with the Japanese (and Italians and Germans) during the Second World War. Since Chaldean Americans and Arab Americans are linked together in the public mind, both were subjected to harassment by the general public, who saw them as local representatives of a hostile foreign power—in spite of the fact that many Arab Americans immigrated from nations which were U.S. allies during the Gulf War."

"For Chaldean Americans, who view themselves as committed Americans and do not identify strongly with either Iraq or the Arab World, the experience was distressing. The Gulf War was, in a real sense, a battle of brother against brother, since many families had sons in both the U.S. and Iraqi armies..."

"The media has recorded many cultural clashes between blacks and Chaldeans in the United States, which have resulted from Chaldean Americans operating stores in fundamentally urban, African American communities. The large grocery chains have found these areas unprofitable and have largely abandoned them, but they can be quite profitable when run as an extended family business. Many blacks feel that these stores overcharge, only hire Chaldeans, and neglect to reinvest into the community. The high prices usually result from having to make purchases in smaller quantities. Chaldeans also hire members of their own ethnic group because they are usually family members who demand less income. Some improvements have been made, however, as many Chaldean stores are increasingly hiring more African Americans, thus contributing to the community."

Reminds me of Spike Lee's Do the right thing and the tensions between blacks and Italians (Danny Aiello and John Turturro) who ran a pizzeria in a black neighborhood.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous1/31/2009

    Yes during world war two Canada interned Germans, Italians and West Coast Japanese, even those born in Canada along with their parents. Japanese have recieved excuses and compensations...not the others, Why?

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  2. I don't know why, but my previous post came on as anonymous.

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  3. Now, now, potsoc is paul Costopoulos, what is that?

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  4. Beats me.

    It always puzzles me how the Italians and Germans get overlooked whenever the Japanese are mentioned. Seems to me if an author mentions the Japanese they should mention the others. Even the Ukranians were interned.

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  5. Anonymous2/02/2009

    I always told why in my opinion they are overlooked. It is not politically feasible or correct to say it (for internal and foreign policy reasons).

    Italians and Germans are close allies of Canada and the USA. They are Westerners plus folks largely inhabiting the New World.

    Japs are less and they are Oriental, farther away in some way.

    I know I'm stubborn in insisting on things I know little about :-)

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  6. I dunno what it is. I've spoken to a couple of people who were interned and they swear that the Liberal party was racist during the war and were just itching to get at the Italians.

    As to why the Japanese (or Japs as you put it) get mentioned alone, I really can't say. I think it's a group think thing at this point. It's a reflex whereby the author doesn't even bother to think about the others. One may be because smaller numbers of Italians/Germans were interned as compared to the Japanese. Which in turn means, because it was smaller it was less important.

    The other is a word count deadline. Adding two more words may put them over it. ;<)

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Mysterious and anonymous comments as well as those laced with cyanide and ad hominen attacks will be deleted. Thank you for your attention, chumps.