The New
Generation Assyrians (NGA), a youth group in London, United Kingdom, in
collaboration with the Assyrische Jongeren Federatie (AJF) of the
Netherlands conducted the first Assyrian Youth Exchange to be hosted in
the UK. The NGA welcomed over 60 guests from across Europe, including the
Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Austria in what culminated to be an
amazing and unforgettable weekend filled with Assyrian nationalism,
fervour, and unity.
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From left to right, Top: Ninos Warda (NGA), Andrew
Michael (NGA), George Hanna (AJF), Romael Karam (NGA), Bedros Chamoun
(AJF), Miriam Jaso (NGA), Khatun-Izla Eksen (AJF), Takrid Ilyo (AJF),
Bottom: Eva Shamouel (NGA), Shamiran Khoshaba (NGA). (Danny Azzo and
Tony Kasim, also from the NGA, are not present in this picture). |
Friday 19th December 2003
After a long and tiring trip by coach, the guests arrived in London on
Friday 19th December 2003 at approximately 8am and were welcomed by NGA
members at the Assyrian Society of the United Kingdom (ASUK), which gave
an opportunity for both sides to be acquainted with one another, and for
age-old internet buddies to finally meet in person. With great honour and
privilege, both Qasheesha Istephanos of the Assyrian Church of the East,
and Father Toma of the Syriac Orthodox Church were able to accept the
NGA’s invitation to attend the breakfast and meet and greet our fellow
Assyrian brothers and sisters from across Europe. The breakfast offered a
great opportunity for people to ‘mingle’ with each other and for the
European guests to get more of a feel of the Assyrian Community and youth
group in London. After the breakfast, a video of NGA’s Party in the Park
August 2003 was shown, and various Assyrian songs were played, which, much
to the delight of the NGA, even caused some of the guests to cast off
their fatigue and perform some folklore Assyrian dancing!
After spending a few hours at the ASUK the guests were taken to their
appropriate accommodations and were given a few hours to settle down,
unpack, sleep, etc, before setting out for downtown London on the tube. It
is an unforgettable memory attempting to co-ordinate over 60 people to get
on the correct train safely, and escort them all off at the right stop
without leaving anyone behind. Thankfully, however, probably by virtue of
divine inspiration, no major problems arose. Upon reaching Piccadilly
Circus Station, everyone was split into small groups under the direction
of either an NGA member or George and Bedros from the AJF who were already
familiar with London due to past experiences (it’s a shame the same can’t
be said for some NGA members who, although being born and raised in
London, still got lost!). The groups remained in Central London for a few
hours, visiting some of the famous sites such as Trafalgar Square, getting
lost in the shops of Oxford Street, or just relaxing in a café or bar. The
majority of the group returned to Ealing at approximately 9pm, whilst some
of the others remained in downtown London for a few more hours. The group
that returned to Ealing decided that they wanted to go to a bar for a few
more hours before returning to their accommodation, so we embarked upon a
bar in Ealing called The Green. Due to the sheer size of the group we were
not allowed to enter all together, and some people even had to show ID but
after some negotiating everyone made it inside, and within a few minutes
the Assyrians literally occupied the whole of the elevated dance floor
until the group left. It’s a shame, however, that the music being played
wasn’t appropriate for a dance of Shaykhani! At around 12am the group was
taken back to their accommodation where they could finally have that
well-earned rest. Some people changed and went to bed whilst others were
hungry for some Burger King and stayed up for a while talking in the
entrance area and waiting for other members of the group to return from
Central London. Once every ones reserve energy was drained, most of the
guests returned to their rooms for at least 8 hours sleep before finding
themselves standing next to a great Lamassu (Assyrian winged-bull) built
by their ancestors around 3000 years ago.
Saturday 20th December 2003
On the second day of the Youth Exchange, a trip to the world famous
British Museum had been organized. Everyone arrived at the gates of the
museum at around 11am with massive group pictures being taken with the
Assyrian flag being shown proudly for all to see. Some passers-by even
asked whose flag it was, and a certain person from Los Angeles even
requested he be sent one after seeing it in the British Museum. Our guests
from Europe were given a thorough tour of the Assyrian section of the
museum, with commentary given in both dialects by Mr. Nineb Lamassu
pertaining to the particular artifacts and statues. Some parts of the
Assyrian section were specifically only open to the Assyrian group, for
example, the basement which held on show ancient Assyrian business
documents, weaponry, countless clay tablets and boards depicting ancient
Assyrian warfare, life, etc. Judging from its popularity, one of the most
alluring statues was the Assyrian winged-bull, the sheedu lamassu
(repellent of evil). Innumerable pictures and video shots were taken in
front of the 2 colossal winged-bulls, the heaviest items in the British
Museum, each one weighing as much as 2 double-decker buses…a truly
awe-inspiring site.
