Assyrian Chatters Interviews: Bratiel

Hello and welcome to our website:
first of all we would like you to introduce yourself

PERSONAL QUESTIONS

I am a second year college student , studying International and European Law. During the week I live In Amsterdam and in the weekend I go back to home In Hengelo ( east Holland). Besides college we have a great group of youth here In Holland and we are doing the best we can for them.

Life is getting better and better and my future is full with dreams. I am doing the best I can to fulfil all my dreams, so when I am 80 years old I can look back and say: Wow I had a great life J .

No, to be honest sometimes I am wondering if there is any room left for love, we will see what god will bring us.

Well I have a lot of Assyrian male friends around me, so I don’t have a problem with them. Also at college there are more guys then girls so we stick together. It is easy to have male friends, you don’t have the gossip thing , I am blessed with both sexes J.

-A personal problem that you suffer from and wish you can get over? example: being shy.

My biggest problem maybe is that I trust people too easy, Often I get disappointed after knowing who they really are.

My relationship with God is very personal. I believe in God, but I don’ t care much about rituals or going to church or church rules. I think all those things are distracting you from the real goal of believing.

Internet has done a great job for us. Look at all the information that came free for us.
We can learn our history, our language from the internet.

Well if I imagine myself in a paradise I see myself on a horse riding on a beach, blue clear water, white beaches and a jungle behind the beach. I cannot ride horses but one day I will learn.

uuffftt it’s hard to answer a question like this by myself so I have asked some friends of mine and they said I am , sincere, unpredictable, vulnerable, spontaneous and passionate.

Well I discovered the internet like 5 years ago and I am at Assyrianvoice for over a year now.

-You have been known on our community to be one of the very proud Assyrian females. Tell us more about that?

What can I say, I have been raised with Assyrian pride, and my mother has always teached us to be an independent woman. So I think I have mixed both with each other and this is the result. I talk with my hart and think with my hart, not always the best thing to do, but I can’t help myself doing that.

It’s a name I have found at the internet and it has a special meaning for me. If you look good you see 2 words : Brata and il what means Daughter of God. You can say it was love at first sight for me.

-Have the Assyrians used the internet for their advantage?
Internet has done a great job for us. Look at all the information that came free for us. We can learn our history, our language from the internet. We meet Assyrian people who believe different, who talk different from each other, That is an eye opener. I know a lot of people now from different kind of countries and often we speak a different kind of dialect, but one thing that always connect us is our Assyrian Pride.

Manual:       is always trying to come with new issues,

Nina 500:  haven’t heard from her for a while

-Name some people on the website that you believe have attributed to an increase pride to others?
Well I like the posts of Tru Ashuraya, ASHOOR, Western Assyrian, Rita and many others. Because i think these are people who will offer something for the nation, not many will do that. I don’t know one of them personal so maybe I am not correct but reading their messages this is the impression I get from them.

Well I am 24/7 online so not much is bothering me, but sometimes I get sick from Assyrians who don’t accept me because I am not madenhaya. Then I am getting disappointed, but that’s just for a few minutes J

-Does it bother you that the Assyrian Voice Network is a global community? that is, the people you meet come from different places and not necessarily from where you live? do you wish that you had more people from your own city on the website?

Ooh nooo, I think it’s great. I met Assyrians from all over the world, How else should I ever get in contacts with them? We have associations in Holland where we can get connected, I use the internet for my foreign contacts ;) .

* It’s the website of one of the associations we have. Now it’s a website for the association but the webmasters are busy to make an informative website…..

-A lot of developments happened recently that concern the Assyrians. Bush's mentioning of Assyrians in his speech as well many other TV interviews with different Assyrian leaders. Do you think those can help us in any way?

Politics are games, that’s one thing for sure, but to be honest I don’t care. If they want to play with us let them but we have to know how we can benefit from this. Bush said our name., there has to be a reason, but who cares we can use that for our benefits.

-How do you personally or how can you help contribute to solving the Assyrian issue?

I am studying International and European law and I am trying to do some Journalism as 
well.That’s how I can contribute something, by my education. I hope one day I can 
do something for my nation. But not only that. I think I have to do something for 
the children, they are the future. To learn my cousins from an early age who they 
are and never let them forget that they are Assyrian, I think if everyone would just 
past that through they would all do a fantastic job.

-Assyrian teenagers in North America vs. those in Europe: what are the differences and similarities?

There are so much differences not just between Europe and America. If you compare the 
European countries you will see a difference, if you look Assyrian from West America 
with the east, you will see a difference and that’s oke.But one thing that we need that 
must connect us is our language, our pride, our history, our culture. Ooh but we were 
talking about the youth, hehhe hmmmm one thing all the youth have similar is that the
have a big problem. They are assimilating too fast. If you see the youngsters maybe 
you see one or 2 who are really given something but so many does not.

