Overview

The Assyrians are among the very first settlers of Northern Canadian prairies. The first immigrant colony was established in 1903 in the region which later came to be known as North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Along with other early colonists from the British Isles, the Assyrians turned the virgin prairie soil into farmland. This was a period in Canadian history when the government actively encouraged the settlement of the Canadian Prairies to develop the region into a major wheat and cereal producing area, and also to connect the Eastern provinces with the Western coast via the Canadian transcontinental railway. The presence of a few remnant Assyrian families in North Battleford in 1993 attested to the earliest period in the history of Assyrian migration to North America.

Subsequent migrations shifted the locus of settlements to the major city of Toronto, with smaller enclaves found in Hamilton, Windsor, London, Montreal, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Vancouver. In the 1990's Assyrians from different countries in the Middle East, and from different Christian denominations as well as rural and urban regional backgrounds, were all represented in Canada. Since the Assyrians are not listed as a separate ethnic group in the Canadian census, accurate figures are not available on the size of different settlements. But rough estimates based on church records and the opinion of knowledgeable Assyrians such as the directors of civic organizations place the total estimate at 12,000 individuals.

Historical Background and Contemporary Overview

The Assyrians are indigenous to the regions the Middle East which today straddle the motains and plains of southern Turkey, Northern Iran and northwestern Iran. Although divided into ferent countries, this is a single geographical and was the main part of ancient Assyria prop Assyrians speak various dialects of Aramaic, a Iguage which supplanted Akkadian, the original language of ancient Assyrians and Babylonians and became the lingua franca of Assyrians as early as the 7th century B.C. According to Assyrian traditions, they embraced Christianity in the first century A.D. Up till the 16th century, prior to to penetration of the Jesuit and later Protestant msions in the Middle East, the Assyrians belonged two ancient Christian denominations: The Churchc of the East and The Syrian Orthodox Church, popularly known as Jacobite. The split into two different denominations occurred in the 5th century A.D. and appears to have been politically motivated to procure a measure of safety for the Assyrian minority which was caught between two rival empires: Persian (the locus of the Church of the East) and Roman (the locus of the Syrian Orthodox Church). The foreign missionary enterprise among the Assyrians in the 19th century further dissected the Assyrians into various Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Presbyterian, Evangelical, and Baptist denominations.

The converts from the Church of the East to the Roman Catholic denomination are called Chaldeans who have their separate Patriarch in Baghdad. The patriarchal seat of the Church of the East since World War 11 has been moved to Chicago, U.S.A. The Syrian Orthodox converts to Catholicism are known as Syrian Catholics with separate patriarchal seats: Damascus, Syria for the former, and Beirut, Lebanon for the latter.

The centuries-old gap between the Jacobite and Nestorian Assyrians who speak different dialects of the Aramaic closed in the 19th century with the rise of national consciousness among the various minorities in the Middle East. Archeological excavations in ancient Assyria during the 19th century and publicationof books such as H. Layard's Nineveh and its Remains, as well as others made the Assyrians of different Christian denominations aware of their common historical and linguistic heritage.
Civic organizations emerged in both "Nestorian" and "Jacobite" centers with publications to pro mote national unity. During World War I the Assyrians joined the Allies in the hope of attaining sovereignty in their ancient homeland in case of an Allied victory. This antagonized the Turks and the Persians, and resulted in the massacre of great numbers of Assyrians and their uprooting from their homes in Persia and Turkey. Although the Allies were victorious, British oil interests in the Persian Gulf and in the oil-rich reserves of Mosul (ancient Nineveh, the Assyrian capital) led to the creation of the country of Iraq as a British mandate which was accorded independence in 1933, and a Saudi Arabian prince, Faisal Al Husain of the Hijaz, was crowned as its king.

The uprooted Assyrians were herded by the British during the war into refugee camps in Baquba, Iraq and became gradually dispersed among the various Middle Eastern, European, and North American countries. Following the Persian Gulf war in 1990, an independent Kurdish Republic was established in the free zone in Northern Iraq under the protection of the United Nations Peace Force. Five of the candidates who were elected to the Kurdish parliament were Assyrians. Four of these were delegates of the political organization known as the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ZOWA). ZOWA had effectively taken the political leadership of the Assyrians in Northern Iraq and was instrumental in protecting the population and rebuilding the shattered homes and restoring the farms in order to resettle the uprooted families in their villages. ZOWA was supported by the majority of Assyrian immigrant organizations in Europe, the U.S.A. and Canada, both financially and logistically.
The total population of Assyrians worldwide in the 1990's was estimated at three million, with the greatest concentration in Iraq (1,200,000) and the U.S.A. (300-7000).

