-Welcome to our Assyrian Voice Interviews. After almost 2 years of  stoppage, the service is back and you are the first one to be interviewed. Please tell us about yourself.
Thank you. Glad that its back again, I enjoyed reading these interviews. I am also thankful to be the first for the season. Well lets get to business.

I am a 22 year old guy living in Sweden. I live with my parents and siblings (when I don't go working, far away). I studied computer engineering and electronics in high school. After high school I did my military service for 12 months, I liked the army very much and wanted to continue because it gives me knowledge that I want to have with me in the future, so they gave me a job there afterwards. I also studied a little psychology in the university for 6 months, because I need if for my future studies when I attend the police university.

The past 2 years I have been working half time as a youth recreation leader and half time in the Swedish army, usually as a Staff Sergeant. For the coming 12 months they offered me a very good contract in the army, it was hard to say no to that. So I am going on a UN peacekeeping mission for 6 - 7 months. The education and training for the mission will start very soon and go on for a couple of months.

-Tell us about your village and where you originally come from?
Well I am born in Sweden, in Skövde, its a smaller city with a population of around 60 000 people, just in the middle of Sweden (if you don't count everything that is above the area of Stockholm). However both of my parents are from the khabour area (north east Syria) from the tyari village of Bne Rumta.

-What about your current city? how do you like life in there?
Haha. Please! The current "city" I live in right now is not even a city, its a town with a population of just above 10 000. So if you think that Skövde is a small city, THINK AGAIN!

I love this place (County of Skaraborg), I would not like to live anywhere else in Sweden. I am kind of a small town guy so I enjoy living in a place like Tibro, not that I have problems living in a big city, but I usually only do it for studies or for work. The reason why I like it here is because of the quietness and the nature that surrounds it. We have two very big lakes vättern and vänern  (two of the biggest in Europe) very close to where I live. The area here during summer is just beautiful, its green and full of lakes and hills, there is plenty to do here. We also have a smaller lake just 5 minutes from my home, where most people from Tibro spend their summer if they are not away from the town.

The good thing with Tibro is that its so close to Skövde, its only like 10 -15 minutes by car. The city of Skövde works like a hub since its just in the middle and is the biggest city in the county. This is where people go to meet, clubing, studying, shopping or just taking the trains to Stockholm and Gothenburg, etc. You have pretty much everything you need in Skövde.  

-Speaking of cities and villages, tell us about your recent trip to your fathers’ birthplace? how did you like it, what did you take from the trip and what are some important things you learnt?
I loved it!. As I wrote above, I am person who likes the nature, I love spending time outside, just letting everything show its own beauty in its own tempo and way. I enjoy seeing new places and love to explore what mother nature and the area has to offer. If you compare this to any city, I reckon there is so much more to see. If you have been in a big city somewhere, then you know pretty much how most cities are in the world. That is not how it is with villages and areas like this. All places hare are unique. Anyway the Syrian part of Occupied Assyria was beautiful and I really felt like I belonged there.

I met many relatives who I never knew since earlier, this is something that was very important and good for me. I saw the place where my parents and forefathers grew up, I got a picture of how their lives would have been in the old days. I also learned how the people there are and how they live a daily life, and what differences we from the west and they have. Another important thing I learned is about the land, as I said before, it was beautiful but it had many other good things about it, things like resources and climate. Its a land of potential if you know how to take care of it, there is so much there that can be done to make it better. However the people there really need someone to push them and to help them, because many of them will not take matters in their own hands. What they lack is leadership and cooperation. This is something that we from the west will have to help out with and make sure that things change so that the land once again can become great and powerful for our people.  

-Describe your personality, the things we don’t get to see online.
Haha. Please! do you really want to know? what if I don't want you guys to know how I am in my real life. Just kidding, of course ill share, that's what life is about is it not?...

To your question: My smile, I do smile a lot :D and that is something you guys miss. They say I brighten up a room and bring happiness with me when I enter, because of my smile... don't ask who THEY are! I am a very happy person most of the time, always trying to find happiness and the good stuff in all situations. No matter how bad they are. Quite a Sarcastic behavior with a lot of jokes. And of course, I am good at cooking and swearing in Assyrian. I have my mother and grandfathers to thank for that.

-What gets Dave really mad?
Actually very very few things, it is very hard to make me truly mad. But there are some things.

