me to this interview. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have this completed for such a great Website. Keep up the work and may God give you the strength to continue and have an impact in our lives.

Allah dave Minukh… Basima Raba…

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

 

 

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Name: Siko
Date: August 25th, 2002

 

 

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



PERSONAL QUESTIONS

 

-Name:
Vilbert

-Nickname:
Siko

-sex/age/location:
Male/21/Reseda, California

-What do you do in life or like to do in life?
I am actually employed at Washington Mutual Bank as a teller. I have been working there for about 1 year.

-What are your educational and career goals?
I am currently studying Information Systems at California State University of Northridge (CSUN). Currently I am in my third year and hopefully I can graduate and be hired within Washington Mutual as an Information Systems Analyst. Knowing the University that I am in, it will probably take longer to graduate.

-Are you an intrinsic type of person? or open to people and prefer crowded and populated settings?
 I am actually both. When it comes to Assyrian parties, I will always be there. But, like anyone else I also need my space. I am the kind of person who likes to read and try to expand my knowledge.

" I am the kind of person who likes to read and try to expand my knowledge. "

-Your ideal Assyrian girl is and should?
 You have no idea how much I have actually thought about this topic. Well, she should love to speak Assyrian or (Lishane’ Suraye). When an Assyrian girl speaks Assyrian, it proves to me that she is in love with her culture, heritage, and history. She should also be educated. I am the kind of person who likes to have sophisticated and personal conversations. Therefore, I would like to see an Assyrian girl who would keep a conversation. Another factor would also include her personality. I don’t want someone who is dry as stick or jolly as a clown. But, someone who can cheer me up when I am down and make me happy when something has gone wrong . I hope it will go both way.



CHAT QUESTIONS



-Your background on our community and the Internet in general.
 I have had internet for about four years. But, I actually found the website by searching for a Chat-Room. Since Nineveh Café’ and Atour closed down, I have found a home here. It is very inspiring to see that Assyrians have found a home on the Internet. A place to meet, chat, and discuss specific topics regarding the world and Assyrian issues.

-How valuable has the Internet been for Assyrians worldwide in general?
The Internet has become very important for the Assyrians worldwide. A nation without a state, we have come to recognize that the World Wide Web is the best way to bring to surface the Assyrian Cause. Many organizations have developed Websites that provide specific information about our Assyrian heritage. Also, Assyrian Magazines like Zinda have provided the Assyrian Community with an outreach towards a thirst for knowledge and an exposure to the Assyrian heritage and future.

-What do you find most and least useful on our website?
 A website never has a least useful section. Every part of it is very useful. Stretching from the Voice Chat, Text Chat, Interview Section and off course the Message Board (Love that place, but it needs some more work based on more specific conversations about the Assyrian Cause).

-Have you made any friends online? does your relationship with them
extend to real life as well?
 I have met a lot of “net-pals”. But, since the Assyrian Community in L.A doesn’t usually use the AssyrianVoice as an outlet,  I have met International Assyrian friends. The best place to meet knew a friend is through the Text Chat and the Message Board.

-What comes to your mind when you first hear these three nicknames:
MAPLE-LEAFS, Sweet Honey,  melka_ashur:
Maple-Leafs: Must be a very big hockey fan.
Sweet Honey: Too much honey can get you sick :), but cute name.
Melka_Ashur: Talked to him, very nice guy. I really like the way he argues in the Message Board.

-Are you another MSN addict, why or why not?
 This may be a shock, but I don’t use MSN very often. It really bugs me when it keeps on telling me how many E-mail messages I have at Hotmail. Plus, I don’t even use Hotmail anymore, so it really bugs me.

-Is your personality online the same as that in real life?
 Oh YEAH!! When it come to political issues, if fight like a dog. When it comes to kidding around, then I am the guy who usually makes some people laugh (If you don’t laugh, then I really think you have a problem )

-Can love really happen on the internet?
 It depends; will I ever see that person? Or is it just like a “fling” over the Internet. Although there have been successful stories about people meeting and falling in love, I on the other hand would actually like to the person in face to face. You will never know whom you are talking to. For all you know it might be your long lost cousin on your mother side from the town of Urmi………

-Best three nicknames you have ever come across on our community?
 Western Assyrian: Would really like to know him… Angelicious: How Angel are you? And how delicious? Shady Suraya: Shady?


