May 19

May 19 The Assyrians

Chicago, Demonstrations, Protest, Public Declarations, Street

Thirty-plus members of the Assyrian diaspora gathered in Chicago’s Federal Plaza today, demanding that Illinois’ congressional delegation work with the Biden Administration to right centuries of wrongs against the Assyrian people by restoring their homeland in Northern Iraq and Northern Syria. Before today’s demonstration, the Assyrians were one of many ethnic groups that I knew little about. My travels in Turkey had made me aware of the Kurds and the Armenians.

Although the Assyrian homeland is located in what is now Islamic-controlled territory, this ethnic group is almost exclusively Christian. Their roots date back to at least 2500 B.C. Aramaic, their native tongue, is one of the oldest, continuously-spoken languages in the world—influencing both Hebrew and Arabic. The Assyrians were among the first people to convert to Christianity.

Given their roots in ancient Mesopotamia, those demonstrating in the Federal Plaza today, as well as their relatives and friends back in Northern Iraq, possess a seemingly legitimate claim to a homeland, but waves of conquerors, massacres, other tragedies, and geopolitics have made them outcasts. Recent events have only exacerbated their problems. The U.S.-led war in Iraq and its subsequent policy of de-Baathification laid the groundwork for attacks on the Assyrian population by Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, the Nusra Front, and other Islamic terrorist groups—attacks that included beheadings, crucifixions, rapes, and ethnic cleansing, along with the destruction of a Christian cemetery and vandalization of archaeological sites and monuments. The invaders also laid claim to Assyrian homes.

But it is not just Islamic terrorists who have inflicted tragedy on the Assyrian people. The Kurds have also engaged in massacres of Assyrians, including historic ones in 1843 and 1846. During World War I, the Turks and Kurds engaged in genocide (referred to as Sayfo) against the Assyrians, reducing their numbers by an estimated two-thirds. In recent years, the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) security forces have perpetrated hostilities against the Assyrians living in Northern Iraq (the Nineveh Plain), according to a 2020 Foreign Policy article. The Kurds lay claim to the same territory.

Today’s demonstrators demanded a response from elected officials to repeated requests that the United States assist the Assyrians in reclaiming their homeland, including the return of homes that the Assyrians were forced to vacate when they fled. I don’t know the ins and outs of the surrounding issues, or why the United States has ignored the Assyrian pleas to date, assuming that their assertions are correct. My working hypothesis: The U.S. has conflicting interests in the region. In particular, the Assyrians can also point to regions in Turkey that they have historically occupied, which could lead to demands similar to the Kurdish ones for annexation of what is now Turkish territory.

I suspect the U.S. foreign policy establishment isn’t interested in irritating the Turks, particularly with the war in nearby Ukraine raging—Turkey has pushed for peace talks and helped broker the deal allowing for the export of Ukrainian grain, as well as holding veto power over whether Finland and Sweden are admitted to NATO. (Finland was admitted on April 4, 2023; as this is written Sweden is still awaiting admission.)

The U.S. reticence in taking up the Assyrian cause may also be explained by the presence of several strategically-positioned U.S. military bases in Turkey, giving the U.S. a military a footprint in the Middle East. The U.S. does not want to jeopardize its access to those bases.

Moreover, the United States has been a supporter of the Kurds, who were helpful during the Iraq War, and the YPG military force continues to fight in northern Syria against Bashar-al-Assad’s regime. Interestingly some Assyrian forces (the Syriac Military Council) have teamed up with the YPG in northern Syria, proving the old adage that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” But that alliance is with a Assyrian faction. Other Assyrians remember recent YPG atrocities against Assyrians. Put bluntly, even with a scorecard, it is impossible to keep track of all the factions in the area, together with their shifting alliances, as the 2020 speech by Amy Austin Holmes aptly demonstrates.

Today’s demonstration will have no impact on U.S. policy, as dispiriting as that might be to the participants. While certainly spirited and well-motivated, the effort was ineffective. The organizers made several key mistakes, which should be addressed when planning promised future demonstrations.

Timing and Location: The demonstration was scheduled for 11:00 AM on Friday in the Loop. Back in the day, the streets around Federal Plaza would have been filled with office workers enjoying some fresh air and lunch. Not in 2023. Mondays and Fridays are now dead in the Loop. Virtually no pedestrian traffic. Today’s dismal weather didn’t help, but I can’t fault the organizers on that count.

Demonstrations are visual events. Thirty people in a large public plaza is not visually impactful—way too much negative space.

