Some San Diego Chaldeans protested the deadly embargo: picture from 1995

Tuesday/Wednesday, January 10-11, 2006


Recently, reports surfaced about the Iraqi-Americans hired to be translators for the U.S. forces in the illegally-occupied country. Surprise, surprise. The conclusion was that many were not qualified in the English language and that the contractors who were paid big bucks by the U.S. government (actually U.S. taxpayers) were not supplying competent individuals.

No shit! If they had asked me, I could have saved the U.S. government much money and embarrassment by telling them that they were hiring people who could only speak broken English. Last year, when it was first announced that the U.S. was on a hiring rampage for translators and I found out that many were to come from the San Diego area, I quickly stated that troubles lie ahead because of their lack of knowledge of the English language. At that time, nobody even thought of this being a future problem.

San Diego County in southern California is home to about 30,000 Iraqi expatriates, mostly Chaldean, Iraqi Christians. The first swarm came in the early 1970s. For a couple of years, the Ba’ath Socialists and the Iraqi Communist Party held equal power in Iraq, but the Ba’athists dominated in the early 1970s and many Iraqi communists relocated to San Diego County.

Let’s talk about the Iraqi communists, those who fled Iraq and those who did not. Their party is not exactly what one would expect from a communist party. I have talked to many and there is no common ideology. Even the Soviet Union, then the bastion of worldwide communism, supported the Ba’ath Socialists over the local communist party in Iraq.

Today, the Chaldeans of southern California have all but forgotten their communist roots. They have partially assimilated into American society, but they mainly stick to themselves. Because many are in business, they interact with the entire American community, but after hours, they usually only socialize with other Chaldeans.

In the county of San Diego, 96% of privately-own liquor stores are owned and run by Chaldeans. This is their specialty. A few own grocery stores or auto mechanic shops, but the Chaldeans are known as liquor store owners.

In the city of El Cajon, there are two Iraqi Chaldean churches, one of monumentous proportions that has recently been enlarged to the tune of several millions of dollars. Much of the social life of the Chaldeans is practiced in the church with its many activities.

Much of the Chaldean community was anti-Saddam Hussein, but a substantial number supported the president. From 1990 on, I have met with, talked to, and associated with many in the community, both pro and anti-Saddam. Many houses displayed pictures of the Iraqi leader. Almost all Chaldean houses are laden with religious depictions, many more than an average American household.

I knew a Chaldean real estate agent who told me he was mildly against Saddam, but he did not call for the destruction of Iraq to get rid of him. When I first went into his office, he had a picture of Saddam and one of Ayatollah Khomeini on his wall. I was confused, and I asked, "You say you don’t like Saddam, yet you have a picture of him. Then, why is Khomeini up there?" He looked at me and said, "I got fucked by both Saddam and Khomeini." I did not ask any more questions.

Until March of 2003, both the anti and pro-Saddam elements published their own monthly magazines. Ironically, both groups got along with each other in the social aspects of life, but they bitterly opposed each other politically.

In El Cajon, there are several Chaldean clubs that the community uses to participate in card games, conversation and eating. Hundreds of Chaldeans inhabit these clubs every day and night. When you enter, you see two distinct groups on either side of the club: each representing its view of Sadam. I have a friend who supports Saddam, but he is an atheist. He used to go to the clubs and criticize both sides for their blind support of Christianity.

My relationship with both sides is pretty good. The anti-Saddam people used to say that I was a paid Iraqi agent, yet they talk to me. In 1995, I wanted to invite them to a protest against a sportscaster who made vile racist remarks about Iraqi Arabs. Chaldeans, whatever they thought about Saddam Hussein, are Arabs and the sportscaster’s statements affected them as well as those who supported Saddam. When I approached the offices of the Chaldean/Assyrian Association, I was stopped and frisked. The officers held a 30-minute meeting to determine whether I should be allowed in. They eventually let me in a I gave a presentation that consisted of the reasons why they should attend the protest.
On the other hand, the pro-Saddam people were skeptical of me. To them, I was a CIA informant because I knew too much about Iraq. In addition, because I opposed the Cuban embargo, many said I was a communist. You can’t win.

During the embargo years, only the pro-Saddam people showed up to protest the sanctions during demonstrations. I tried to get the opposition to show because the embargo affected their families as well as those of the Saddam allies, but to no avail.

After the invasion of 2003, things changed for the Chaldean community. The anti-Saddam people are gloating and the pro-Saddamers keep a low profile. Unfortunately, the anti-Saddam people have been sucked into supporting various racist policies and politicians because of their disdain for the former president. In other words, they are supporting those who actually would not mind discriminating against them. In addition, most of those to whom I have spoken support the abuse of Iraqi POWs because they are Muslim. I have had more than one Chaldean tell me, "Fuck 'em. They deserve it. They’re Muslims." When I ask if they would support the same policy if the prisoners were Christian, I get no reply.

A few weeks ago, about a dozen of my colleagues and I went to an Iraqi restaurant in El Cajon. The owner and staff are pro-Saddam and the food was superb. In a couple of days, we are going to another Iraqi restaurant run by an anti-Saddam proprietor. I am sure the food will be excellent. Good food transcends politics and religion.

Let’s go back to my original point of the deficiency of many Iraqi-Americans in their use of the English language. I knew a liquor store owner whose use of English was feeble. A typical sentence of his would be, "I and me, we were went we then." I heard he is now in Baghdad making $130,000 a year as a translator in the prison at Baghdad airport. No wonder the GIs are abusing the prisoners. They are being told incorrect translations. Instead of translating a prisoner’s request to eat, the translator is probably telling the soldiers he told them to eat shit. The irony here is that this man was a strong supporter of Saddam Hussein, yet he now works for the other side. Money does weird things to people.

I have changed my mind since I began this article. The current batch of Iraqi translators employ spoken and written English that is poor at best, but it is probably a notch above that of the U.S. president. If it’s good enough for Bush, it’s good enough for the Iraqis.