Knowing what our people really can do together for our future, but seeing them doing nothing else than stupid and ignorant things not caring about the next day.

I also get mad at people that are egocentric, especially those that go as far as doing things that hurt, injure or kill people for their own personal gain.

-What are your three most important qualities or personality features in a girl?
She must be Intelligent, have a good sense of humor and be sexy (not just physically. for me sexiness is so much more).

-You are an Assyrian Christian: do the two sides ever come into conflict with one another?
 Sometimes it does. Ex. I know what must be done for our people, how we sometimes must focus more on us then on other people. Sometimes that will make us forget what Jesus taught us about other people.

-What does money mean to you?
For me money is just a tool, I am a person who really don't care about it in personal way. I see wealth as something that we should share together and something that will be used to achieve our goals (most of you understand when I say Assyrianism). I cant see myself wasting money on a super car or the best telephone there is on the market just to have the best thing at the moment, wasting on something like that literally hurts.

Materialism is a huge problem in the world today, thanks to people that don't know what money really is for and what to do with it. This is one of the bigger problems with today's youth, they never seem to have extra money because they think that its all ment to be spent until next time they get their pay. They spent it on things that are not really necessary, things they think will bring them "happiness". While they are missing much of the true happiness that really does not cost anything at all.

I usually see everything I earn as something that will come in handy in the future, for my people and for somehow to make the world a better place.
 
-How do you get inspired or motivated to do things that are not easy or fun to do?
If its something personal, I do it because I know that I have to do it if I am to reach my goals and dreams in life. I guess its discipline...

If its for the greater good, I do it because I know that It will matter and be greatly appreciated by others. Even if it means that it doesn't  change much for most people, it will mean a lot to the one person that it does change something for. This is something very important for me as a christian.

-What is the one thing about you that you wished people didn’t know?
To be honest I don't think there is anything.

 

-When and how did you get to know Assyrian Voice?
I actually knew about the site a long time ago. Before 2005 but I started to read on the forum after 2005, thanks to my cousin who used to send me links when it was something important. During 2007 and 2008 I read a lot on the forum sometimes but it was not until January 2009 I became a member.   

-Tell us about your experience on the website, including your new moderating roles, and what has it helped you with?
I love AVN it is the best thing that ever happened to the social medias on the internet. Pretty much everything that I want to find about assyrians is on this forum. I like when you can have  serious discussions online, that actually will give you something, if you compare it to facebook, where people just do a lot of silly comments about pictures and other boring stuff.

Before I was a moderator I really wanted to help the site and the admins, I wanted to make sure that more people would know about the site and to become a members. Because i felt how good and how important this site was for our cause and for our communication with other assyrians from around the world. Here in Sweden it was not very well known as it was in the Us and Canada. So I started to help the admins with promotions on the other site and on facebook. Making sure that no one who spends a lot of time online misses it.

I told the webmaster that I was interested in becoming an admin or moderator to help out even more, so after a while when a spot was vacant, the admin asked me if I still was interested and I took the job. Its fun to be a moderator on the forum, making sure that things are going as they should and so that people follow the rules. Anything to make this great forum even better. I do of course continue with the promotions and so now and then...

The forum is very good and serious but it can also be a place jut to hang out and get to know people. I have learned so much because of the forum. I have also met a lot of people there many o whom I have become good friends with, even meeting in real life. I also enjoy other futures on AVN, like the picture albums.

-What role do you think Assyrian Voice has played in the last 12 years or so that it has been operating? How has it helped the Assyrian community worldwide?
I think it has helped a lot of assyrians online to get hold of the information they are looking for. Especially at the end of the year with all the things happening against assyrians. Many assyrians probably got to know about it from AVN in the first hand. It has of course connected people which is one very important thing and one of the goals of the site.
With AVN many assyrians got to know that they are not alone when it comes to the fight for our cause.

-What is the one critique of the website, or something you would like to change?
Well I would like to have a integrated chat with the forum, i.e. when someone is online on the forum you can chat with that person directly, if you are online on the chat. Something like the facebook chat. However I know that this can be a bit difficult with the software we are using right now. But I hope its something that will happen in the near future.

Another thing that could be nice sometimes, not saying that I don't like it, is if the forum  got a little bit more stylish, just to attract more people.