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Assyrian youth outside the British Museum, Saturday
20th December, 2003. |
After all the camera film had run-out and the camcorder batteries had been
drained, the group left the museum at approximately 1pm. Some individuals
decided they wanted to do more shopping (probably in preparation for the
party that evening) and were taken to Harrods in Knightsbridge. A
substantial part of the group, however, still wanted to see more of the
sites in London and were taken sightseeing in their coach to some of the
famous sites in London such as Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the
London Eye, etc, and were also given some time to do some last minute
shopping in Oxford Street before returning to Ealing around 6pm to prepare
for the youth party in the ASUK.
After hours of preparation and the use of logistics by NGA members, the
ASUK was finally ready for the Youth Exchange Party. The party began with
2 short speeches, one given by Ninos of the NGA, and the other by Bedros
of the AJF. Each individual said a few sentences in the opposite dialect,
and then continued in the Eastern and Western dialects accordingly. Bedros
and Ninos both stressed how happy the 2 groups (NGA and AJF) were with the
way in which the exchange had transpired thus far and how important it is
for there to always be such exchanges for the advancement and unity of the
Assyrian nation. The party then proceeded with the local and talented
Assyrian singer Ashur Shlimu, accompanied by keyboardist Ninos from Sweden
and main DJ’s for the night local guys Mike T and DJ ‘Jigga’. The party
had around 200 people, and the atmosphere was buzzing all night. The
various artists catered for all tastes, and the stage was constantly full
throughout the night. During a short interval, as is customary in such
exchanges, the NGA and the AJF exchanged gifts accordingly. The NGA
exchanged 3 pictures depicting life in ancient Assyria and a pennant with
both groups logos and a list of names of the guests from Europe. The AJF
exchanged 20 black Assyrian t-shirts with ‘Assyria is where I come from’
on the front of them, The Treasure of the Syriac Language by Thomas Audo
Metropolitan of Ourmy, and a wall clock with the AJF’s logo in the
background. Later in the night the NGA also gave gifts to 3 individuals
who have helped the NGA in past events, and whose hard work is much
appreciated. The party carried on until about 2.30am and was concluded
with the patriotic song ‘khazadeh’, together with its beautiful dance,
which ended a beautiful day.
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Assyrian youth after the youth exchange party,
Saturday 20th December, 2003. |
Sunday 21st December 2003
Sunday marked the last day of an unforgettable youth exchange. At around
12pm the guests from Europe and NGA members gathered at Parliament Square
for a demonstration in recognition of the Assyrian Genocide of 1915, ‘Seyfo’,
as orchestrated by the Turkish Ottoman government of that year, and
carried out by Turkish and Kurdish armed forces where over 2/3’s of the
Assyrian nation perished. Unfortunately, however, to date, little has been
said about the Assyrian Genocide, which prompted such a demonstration in
the hope of raising awareness of the plight of the Assyrian people and the
holocaust they suffered. Banners, signs, and the Assyrian flag were held
aloft and a mock hanging was carried out which was but one of the ways in
which Assyrian men, women and children were executed. A short speech was
also given by Mr Sabri Atman, an Assyrian Genocide expert from Holland,
who together with Mr Nineb Lamassu, were interviewed by Revelation TV
about the Assyrian Genocide. In memory of all those brave Assyrian martyrs
who lost their lives during the Genocide, black balloons were released as
a sign of respect. The demonstration lasted until approximately 1pm, at
which point, with a degree of sadness, the NGA had to say goodbye to the
European guests who had travelled by coach to London. One could feel the
amount of love present when it came to saying goodbye. Indeed, there was
definitely a feeling of khuba o’khuyada/hubo o’huyodo.
Some guests from Germany, Sweden and Austria remained in London until the
evening as they had not come by coach but by plane. Some members of the
NGA were able to spend some time with these guests in the evening to talk
about the status quo of the Assyrian youth and nation within Europe and
any upcoming events or functions in the near future, and other things in
general before saying goodbye to our brothers and sisters from these
countries.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Assyrian Youth Exchange 2003 as organised by the NGA
and the AJF was a truly unforgettable and mesmerising weekend. It was a
great pleasure for the NGA to host such an event, and host it, we believe,
successfully. The only downfall was that the weekend passed too quickly,
but we hope and pray that a future exchange is not a distant dream. The
exchange had everything one could ask for: nationalism, fun, Assyrian
awareness and culture, education, love and unity…the list can go on. The
Assyrian youth are the future of our beloved Assyrian nation. The Assyrian
nation can no longer afford to allow linguistic, tribal, geographical or
any other barriers to stand in the way of the progression and advancement
of our nation, but we must stand together as a united people to defeat the
barriers that stand in our way.
The NGA would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every
individual who made this exchange what it transpired to be. It will not be
forgotten and hopefully it is just the beginning of bigger and better
things to come for the Assyrian youth. Merry Christmas to everyone and a
happy and prosperous New Year to all.