Chaldean Americans Share Their Concerns with Ambassador Edward Gabriel
BY: Weam Namou/Ambassador Blogger
Ambassador Edward Gabriel, along with other members of the Hillary Clinton campaign, met with approximately twenty members of the Chaldean community at the Chaldean Community Foundation (CCF) in Sterling Heights last week. They wanted to listen to the community’s main concerns in the upcoming election.
Martin Manna, president of CCF, addressed the ongoing genocide being committed against Chaldeans and others in the Middle East, as well as the disparity in the number of Chaldean refugees coming to the United States.
Jim Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), joined the meeting through a conference call.
“There was a time where our community was not represented in Washington,” said the Ambassador Gabriel. “Thanks to Jim, we now have a voice.” Addressing the Chaldean members, he added, “Your voice needs to be heard and your views listened to. We want to take these views to our next president, not just because you want it, but because this makes a better American policy in the end.”
Born in America, Ambassador Gabriel is of Lebanese background. He has, among many other qualifications, an extensive background in international affairs. During his tenure as Ambassador to Morocco from 1997-2001, he focused on trade negotiations, bilateral educational and cultural exchange programs, increased security and military cooperation, and strengthening U.S.-Moroccan commercial relations. As a Visiting Fellow at the Center for International Studies (CSIS), Ambassador Gabriel chaired a study on America’s post-Cold War relations with the Arab world that has become a reference guide for changing policies in the Middle East.
“Hillary believes we have to come together as a country without excluding anyone from any ethnicity, religion, or political affiliations,” said Ambassador Gabriel. “She cares a great deal about what’s happening in the Middle East, and I believe she has the leadership that we need to resolve problems.”
“We need to fight ISIS, but we’re puzzled by the approach that the U.S. has taken to fight ISIS,” said Dhafir (Dave) Nona, who has served as chair of both the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and the Chaldean Federation of America. “The biggest supporter of ISIS is Saudi Arabia and the U.S. is the biggest supporter of Saudi Arabia. The U.S. government doesn’t even slap their wrists for all their human rights violations because of financial economics. This goes for the Democrats and Republicans. I don’t support Trump, but he seems to have a better understanding and approach to the problem in the Middle East.”
“I traveled with Hillary and saw her meet with foreign leaders, and I can tell you that we have one of the most confident leaders of modern times,” said the Ambassador. “I believe she has the ability to gain trust of the American people and also international leaders.”
Someone in attendance expressed that Trump might have a better strategy, to which Mr. Gabriel shared a story of when he was the Ambassador to Morocco and met Trump, who was there on a business venture. The first thing Trump said to him was, “How are the chicks in Morocco?”
Ambassador Gabriel said that the conversation went downhill from there. Seeing that Trump had not done his homework on anything, he wanted to end the meeting. The conversation took place between Trump and Gabriel were as follows:
Trump asked, “So Mr. Ambassador, where are you from?”
“From near Buffalo, New York,” said Gabriel.
“Oh, that’s why your English is so good.”
Trump thought that Gabriel was an Ambassador of Morocco, not to Morocco.
Moving on from the story, Ambassador Gabriel then asked, “What would you like to see differently from the administration?”
“A vocal declaration, an acknowledgement of the role of Saudi Arabia in supporting ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other groups,” said Nona. “A lot of people know it but they are afraid to say it because of financial economics.”
“Hillary Clinton wants to defeat ISIS,” said the Ambassador. “Every year it becomes more difficult for us, but if we’re not there leading, then there’s a void and the void gets filled by someone else. It’s going to take U.S. leadership to bring countries together on a common mission. Hillary wants to get Assad to the negotiation table with Russia.”
Another person in attendance said the believed that the chaos made in the Middle East was done by design.
“I disagree,” said Ambassador Gabriel. “I don’t believe America wants to create this chaos in the Middle East. For a long time we’ve wanted stability but Condoleezza Rice and Bush wanted to take us in a different direction.”
Manna pointed out that whenever there’s genocide, there’s usually a larger response from the U.S. government and international community than has been shown to the Iraqi Christians and minorities. He gave the Shias as an example. After what happened to the Shias in Iraq, approximately 15,000 of them were allowed to come to the United States.
Zogby, who has been involved in the refugee issue for years, said that it’s not a matter of preference or discrimination, but of several other factors. There has been a hold up in registering refugees in Lebanon, for instance. As of May 2015, the Lebanese government instructed the UNHCR to stop registering new arrivals. Another factor is that Christian refugees are not registering as refugees in Syria.
“Christians are staying at churches, not camps, and they are being taken care of by the Church,” said Zogby.
He said that Clinton has proposed a greater increase in refugees coming from those regions.
“I will join you in fighting to get ISIS out of there and in helping reform Iraq’s government,” said Zogby.