-In addition to Assyrian Voice, you have been involved with other Assyrian websites and projects online, tell us a little bit about them?
Well another site I am an administrator on is assyrianstart.com, its a news portal site online based in Sweden, where me and my colleagues gather news from all over the world, pretty much like we at Assyrian voice do, but its not done on a forum. Its more for the lazy people who cant be bothered to discuss matters on a forum, its a great site for people who just want to read and go.

My job is to make sure that the site is running as it should be, pretty much like on the AVN forum, but I also take care of the news and updates making sure that we have the freshest news, translating articles from Swedish to English and vice versa, and also sometimes writing my own articles. Just like AVN I take care of the promotions and administrate the groups on facebook, for this site.

Right now there is another project if you guys haven't noticed it, its the HUJADA TV Project. Here I m also involved in administration and the online promotions. Right now we are promoting and making sure that the message will come out to all assyrians. We will start broadcasting sometime in spring. And we are hoping that this will revolutionize the Assyrian future Go to the AVN forum for more info about this.

These are just some of the projects, usually as soon as I know about sites and projects online that has to do with our cause, where I know my knowledge of computers and networking and all other stuff I know will help, I offer my assistance and professionalism.  

-Compared to 5 years ago, are you using the Internet more or less often?
Pretty much the same, although this year I will unfortunately not be active that much because of my work.

-We can’t talk about the internet without bringing up Facebook. What do you make of this monster, and where do you see it heading?
Well facebook is a good tool when it comes to promotion and coming in contact with friends and other important people. Especially when it comes to working for our cause. As I mention above I use it because it is necessary for the work that we are doing.

However when it comes to chatting with people and looking what everyone is doing and so on, you know the typical "teen mode", I rarely use it for that, I find it quite boring and impersonal, and not good at all when it comes to security of private life.
I don't like where the youth is heading while using it, (not all of them but too many) sitting online and chatting and "looking at what's happening everywhere" makes us forget how it is to talk to someone in real life and how important this is. While sitting online you miss a lot of the important things in communication, other then words and letters. I mean only  around 10% of our communication is relayed by words, the rest is from our body expressions, feelings, voice etc. This is something, if missed, that can lead to misunderstandings online but also making the youth today less social and less capable of handling social situations in real life.

About the site, well I don't know, you hear new strange stuff about it all the time.

-Related to the earlier question, do you think of these web giants as ancient empires, each dominating for some time, but inevitably falling, and someone else taking over?
Yes I do, its definitely very similar. Something that grows to powerful will someday crumble and fall.

-What is your favorite topic on Assyrian Voice of all time?
Is this a trick question? :D
One topic I really enjoyed was this one about "Relationship with an Assyrian"   http://www.assyrianvoice.net/forum/index.php?topic=38892.0 I wrote a bit at the start but later almost nothing, only to continue to read the rest. I had such a good time and laughed a lot while reading it. It really went crazy and become very funny at the end. So that's got to be my favorite. I just love observing :D Alls these topics about women and men are so funny to read haha.

Another one I just have to mention is this one, people really reacted to it haha http://www.assyrianvoice.net/forum/index.php?topic=39320.0

-Do you ever use the chat and what do you think of it?
I don't use it that much actually. I mostly stay on the forum. I only use it when I need to talk to someone about important stuff, while that seems to be the easiest way to do so... It feels like its to far away from the forum, maybe that's why :D

-What comes to your mind when you hear the following AVN users: Ashuriena, mrzurnaci, jacob.
Ashuriena = kimbo slice!, a women with attitude, hip hop and humor.
mrzurnaci = a young guy with many funny ways of expressing himself. A guy thinking to much of limitations and what is in the way for him while he in fact has so much, that will help him in the future. He seems of course very funny and ambitious.
jacob = our assyrian jewish brother, funny, sarcastic, and head-on when commenting.

 

-A lot has changed since the last time we did one of these interviews. Of course, we can’t help but start by asking about the recent and horrific ‘Baghdad Church Massacre’: in a few words, although it will take books and generations to truly document it, what do you think of this black day in our history? has it truly changed and rocked our nation in the sense that September 11 changed the United States?
Damn straight it has!. As bad as this sounds, it might have been just what we assyrians needed. It truly made an impact, and things started to happen. Unless we assyrians in the diaspora don't feel threatened, we mostly just sit on our asses and enjoy the life in the west, at least the majority. So this was some kind of thread to us as well and people reacted. I really hate what happened and if I just got 10 minutes with these people who did this, they would have wished that they never started walking and talking. Unfortunately I cant catch them anymore, they are probably having a better time in hell than they would with me...