FAVORITES


-Favorite person(s) to talk to on our website as a whole:
 No one personally, but if I go on AINA (Assyrian International News Agency), then we have a different story…..

-Favorite Assyrian/foreign singer:
 Addo Rhawi: Cool beats, combines Rap, Dance, and Pop

-Favorite photo album:
 All of them. It is always nice to see happy Assyrians from all over the world.

-Favorite country/city:
 Switzerland/Zurich (Very peaceful, because my cousins have told me)

-Favourite NBA team:
 Chicago Bulls. Since the day I arrived in the U.S I have been Bulls fan.

-Favorite Assyrian name:
 Favorite Assyrian name is “Youeil”. That’s actually my dads’ name. Which in Syriac means “God Gave..”

-Favorite soccer player:
 Ronaldo

-Favorite girl hair style:
 Hair Style? Better not be bald or freaky long. Hairstyle should be “normal”.

-Favorite food:
 It has to be Assyrian food Dolma, Ruza Khorosh (Celery, Black eyed peas, string beans).



ASSYRIANS RELATED QUESTIONS


-Do you think Assyrians in this day are any better than they were some 50 years ago? in social, political, and religious terms.
We have come a long way in fifty years. We have lost thousands in the hand of Kurds, Arabs, and Turks. Yet we have survived to maintain our name and heritage. Our social status has always been to assimilate to the culture that we have grown with i.e(Arab, Perisian (Me), Turkish and etc….) Political, just ridiculous. How many different organizations are we going to have with different names stretching from the Chaldeans to Assyrians and Syriacs? Just STUPID!!!! No wonder we are so torn apart… Religiously, we need stop relying on our clergy for everything. Although, it has been the Church that has allowed us to maintain our language and history. Truly they have gained too much power.

-You are put in charge to put a plan that would see Assyrians getting what they have been struggling to get for hundreds of years now. You are given a period of ten years to implement this plan. What would this plan look like?
 A homeland? This is a very hard question to answer. How long have Zowaa, AUA, ADM, and other organization fought for the Assyrian Cause. Sorry to say that I personally cannot achieve anything. It is truly based on the collective will of every Assyrian who lives in our original homeland and abroad. First we should UNITE under one name and ONE cause. Then we should fight for our rights and will to survive as a nation. We should build schools, hospitals, and retirement homes. We should fight to maintain our language and start implementing the use of. Maybe then we can get somewhere….

-Do you think it is time for the old generation to let the youth come in and take the lead in matters that concern our nation, be it political, social, etc?
The question is, can the youth ultimately lead this nation, a nation that is lost in a whirlwind? Our old generation have struggled and struggled to keep our name alive. The Youth should step up and try to get our name known through out the world. We are young, and we should strive to bring our name known and in to existence. Our old generation have worked too hard to let it go to waste. Think about it… What will our kids do to keep our struggle alive?

-What about your best or most effective way to make every Assyrian speak, write and read Assyrian?
 The only way is to build schools for our Assyrian Kids. But, how many Assyrian are willing to donate for building a school?

-The best time to make you feel a proud Assyrian, and worst time to make you not?
 When someone asks me what nationality I am and what language I speak? When I say I am Assyrian and speak the language of Christ that makes me proud. But, when I have to explain who the Assyrians are, that really makes mad and sad. It is very hard when I say Assyrian and they Syrian. Damn, that’s the worst feeling ever.

-Assyrianism and Christianity: who confronts to the other and why?
Assyrianism: A way of life that allows us to love our nation and history. Christianity: A way of life that brings salvation to life and enables us to live day by day and love one another. Assyrianism and Christianity go hand my hand. One cannot survive without the other.

