Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council of America

  

In November of 2006, a coalition of the most powerful and representative organizations of the ChaldoAssyrian people in the United States ushered in a new state of representation for their people; the creation of a united and coherent effort to personify their people’s needs and desires before Washington DC and the world. The Chaldean Assyrian Syriac Council of America is the embodiment of the wishes, desire, and needs of the ChaldoAssyrian people yearning for meaningful movement of their cause in the United States.

Present at the historic meeting in Glenview, Illinois were representatives of the four largest and most significant organizations in the United States: the Assyrian American National Federation (established in 1933 and an umbrella organization for over 30 organizations throughout the United States); the Chaldean Federation of America (founded in 1982 and an umbrella for 9 major organizations in the Detroit area); the Assyrian National Council of Illinois (a powerful organization elected by thousands of voters in Illinois); and the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce (the most active business and social organization in the United States on behalf of the ChaldoAssyrians). In addition, representatives of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, the Chaldean Forum, the Assyrian Aid Society, the Assyrian Academic Society, and the Iraqi Sustainable Democracy Project were also present.

The November 2006 meeting was the culmination of numerous pervious meetings with numerous personalities and organizations, in varied geographic locations across the United States, to discuss and analyze the current state of affairs of the ChaldoAssyrian people in Iraq. All of the previous meetings had, in effect, prepared the basis for an effort which was necessary, appropriate, and timely. This involved bringing together the most qualified organizations in the United States to analyze the current and dire state of the ChaldoAssyrians in Iraq, and to formulate a coherent and united position for American ChaldoAssyrians before state and national authorities in the United States.

Two issues of prominence were discussed, analyzed, and formulated as the basis of future action; the plight of Iraqi Christian refugees fleeing from persecution from their homeland into neighboring countries, and the need for an administrative area for the ChaldoAssyrian Iraqis in the Nineveh Plain, the traditional heartland of the ChaldoAssyrians. After much deliberation, it was decided, by all of the representatives, that these two issues would take center stage in future political action.

Having formal legal existence, and the necessary funds to proceed forward toward its goals, CASCA has been active early on to articulate the needs and desires of the ChaldoAssyrian Americans, as related to the current crises in Iraq and elsewhere, to appropriate state and national representatives in United States. The end is nowhere is sight as efforts must continue to both meet the needs of the ChaldoAssyrian people in the Middle East, and to better evolve the historic effort in November of 2006 which culminated in CASCA.

Though the AANF and the ANCI have chosen to withdraw their membership, the goals and mission of the organization remain the same.