-The Assyrian language which is a direct success for for the Aramaic language, a language spoken by Jesus: do you think it will ever be extinct? or forgotten?

Well if we continue this way yes it will be forgotten. Language is a big problem. 
For me it is. I have to confess my Dutch is better then my Assyrian, that’s a problem. 
If I am seeing many parents who don’t speak Assyrian with their children then I see that 
as a problem. So if we stay this way the change is big our language will extinct.

-You have also been associated with one very popular Assyrian slogans: "Think Assyrian". Tell us what do you mean by it exactly?

To say ThinkAssyrian I mean, think about our culture, think about our nation, think about our language, think about us. But like we all know there is also very much diversity between our nation. We are one, but one want to call themselves, chaldean, the other suryoyo, the other aramean. It is just the good way to think, the Assyrian way.

-Assyrians have been the victims of many nations' and people's bad treatment and judgment? do you think we should put that behind?

No, never. We should never forget our martyrs or the pain that we have been going 
through. 
The pain is connecting us.

-What is the biggest threat that Assyrians face at this time?
Assimilation definitely.

-In a recent poll done on our website to see what Assyrians need most at this time, the majority thought that Assyrians need Education and more love and unity between us. What is your take on that? do you agree with the results?

Yes I totally agree with the result, I had vote for education as well. That’s because I think everything starts with education. People do have more knowledge, more power, more money, I hope some more respect. It’s reality that a doctor has more respect then a salesman.

They match perfectly and they are made for each other. The only thing I fear is if the guys can develop as quick as the girls. Our guys tend to be old fashioned, unfortunately.

-Last word to all people out there and how they can serve our nation even better?
Think Assyrian

-What entitles someone in your opinion to be called a legend? can someone like Evin Agassi or Biba be called legends? why or why not?

*A legend is someone who you cannot replace and who did something big. Unfortunately they are often dead before they came legends. But Yes Evin is a legend, he is just fabulous and Biba is unforgettable. But let we don’t forget our great heroes who all died for us like Naum Faiq, Mor Chamoun Benyamin, Ashur Yousef. All these men are legends for me. Everytime they give me the strength to go on.

-The recent sniper attacks in the U.S: what does it mean to you? do you think we live in a dangerous world?

Well we are living in a dangerous world yes, but 40 years ago it was the same thing. I don’t think the world had ever be without dangerous.

Well since I finished High school I did not read that much ( it was Dutch and English literature). Nowadays I read most articles from the internet and I buy a lot of magazines ( and not Assyrian magazines ;) )

This is a difficult question.  I think nobody has to have hunger, look at our people 
wherever they go the manage theirselves. Look in Holland nobody has to suffer from hunger 
but in African countries it’s another story, the western countries don’t want them to be 
wealthy that’s politics.

-Do you think the English language will continue to dominate for another 100 years? if not who will replace it?

In hundred years many things can change, we have experienced that the last century. But to be honest I don’t see any other language which can replace the English now, not French, not Spanish so I stick with English.

-What do you think of the Assyrian song at this time? is it going up or down? which singer do you think will take it to the top again?

Assyrian music is going down. I never listen to the songs of these days, but I love to listen to the old songs of Juliana Jendo, Evin Aghassi, Ashur Beth Sargis, Habib Moussa, George Farag. But I have to say these singers had their best years behind them…..I am curious for the future.

www.bethnahrin.nl--à it’s my home and I have to check the forum every day otherwise I am missing to much

www.assyrianvoice.netà must check the message board, it’s like an addiction.

www.bethnahrin.de à This is the website of our Assyrian friends in Germany (Augsburg)

Platoà I had his philosophies at my first day at college, I will never forget that. When I think about him I see a small man with a big head full of brains, Don’t ask me why L

Queen Elizabethà An old lady that is around with terrible kids

My god they were all hard, I have never had to think that hard to give an answer at a question.

You shall not dream all your life, you shall life your dreams. But also Live Life with Passion and discover the beauty of life.

It’s like people know me to good and that I have given something from my privacy to all, 
it’s scary…

They can add me at msn, my email is Saartje4882@hotmail.com, or they can look at www.bethnahrin.nl and contact the association or they can leave a message on the messageboard or.. or..or …J

I have read them all, hmm well I cannot say which one I liked most because I think all the chatters are great and each one of them is doing the best they can.

Uuhmm well I recognize so many names about who I am curious to, but who I don’t know at all. Like Tru, Wa, Rita( I know the last 2 a little bite ;) )

If you would be ruler for one day over the world which three things would you do?

UUUFFT I am tired hehhehehhe but It was a great honour for me to answer all your difficult questions ASHOOR, Please keep up doing the great work with this website and to all you guys keep studying, you never know when we need you guys ;)

At the end of this interview we would like to thank you and wish you a good luck in your life.