Reflections on the Assyrian National Conference 2022
By Ishtar Saiyady
Reflections from API Board Member Ishtar Saiyady written in Washington, D.C. during the Assyrian National Conference 2022.
A group of Assyrians.
Gathered together in Washington D.C., the capital of the United States of America.
A group of primarily younger Assyrians.
A group of primarily younger Assyrians, most of whom are women.
Can you imagine what our ancestors would say, if they could see us now?
Can you imagine how proud they’d feel that we’re fighting so hard to preserve and tell their stories?
Can you imagine their pride in knowing that we’re not only eager to preserve our past but we are fighting to create a sustainable, realistic future for Assyrians here in the United States and abroad?
I can’t help fighting emotions when I think about all those victims of the genocide seeing us marching to the members of the United States Congress and demanding that the Assyrians victims be named and recognized by the government, setting a precedent for other governments around the world.
It’s been a…profound several days, being here among you all.
It’s been eye-opening, gut-wrenching, soul-soothing. I found my soul brothers and sisters, I found history geeks and academic rockstars and law nerds that I can bond with.
I heard stories of our people finding themselves and each other. I saw the generosity of someone finding some piece of history, and sharing it with the world, encouraging others to share that history, that story and giving a piece of history back to a stranger.
I got up in a crowd of Assyrians and openly wept with them after having watched a powerful retelling of a tragic, Assyrian life.
I sat in the hotel lobby and listened to people telling me stories of their own experiences living and growing up in Iraq, hearing the bombs falling on their homes, slaughtering families. In that same lobby, I got to feel pride in my hometown of Urmia and eagerly shared my memories of our historic city with those who never had a chance to see our beautiful, ancient Urmia.
I got to be an unofficial tour guide to the Capitol when we took a group of Assyrians — with two Assyrian flags — to meet with Representative Josh Harder, where we were told about grant money that would be directed to the efforts on the Nineveh Plain, and that he was launching the Congressional Assyrian Caucus at the federal level. For me personally, it was a touching moment to see my former boss interacting with members of my community with genuine affection, talking and taking pictures. I got to see my community members engaging in activism, in speaking up, in wanting to learn how to speak up as we stood on the steps of the Capitol.
We were all united in that moment for the cause, and nothing but the cause.
The scholars, the educators, the experiences that we got to hear during the Assyrian National Conference — I’m still processing and have an unquantifiable number of books to read, and I relish the opportunity.
For weeks and months, I got to work with a group of young Assyrians to bring this forth. I got to hear the passion of the Board of Directors of the API, hear the excitement, woke up to group texts that were sometimes just “OMG I can’t wait!” I cannot describe to you all the joy I felt in finally getting to hug Reine in person after…years of working together and months of bonding over these issues that are so important to both of us. I can’t describe the infinite joy in getting to meet Atour and Jamie in the lobby and finally getting to see them outside our Zoom boxes and share the love of advocacy with them. I finally got to meet and hug and speak with Samantha, Sargon, Alex, and Stephanie. What a beautiful, unforgettable day that was, what a weekend it turned out to be.
On my nightly check in call with my parents Friday, I was going on and on to my parents (parents who have always instilled within me a sense of pride in my Assyrian heritage, who have taught me to speak, read, and write in Assyrian before I learned anything else) — I was telling mom about Assyrians in Motion and what a mess I was after GRACE was screened and how brave Bedri Diril was and Alda Benjamin’s book and Jordan Jonas is from Urmia– and mom cut me off — and she said, “great, that’s amazing, that’s beautiful and wonderful. But what are you going to do for the future?”
And isn’t that the question! Isn’t that why we’re here, to work for the future?
So the future for us holds a few important things — the Assyrian Caucus. We have to encourage every member of our community to get in touch with their Member of Congress and urge them to join the caucus if they haven’t already. We also have to encourage our members to sponsor H.Res. 550 to give voices to the voiceless Assyrians of the genocides that have decimated our people. We must engage our leaders in the government, let them know that Assyrians are alive and well, in their district.
The key to our success as Assyrians is to remember that we are Assyrians. There was a theme throughout the conference that we have to drop the sectarian labels we’ve given ourselves, including political party associations. If we are here, if we are serious about advancing Assyrian causes, it cannot matter what my political party is, what church I attend, what village I’m from. What matters is what productive things you bring to the table.
Continue supporting each other, continue engaging with scholars in our community, continue supporting our artists and those who bring our history and culture to life in different mediums like Diaspora in Bloom.
That’s how we move forward as Assyrians in the United States, that’s how we create change, how we become productive members of our society.
Love,
Ishtar, API Board Member
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