-Assyrian Society: do you see it as being a stable one, or heading towards a bad future. Given the rise in divorce rates?
 Assyrian Society has a tendency to have a “Greedy Eye”. But, so does every other nation. But, ours is truly remarkable. Lets just leave it at that….

-Which of the following three organizations do you see most fit to lead our people: AUA, Zowaa, the Church? AUA: It is truly united? Zowaa: Lead Assyrian people in Iraq or the Western Countries? Does Zowaa expand to other countries? Church: A great way to make money (Sorry, but it is the truth). Any other option????

-Any final thoughts or words on the Assyrian's State of the Union at this time, and how does the future look like to you?
 United we are not. We are more disunited than ever. A mere mention to a Suryoyo/Aromaya that he or she is Assyrian is considered as a Taboo. Why? I have no Idea. Call a Chaldean an Assyrian, you will be considered as an idiot. I only hope that there is some sort of plan in Gods hand that will allow our nation to survive.



General and Miscellaneous Questions

-How important is 'health' in your life, and how much resources and time do you put to make sure you are a healthy person?
 This summer and like any other summer I sign up at my University’s gym. I am a health conscious individual. I always try to eat something healthy. But, it’s kind of hard to say no to Assyrian Food, YUMMY!!!!

-How do you spend your time in a typical day?
 Well, since summer and come and almost gone, I go to the gym everyday and work everyday. PRETTY FUN, HUH? I can’t wait for school to start, so I can have a normal schedule.

-What do you think is the most obvious threat to our existence or the man kind as a whole in the next 50-100 years?
 Men, don’t get married (Just kidding!!!). I really think War is the most threatening aspect in our life. God knows what type of Nuclear Weapons India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and North Korea have. Hopefully WWIII won’t start because of the terrorist acts.

-You have a great past, and are living in the present, and working to make sure your future is great. Which one do you think you should be living in, out of the three?
My past mistakes have allowed me in the present to time to establish a successful future.

-Do you like traveling? if yes, then where and how do you like to
travel?
 I love traveling, never gone traveling before. I would really like to visit Alaska, the untouched land by the human ignorance is so beautiful that it will take you into a world that you have never experienced. Traveling by a cruise is the best option to see the beautiful scenery and the nature in close approximation.

-Assyrian Music: is it going up or down and what are your solutions to raise its level?
 It’s moving up, but it really has a long way to go. A nation that is getting younger and living in a world that loves music, Assyrian music should transform and still maintain the traditional ways of making the Assyrian Community happy..

-Three things that make a girl liked, and three more that make her unwanted:
Like: Loving Personality, Smart, and Caring
Dislikes: Cold Personality, Stupidity (Sorry), and Sarcasm

-What do you think of the following figures?
Saint Tomas Aquinas, Maradonna,  Yako Yousef:

Saint Thomas Aquinas: Great Philosopher, Theologian, and Questioner of life.
Maradonna: Great Soccer Player, bad drug habit.
Rabi Yako: Ashoor you got me on this one? 



FINAL THOUGHTS



-Did you find any questions hard to answer or unpleasant? Actually very pleasant and fun.

-One question you were glad we didn't ask you? Who I find annoying? Actually there are a few of you guys that make me sick (Just Kidding!!).

-Your best quote in life in both Assyrian and English?
“I think therefore I am”…Rene Descartes
“La gkhuk al shvavukh, gha dera brishukh” My Dad (Part-time Philosopher)
Translation: Don’t laugh at your neighbors for it will return to you.

-What do you think of this interview?
 Loved it, finished it all in one day.

-What can this interview idea help us with?
 The Assyrian thought and mentality of life and the way of struggle to survive.

-Who should we interview next and why?
 Bella, I have feeling that she really likes to argue.

-Any final comments or thoughts?
 Ashoor, I would personally like to thank you for having me to this interview. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have this completed for such a great Website. Keep up the work and may God give you the strength to continue and have an impact in our lives.

Allah dave Minukh… Basima Raba…

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

 

 

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