-Following the Baghdad Church Massacre, we saw almost close to half a million Assyrian and Iraqi Christians in general come out worldwide to protest. Were those just protests or do you read more into it?
They were not just protests, it was an awakening of our nationhood, at least here in Sweden. It made a great impact, ex. the parliament voted for a stop to send back Christians to Iraq for a period. I was quite involved in it as well, especially here in our local area. I tried to contact as many assyrians as possible telling them to join us in our black march. In Stockholm at just one of the demonstrations there, over 6000 people attended. No matter what kind of Assyrian you considered yourself, you still walked with your other brothers.

-Also following the attacks, representatives from some 15 Assyrian political parties and movements came together and met to discuss our future. Do you see this as one positive coming from the massacre?
As I said in the previous question, for once almost all of our people stopped caring about if you are Syriac, Chaldean or Assyrian. They came together working and fighting for the same goals. It felt like, for the first time in a while, we were brothers and sisters and that nothing could stop us. So to our question, yes this is something very positive and what I and many others have been working for. Only together will we be able to achieve what we are aiming for. Those refusing this doctrine... They need to be taken care of.

-What do you think of Zowaa, its leader, and the role its playing at the current stage?
Zowaa is as most of the times doing what is the right thing for our people in this situation. They are fighting for our cause in the smart ways. They are changing things for us, back in the homeland. They are one of the parties wanting this new cooperate to work, and they will do as much as they can to make sure it continues. I believe that zowaa is the only party that really can be trusted today and the only party that has a clear message. They are fighting for our rights in our own lands, they are patriotic and nationalistic and stand independent not limited by other parties or influences.

As for Mr. Kanna, he is a lion, always involved in matters that are meant to be taken care of in the Assyrian way. He is always in the front line whether its a massacre or political discussion in a parliament room.

-As someone who is involved with the army, what do you think can be done to stop the attacks against our people?
One of the reasons why I choose to work in the army is because of this. It gives me a lot of knowledge and experience in this area. This expertise is something that I want to share and teach out to my people back in occupied Assyria and I want to be there to help when the time is right. I know how important knowledge like this can be for survival and security and that is exactly what they need back in the homelands. To stop these attacks and threats we need to show that we are capable of protecting ourselves, we need a security presence not just political but also a psychical military presence. I have so many ideas and there is so much that can be done which actually is not that hard. They are creating security with armed forces right now but in my opinion that is a very small number even tough its a good start.

For the future we have willing people, we have the knowledge, there are plenty of assyrians working in a military or a police branch. The only thing that fails is the economic part. And I am hoping that our politicians will arrange this together with a safe haven for us to exploit this kind of knowledge, where we know it wont collapse as soon as we from the west leave the homelands. Only then can we really riley on a true working military force.

For those of you who speak against a military force and our own security presence, answer this question for yourselves truthfully, do you think its wrong to kill someone when you are protecting your own life or the life your family?. I doubt that Jesus would want our people to die and vanish from our own lands! I am sorry my friends but this is the only way, besides protecting yourself from death is not a sin. Offensive war or action on the other hand is...

-How should the Assyrians approach the issue of the ‘Ninveh Plains’?
First of all its in a political way, I have faith in our politicians down there, I know they are doing  the right things right now. We from in he diaspora must help them as much as possible and this can be done economically. The second thing is to press our issue for a self governed area even further now that it has been initiated, this is as I mention above our safe haven, and now is the perfect time for that. Once we have achieved this, we can assure ourselves that we will have stable future which will lead to many assyrians willing to invest and work without being afraid of loosing what they have been working for.  

-Do you support the formation of a small Assyrian force in Iraq, and what should its main objective be?
I'm not even going to answer the first one, you all know my answer.
For your second, right now is to create a serious force capable of protecting the villages and our people in Iraq, also make sure that they have the full support of the Iraqi government so that their work won't be limited.

-Do you have an Assyrian role model?
Agha Petros!

-Final word to all Assyrians out there.
Keep on fighting for Assyria, not matter how bad the situation is and no matter how few you are. Even if we stand alone, we stand alone Together! That way we are always strong and there is always hope. Never give up Assyrianism because it will never give up on you!