History of the Assyrian Migration to Canada and a Contemporary Profile

The first Assyrian colony in Canada consisted of 36 men and a few women, all of whom were from the town of Urmia and the surrounding villages in Northwest Iran. They were brought to Canada by Dr. Isaac Adams, an Assyrian medical Presbyterian missionary. After homesteading for a few years in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, these men sent for their families back home and were joined by 40 more settlers in 1907. The colony did not prosper economically, partly due to the lack of sufficient money and the language barrier and partly due to discrimination. Eventually, Dr. Adams and his close relatives left to establish a colony in California. Those who stayed behind were still living in North Battleford in the 1990's. For example, the Backus, the Essau, and the Odishaw families in North Battleford are of Assyrian origin. The name of Johnny Essau, television sports commentator during the 1960's and 70's, is well-known to all Canadians. Mention should also be made of David Odishaw, who served as a major in the Canadian Air Force.

The Assyrian community in Ontario dates back to the mid-1960's when Canadian Immigration established the system providing quotas for immigrants from the Middle East. In 1966 there were no more than 4 Assyrian families in Toronto. Since then, there has been a steady flow of immigrants through chain migration with peak periods in the early 1970's due to the Kurdo-Iraqi war, when Assyrians of Northern Iraq were driven out of their villages; in the mid-1980's in the aftermath of the Iraq-Iran war, when Assyrians suffered great casualties in the protracted war, as the young men were enlisted in the armies of both countries (Assyrians are citizens in both countries); and in the early 1990's following the Persian Gulf war. By 1993 there were 6,000 Assyrians in Toronto, 120 families in Hamilton, about 40 families in Windsor, and 200 families in London, Ontario. Most of the Assyrians in Ontario came from towns and villages of Northern Iraq or the capital city of Baghdad. The rest were from Iran and Turkey. The London community was unique in the sense that almost all of its members were of the Tyari tribe (one of the eight major clans of the Assyrian highlanders) from the village of Tel Tamar in Syria.

The Assyrian highlanders were sedentary pastoralists in the Hakkiari mountains of southern Turkey prior to WWI. Since they joined the Allies during the war against Turkey, the government of that country refused to repatriate them when the war was over. Eventually a group of them were settled in villages along the Khabour River in Syria in 1941. When the head of the Tyari tribe, Yaccu bar Malik Ismail, the distinguished Assyrian Levy officer in the British army immigrated to London, Ontario, almost the whole clan followed. They prefer this town to Toronto because it is smaller, the cost of living is lower, and at the same time it is a university town where their sons and daughters can obtain higher education.

The Assyrians of London, Ontario have a church by the name of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East. The sanctuary was purchased in 1986. A new civic organization by the name of Assyrian Ishtar Association, established in 1993, had the goal of starting Assyrian language and heritage classes.

The Assyrian immigrant settlement in Montreal, Quebec is also unique in the sense that it is composed predominantly of Assyrian Jacobites. Although they have established their own denomina tional churches, and readily recognize themselves as Assyrians, the Montreal Assyrians have had no civic organization since the 1960's when their association, The Assyrian Society of Canada, closed down. The Assyrians of Montreal come from Syria (Damascus, Aleppo, Deir-Bassiye) and Turkey (Mardin, Istanbul, Midyat). The Midyat Assyrians speak Toroyo, a dialect of the Aramaic; but the rest have lost fluency in their mother tongue and speak Arabic or Turkish. Most of their social activities are with Christian Arabs in Montreal. They are a rather well-to-do-class of business people, specializing in the retail of jewelry or fashion clothing. Jacobite Assyrians are also found in Toronto and Hamilton where they have established their own denominational churches (Syrian Orthodox). They participate on an individual basis in the Assyrian civic and youth organizations in these cities. The Assyrian settlement in Toronto is the largest and the best organized ethnically. Their religious, civic, and youth organizations in Toronto in the 1990's are as follows:

The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, with a membership of 450 families.

Since 1990 the church has had a quarterly publication by the name of Scholion in three languages: Assyrian, English, and Arabic. Mar Narsai Society, an affiliate youth organization, conducts religious and Assyrian language classes for children in the church building. It is also affiliated with all the Church of the East youth organizations in North America. Annual conventions bring the youth together in religious and educational retreats.