The organizers chose Federal Plaza because the adjacent Federal office building houses the offices of Senators Durbin and Duckworth. Most likely, both were in Washington, D.C., and their staffs probably weren’t paying much, if any attention to what was transpiring outside in the plaza. Going forward, I would recommend that organizers consider the sidewalk just north of the Michigan Avenue Bridge, between the Tribune Tower (now a residential building) and the Apple store to the south, or Jane Byrne Park, a bit further north, where the Chicago Water Tower still stands tall. There is far more foot traffic, particularly on a Saturday or Sunday, which undoubtedly would increase public awareness of the Assyrian cause.

Press Coverage: I asked for a press release—a piece of paper listing speakers, providing background information, highlighting issues, and itemizing demands. The group had prepared nothing. I also asked whether there was a website. It is still under construction. As an observer, I should not have to spend hours piecing together the complex backstory underlying the demonstrators’ demands.

Recently, Chicago’s Philippine and Chinese communities held demonstrations. Both brought handouts. In the case of the demonstration in front of the Consulate General of the Philippines, several passersby stopped to ask questions and engage in conversation about the issues. The Assyrians should follow suit, particularly because their concerns are not in the news daily. To layout the groundwork for press coverage, the organizers should consider contacting WTTW, the local PBS affiliate, asking whether they can sit for an interview during the nightly, local news show, Chicago Tonight.

Time Limit: The organizers should stage their demonstrations within a more circumscribed timeframe. I arrived shortly before the 11 AM start time, but no one was in Federal Plaza, so I came back around 11:20 AM, staying until 1:15 AM. Basically, the same three speakers spoke extemporaneously, repeating the same information over and over, as they walked around the plaza with mikes in hand, which resulted in an unfocused effort. One speaker should have given background, another should have spoken about recent atrocities, and a third should have discussed the group’s demands.

Unless a large crowd is guaranteed, most demonstrations last no more than 90 minutes. Short is impactful. A demonstration with 30 people is not, particularly when it lasts several hours—I don’t know when this one broke up, but it was scheduled to end at 3 PM. Four hours is way too much time to fill with chants.

Fewer Events; More Demonstrators. For greater impact, the organizers should stage fewer events, with more demonstrators.

After the demonstration outside the Chinese consulate, I received an email from one of the organizers; that group had bused in several hundred people from states adjacent to Illinois. Apparently about 150,000 Assyrians live in metro Detroit. Chicago’s Assyrian community should have looked to them for assistance, using the Chicago media market as the draw — the media is unlikely to come out unless the numbers are well north of 1,000 demonstrators. Granted, the media does cover smaller gatherings, but the Assyrians are at a distinct disadvantage because the vast majority, including the media, do not know who they are.

One demonstrator naively asked me why there were no television cameras. With a new mayor, crime, almost daily demonstrations by larger groups, state budget negotiations, the migrant crisis, and other news to cover, assignment editors are unlikely to send television crews to a demonstration where 30 people are demonstrating about a relatively obscure cause.

Drop the Phones: Phones and screens are a pet peeve of mine. Too many of demonstrators spent too much time looking at their screens, which translates into terrible visuals: “This is a cause that is extremely important to me, but I need to check my TikTok and Twitter feeds. Put your damn phones in your purse or pocket, listen to the speakers, and look engaged rather than bored.

Believe me, it is not just the Assyrians. This is a problem at every demonstration I cover. I have seen people carrying the lead banner with their heads down looking at their screens, while several thousand people marched behind them with signs, musical instruments, and bullhorns. What message does that send when that image ends up on the front page of a major newspaper or even worse, on the 10 PM news? Showing commitment to the cause means eyes looking forward, mouths open shouting chants, and arms raised high with clenched fists. Project rage, not distraction.

Concluding Thoughts: Having offered what I intended as instructive criticisms, let me end on positive note. I cover a lot of demonstrations where the focus is on a particular ethnic community’s concerns about their foreign homeland. Today’s event was particularly inspiring in that regard. I was told that many of the adults in attendance were born in Northern Iraq. It is great to see them taking advantage of their First Amendment rights, and I hope they continue to speak out.

During part of the demonstration, the organizers played what I assume was traditional Assyrian music, with some of the demonstrators dancing and singing along with the recorded voices, thereby bringing their heritage and traditions to Chicago. Not only do such efforts humanize the demonstrators, but they also build a case why their demands regarding their homeland are entitled to serious consideration. I hope that the organizers continue to incorporate visual and musical signs of their heritage into future events, including the traditional garb that several demonstrators wore.

Overall, the demonstrators need to change their focus. Instead of seeking redress from elected officials, they need to first make the general public aware the Assyrian people’s plight. It is public outcry that causes public officials to act. Right now, the public is largely unaware that there is a dispute over the Assyrian homelands, as I found out when I mentioned to several friends that I had attended today’s outing.

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