The Assyrian Society of Canada, with a membership of 180

Is headquartered in a substantial building. It is the hub of Assyrian social activities in Toronto. Its large hall accommodates weddings and other major community events. There are weekly social and educational activities. The weekend bingo and picnics are a standard feature (during cold weather, picnics are moved indoors).

United Assyrian Youth of Canada, specializes in educational activities. Headquartered in a rented office building, the organization has a small library and sponsors regular educational seminars. Its quarterly publication, U.A. K C. Bulletin, declared the Assyrian year 6743 (1993) the Year of the Assyrian Child, with the goal of establishing an Assyrian elementary school where Assyrian language and heritage can be passed on to the younger generation.

The Welfare Committee for the Assyrian Community in Canada, which was affiliated with the Assyrian Society of Canada, became independent in 1989 as a charity organization working closely with Canadian Immigration. It sponsors and helps the settlement of Assyrian refugees languishing in refugee camps in Turkey, Greece and Italy.

The Assyrian political organizations, The Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA), Bet Nahrain Democratic Party (BNDP), The Assyrian Democratic Movement (ZOWA), all have branches in Toronto. The Chaldean Assyrians from Iraq and the Protestant Assyrians from Iran are comparatively fewer in number. They have established separate congregations in Toronto and worship in rented sanctuaries.

Although the Assyrian community in Hamilton has its own church and sanctuary (The Ancient Apostolic Catholic Church of the East, better known as Mart Shmooni old calendar church), and its own civic organization (Assyrian Club of Hamilton), Assyrians of Hamilton (as well as Windsor, Ontario) do not hesitate to drive to Toronto to participate in educational programs or special events. The Assyrian settlements in Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver do not have ethnic organizations and number about 100 families each.

Assyrians who have distinguished themselves in the Assyrian Toronto community include Mr. Mirza shmoil, chairman of the Welfare Committee, who has been instrumental in the resettlement of many refugees; Mr. Hormuz Rashidzadeh, the well-known Assyrian mint sculptor who was commissioned to work on the 1992 Rugby World Cup; and Dr. G. Neesan, accomplished specialist in genetic engineering on farm animals.

Among well-known Canadians of Assyrian heritage are members of the Guergis family. The pioneer settler, Rev. Karem Guergis, entered Canada in 1912. After graduating from McGill University as a missionary, he served as a minister in Anges, Ontario for 58 years. His eldest son, George Guergis, was the Reeve of the township of Essa in the 1970's (County of Simcoe), followed by his son, Edward Guergis, who became deputy Reeve in the 1980's. Other members of the Guergis family, Sargon and David, have also distinguished themselves in the Anges community.

Another Assyrian old-time family dear to the hearts of many Canadians in Manitoba is the Eshoo family. Dr. Eshoo was the sole physician in the mission hospital which serviced the town of Ethelberg and the rural hinterland around it in Manitoba during the 1920's. His son, Dr. Homer Eshoo, was a medical professor and a physician at the Winnipeg General Hospital, and Alfi Eshoo, the latter's sister, was the only Assyrian woman who attended the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg in the 1930's. After graduating, she taught in Canadian public schools in different cities in Manitoba.

Perhaps few Canadians know that the popular country singer and western entertainer in the 1950's and 60's, King Gammon, was of Assyrian heritage.

Bibliography:

For a well-documented history of contemporary Assyrians, see:
John Joseph, The Nestorians and Their Muslim Neighbors (Princeton, NJ., 1961).

For a history of the ancient Church of the East and the Canterbury mission among the Assyrians, see:
J. F. Coakley, The Church of the East and the Church of England (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992).

Material on the Assyrian immigrant colonies in Canada can be found in:
J. Woodsworth, Strangers Within Our Gates (Canada, Frederick Clarke Stephenson, 191 1);
C. Wetton, "Fled From Tyranny to Settle in Saskatchewan," in Star Phoenix (Saskatoon, Sask.,1949); And
Arian Ishaya, The Role of Minorities in the State: History of the Assyrian Experience, Anthropology Papers, No. 19 (Winnipeg, Canada, 1977).

For a concise portrait of Assyrian immigrant settlements in the United States, see:
Arian Ishaya and Eden Naby, Assyrians - Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1980).